astrobouncer
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Member since January 2016
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Post by astrobouncer on Jan 24, 2016 7:39:17 GMT -5
Hey guys im new to tumbling. I always thought rocks were great and recently bought a lot o tumbler vibratory tumbler .I found a spot with a ton of quartz crystal of all colors and some of it very transparent. However, after following the vibratory instructions for polishing quartz, my load of them got a ton of chips and fractures in the final polish stage. The instructions said to tumble them under water with a teaspoon of micro polish. Any help would be great. Thank you. Oh I should add I tumbled the mix as about 1/2 pea size quartz crystals and then larger stones from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch. The large stones seemed to be pretty well covered by the smaller.
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Intheswamp
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Member since September 2015
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Post by Intheswamp on Jan 24, 2016 8:55:50 GMT -5
Maybe you need some kind of padding material in with the rocks...metamucil, maybe?
I don't have any experience with the Loto (yet), but I'm sure someone will be along shortly to lead you in the right direction.
Btw, welcome to the forum!!!!
ETA: Maybe some plastic beads (Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc.,...doll filler, beading material, etc.,)
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jan 24, 2016 9:09:03 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum astrobouncer. Good help is on the way, lots of talented Lot-O users here.
Sorry to hear about your mishap. Been there done that.
I use sugar at a rate of one cup per 10 pounds of rock with 1 cup of water to protect the rocks in my vibe. Basically syrup. Most use Borax that makes a protective coating. Ask, I believe a tablespoon of Borax and just enough water to wet it. Straight water damages my rocks in my vibe. Did you say underwater ? Never heard of using a vibe with water covering rocks.
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astrobouncer
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Member since January 2016
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Post by astrobouncer on Jan 24, 2016 9:45:36 GMT -5
Thank you so much guys. Glad to be here, I will be posting a lot in the days ahead I am sure. I am very passionate about rocks. Is there a way to repair the chipped rocks by retumbling with a heavier grit and then starting over?
Yes the instructions for the lot o tumbler said to tumble quartz the same way they do apache tears (with water covering to the top of the stones.)
I am tumbling about 4 pounds of stone. So will try the borax or sugar thank you.
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Intheswamp
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Member since September 2015
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Post by Intheswamp on Jan 24, 2016 9:52:52 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum astrobouncer. Good help is on the way, lots of talented Lot-O users here. Sorry to hear about your mishap. Been there done that. I use sugar at a rate of one cup per 10 pounds of rock with 1 cup of water to protect the rocks in my vibe. Basically syrup. Most use Borax that makes a protective coating. Ask, I believe a tablespoon of Borax and just enough water to wet it. Straight water damages my rocks in my vibe. Did you say underwater ? Never heard of using a vibe with water covering rocks. A note on borax... Be careful of how you dispose of the borax slurry, astrobouncer . It is a plant killer. It appears to work very well for people in tumbling rocks but the borax slurry isn't so good for watering your wife's prized petunias.
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Intheswamp
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Member since September 2015
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Post by Intheswamp on Jan 24, 2016 9:59:52 GMT -5
astrobouncer , this is a quote from Chuck / Drummond Island Rocks listing the recipe that he uses. He produces some fantastic stuff with his Lotos. Also, the amount of water to use is...fill with rocks and smalls/filler, then fill with water, then hold hand over mouth of Loto and pour water out. The remaining "wetness" of the rocks is the proper amount of water. Here's the recipe: 120/200 gets 2 tablespoons 500 gets 1/2 teaspoon 1000 if needed gets 1/2 teaspoon polish gets 1/2 teaspoon And, yes, you can start back over with a heavier grit and get rid of the frosting...depending on the severity of the frosting as to how much coarse grinding the frosted rocks will require. Best wishes and have fun!
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astrobouncer
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Post by astrobouncer on Jan 24, 2016 10:35:44 GMT -5
Is it overboard to use both the borax and the sugar?
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jan 24, 2016 10:45:06 GMT -5
Is it overboard to use both the borax and the sugar? Wait for the Lot-O guys to chine in astrobouncer. They have great luck with obsidian, pretty sure they use lots of ceramic filler like 50% and Borax with just a bit of water. Obsidian requires a very strict procedure.
