josho
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2016
Posts: 2
|
Post by josho on Jan 16, 2016 23:53:47 GMT -5
Hello, and thank you for helping a neophyte.
I'm coaxing my 10-year old to get into tumbling, as she has a great interest in rocks and minerals. We've only been through the process once before, with a 4-lb. tumbler, and we went strictly by the book.
Our second batch has been through a week of 60/90 grit, and we love the way they look already. We wouldn't want them smaller, but we would want them polished. Is there any way to accelerate the process -- by skipping steps, perhaps, or just going through all the steps very quickly -- that will give us acceptable results without destroying the appearance we already have? We see obsidian, snowflake obsidian, jasper, and agate in the mix.
Thank you again,
Josho
|
|
quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,352
|
Post by quartz on Jan 17, 2016 0:06:16 GMT -5
Beyond your rough stage you will reduce the size of your rocks only very slightly. To run obsidian and jasper&agate together will give you problems due to a great difference in hardness, rocks of like hardness should be run together. Skipping steps or hurrying them seldom gives good result. Patience is one needed basis for successful rock tumbling.
|
|
rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
|
Post by rollingstone on Jan 17, 2016 0:38:38 GMT -5
I agree with the poster above -- almost all the size reduction occurs in coarse grind, you won't notice them get any smaller in the subsequent stages. The coarse grind (60/90) does the shaping, the following stages just get rid of the fine scratches from each earlier stage, until after polish they shine. So don't skip any stages. It is true that the jasper and agate are much harder than the obsidian so you do risk having the agate scratch up the obsidian, preventing it from obtaining a shine. But I have seen many mixed batches that turned out well, so I'd say go ahead and tumble the mix together. If the obsidian doesn't take a shine you can always re-run it another time with softer stones like sodalite or glass or more obsidian.
|
|
josho
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2016
Posts: 2
|
Post by josho on Jan 17, 2016 10:12:01 GMT -5
Many thanks for the quick replies. We will proceed and cross our fingers!
Josho
|
|