jukerocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 154
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Post by jukerocks on Mar 8, 2012 19:26:06 GMT -5
From a new, frustrated rock tumbler. I'm on my 2nd attempt after a disappointing first try. I have a rotary tumbler with two 3 lb barrels. I've been running both barrels on step 1 for 14 days now. One is filled with amythest and the other chryscola (both spelled incorrectly I'm sure) I just checked the barrels - the coarse grit is sitting on the bottom. I put pellets in for the last 7 days. What am I doing wrong?
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blessed
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2010
Posts: 329
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Post by blessed on Mar 8, 2012 21:01:04 GMT -5
First tell us how much water, grit, and rocks you have in the barrel. When a barrel is removed from the tumbler and sit upright, the grit will settle to the bottom. I had the same thing happen to me. I thought I was doing wrong, until someone explained it to me. If you want to experiment, take a barrel off and lay it on the side for a few minutes before opening. I would guess and say too much water or not enough rocks. James
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jukerocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 154
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Post by jukerocks on Mar 8, 2012 21:25:58 GMT -5
When you start with just rough rocks should you have at least 1/2 barrel full? I've lost about 30% in step one, 50/90 coarse grit so I added pellets to make up the difference. After 14 days the rocks still have pits and are not as smooth as I'd like. Maybe I need to be more patient. I'm just getting a smaller and smaller amount of rocks only about 1/4 of the barrel full now.
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Mar 8, 2012 21:29:34 GMT -5
Hi jukesrocks,
Welcome, and hang in there. Photos help, but try this to get started:
Make sure that your barrels are 3/4 full or more with rock. More surface area is good, so make sure you have a fair amount of small (1/2"-1" diameter) stones.
Try starting with 1/3 cup water and 1/4 cup 60/90 grit. Let it run 3 or 4 days and open it and take pictures. Post one or a few and folks can help.
If you don't have enough rock, add in ceramic, or possibly beads, although at stage 1, with harder stuff I don't think they will help.
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Mar 8, 2012 21:39:03 GMT -5
If it's the Highland Park rotary double barrel, for the amethyst, yes, it takes more than 14 days to get all the pits and chips out. If you have a grinding wheel, you can speed things up a bit on some of the stones by hitting the more obnoxious chips/pits on the wheel. But you still need to be patient. Chrysocolla, I can't say, I'm afraid to put it in the tumbler because I'm afraid it would be eaten away too fast. But with Amethyst, it just takes time. I hope to have some out tomorrow that I can post but since I am the slowest rock tumbler on the internet, I won't guarantee it. However, if you spend more time on the rough grind, you will not be sorry in the long run. You really do lose a surprising amount of material. Since I'm first and foremost a cabber/grinder, I try to keep extra stones that I've ground on the wheels and I can just toss them in to keep the tumbler full enough. This is probably not very efficient though and may explain why I work so slowly. After awhile, though, once you've been working at it awhile, you will no longer wonder how to keep a 3 pound tumbler full and instead will wonder if you should get a bigger tumbler! Funny how that goes.
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Post by helens on Mar 8, 2012 21:41:51 GMT -5
Maybe your volume is disappearing because you have mixed hardness rocks in there?
You should probably rinse out the whole thing, pick out anything that is less than 1/4", and remove anything that looks excessively worn or pitted (because it's never going to polish right anyway, and will just keep getting more pitted, dropping more crud into your slurry). Then remove all the rocks that look excessively worn (whatever dropped the 1/4" pieces... it was either cracked, which isn't a big deal, OR it was the soft stuff breaking into pieces).
I don't think you should lose 30% volume on the first week or 2 unless some of your rocks are getting completely demolished.... maybe 20%, but 30% seems like too much.
Then top off with rocks to 3/4 of the barrel (of the same hardness) before you run it again?
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Post by NatureNut on Mar 8, 2012 21:56:36 GMT -5
If you don't have a grinding wheel, you can cut soft/pitty areas smooth with a wet saw. Jo
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meta99
has rocks in the head
Ohio Flint Ridge flint
Member since October 2010
Posts: 540
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Post by meta99 on Mar 8, 2012 22:00:25 GMT -5
I have a Lortone 33B and have had some chevron amethyst (that's the cheaper white and purple stuff) tumbling in 60/90 grit for at least 6 weeks, maybe longer (I don't keep records). Every week I open it and a lot of the grit is not used up like it is in my barrel that has agates. So, I recharge with fresh grit anyway. This last week we were out of town and it went 10 or 11 days before I checked it and there was definitely less residual grit. I did put some plastic pellets in it because I heard the amethyst can chip and crack if it is too aggressive of a tumble.
My hope was to get through Stage 1 in the rotary as I am spoiled with a vibratory. I can complete the rest of the stages in less than a week in there! Of course it is big and it takes me months to get enough rough completed through Stage 1 to fill it. So I bought ceramics and I'm going to start tumbling my cabs in the vibe to help fill it up. But, like they say in the movies, "it's a process..."
This is a hobby to teach patience like few others! So, I spend my waiting time working on slabbing and cabbing and faceting and rock collecting and going to work.
If I get to it this weekend, I'll crack open my barrels, take pictures, and show you what weeks of tumbling does to hard amethyst! Sue
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billg22
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 451
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Post by billg22 on Mar 8, 2012 22:06:28 GMT -5
I took the advice from the board and started throwing in a handful of pea gravel at the first stage. Seemed to help. And you get some neat little rocks too.
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jukerocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 154
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Post by jukerocks on Mar 8, 2012 22:14:42 GMT -5
I am definitely learning patience! From what I've read I should have started with jaspers and agates. Can I run these two kinds of rocks together? I think the amythest is just going to take some time. Bad choice for my second time of tumbling. The first time I had a mixed batch that came from Dad's Rock Shop with the Lortone double 3.1 barrels tumbler.
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jukerocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 154
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Post by jukerocks on Mar 8, 2012 22:17:30 GMT -5
How to post pictures? I'll show you the outcome of my very first attempt.
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cailee
having dreams about rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 67
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Post by cailee on Mar 8, 2012 22:48:52 GMT -5
I have a batch of quartz/amethyst that I started 2/8 and it still isn't done with the first stage, close but not quite. It took lots of tries to get where I feel like they are tumbling well and it is productive. I took lots of pictures and got lots of help from everyone here. These are great people and pics do help . Welcome and good luck tumbling! Jen
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Mar 8, 2012 22:59:15 GMT -5
How to post pictures? I'll show you the outcome of my very first attempt. There is a thread around about posting pics, but I found a fairly short, to the point set of instructions here: alwaysdean.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=forumquestions&action=print&thread=184You post images online, then link them into your post here using a special code, the link explains it all. You can attach individual photos on the first post in a thread as well, but that limits you to one picture per thread. Pictures of every step are best. How the slurry looks, how the rock looks going in, after a tumble with the slurry, rinsed, everything can be used to help diagnose problems and suggest improvements.
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Mar 8, 2012 23:00:28 GMT -5
Also, almost everyone starts off frustrated a little. I let rock sit for 2 years because I was exactly where you are and didn't know about this board.
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Mar 9, 2012 12:40:12 GMT -5
Six weeks plus in rough grind for Chevron Amethyst sounds right to me, meta99.
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