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Post by superioragates on Sept 9, 2009 8:35:56 GMT -5
This is driving me bonkers!! I have had some agates in the tumblers for 6 weeks in rough 60/90, and they are still no where NEAR being done. I check them every week, still not done, so I recharge the grit and go another week. I got the swoosh sound goin on, I got small and big stones in there, so there is plenty of motion and contact. I am gonna be completely bald before they ever get ready to move on to the next stage!! I am seeing some progress, but not what you guys are getting.......is there something I am doing wrong? Is there a courser grit I should be using?
I tumbled a bunch of REALLY small ones for 5 weeks in 60/90, and they finally were ready, but anything the size of a quarter or more is just being flat stubborn!!
Any ideas are appreciated!
Marie
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Post by Toad on Sept 9, 2009 8:43:10 GMT -5
I always used 60/90, and most stones took at least a month before I thought they were ready to move on to 220. That was with re-charges every week. Some took a lot longer due to bad pitting or cracks I wanted to get rid of. Hardness of the stone is also a factor of course.
The good news is that once they get past 60/90, all subsequent stages take only a week or two at the most (possibly less if you're using a vibe).
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Post by superioragates on Sept 9, 2009 8:53:23 GMT -5
These are all Lakers, so pretty hard stones, I know. But good gosh almighty already!!!! I am using a rotary tumbler, 3lb. er's, and they just run and run all the time......I am getting super frustrated!!
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Post by Toad on Sept 9, 2009 9:07:26 GMT -5
Patience, Grasshopper. These stones have been in the same shape for millions of years, right. It might take longer than a few weeks to change that shape.
Have you tried adding ceramic media. I like the angle cut cylinders. I believe these help carry the grit into all the nooks and crannies and speed overall smoothing.
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Post by superioragates on Sept 9, 2009 9:11:38 GMT -5
That's an idea...I may try that. Up till now, I've just been using the smaller agates to do this job for me, as they are just as hard as the bigger ones.....hmmmm
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Post by Toad on Sept 9, 2009 9:15:30 GMT -5
That's an idea...I may try that. Up till now, I've just been using the smaller agates to do this job for me, as they are just as hard as the bigger ones.....hmmmm Right, but the angled cuts come to a point that may get into places mostly round stones cannot. Otherwise you end up waiting until the entire stone wears down to get rid of a single pit - Arghhh! This is where I get mine: www.kingsleynorth.com/skshop/search_results2.php?catID=786 |
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Post by superioragates on Sept 9, 2009 9:18:49 GMT -5
cool....thanks!!!
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Post by catmandewe on Sept 9, 2009 9:21:39 GMT -5
I have a bag of very small Lakers (my first purchase from Snowdog) that I use as grit carriers, they usually don't get ready to move on for 3 to 5 months, but they do a great job of being grit carriers while they are getting ready to move on. My larger lakers usually take about 3 months.
I remove whatever is ready from the barrel, put the stuff that isn't ready back in , add more stuff and more grit and run it for another month.
I have tried the 30/45 grit and I think I get better and faster results with the 60/90.
Good luck................Tony
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Post by Toad on Sept 9, 2009 9:26:21 GMT -5
Wow, Tony. You run for a whole month without re-charging?
I do it every week, because at the end all the grit has broken down - the slurry is smooth between my fingers. I know there is some abrasive quality left to the slurry, but maybe more along the lines of 220 or even 400. Do you think that fresh 60/90 every week would speed things up, or do you have different results with your tumbler? I use a QT-12.
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Post by superioragates on Sept 9, 2009 9:46:56 GMT -5
3 months???!!!!! OMG, now I know I'm gonna be bald!! That's a scary thought!
Only a few of these are bigger than a 1/2 dollar, most are less than that, and only a couple have deep pits, but they are shaped funny, and have grooves in them, that I was trying to get rid of, ugghh, I just know I'm gonna be put in a looney bin b-4 they are ready!!
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Post by deb193redux on Sept 9, 2009 10:02:32 GMT -5
The deep pits or crevices will require wearing down the the whole stone to the depth of the pit or crevice. This can be 1/8 or 1/4 inch and take a lot of time, and loses a lot of stone.
The triangles may help if you just want to smooth the crevice but leave a rounded gouge. They will not work for pits - except for very large pits.
You have three choices:
1) Leave them in rough forever. When you have enough ready for medium, set them aside and reintroduce them when you again run rough
2) Discard them as not worth the effort. They might still look very good in water, such as a fish tank.
