Rockandroll
having dreams about rocks
Member since January 2008
Posts: 52
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Post by Rockandroll on Sept 16, 2016 9:19:10 GMT -5
As far as ceramics go, you could also break up chunks of ceramic tile as well.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,687
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Post by Fossilman on Sept 17, 2016 14:47:18 GMT -5
Marbles work great,broken or whole.. I use them over and over,-they last for a few years,before needing replaced as filler....
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 17, 2016 18:34:41 GMT -5
I like Rockshed AO as my final polish too, though I prefer Tin Oxide for obsidian. Used to burnish but no longer bother and if I do I use Dreft baby soap. Borax kills the heck out of all plant life so you have to dispose of the borax water carefully. Longer you roll the coarse grind and the rounder the rocks the better the tumbles to my way of thinking and I always use a lot of filler. I like tiny tumbles from previous batches as filler. More filler the better as it cushions the load and increases surface to surface contact....Mel
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scottyh
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2007
Posts: 181
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Post by scottyh on Sept 17, 2016 19:39:32 GMT -5
Hi I know I am late to the conversation, My thoughts echo everyone else's ditch the pumice, get some aluminium or tin oxide polish, and if you want filler you can use anything from ceramics, marbles or even pea gravel, and yes look for a good non-foaming washing detergent that can be used instead of borax.
Cheers Scott
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huskeric
spending too much on rocks
Member since May 2016
Posts: 353
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Post by huskeric on Sept 20, 2016 19:26:28 GMT -5
mol the 6tbs. polish is from lortone's instruction manual. I only found out many people use less when I joined this board. I stuck to lortone's formula because it was working for me and never experimented with less. As to the ceramics I guess that is preference. They can be passed through all stages from coarse to polish, just as long as they are cleaned the same way one would clean rocks between steps. No need for separate containers for different grits like plastic. The slightly overfilled barrel leaves less room providing "cushion" which is what plastic is for. Ceramic filler at 80% volume gave me a better shine than plastic at 75% volume. I can see that now I have read the instruction manual tkvancil ***** Stupid question Alert ***** I was reading something last night about a guy that uses marbles as a filler instead of ceramic pellets !!!!!! Do you think this is a good idea, or just plain dumb I ask this because I seem to be struggling to find suitable (and cheap!!!) ceramic pellets. I can find plenty on Ebay from the U.S, but none from the U.K !!!!!! If you can't find ceramic pellets, I would probably just find some pea gravel or something like that instead. I think marbles would be OK, but the odd geometry of the ceramics are part of what makes them good at their job. The marbles being perfectly spherical would only get to certain areas. Plus, being glass, I don't know how they would hold up, especially in coarser stages. I'm no expert, but I'd grab a handful of pea gravel over marbles.
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