carloscinco
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2008
Posts: 1,639
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Post by carloscinco on Aug 29, 2009 18:02:05 GMT -5
Week 3 and the stones are getting smaller and smoother. Wet:  Dry: you can see they are smoothing out.   Some are fractured too deeply but I will keep them in the soup for grit carrying purposes. I washed them all off, reloaded the barrel and added 500 grit. I'll let this roll and check next week. Thanks |
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Post by MyNewHobby on Aug 29, 2009 18:45:12 GMT -5
Carloscinco ... Hi there .... I just got done earlier today posting about my batch of Lab/Spec. A bit back I added some to a vibe batch and learned the hard way this is one of those rocks that (in my opinion) should not be tumbled with anything else. Well .... in the vibe batch ... I damned near murdered the whole batch. So I pulled it, set it aside for another day. Last weekend I got both of my 1 lb barrels going and decided to try to see if I could salvage anything from this little batch. here is my post from earlier today ... forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/index.cgi?board=trtphoto&action=display&thread=32803Now ... My observation ... in my opinion .... do not equate size with smoothing and vice versa. The rough, when it comes to sensitive rocks like this can be more damaging than good. You only want to run it in just enough time make the shape you want. More .... and you are losing mass you do not have to. The you can run the later stages ... 120/220, pre and polish with more prolonged (but always checking) timing. I am still learning .... but this particular rock .... I leanred the hard way how to work with it. Julie |
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carloscinco
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2008
Posts: 1,639
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Post by carloscinco on Aug 29, 2009 19:29:30 GMT -5
I skipped the 120 step and went to the 500. I thought the shape was close enough. I am willing to run an extended cycle with the 500 grit as long as it smooths more than it shapes. This material is so frangible that it may continue to lose mass at a greater rate than I would like. I may wind up with well polished rocks just big enough to make a necklace for my grandaughter's Barbi.
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Post by Toad on Aug 30, 2009 7:32:31 GMT -5
Aren't you worried about grit carrying from the first stage to later stages in those fractures?
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carloscinco
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2008
Posts: 1,639
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Post by carloscinco on Aug 30, 2009 8:42:30 GMT -5
I hit the rocks with a water jet I made using a water pik type nozzle and a toothbrush after the photo. It doesn't prevent cavities, apparently, but does reduce grit carryover.
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Post by Toad on Aug 30, 2009 10:03:23 GMT -5
LOL. Folks that tumble rocks are very good at finding unintended uses for various tools.
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