carloscinco
fully equipped rock polisher
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Member since July 2008
Posts: 1,639
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Post by carloscinco on Nov 9, 2012 15:49:19 GMT -5
Here is the Obsidian batch after 20 days in the polish, AO. I checked it half way through the polish step and it never got better than this. One barrel was loaded with plenty of tile spacers and the other barrel had a lot of polished extra smalls and tile spacers. There was no difference in the outcome. ![](http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp254/carloscinco/Hazy%20Obsid/P1020565.jpg) This was the worst frosted rock in the bunch. ![](http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp254/carloscinco/Hazy%20Obsid/P1020566.jpg) This was more typical of the frosting. You can see the finish was hazy. ![](http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp254/carloscinco/Hazy%20Obsid/P1020569.jpg) ![](http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp254/carloscinco/Hazy%20Obsid/P1020568.jpg) ![](http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp254/carloscinco/Hazy%20Obsid/P1020567.jpg) I picked out a barrel load out of these and added a 50-50 mix of recycled polish and dishwashing soap. I'm a bit leery of using sugar for thickener due to gas buildup. I'll post results in about 10 days. I took the same kind of butt kicking with Labradorite so I ain't scared to take another one.
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snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
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Post by snuffy on Nov 9, 2012 16:00:32 GMT -5
Carlos,wish I could help you out,but they look like mine most of the time.
snuffy
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Thunder69
Cave Dweller
Thunder 2000-2015
Member since January 2009
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Post by Thunder69 on Nov 9, 2012 17:19:48 GMT -5
Wow I just threw up into my mouth.. ;D Just Kidding...When you do the polish stage do you add Borax in it....I do when I polish in the uv10..It seems to me to help with the smacking and slides the polish better ...John
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Nov 9, 2012 20:27:57 GMT -5
Wow, I wish I could tell you what went wrong but I think the only thing I did different was using 50 percent rock with 50 percent small/large ceramic mix and made sure my barrel stayed 2/3full. I never added a thickening agent. I only went 5 days in rocks he'd a/o. What size barrel were yours in? I was happy when ours was done but I got a lot-o now and I actually started over with this batch. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/index.cgi?board=trtphoto&action=display&thread=54830Chuck
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jspencer
freely admits to licking rocks
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Member since March 2011
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Post by jspencer on Nov 10, 2012 0:10:01 GMT -5
I wish I knew the secret too. The best batch of obsidian I ever did was in one of my first attempts. I had it mixed in with agates, flints and petrified woods. I polished in the vibe with a killer shine. I`v never had a shine so good as that on obsidian since. Even running with no ther type rocks mixed in.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
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Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Nov 10, 2012 1:11:36 GMT -5
I haven't tumbled OB yet, but I have some Labs working in the tumbler and moving slowly with it... what I did was small amount of material and large amount of cushioning agent to keep them from banging as much... worked pretty good, at least I think so.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Nov 10, 2012 5:37:56 GMT -5
That looks like too much impact speed.Was the tumbler full enough Carlos?The only time i get that in a rotary is from too much RPM or not full enough in the barrel.If the barrel is 7/8 full it is difficult to frost any rock,even at high RPM.Cause a really full barrel shortens the travel so much.It slows cutting action but works well for finish. And after polish i am anxious to get the rocks out of the tumbler and never risk a load of just polished rocks by running them in soap for a few hours or whatever just to wash them.Anyway,the heavily filled barrel works best for me.If you want to really frost the toughest of rocks put them in a tire tumbler.That type of tumbler can only be filled about 1/3 in most cases.It creates-an avalanche-and beats the stew out of the rocks.Too much impact speed.Smaller diameter tumblers are better for polish.
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Dora
spending too much on rocks
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Member since September 2012
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Post by Dora on Nov 10, 2012 7:10:56 GMT -5
They have great shapes and some reflections. Perhaps the frosting could be due to hard tap water, because glassware is very susceptible to it. Water hardness varies from place to place, if you live in an area known for having very hard water you could try using some borax (helps soften hard water) to see if it will make a difference. Another thing worth trying is using bottled soft water beginning with the pre-polish stage. Hope you solve the mystery of the frosting! ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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carloscinco
fully equipped rock polisher
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Member since July 2008
Posts: 1,639
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Post by carloscinco on Nov 10, 2012 8:25:37 GMT -5
I had the barrels 3/4 full. I'll add some more and bring it up to 7/8. I've done that before with agates that had quartz centers to reduce impact velocities. Thanks for the feedback folks.
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