Post by sak on Jul 13, 2014 18:19:54 GMT -5
Hi all -
I just purchased the large & small ceramic angled cylinder pellets to be used exclusively in a rotary tumbler. I understand that you need to break them in prior to use. The only directions that I've found so far have been on the follow websites:
www.littleredstore.com/store/rock-tumbling-media/
Quote --> "Brand new ceramic shapes have rough edges from the factory--don't use them in a polish stage until you have tumbled them for 2 hours in 80-grit Silicon Carbide powder with normal water. After this break-in period, your polished rocks can't be scratched by the shapes."
www.therockshed.com/grit2.html
Quote --> "They require about a 24 hour break in period before using them for burnishing metals"
My questions are:
1) How much time do you guys allow for breaking-in your ceramic media for rocks?
2) Do you have to break-in the media only for the polish stage and or pre-polish stage?
3) Does it make sense to break-in the media for the rough (80 grit) stage? (To me this doesn't make sense)
4) Assuming the break-in requires the use of 80 grit, how much grit would you use per/pound of ceramic media?
5) Do I use the standard amount of water (just below the top layer of pellets) or less for the pellet break-in process?
Sorry for all the questions, but I'm still new and I'm trying to learn the essentials before screwing everything up.
Thanks again.
Sak...
I just purchased the large & small ceramic angled cylinder pellets to be used exclusively in a rotary tumbler. I understand that you need to break them in prior to use. The only directions that I've found so far have been on the follow websites:
www.littleredstore.com/store/rock-tumbling-media/
Quote --> "Brand new ceramic shapes have rough edges from the factory--don't use them in a polish stage until you have tumbled them for 2 hours in 80-grit Silicon Carbide powder with normal water. After this break-in period, your polished rocks can't be scratched by the shapes."
www.therockshed.com/grit2.html
Quote --> "They require about a 24 hour break in period before using them for burnishing metals"
My questions are:
1) How much time do you guys allow for breaking-in your ceramic media for rocks?
2) Do you have to break-in the media only for the polish stage and or pre-polish stage?
3) Does it make sense to break-in the media for the rough (80 grit) stage? (To me this doesn't make sense)
4) Assuming the break-in requires the use of 80 grit, how much grit would you use per/pound of ceramic media?
5) Do I use the standard amount of water (just below the top layer of pellets) or less for the pellet break-in process?
Sorry for all the questions, but I'm still new and I'm trying to learn the essentials before screwing everything up.
Thanks again.
Sak...
