blr2449
has rocks in the head
Can I retire now?
Member since January 2011
Posts: 554
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Post by blr2449 on Jan 29, 2011 19:58:00 GMT -5
Undaunted by my 1st tumbling experience, I started another load today. During the time the 1st load was running I read a lot more, purchased some various types of rough and read some more. Here is what is in the load After washing In the barrel, ready to go I have a mystery stone in the tumbler, can anyone identify? The load is a mix of agate, jasper and 'beginner's' rough. It's the round one, bottom left Maybe I'm reading too much because some say to just let it run for a month, Lortone says to let it run for a day, burp the lid, run for a day, burp, then run for a week. I'm thinking this step really has to be at least a month. Am I right?
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Rockdogger
starting to shine!
Member since October 2010
Posts: 28
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Post by Rockdogger on Jan 29, 2011 20:28:51 GMT -5
My guess on the mystery stone, seeing that you are from Michigan, that it is a Petosky stone, fossilized coral. As for your batch, I would put in 4 level tablespoons of 80 grit to start, then add 2 table spoons every 4 or 5 days for a month then on to the next step of 220 grit. I hope you enjoy rock tumbling!--Rich
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Post by Toad on Jan 29, 2011 20:30:21 GMT -5
Some folks swear by burping. I never burped at all in my Lortone and never had a problem.
Looks like a fun mix of stones, though the one bigger piece with the orange and yellow in it looks like wonderstone - might not get the best polish with all those agates in there. But should hold up okay for the rough grind I think.
Also, no need to wash before the first grind - unless you just wanted a good pic of what they looked like before. Can't wait to see how they look in a few weeks.
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Post by susand24224 on Jan 30, 2011 0:57:40 GMT -5
Very few, if any of your rocks will be ready after a week. Likely many won't be done after a month.
When I am tumbling a type of rock that I haven't tumbled before I always check after a week--this lets me check slurry, whether there is pitting, chipping, etc., or, in short whether there are any problems. I've been doing this over thirty years and I still find the "check in" after a week helpful. If a few of yours are softer rock, this allows a rescue before ithey grind away to nothing. Also, the load you are showing may fairly quickly grind down to the point where you have too little rock in the barrel. As Rockdogger says, you can add more grit every 4-5 (or seven) days, but be careful that your slurry doesn't get too thick--if it does, remove some slurry and add more water.
Hope this is more helpful than confusing!
Susan
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Post by rockrookie on Jan 30, 2011 8:22:11 GMT -5
you have some nice gems in that batch . there is one near the center of barrel that looks like a striped Laker . and one on far right of the last picture ... 1/2 yellow1/2 purple . that i'd say are going to be NICE !!! along withmany others. there looks to be some that may take so time . and may not turn out real good.
when i started out , it probably took over a year . until i stopped following . Tumbler Rules !! like 2 weeks in rough . 1 week in each additional stage . 6-7 weeks and batch is done ...final . as a beginner , it is hard to imagagine taking MORE time .
but now , i sort of expect certain materials or certain shapep rocks to take 6 months or more .
i even go back to my old tumbles and pick some that i want to finish . and some that will never turn out .
as the saying goes ...... junk in , junk out . but sometimes i'm wrong . so i have to try it all . --paul
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blr2449
has rocks in the head
Can I retire now?
Member since January 2011
Posts: 554
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Post by blr2449 on Jan 30, 2011 11:01:27 GMT -5
My guess on the mystery stone, seeing that you are from Michigan, that it is a Petosky stone, fossilized coral. As for your batch, I would put in 4 level tablespoons of 80 grit to start, then add 2 table spoons every 4 or 5 days for a month then on to the next step of 220 grit. I hope you enjoy rock tumbling!--Rich The large round rock came in some mixed rough I bought from, I think, The Rock Shed. I did put in the 4tbsp of 80 and it's running now. I'll add another 2 tbs then in another 5 days or so. Thank you!
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blr2449
has rocks in the head
Can I retire now?
Member since January 2011
Posts: 554
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Post by blr2449 on Jan 30, 2011 11:04:07 GMT -5
Some folks swear by burping. I never burped at all in my Lortone and never had a problem. Looks like a fun mix of stones, though the one bigger piece with the orange and yellow in it looks like wonderstone - might not get the best polish with all those agates in there. But should hold up okay for the rough grind I think. Also, no need to wash before the first grind - unless you just wanted a good pic of what they looked like before. Can't wait to see how they look in a few weeks. I'll keep an eye on the barrel. I doubt there's a way to tell if it needs to be burped just by looking at it, though. Wonderstone? Does that mean you wonder what it is? ;D If so, when should I remove it from the mix? And yes, I'm looking forward to it, too.
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blr2449
has rocks in the head
Can I retire now?
Member since January 2011
Posts: 554
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Post by blr2449 on Jan 30, 2011 11:06:27 GMT -5
Susan, your message was definitely NOT confusing. I found it odd that Lortone would suggest only tumbling for a week. I DO plan on checking it every week, though, to make sure all is well inside.
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blr2449
has rocks in the head
Can I retire now?
Member since January 2011
Posts: 554
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Post by blr2449 on Jan 30, 2011 11:09:10 GMT -5
Paul, I figured not everything I put in the barrel would come out pretty. But at least the mix will give me some nice things to go through. Letting it run for extended periods is not a problem as my tumbler is in the basement, you cannot hear it and many times I forget it's running. I need to write stuff on the calendar to remind me to go down and check it.
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Post by Toad on Jan 30, 2011 11:40:35 GMT -5
As for the wonderstone, it is a type of rhyolite - and is softer than agate. I would examine it after a week and see if it seems to be grinding down fater than the other stones. I empty the barrel after a week, rinse and examine each stone. Then I throw them back in the barrel, with new grit and additional stones to make up for lost volume. As Susan said, few if any stones will be ready after a week. Most will take a month or more - but I still check every stone every week.
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Feb 3, 2011 10:30:03 GMT -5
Looks like a nice mixed batch. Mystery stone (especially if from the ROck Shed) might be a bubblegum agate. you will know in a couple weeks as it won't change much from it's current state. I've tumbled the Rock Sheds bubblegums and they are wonderful!
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Post by deb193redux on Feb 3, 2011 14:20:01 GMT -5
I think there is some confusion between the "week" or so between charges and the "month" or more that the rough grind usually takes.
I know Lortone would never saw the rough grind only takes a week, so I surmise they were talking about the time till the charge was spent. Then some rocks could be set aside if they were done, the barrel could be recharged, and the next week could commence.
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Post by susand24224 on Feb 4, 2011 0:56:52 GMT -5
bir2449, when Lortone wrote the book, they could not see your rocks. Some rocks will be done with coarse stage in a week, actually, some in even less than a week. So--my personal opinion is that Lortone ended up writing a "rough guide" without fully explaining. Lortone does say that on hard rocks such as agate the first stage may have to be repeated (page 9). I wish for beginners' sake they had said "repeated 4-10 times." Actually, deb193redux, Lortone says that the rough grind takes 7-10 days and that it *may* have to be repeated on rough rocks. Gross understatement, yes, but that is what it says. If memory serves me correctly, Thumlers' guide is almost as sketchy. Susan
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