rockinpackgoat
having dreams about rocks
One of our hiking buddies
Member since July 2009
Posts: 59
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Post by rockinpackgoat on Jul 17, 2009 16:06:09 GMT -5
Okay, I have really appreciated all the great tips on this thread and thought I followed all the guidelines religiously, but am mystified again by another non-shiny batch. Actually most of these rocks are from my first batch, but I started all over with them and am calling it the 2nd batch. Maybe "2nd run" is more accurate. They turned out a bit better than last time, and are super-smooth. They are just not shiny. Some of them do have very shiny corners, and they've only been in the polish (Lusterite) for 24 hrs, so I'm letting them run for another day before I send them to Siberia. This morning when the magical 24 hrs were up, I thought maybe the marbles (brand new-- have only been in this batch of polish) were messing something up, so I took them out and put popcorn in instead (unpopped). Hope that's okay. Also to clarify: these are not river rocks. (Elsewhere on this board I was asking about river rocks.) I do hope to do some river rocks when(if!) I get through with this batch, but these are mostly slab scraps from cabbers. And this is a dedicated polish bowl. Here is a handful I grabbed out (and threw back in).  See how the corners & ridges are so nice & shiny? The faces are still dull though. Is there something I'm overlooking? Or does it just need more time? More polish? Or maybe they're actually done, and the Borax burnish will transform them? Thanks in advance for any advice or even sympathy LOL Carrie & kids (dh not into it yet) |
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Jul 17, 2009 16:14:08 GMT -5
Are you using a rotary or a vibe? If it's a rotary, you'll need a week in polish. If a vibe, 24 hrs is sufficient.
Borax will not do anything magical, it just cleans off any film or polish in cracks/pits.
Chuck
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rockinpackgoat
having dreams about rocks
One of our hiking buddies
Member since July 2009
Posts: 59
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Post by rockinpackgoat on Jul 17, 2009 16:22:53 GMT -5
It's a vibe, and it's been over 24 hrs now...
Carrie
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Post by Bikerrandy on Jul 17, 2009 18:12:01 GMT -5
Carrie, when polishing slabs, more than 24 hours is sometimes necessary for the flat areas to polish up. Honestly, I run my slabs in a vibe for 4-5 days. Also, what polish are you using? I've had the best results with Aluminum Oxide polish from the Rockshed. The vibe that I use is a Thumlers UV-10.
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Post by MyNewHobby on Jul 17, 2009 18:36:41 GMT -5
I see no doodoo ..... just a bit unfinished .... ;D
And .... they look a heck of a lot better than what came out of my rotary the first (okay .... and the second time) time (I started with a rotary).
As always ...
Julie
I think you have a great start!!
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rockinpackgoat
having dreams about rocks
One of our hiking buddies
Member since July 2009
Posts: 59
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Post by rockinpackgoat on Jul 17, 2009 18:39:44 GMT -5
Thanks Randy, I'll run it a few more days. The prepolish is AO I think 800, and the polish is called Lusterite. The vibe is a little Mini-Sonic-- all from Diamond Pacific.
Wizard, these are just slab scraps from other cabbers...we are really new to this and don't have any of the other equipment you mentioned, so I was hoping the filler would help the polish make the needed contact. If it doesn't work out, I guess I could use a hammer to make them smaller if you think it might help. I wish I would have put a coin in the photo for size reference, as these really aren't large. The center piece is smaller than a dime, if that helps at all.
Thanks, stay tuned...
Carrie
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ksk
having dreams about rocks
Member since October 2008
Posts: 69 
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Post by ksk on Jul 18, 2009 10:50:33 GMT -5
See my reply in the river rocks post. You need lots of small filler (ceramic) especially for slabs.
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Post by johnjsgems on Jul 18, 2009 21:16:28 GMT -5
I say eat the popcorn and switch to ceramic media and a good grade of aluminum oxide. You might try a few flat pieces in a batch of pebbles. That would help get the surface contact you need. You should sweet talk your employer for a sample of their Vibra-Dry in 14,000, 25,000, and 50,000. That would work very well. It is about all I use in my KG-1.
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Post by connrock on Jul 19, 2009 13:23:23 GMT -5
A LOT of surface contact is the key here. When doing slabs either big or small you should use ceramic media or pea gravel along with the slabs right from the start.The more the media the better. I say this because the flat areas of the slabs will never shine for you if they have been only touched slightly by the grit in the previous steps. I've polished 100's if not 1000's of material with flat surfaces and they come out like glass,,,,,wet glass! The proof that you have done everything correct except not having enough of the smaller materials (pea gravel/ceramic media),is that the edges are polished. Here is a link to a lot of polished (and un-polished) rocks that I've done in my Lot-O-Tumbler. Some are slabs and some are round rocks. imageevent.com/tcknkk/rocksnstuff?n=0&z=9&c=4&x=1&m=24&w=0&p=0connrock |
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Post by tkrueger3 on Jul 19, 2009 15:46:52 GMT -5
Connrock, I have a question - I have about 1.5 pounds of mixed garnets and emeralds (NO, not gemmy!) that I've run through the rotator for 4 weeks, and quit after 2 weeks of 120/220. My plan was/is to use this as filler/cushion for the vibe. Will that work, in addition to ceramic?
Tom
PS - I forgot to add, these garnet/emerald rocks are anywhere from 1/4" to about 1/2", so all are small.
