Sandy
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since July 2014
Posts: 91
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Post by Sandy on Jul 13, 2014 19:19:06 GMT -5
I am really new to tumbling. That said, I noticed when I checked my stones after a few days in the final polish phase, they had acquired some cracks and chips. I decided after reading through some of the posts here that my barrel most likely wasn't full enough and my rocks beat each other. This was a mixed batch. They were all about the same hardness. My question now is, a few of these stones I really like, do I start over at square one or what?
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Jul 14, 2014 13:33:48 GMT -5
It's always such a bummer when something goes wrong in the polish. You are probably correct in thinking that the barrel was not full enough. That was what seemed to get me in the past. When I was doing rotary polishing I tried to have my barrels at about 80% full. Gives the rocks less head room to crash into each other. eighty percent full barrel worked better than 2/3rds full barrel with plastic pellets for cushion.
Unfortunately if you want them chip free they will need to go back to step one.
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Sandy
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since July 2014
Posts: 91
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Post by Sandy on Jul 14, 2014 19:17:55 GMT -5
Ken, Thanks so much for your response. I have two barrels and I had actually measured the barrel I use for rough to ensure I start out with a full load hoping to maybe prevent this in the future. I will go ahead and put the "keepers" back in step 1 as I pull out those ready to move on. Thanks again for your time.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jul 14, 2014 20:04:31 GMT -5
that's where any kind of grinder comes in handy. I would hate to spend weeks back in stage one instead of just a few seconds grinding the chipped area on a wheel. I have bought several old flat lap machines for $50 a piece and even one of those with a $20 100 grit diamond plate on it can save tons of time and grit. keep your eyes on craigslist.
Chuck
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Post by nowyo on Jul 15, 2014 0:06:13 GMT -5
What Chuck said. I haven't found any cheap flat laps, but running the chipped stone over a 100 grit then 220 wheel saves a bunch of time. Thing that gets me, it seems as though it's always the nicest stones that get a chip in them.
Russ
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Sandy
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since July 2014
Posts: 91
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Post by Sandy on Jul 15, 2014 7:41:00 GMT -5
Thanks for the info.....will watch for one. Seems I left those stones alone hoping....well you know how that goes. Like you said it is always the good ones. My favorite stone being Green Moss Agate, I had 2 in there. They are already safely tucked away doing what they do best....rolling around =) Thanks again for all the responses. Anxious to learn some more.
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