3) Use a saw to cut through the crevice/pit making two smaller stones that might shape in this century.
If there are many pits, a saw is little help and you should consider option #1 or #2, or use a grinder to quickly remove the 1/8 inch of rock from all over the stone.
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Post by Toad on Sept 9, 2009 10:06:49 GMT -5
If the pits and grooves are big enough to allow smaller stones and/or media into them for smoothing action, I wouldn't worry about it. Once it is as smooth as the rest of the stone, let it ride. The blemishes I worry about are the pits/cracks/grooves that are too small for successful grinding, but big enough to carry grit.
But sounds like you might like your stones blemish-free (as i do most of the time). If that's the case, you'll just have to stopping pulling your hair out and enjoy the process. Faithfully re-charge every week, notice the changes in your stones, add new ones to make up any loss in volume, and eventually you'll get through it.
Keep rolling...
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Post by superioragates on Sept 9, 2009 10:17:02 GMT -5
Man, someone on here, who knows more than me, needs to invent a way of getting rocks where you want them in a shorter amount of time....LOL so people like me don't have to lose their hair!!! I kinda like my hair on my head, not in the sink!! LOL A few blemishes I don't worry about, much, I mean, who wouldn't want them to be perfect?, I just want them to look good when I get done.......
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Post by Toad on Sept 9, 2009 10:20:24 GMT -5
Man, someone on here, who knows more than me, needs to invent a way of getting rocks where you want them in a shorter amount of time....LOL so people like me don't have to lose their hair!!! I kinda like my hair on my head, not in the sink!! LOL A few blemishes I don't worry about, much, I mean, who wouldn't want them to be perfect?, I just want them to look good when I get done....... So do you want them to look good, or do you want them fast? You can rarely have both. Unless you take Daniel's suggestion and take a grinder (or saw) to them. Some others are sure to chime in later today with more suggestions. |
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rockdewd
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2007
Posts: 605
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Post by rockdewd on Sept 9, 2009 11:24:24 GMT -5
I know Kingsley North sells 46/70 grit for the same price as 60/90. Might speed up the rough stage. Has anyone used that size grit? What was the results? Since my rotary tumbler has multiple barrels I can't really say exactly how long some rocks take to tumble. I clean out the barrels in order and when I remove stones to finish in the vibes I fill the space with stones from the next barrel in line so the new stones always go in the last barrels. I've had big pieces of pet wood and agates take 6-9 months to shape up enough to go to the vibes for finishing. You can be patient or you can just get more barrels rolling and soon you will be hopping around with polish stones up the wazoo...  |
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Post by NatureNut on Sept 9, 2009 11:42:01 GMT -5
You'd help it along by opening up the pits or smoothing them flat. The preferred way is to use a saw. Second is to use a dremel with diamond bits to grind them out wider so they can smooth out. They won't grind totally flat this way, but they can become more pleasing and can at least be polished all around.
Steve, NorthShoreRocks, had the same issues as you are having. You should shoot him a PM or maybe he'll chime in with how he overcame/handles them.
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Post by Toad on Sept 9, 2009 11:45:33 GMT -5
Very good idea, nnut. I was looking for a reason to pick up a dremel...
Can you use whatever comes with it to grind on rocks, or is it a better idea to pick up a few lapidary burs?
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Post by NatureNut on Sept 9, 2009 11:49:21 GMT -5
Haha, you can use the stock grinding bits that come with the kits, but you will probably go through them pretty quickly. I picked up a set of diamond burs at my local hardware store for $5.
Make sure you keep dipping the stone in water to keep it cool and keep down the dust. Also wear a dust mask.
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Post by superioragates on Sept 9, 2009 12:14:15 GMT -5
Thanx! I was already thinking I would try it, although I tried to cut one of these agates...a tiny one....one time....hmmmph! Took forever to get through the thing! Maybe I'll try it again.....I just needed to vent over the frustrations of trying to get these rocks to do what "I" want them to. LOL
I have to drive 50 miles for anything I swear! The hardware store here carries the basic necessities of "normal" human beings, not those who are considered to be "crazy rock freaks"! I asked them about getting them in here, they said they'd check on it, that was a month ago........yep, they still don't carry them! Funny how extremely small towns work.
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Post by Toad on Sept 9, 2009 12:16:36 GMT -5
Anything you can get in a hardware store can be shipped to your door. I prefer shopping online anyway, you can usually find a better deal as long as shipping doesn't kill you.
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