jobafunky
starting to shine!
Member since March 2007
Posts: 30
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Post by jobafunky on Aug 17, 2015 10:43:31 GMT -5
I got a batch of broken agate slabs from the rock shed and broke them down to triangle pendant size. I've taken some through a series of 3# tumbles and this latest batch through a 10# UV and still they seem to get a good polish on the sides only. I'm trying to find a good way to finish these. Should I just get some felt bobs and diamond paste and Dremel them, or can these be finished in a tumbler? In the UV it was about a 50/50 slab regular rock mix, some of the other slabs came out gorgeous about 90% of the other rocks total came out really nice. Unfortunately I don't have the material to refill the uv10 for another run.
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Post by 150FromFundy on Aug 17, 2015 16:04:42 GMT -5
When you say the "sides", do you mean the edges, or the fats?
The edges should round out well in a rotary, or a vibe.
The flats can be a problem. When I watch my UV-10 in action, I often see flats stuck together with minimal sliding around. To minimize this, you need a whole lot of non-flat material, or ceramic pellets to keep the flats apart. When I polish cabochons, I fill the bowl with ceramic pellets and add 20 to 25 cabochons to the bowl. With this ratio, the likelihood of two flats meeting and sticking is reduced.
Darryl.
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Post by victor1941 on Aug 17, 2015 21:34:23 GMT -5
Jobafunky, if the material will polish I think you will be successful if you follow Biker Randy's vibe method, the correct media quantity and size recommended by the Rock Shed, and the thumbler grits and polish quantities. Biker Randy"s method is listed in the tumbler section. I also buy the grit and polish from the Rock Shed. Good material will give you good results but I have some material that undercuts and doesn't tumble well and must be finished by another method.
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Post by orrum on Aug 18, 2015 7:14:57 GMT -5
I make tumble pendants and do best with one third pendants and two thirds small ceramic pellets.
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jobafunky
starting to shine!
Member since March 2007
Posts: 30
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Post by jobafunky on Aug 19, 2015 14:25:12 GMT -5
I hate to fork out the $$$ for that many ceramic pellets. On the other hand, through some of the used tumbler buys I've done, I've ended up with bags of the plastic triangle media stuff. Could I use that instead? Should I just thrown them back in at 500 then polish.
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Post by orrum on Aug 19, 2015 17:03:59 GMT -5
Vibes have to have ceramics. Try broken glass or some aquarium gravel. Beware glass causes gas and too much gravel will not rotate correctly.
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jobafunky
starting to shine!
Member since March 2007
Posts: 30
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Post by jobafunky on Aug 21, 2015 9:10:35 GMT -5
Could I just batch it with regular round stones then, or does it need to be more pellet sized?
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Post by orrum on Aug 21, 2015 9:12:32 GMT -5
Whether rotary or vibe the more smalls the better. Find Chucks/ Drummondislandrocks thread on tumbling and follow the directions. Best recipe I have found.
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Post by Rockoonz on Aug 21, 2015 11:57:23 GMT -5
Instead of ceramic filler we usually just use filler rock, nice rounded stuff of various sizes.
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