thewiz
has rocks in the head
"What good is money if you don't spend it"
Member since January 2004
Posts: 735
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Post by thewiz on Mar 9, 2004 8:14:14 GMT -5
does anybody use 46/70 for the first grind instead of the 60/90. i ask this because i seem to have to recharge every 3 days. or maybe the 60/90 grit i got from unibrite for a good price is not a good quality and that is why it is breaking down fast. just seems it would be better to start with the rougher grit to get the most grinding, which is what we all seem to want anyway
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Trylobyte
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 101
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Post by Trylobyte on Mar 9, 2004 17:03:23 GMT -5
46/70 is my standard rough grind charge. It does a much more effective job on the agates and jaspers that I'm fond of, cutting about 25% off the rough grind phase compared to 60/90. I put about 1.5 cups into my thumler 15 lb'ers, and recharge about every 5 days (with 1 - 1.5 cups) until I get what I want. Watch the water level...too much is counterproductive. I end up pouring off some sludge as the load grinds down.
I don't think it would work as well in smaller rollers, since they have less energy to suspend the heavier grit particles, but I've never had a small roller to test.
AND...
Let the last load grind down for at least 5 days. If you feel any grit in the sludge (yes, you must achieve oneness with the sludge) then let 'er run for another day or two. This will give you a better finish for the next stage...
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thewiz
has rocks in the head
"What good is money if you don't spend it"
Member since January 2004
Posts: 735
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Post by thewiz on Mar 9, 2004 17:10:51 GMT -5
hey trylobyte do you go to the 60/90 after that or right to the 120/220
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James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
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Post by James on Mar 9, 2004 18:13:23 GMT -5
I'd have to say, stick with to 60/90. You may think the grit is all broken down after 3 days but trust me, it's still doing its job. Just be patient and let it run for 7 days. Here is an example. I was going to save these as a suprise but I'll show them to you so you can understand why I wait 7 days. Here's my rough: photos.imageevent.com/mrjamesw/mixedagates/websize/JasperAgateMix01.jpg[/img] This is after 5 days of 60/90. As you can see. not much of a difference. I then recharged and let them go for a full 8 days. As you can see, there is a major difference now. I only used 1-1/3 cups of 60/90 for my 15 lb barrel as well. Here is how they looked 6 recharges and 42 days after I started this project. For good measure, I put them back 60/90 in for 7 more days. They then went in 120/220 and 500 grit for 7 days each. Tomorrow they will go to polish. 8 days from now, they will be done. I'll post the results when they're done.
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Post by stoner on Mar 9, 2004 20:15:10 GMT -5
Hey James, those are some beautiful stones. Are they still just out of stage 1 in your last pic? They look like they are polished already. And if that is stage 1, do you skip the fine and pre-polish and just go to polish? I read your polishing methods in your earlier post and agree with you 100%. And looking at these stones is proof that it works. But if my stones looked that good out of stage 1, I think I would be happy to just stop there.
later, Ed
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James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
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Post by James on Mar 9, 2004 20:51:17 GMT -5
Hi Ed,
The last pic is of my second to last 60/90 tumble. Since then, they've went through 120/220 and 500. I'll be putting them into polish tomorrow. The reason they look so shiny, is because they were still wet when I took the pictures.
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Mar 9, 2004 21:12:15 GMT -5
Wow James, that is one pretty batch of rocks buddy. Great job, can't wait to see them polished. Cheers, Don
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James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
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Post by James on Mar 9, 2004 21:46:31 GMT -5
Hey Don, As I had mentioned in a previous thread, it's getting hard to sleep at night. This project has been going since January 5th! Tomorrow I have a load of Tigers eye due to come out of polish but it's being a pain in the ass. I might have run it through Cerium oxide for a few extra days to help bring out that extra shine. So these rocks might be delayed a few days... ....Patience....patience.......
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Post by creativeminded on Mar 10, 2004 10:08:29 GMT -5
I was finally able to get some Cerium Oxide last weekend and decided to put my last batch back in with the CO, to see if it would make a difference. There were a few that I wasn't 100% pleased with. Will let you all know how they turn out.
Tami
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thewiz
has rocks in the head
"What good is money if you don't spend it"
Member since January 2004
Posts: 735
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Post by thewiz on Mar 10, 2004 10:22:58 GMT -5
hey james what happened with the tiger eye. i have a load in 60/90 now and it is grinding down pretty fast
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Trylobyte
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 101
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Post by Trylobyte on Mar 10, 2004 10:50:52 GMT -5
Hard to argue with your rocks...
Instead of 6 recharges, you'd probably have gotten the same effect with 4 or so.
BUT , in the end, the rocks speak for themselves. Nice job so far.
I go straight from the 46/70 to 120/220, then 500, then polish.
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Post by rockyraccoon on Mar 10, 2004 12:12:44 GMT -5
well i don't know about the 46/70 but james those are looking good and i look forward to seeing them polished. great job!
kim
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James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
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Post by James on Mar 10, 2004 13:41:21 GMT -5
The Tigers eye is in polish right now. In fact, it should have been done today. It looks great, but I'm not 100% satisfied with it. So I'm going to put it in cerium for 4 days and see how that goes. It took 3 weeks in 60/90 before moving on. It could have went in 2 weeks but I always do an extra week for better results.
I still stand by 60/90 100%. I use to use 40/70 and to be honest with you, there really isn't a whole lot of difference. I mean think about it. Is there really that much of a size difference? What I do know however, is that 40/70 doesn't "stick" to the rocks as good as 60/90. But rather settle in the barrel. I ran a load of Queensland and Carnelian agates for 2 month in 40/70 and my rocks didn't look half as good as these.
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WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
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Post by WarrenA on Mar 10, 2004 21:51:56 GMT -5
I think it comes down to how the rock looks to YOU if you are satisified go to the next step if you are not leave them in. I know it sounds slightly sacraligious (sp?) but they are just rocks. A lot also depends on what works best for you.
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