The Big Fun Tumbling Contest!!!

I just finished my fourth clean out. I've been doing them every five days, but I'm going back to once a week now because I've noticed some unused grit. I haven't taken pictures of the last two clean outs, because there's not much new to see. I have a decent handful of rocks ready for the next stage and the rest of the rocks are losing a lot of volume. When a first started, I had two six-pound barrels and two three-pound barrels full plus about a six-pound barrel's worth of rocks that wouldn't fit. Today I eliminated one three-pound barrel and everything fits in the others. It's amazing how much rock grinds away. I could have fit everything in the two six-pounders, but I have a couple of white rocks that have frosted badly in the big barrels, so I want to try them in an overfilled small barrel.

Did the third cleanout Sunday the 20th. Between 3 barrels, two 6# and one 3#, I pulled out 31 pieces ready for the next stage. Six small agates less than dime size. Twenty five pieces of jasper, six of those between nickel and quarter size and the others all smalls. Smaller pieces always seem to finish up faster from what I can tell.

Here is a pic of the "jasper" barrel before grit and water was added. A few pieces of agate in there along with a lot of junk quartz "smalls". Pretty colors

Just checking in...Ya'll are making pretty good progress...Nice pic Ken....John

Thanks for the pic Rob. From what I can see there we have similar material and have made similar progress. I also am down to two 6# barrels.

I pulled out 53 pieces this week ready for the next stage. Only eight of them have any size, around the 1 inch range. The rest all small, dime size or less.

I recently bought a set of imported diamond grinding wheels and put them to use this weekend. Chucked one up in my cordless and ground some bad spots out of several pieces of the jasper that looked good except for the one bad spot. Only took the grinding wheel to one agate piece to remove a spawl. With any luck those will smooth out and be ready next week.

Once again the Jaspers and even the Petwoods are shaping better and faster than the Agates. Any one else noticing the same?

I got a fist sized piece of Green Tree Agate in the original box. Broke it up with hammer and chisel to tumbling size. I've rolled this stuff before. Came from the Rocksheds mixed rough packages. All of it I've done seems to tumble open more and more pits. Any one ever have any luck with this stuff?

I have only polished agate and jasper together one time in a rotary. They came out fine. Do they also do well together in a vibe?

S'all fer now.

Green Tree and moss agate are tough for me too. I've had very pitted tumbling rough and I've also hadt killer luck with solid almost pitless moss and tree agate I bought from a member here. I thinks it's formation into rich makes for it to come with lots of inner pitting.

I've been breaking down the moss agate into very small dime size pieces.

Can't wait to see you're results.

Cheers, Matt

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good stuff ! you all are comming a long with some nice looking batches

Aww crap, how did I miss this contest? 

I've only brook down about 5 percent of the material into smaller pieces. I used small and medium porcelain media and filled 2 12 pound barrels. Also used 40/60 grit twice on them and more 60/90. I like to polish martial as large as I can so I add andgo through a lot of filler media to to the barrels to keep my size percentages of small medium large material just right for tumbling.

Matt

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I feel the 12 pound is only more aggressive because I use 40/60 grit in them. I was told somewhere that 40/60 grit is harder on barrels 6 pounds or less. I'm sure it's hard on my 15 to but it does the trick.

There are lots off variables too, water, grit, material, size of rock, amount of different size of rock, barrel speed, machine level, temperature and so in that's required for all size of barrels.



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