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Intheswamp
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Member since September 2015
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Post by Intheswamp on Jan 25, 2016 8:11:45 GMT -5
It might be overboard to use both sugar and borax, but in the big scheme of things...will it matter either negatively or positively? It seems I recall that the ones running sugar use the borax in a later stage to help with cleaning the sugar out. Also, the sugar can be a little stubborn to remove from the rocks...seems maybe a film is left on the rocks that takes extra effort to get rid of... ? Some borax/Loto users use the borax in all stages. Some will also use borax between stages to help remove the previous grit. Whatever the case, maybe my post will bump your thread up a bit for a pro Loto user to take note of and comment on.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jan 25, 2016 8:26:37 GMT -5
If possible please post a photo of what you are trying to tumble. Would be glad to help but need some more information on what you have and what steps you you did on your first attempt. Quartz rocks or quartz crystals? You might want to take a look at my post from this weeks loto load. Lots of crystals in the mix. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/73548/more-shiny-rocks-1-23Chuck
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jan 25, 2016 8:28:22 GMT -5
It might be overboard to use both sugar and borax, but in the big scheme of things...will it matter either negatively or positively? It seems I recall that the ones running sugar use the borax in a later stage to help with cleaning the sugar out. Also, the sugar can be a little stubborn to remove from the rocks...seems maybe a film is left on the rocks that takes extra effort to get rid of... ? Some borax/Loto users use the borax in all stages. Some will also use borax between stages to help remove the previous grit. Whatever the case, maybe my post will bump your thread up a bit for a pro Loto user to take note of and comment on. Probably different methods to get same end results. Do add Borax to sugar for a day at the end of the sugar run. The two tablespoons of Borax makes sugar much easier to clean. That's a lot of detergent for 1 cup of sugar. If you do not finish with Borax or mix Borax with the sugar after the sugar you get a film or lack of luster. No matter how or what slurry used, I suggest Borax as final treatment one way or the other. Ah, Chuck just chined in. Matter resolved.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jan 25, 2016 8:42:07 GMT -5
Hey guys im new to tumbling. I always thought rocks were great and recently bought a lot o tumbler vibratory tumbler .I found a spot with a ton of quartz crystal of all colors and some of it very transparent. However, after following the vibratory instructions for polishing quartz, my load of them got a ton of chips and fractures in the final polish stage. The instructions said to tumble them under water with a teaspoon of micro polish. Any help would be great. Thank you. Oh I should add I tumbled the mix as about 1/2 pea size quartz crystals and then larger stones from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch. The large stones seemed to be pretty well covered by the smaller. What instructions did you use? I have never seen those instructions for the loto? Polish stage would be adding WET rocks, 1/2 of a teaspoon of A/O polish, 1 tablespoon of borax. no added water just wet rocks. The other trick is ceramic media. I use a minimum of 25 percent mixed sized ceramics in every load no matter what the mix of rocks is. One way to add the rocks is to have them in a bowl of water then place them right from that into the barrel by hand. That way you have wet rocks and the correct amount of water to start the load. your quartz crystals are pea size? like 1/4"? Chuck
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astrobouncer
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Member since January 2016
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Post by astrobouncer on Jan 25, 2016 9:19:02 GMT -5
Hey guys thanks for the help! Heres some pictures of the quartz I am tumbling. Keep in mind these just got done tumbling in the 500 grit so they look a little cloudy. I tried tumbling them with both sugar, borax and the 500 grit last night and it took a lot of the chipping away but you can still see some left. This is about 3 1/2 pounds. I have another 1/2 pound of the smaller crystals that look the same not pictured. As you can see its mostly quartz with a couple amethyst and a couple carnelian mixed in. Here's the lot o tumbler instructions that said to do them in water. I see you say to use only 1/2 teaspoon of the polish. Wouldnt using more be better as it would give more surface area to polish? Also that link of the rocks you posted is amazing. I cant wait till I can get a finish like that. Also when you say ceramic media do you mean the medium grit like from Harbor freight? ( www.harborfreight.com/5-lbs-medium-ceramic-abrasive-polishing-tumbler-media-60547.html )
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jan 25, 2016 9:30:49 GMT -5
toss your instructions. Just read all that nonsense about tumbling tears/quartz. I do them just as I described above. No extra water. Its all about learning what is the proper action so you know when to spray a few squirts of water from a water bottle when needed. I check my loto three times a day. Chuck
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astrobouncer
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Member since January 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by astrobouncer on Jan 25, 2016 9:35:54 GMT -5
Thanks Chuck those look amazing. (Edit) Which ceramic media do I need to add as 25%?
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jan 25, 2016 9:36:21 GMT -5
Your quartz looks too small to tumble to a nice smooth exterior finish so I am guessing you are just after a rough textured but shiny end product? That makes for a difficult tumble because getting grit out of all those nooks and crannies is a pain between every stage so you are not carrying coarse grit into the following stages.
Chuck
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jan 25, 2016 9:37:32 GMT -5
Thanks Chuck those look amazing. Thanks- Tears are run with a minimum of 50 percent mixed ceramics in the load. Chuck
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astrobouncer
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Member since January 2016
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Post by astrobouncer on Jan 30, 2016 7:35:01 GMT -5
Chuck thank you but can you tell me which kind of ceramics I need to add? Do I add the abrasive mix or non abrasive and all sizes? I see all different kinds available. Some are triangular and some look like pellets.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jan 30, 2016 8:17:44 GMT -5
A mixture of large and small from the rock shed. I usually order 3 pounds of small and two pounds of large each time then mix them together. therockshed.com/grit2.htmlChuck
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Post by captbob on Jan 30, 2016 11:01:48 GMT -5
Anyone ever talked with Shawn at the Rock Shed about buying ceramic media in larger batches than 5 lbs?
If so, did he cut a deal on larger quantities?
Finding a deal on larger quantities on eBay is pretty hit & miss.
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