CUL-Ann
spending too much on rocks
rock lover~
Member since September 2008
Posts: 380
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Post by CUL-Ann on Jan 24, 2010 17:44:53 GMT -5
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Post by Bikerrandy on Jan 24, 2010 18:00:15 GMT -5
Rotary? How long were they in the polish? Did you use a separate barrel? Burnish stage? What type of polish did you use (where did it come from) ? Also, alot of those rocks look rough. There's alot of places for grit contamination to hide. The questions that I asked might help me come up with some suggestions, but I'd definitely pick out the rough ones and set them aside for the next rough grind.
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CUL-Ann
spending too much on rocks
rock lover~
Member since September 2008
Posts: 380
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Post by CUL-Ann on Jan 24, 2010 18:27:06 GMT -5
Rotary? Yes ==stage 1(14 days), stage 2(7 days), T.O.(14 days) , A.O. (14 days) How long were they in the polish? 14days Did you use a separate barrel? yes Burnish stage? used T.O. does that count as burnish if not what is burnish :blush: What type of polish did you use (where did it come from) ? A.O. from Kingsley North (I think)
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Post by deb193redux on Jan 24, 2010 18:51:27 GMT -5
this is low-grade tumble rough. I see some granite that wont polish too well, and some altered jaspers that will not polish much either.
There are also many deep crevices that would stay rough and carry contamination. There are also lots of pits and even some matrix.
I do see some pic jaspers and agates that should polish, but they will need about 4-6 seven day charges in course. There is no way this batch could have been shaped in only 2 charges, that's why so many pits crevices and cracks remain.
Throw away the plain brown ones, the ones that actually did get fairly rounded (too soft), and the ones covered in small pitts (those go through and through).
Take the ones that have large defects and break them or cut them into smaller more perfect pieces.
Get some more high grade jasper and agate rough. Some Dalmatian jasper or some clean owyhee jasper or some clean bits of Brazilian agate.
Start the rough grind again and only pull out stones when they are smooth. When you have enough run the medium.
Not sure about the TO step. Some folks use that as a polish. Unless it was a course TO (about 1000g or 1200g) you actually skipped a step and ran 28 days in polish - but they were not ready for polish so it did little good.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Jan 24, 2010 22:04:03 GMT -5
Yeah, now that I see what you're working with I can see why you've had problems. I agree with the last poster who has covered the subject very well. I see some mixed hardness materials and some rhyolite type materials which are hard to polish under any circumstances. Also, you'll have better luck if your stones are more rounded and smooth. I almost always go five weeks or longer for quartz hardness materials just for the initial rough grind phase. Two weeks on quartz minerals just won't do the trick as you really need to get rid of all those cracks and uneven spots. The real secrets to getting a good shine are sorting your stones into lots of similar hardness and a good long coarse grind stage ( patience!).....Mel
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CUL-Ann
spending too much on rocks
rock lover~
Member since September 2008
Posts: 380
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Post by CUL-Ann on Jan 24, 2010 22:51:20 GMT -5
5 WEEKS IN STAGE 1 , do we open and add more grit during these 5 weeks???
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Post by tkrueger3 on Jan 25, 2010 0:22:09 GMT -5
In my opinion, you'll need to rinse and recharge with grit about every 7-10 days.
One more thing I would do in addition to the above advice, is I would remove all the glass material from this batch - obsidian, specifically. It won't hurt the jasper, quartz, or agate, but there also probably won't be much good obsidian left after several weeks in the rough grind.
Just MHO!
Tom
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Post by parfive on Jan 25, 2010 0:22:59 GMT -5
Short answer – Yes, every week!!
Stage 1 – 60/90 – Back to Basics
Run for a week. Dump it out, rinse and inspect. Remove any that meet your standards for shaping. Add new rough rock to maintain same level in barrel, water and new 60/90 grit and . . .
Run for another week. Dump it out, rinse and inspect. Remove any that meet your standards for shaping. Add new rough rock to maintain same level in barrel, water and new 60/90 grit and . . .
Run for another week . . . and . . .
Some rocks will be ready in a few weeks, others will take months. That’s why many of us have more two or more tumblers. One of ‘em just runs 60/90 continuously.
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Post by frane on Jan 26, 2010 21:59:42 GMT -5
Yep, I would say it is just too short a time in the first grit. Several weeks to do a really nice job. Not like the instructions say. You will get them there in a few more weeks and the soft ones will just not make it through. You can pull them now and add some other stones or just leave them and know they will pretty much go away. Keep on going and you will do a beautiful load! Fran
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rockhound97058
freely admits to licking rocks
Thundereggs - Oregons Official State Rock!
Member since January 2006
Posts: 760
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Post by rockhound97058 on Jan 27, 2010 0:32:35 GMT -5
I agree - I think it's a mixture of various stones causing problems for you. I see some people really take tumbling serious! The steps I've used for years and always worked great for me is:
3 weeks on 60/90 - Charge it once with grit and go. Never have re-charged (well of course unless I'm grinding stones with major holes etc..)
Clean very well and charge with 120/220 and run 7 days.
Clean very well and charge with polish. Run for 7 days and Sham-wow ~ You followin me camera guy ;D
Also I use the same barells for all grits... As long as you clean them well there should be no problem. I've never seen grit penetrate the black rubber like you would with plastics.
I do take time though and pick and choose what goes into the tumbler. I always try to keep agates with agates and other with others. Also I tumble to find a useful way to process scraps from the saws and give the stones away to the kids at shows. I used to sell some here and there, but to be honest I have not tumbled in 2 years! I have a triple 12#er sitting there collecting dust and several single 12#ers. I think the last thing I tumbled was Oregon Sunstone with it.
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