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Post by frane on Jul 19, 2009 20:31:15 GMT -5
OK Carrie,
I am going to add my two cents here. The first thing I noticed was that there are a few different hardness's in the picture. The rhodonite in the picture is between a 5-6. Your agates are about a 7.That will give a problem, usually the softer stones will not polish. Now, since you are having a problem with all of them polishing, I would say it is contact also. I tend to mix my preforms and some rounded tumbles together for the finer grit and polish. If you don't have rounded tumbles, I heard you mention marbles. I have not tried that but it could work. They can give off gas and at times, blow your lid. I have heard of that happening but checking every few hours kind of defeats that problem. I have a raytech tv5....I have started using tile spacers of different sizes as cushioning. I picked them up in a bigger bag size for about $5 each at home depot. The different sizes seem to add to the contact that is needed to get the stones polished, without the damage and impact fractures. I fill the bowl pretty full to get the tumble action going well in the vibe. ( I keep the spacers that I use for each grit and the polish separate in plastic containers to be reused in that grit only. No cross contamination) Make sure you keep your cushioning in with the preforms during your borax rinse also. Don't want to get that far just to damage them in the rinse!
I would say get them back in the polish, get enough in there to cushion them and let them go.
Oh, tkrueger3. Watch out for those little garnets and emerald rocks! They can sometimes be a little rough on your batch since they can sometimes be a little harder than a strait 7. even in my quartz batches, I try not to mix them with larger quartz after the rough grind is done. I will do a mini load of small quartz with the garnet and the larger stones separately. Have had some bad results when I have left them mixed til the end.
Hope that helps!
Fran
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rockinpackgoat
having dreams about rocks
One of our hiking buddies
Member since July 2009
Posts: 59
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Post by rockinpackgoat on Jul 19, 2009 22:38:40 GMT -5
Thanks all for the great tips all--
ksk I will definitely look for small filler,
Johnsgems I won't be eating THIS batch of popcorn LOL but I won't be using it for filler anymore since it isn't helping. I'd love to know more about how to use VibraDry-- is it expensive? I thought it was only for metals?
Wizard only 10% of my load is dime-size, and feel free to edit anything I post-- I would LOVE my rocks to turn out like yours.
Connrock what great looking stuff you have! Is the Lot-O a vibe? The only round rocks I have are marbles-- maybe I didn't give them much of a chance.
Fran I'll be glad to go back to marbles (I do check the rocks several times a day) but I'm also willing to try the spacers (or anything else!) And should I take the rhodonite out or the agate?
Thanks again,
Carrie
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Post by tkrueger3 on Jul 19, 2009 23:17:05 GMT -5
Thanks for that info, Fran - you probably saved yet another of my loads!
Tom
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Post by connrock on Jul 20, 2009 10:04:03 GMT -5
That's correct about the garnets and or emeralds as they may be a bit harder then what you're tumbling . The emerals is harder then the garnet as well. Here's a link to what I think if interesting (about difference in ACTUAL hardness and the Moh's Scale of Hardness) and also gives a great chart of hardness. I took the link form GemSelect: www.gemselect.com/gem-info/gem-hardness-info.phpOops,,,Yes my Lot-O-Tumbler is a vibe unit! connrock |
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rockinpackgoat
having dreams about rocks
One of our hiking buddies
Member since July 2009
Posts: 59
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Post by rockinpackgoat on Jul 20, 2009 14:22:43 GMT -5
Thanks Connrock-- great chart-- that link will be even more helpful once I know the names of more of my stones ;-)
Carrie
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Post by connrock on Jul 21, 2009 10:53:34 GMT -5
Carrie, Identifying rough precious and semi-precious gems can be VERY difficult for not only the novice but also an advanced Lapidist. Many agates and jasper coming from the same EXACT area can be deceiving as their color ranges and and physical make-up can differ dramatically. Even if you by them by name they aren't always what the name is. I know I'm making this sound difficult but I don't want you to think you're not doing well in identifying your rocks. I receive a lot of rocks in trades and such that are not labeled and they never will be.I can take a guess or post a photo for identification but that doubt is always there. ID isn't all that important in tumbling but IS VERY important in making jewelery,,,to me anyway! lol There are MANY good folks on this web site who self collect what they sell and that's a good way to ID the rocks. Another point is that even polished gems can differ in appearance even if they ARE all the same. There are High Grade and Low Grade and some sit right in the middle and even though they ARE the same they can and will look a bit different. There are however those that can be ID in a glance such as tigereye,red jasper,chrysoprase and many many more. On the opposite end there are the "picture jaspers" which in most cases all resemble each other yet may be slightly different. One can and is sold as being something it is not. So what I'm saying is that even if you had a piece of rough and you try comparing it to a photo ID,you may still not be able to ID it! Here's another ID chart.If you click o most of the stones they will have a color range for that stone and also some different variations of it. www.bernardine.com/gemstones/gemstones.htmI took this chart from : www.bernardine.com/connrock |
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rockinpackgoat
having dreams about rocks
One of our hiking buddies
Member since July 2009
Posts: 59
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Post by rockinpackgoat on Jul 21, 2009 17:50:44 GMT -5
Thanks Connrock-- that is a really neat site!
Thanks also for clarifying-- I've had jasper pointed out to me several times & been confused because it never seems to look the same! So I just smile and nod and pretend the emperor is clothed-- it's refreshing to hear of an expert that notices.
SO much to learn...
Carrie ;-)
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Post by connrock on Jul 22, 2009 6:57:55 GMT -5
Hold up there gal and pump the breaks a bit!
I am by FAR NO expert on anything.
I just been doin it longer then you.
connrock
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rockinpackgoat
having dreams about rocks
One of our hiking buddies
Member since July 2009
Posts: 59
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Post by rockinpackgoat on Jul 22, 2009 10:48:05 GMT -5
Maybe we should take a poll...
Carrie ;-)
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