Skipper
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 258
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Post by Skipper on Apr 19, 2004 22:54:45 GMT -5
All this time I thought I was using 60/90, but a visit to the rock store shows that my coarse is 45/70. That being said, here's what I've found: - the grit lasts longer - after 8 days there is still some in the bottom (I use 5 teasp00ns, not tablesp00ns - in a 3lb)
- it does a durn good job of grinding off bad surfaces and rounding out bad notches
- my rocks are coming out nicely prepared for fine grind
Anyhoo, I see that most people use 60/90...are there any huge differences?
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Post by cookie3rocks on Apr 19, 2004 23:48:39 GMT -5
I'm a newbey, but whatever works for you is a good thing!
cookie
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Apr 20, 2004 5:33:08 GMT -5
Skipper, I use both. The lady at our local rock store said a dry tumble of 7 days will break down the grit from 46/70 to a fine grit and ready for pre-polish. Thus far I have never had a batch ready for prepolish after just one 46/70 seven day run. She said three weeks for the breakdown if tumbling wet.
I usually start with 46/70 wet and after a week or so add a few tablesthingys of 60/90. It still takes four or five weeks to get the rocks really smooth without a lot of pits, cracks and such.
I started a batch in 46/70 dry yesterday. Want to get them done faster, but think it will still take several weeks to get them nice and smooth.
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Skipper
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 258
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Post by Skipper on Apr 21, 2004 0:08:59 GMT -5
Your experience sounds the same as mine. I'm getting good results if I leave the rocks in longer, and that 45/70 definitely grinds out the bad spots on the rocks. Good tip on waiting longer for the recharge though. I think there's good value in that grit since it lasts longer and does the job...you'd burn through 60/90 much faster as it breaks down.
thanks!
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bwalters
has rocks in the head
Member since March 2004
Posts: 557
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Post by bwalters on Apr 21, 2004 23:41:54 GMT -5
Skipper, Are you running the 46/70 wet or dry, and how long are you running it before recharging?
I've been experimenting with running it dry. I think I'm finding that 7 days is not long enough. I'm only on my 2nd batch, but my first one required more than one 7 day 'dry' run. My current batch is cleaning now. I ran it for 15 days in 46/70 dry, and it seems to be pretty smooth and most stones ready for prepolish. This may not have been the best test because most of this batch was pretty smooth to begin with. Barbara
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Post by cookie3rocks on Apr 21, 2004 23:45:57 GMT -5
Is dry truely dry? No water? cookie
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bwalters
has rocks in the head
Member since March 2004
Posts: 557
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Post by bwalters on Apr 22, 2004 0:08:58 GMT -5
Truely DRY, Cookie. NO water! Llana and I were told that it's supposed to be faster. Since I'm so new at this, I can't tell you for sure, but I'm really starting to think that running the coarse grit dry is faster, but I also think that it takes longer than 7 days to be ready for prepolish.
Barbara
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James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
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Post by James on Apr 22, 2004 0:58:19 GMT -5
When I use 40/70 I find some left in the barrel too. Usually only the "40" part of it, which doesn't do much on its own. If you tink about it, there really isn't a significant difference between 40/70 and 60/90. They are both "coarse" grits. Some people use 80 grit as a first step. There is really no "BIG" difference.
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Skipper
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 258
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Post by Skipper on Apr 22, 2004 22:39:49 GMT -5
Good insight james!
FYI - I am running my grit wet, per instructions to fill up to the bottom of top rocks. I'm getting a good slurry out of it, so the grit is definitely doing the job. Tumble dry, eh? Hmmmm...it would be less mess, that's for sure.
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bwalters
has rocks in the head
Member since March 2004
Posts: 557
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Post by bwalters on Apr 22, 2004 23:26:40 GMT -5
Don't kid yourself, Skipper. Running DRY makes the rocks really difficult to clean between stages. It's definitely messy! I'm running the coarse stage dry because it's supposed to take less time to get from rough rock to polished stone, and because I don't have to worry about the slurry turning into 'concrete' in the event of a tumbler or power failure. Also, I could be mistaken about this, but I don't think that running dry has the same potential of building up gases that need to be released periodically as running wet does. Barbara
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James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
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Post by James on Apr 23, 2004 1:57:11 GMT -5
Running dry is also harder on the rocks. You'll be more likely chip and crack them.
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Apr 23, 2004 12:05:27 GMT -5
I haven't noticed any more chipping and cracking when running dry than I have going wet. I will have to inspect the rocks real close when I take them out. I had only done one dry run before I started this last load in dry. I went over to Barbara's one day and she's sitting out on her porch hunched over a 5 gal. bucket scrubbing 15 lbs. of rocks with a TOOTHBRUSH! (I was going to town and did offer to get her a larger brush!) Even with that brush, she was still hunched over that barrel for longer than I care to be. After I saw that, I decided if my rocks weren't ready for the next stage after 7 days dry (they weren't), I was just going to add a bit more grit and some water and go wet. I love tumbling my rocks, but I ain't gonna sit over a barrel and scrub them! ;D The only reason I put this batch in dry is because I am really anxious to move them along. Since I cut most of them with the saw there aren't a lot of sharp, weird edges to smooth out, so maybe after 7 days they will be ready. I will run them through however many cycles of warm water and Ivory shavings it takes to clean them and hopefully, it won't be necessary to scrub the thingyens out of them with a brush! There's another one of those thingy words! LOL! I think we should play a game of "What word is that suppose to be?" So, what word WAS thingyens suppose to be? Don't feel bad if you don't win 'cause there ain't no prize! ;D
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Post by cookie3rocks on Apr 23, 2004 19:41:11 GMT -5
That would be D I C K E N S. :oI can see why it did that.
but seriously, what about a vibrating tumbler, since they don't turn over, just wiggle real fast. Would it work?
cookie
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Apr 23, 2004 19:49:53 GMT -5
And cookie wins the big No Prize for the correct answer ;D
I tried it in the vibe tumbler, but found that when the rocks were like I wanted them, there was still quite a bit of good grit left. It does a good job, but too much waste of grit. If I would have kept them in the grit was used up, I might not have any any rocks left. It works fast in the vibe tumbler.
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Post by cookie3rocks on Apr 23, 2004 19:52:43 GMT -5
On harder stones, fast is fine with me. Would you use less grit?
cookie
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Apr 24, 2004 10:43:57 GMT -5
cookie, I don't think I was clear on the 46/70 in the vibe tumbler. I haven't used it DRY in the vibe tumbler, but have used it wet. Don't know how it would work dry.
The rocks I have done in coarse in the vibe tumbler got done in about four days - at least the junk was off them, but they weren't shaped and smooth, so I put them in the rotary tumbler for that. Am hoping it only takes a week to shape them up - will know when I check the Monday or Tuesday.
I use very little grit in my vibe tumbler. The instructions call for 2 teaspoons of grit and 4 tablespoons of water and to recharge every other day. It's a 6#er. I use 10 tablespoons of grit in m 6# rotary. So, the vibe definitely saves grit, but doesn't shape and smooth them much.
The vibe tumbler instructions I got says it is not good for rocks that you want to alter the shape of and that should be done in a rotary tumbler. I did some slabs in coarse in the vibe - they were in for two days and it really did a good job on them. Unfortunatey, I only have a bowl for coarse and polish for that tumbler, so the slabs are just sitting until I can order a couple extra bowls for medium and prepolish. Sure don't want to put the slabs in the rotary!
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Post by MichiganRocks on Apr 24, 2004 10:56:37 GMT -5
Hey Llana, how come you get to say "tablespoons"?
Apparently spoon is no longer a naughty word. ;D
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