|
Post by orrum on Jun 20, 2013 12:30:37 GMT -5
Yes Chuck I am hooked! Its just barrells of surprizes when you open and rinse one. I even have some pudding stone pieces from a box of saw scrap I got here on RTH. It serms to be getting a pitted pebbled sorta texture in areas?
|
|
|
Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jun 20, 2013 13:59:20 GMT -5
yep, most pudding stone tumbles that way. The softer matrix eats away faster then the harder jasper and quartz pebbles that are in it. It cabs better then it tumbles but it will still come out shiny in the end just not smooth to the touch.
Chuck
|
|
|
Post by orrum on Jun 29, 2013 8:15:28 GMT -5
Update time..... Opened up the 4# barrel yesterday and rinsed it and took 3-4 rocks out! LOL Thats 3 weeks in 60/90 and they r getting smoothrr and rounder and SMALLER! The broken and fractured unfinished cabs are getting too thin without rounding the jagged broken ends so I kept them out and will take Johns suggestion and use the cabber to grind them smooth then put them in the next load. Had to add a few new pieces of rough but overall the barrel full did not loose as much volume as the first two week round in 60/90..... Wonder if thats cause they r getting rounder or the two week versus 10 day cycle? The morrisonite scraps I put in last time are awesome but not ground very much. The 1.5# barrel has all new rough that has only been in one cycle for 10 days so I am going to wait and open it in 4 more days. I dont think the little barrel is going to last, the liner is stretched and almost worn thru. Oh its a Skilcraft not a Sears and the info on another forum says the 1.5# barrel from a Lortone will work just fine so I am searching for one. ChuckI want you to know I am being ruthless about not pulling them out until they r smooth and rounded. What if they have no pits or cracks but have a pebbled feel or look? How about material that is undercutting? Thanks all and keep up the flow of positive energy!
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,564
|
Post by jamesp on Jun 29, 2013 8:42:24 GMT -5
Tumbling is cool process Bill. Glad you are having fun w/it.
|
|
|
Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jun 29, 2013 11:53:10 GMT -5
hey Bill congrats on getting your first few ready for stage 2. Having that 1.5 lb barrel will come in handy so you dont have to wait for a full 3 pounds to get some in the next stages. If you decide to use ceramics at all as a filler remember when the ceramic is new it needs to run in batch of 120/220 to clean up the sharp spots that it has from the factory. After the first couple weeks in 60/90 I do start pulling out any rocks that I can tell will never be satisfactory and I pitch them ( I hate feeling like I am wasting grit on bad rocks). As I am inspecting them if there is a rock that looks like its getting real close but theres just one or two blemishes I take those to the grinder for a quick touch then back in 60/90 for one week before pulling them for stage two. Your issue with undercutting might need some pictures to see which rocks its happening to. Sometimes that happens more in mixed hardness loads.
Chuck
|
|
|
Post by orrum on Jun 29, 2013 19:07:28 GMT -5
Chuck this is an extremely mixed load but I think most of the soft stuff is now brown mud! LOL Ok so those really pitted and bad cracks need to go in my new rock garden right when I next open a barrel? I bought a almost new 3# Lortone from Noosh/Roger and just got it. I have a medium flate rate box full of preforms sawed perfectly in arrowhead and spear shapes by a knapper I know. I mean perfect including a sloped edge to facilitate knapping. It is also heat treated to enhance the color. Its all different kinds of agate, obsidian and lots of stuff I cant ID. I want to do a tumble pendat thing like Biker Randy does with bell caps. Can I fill the 3# Lortone with these and maybe some plastic pellets I have for tumbling and do the 60/90 thing or will they stick together? Do I need to add broken rough and smalls? I also have another box of non heated preforms from the same guy. He heats it to make it chip easier for knapping, I have cabbed some of it and it does great but on the 100 and 200 hard silicone carbide wheels you have to have a light hand or it chips. After moving to the expando belts there is no problem cabbing and boy are the colors wild and shiny! Anyway Randy or anyone else chime in if you can help me n Chuck out. Jamesp you do heat treated what do you think? I might get a working loto this week, well I am getting a working loto but not sure how long it will keep working since it was originally not working. Thanks folks for ur help! Chuck I have 7 beautiful tumbles about half the size of a marble! LOL Thry a start!!!!
