Mazanec
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2004
Posts: 355
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Post by Mazanec on Apr 17, 2004 20:37:44 GMT -5
Dave told me I can start with course grit, let it break down some for a couple weeks, and then do a stage with fine grit, then a polish. Does this sound right? Remember, he is not selling me as much grit this way, so he was going against his financial interests by saying this. And he has some fantastic stones that he has smoothed and polished this way.
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Apr 17, 2004 20:56:07 GMT -5
Hi Mazanec. There may be some who will not agree, but yes it can be done that way. I have a friend who does gobs of Flintridge that way. He starts with 60 -90 SC and forgets about it for a month, other than an occasional check to add water if needed. Then he cleans them and straight into polish, usually Tin or Cerium oxide. They turn out quite nice, but not the kind of controlled shine you see on Andys, James or others finished products. There are also a few flaws in the finished stones as they were never sorted and re-run as they would be in a normal 4 step process. He does it this way and loads a 5 gal bucket full of them, they sell for .50/ea or 3/$1.00 and they sell out usually. This way he keeps the cost down so he isn't losing money on the deal. But if you really want high quality, I think you have to be in control of the steps and not leave them to chance. Sort along the way, add time to a step if needed and your chances of turning out high quality stone is much more likely. I hope this helps, good luck if you try it. Talk to you later, Don
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WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
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Post by WarrenA on Apr 17, 2004 23:26:43 GMT -5
I am a little slack about changing the grit in my barrels I have had some coarse in for a couple of months now about every 2 weeks I will add a little new coarse. I still use the 4 step process. I have enough barrels now so that each will only have 1 grit in it so I will just move the rock from 1 to another. My intent this summer is to make a truck tire tumbler and use just coarse grit and let it tumble for a few months to se what happens. If you are not satisfied with how the rock looks let it tumble some more.
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