|
|
|
Post by orrum on Jun 29, 2013 19:11:46 GMT -5
Chuck this is an extremely mixed load but I think most of the soft stuff is now brown mud! LOL Ok so those really pitted and bad cracks need to go in my new rock garden right when I next open a barrel? I bought a almost new 3# Lortone from Noosh/Roger and just got it. I have a medium flate rate box full of preforms sawed perfectly in arrowhead and spear shapes by a knapper I know. I mean perfect including a sloped edge to facilitate knapping. It is also heat treated to enhance the color. Its all different kinds of agate, obsidian and lots of stuff I cant ID. I want to do a tumble pendat thing like Biker Randy does with bell caps. Can I fill the 3# Lortone with these and maybe some plastic pellets I have for tumbling and do the 60/90 thing or will they stick together? Do I need to add broken rough and smalls? I also have another box of non heated preforms from the same guy. He heats it to make it chip easier for knapping, I have cabbed some of it and it does great but on the 100 and 200 hard silicone carbide wheels you have to have a light hand or it chips. After moving to the expando belts there is no problem cabbing and boy are the colors wild and shiny! Anyway Randy or anyone else chime in if you can help me n Chuck out. Jamesp you do heat treated what do you think? I might get a working loto this week, well I am getting a working loto but not sure how long it will keep working since it was originally not working. Thanks folks for ur help! Chuck I have 7 beautiful tumbles about half the size of a marble! LOL Thry a start!!!!
|
|
|
Post by orrum on Jul 1, 2013 6:12:30 GMT -5
Need a little advice on the above tumbling of arrowhead knappers preforms please. Thanks, Bill
|
|
marinedad
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2010
Posts: 813
|
Post by marinedad on Jul 1, 2013 7:21:24 GMT -5
bill I rough tumble in the 15 lb tumbler with 30 grit first, some agates take 2-4 weeks. rinsing and addind more 30 grit every 7 days. and removing rocks that are ready for the next stage and adding a few more rough. next stage, or week is 80-100 grit, "grit size depends on what I have on hand" in my 3 lb. lortone, I have 2 of them. next stage I use 220 grit for a week, being sure I remove any broken stones for the next stage. next stage I use 600-800 grit for a week being sure to add plastic pellets to cushion rocks from dinging each other. next stage pick a polish! I've been using micro alumina lately with good results. t.o. or c.o. shines a little better but will put a dent in the wallet. be sure to run the polish stage for 7 days with plastic pellets too. last is the burnish stage, I rinse polish stage and pellets, put back in barrel with water and then shave 1/6th of a bar of ivory soap into barrel and tumble that for just about a day, rinse off with hot water to get soap scum off and sit back and admire. that's my recipe bill, mark.
|
|
|
Post by orrum on Jul 1, 2013 7:41:27 GMT -5
Gmornin Mark! Rain here again...... Anywsy thanks for ur recipe, what you think about tumbling the heat treated preforms?
|
|
quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,352
|
Post by quartz on Jul 2, 2013 1:30:08 GMT -5
I would like to add a thought to marinedad's recipe: We found that padding the 220 run with a generous addition of innertube cut into ~1/4-3/8" squares has cut our breakage way down. Tedious to cut [razor knife works well] and clean, but our quality has improved.
|
|
marinedad
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2010
Posts: 813
|
Post by marinedad on Jul 2, 2013 18:15:13 GMT -5
I would like to add a thought to marinedad's recipe: We found that padding the 220 run with a generous addition of innertube cut into ~1/4-3/8" squares has cut our breakage way down. Tedious to cut [razor knife works well] and clean, but our quality has improved. quartz, could one just use plastic pellets instead of inner tube? the only time I usually add pellets to the 220 stage is only with quartz rock.
|
|
quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,352
|
Post by quartz on Jul 2, 2013 21:26:18 GMT -5
Certainly you can use plastic pellets,the size of material we generally tumble breaks them up, so I came up with the rubber. Just tossed it out as a suggestion, certainly not a rule. To me, pellets aren't as readily available, like using stuff that's handy. I use plastic in polish, but it is a very thick mixture, lessens the pellet breakage. Quartz is all we tumble.
|
|
|
Post by orrum on Jul 24, 2013 19:58:30 GMT -5
Ok I messed up but its not a disaster. I can tell you how to cut way back.on grit usage in the 60/90 stage. You just forget to put any smalls in the tumbler, after two weeks you open them up and guess what? You get all your nice shiny grit dumped out into the colander!!! LOL Yep I did it! Wasted two weeks, rocks r basically unchange. Well recharged and put smalls in. I think I got in about two months of tumbling now and still not enough smooth, pit and crack free for a stage two load, but I am getting close!
|
|
|
Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jul 24, 2013 20:03:39 GMT -5
been there done that. I hate learning things the hard way but that way usually makes me remember it better.
chuck
|
|
quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,352
|
Post by quartz on Jul 24, 2013 23:00:05 GMT -5
The many advantages of 20/20 hind sight, likely we have all learned from it. I sure have.
|
|
marinedad
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2010
Posts: 813
|
Post by marinedad on Jul 25, 2013 7:15:03 GMT -5
I think it took me 6 months of trial and error to get a decent batch.
|
|
|
Post by orrum on Jul 25, 2013 9:59:34 GMT -5
Oh I got some pretty tumbles Mark but it might take 6 months to get a coffee cup full!!! LOL But hey its so much fun opening up the barrel and seeing how they change and well shoot its like opening xmas presents! Lije Chuck says opening that first barrel and seeing thoee pretty rocks the first time got me hooked, I just know I didnt put them pretty rocks in there!!!!
|
|