jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Sept 19, 2016 2:12:42 GMT -5
A recipe that polished rocks using only SiC 30, AO 30 and AO 14.000.
SiC 30 added on 3 day intervals in rotary. SiC 30 added last add for 24 hours making surface of rocks very scratched.(an experiment) Rocks transferred to vibe using AO 30 with sugar for 3 days which removes the SiC 30 scratches and applies a decent polish as the AO 30 particles smooth. Then straight to AO 14,000 polish for 1 day using Borax for the wet shine.
I would assume the same would hold true if you did SiC 8, AO 8 and AO 14,000. If you could find SiC 8 and AO 8.
The whole point is AO particles smooth no matter what size (in a vibe anyway) as they round off.
AO 8 may be hard on the vibe bowl...SiC 30 probably much worse.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 19, 2016 2:31:24 GMT -5
Running AO 30 in the vibe to a decent polish allows rocks to be put in vibe with out cleaning. AO 30 grinds a layer off in 4-8 hours. Guessing it has rounded to 220 in 8 hours. So it is "vibe bowl aggressive" for a short amount of time. Pretty much trashes all abrasive particles from the rotary from not cleaning rocks well. After 3 days the AO particles have rounded off and are imparting a polish. A polish that AO 14,000 can top off.
So keeping AO 500-1000 and pre-polish AO separated or even used for that matter is redundant in a vibe anyway.
I prefer going from rotary to AO 220 in vibe because I found a cheap 5 gallon bucket of AO 220 for $10.
Note: Do not add coarse aluminum oxide midway in vibe process unless willing to run it 3 more days from the point added.
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ChicagoDave
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2016
Posts: 720
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Post by ChicagoDave on Sept 19, 2016 10:24:11 GMT -5
Interesting information on your grit progression. Can't wait to see the finished rock.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 20, 2016 3:04:47 GMT -5
Made an error in grit description. Crazy lace being polished with AO 80, not AO 220.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Sept 22, 2016 4:41:22 GMT -5
Completed crazy lace. 6 days rotary, 4 days in vibe. SiC 30 in rotary. 3 days AO 80 and 10 hours AO 14,000 in vibe.
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Post by orrum on Sept 22, 2016 7:55:07 GMT -5
Very nice James but what does the filler coral look like. I just finished my first tumble of the coral you gave me. It's awesome, I like it best with some of the outside left on with the white streaks and spots!!! The lovely Susan wants some preground to thin it for cabs because my chunks are too heavy to wear. I have to grind it to make the cortex stay but have the pretty coral in the middle. Remember the black ones with white intermixed you gave me? That's the correct look.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Sept 22, 2016 10:26:01 GMT -5
Very nice James but what does the filler coral look like. I just finished my first tumble of the coral you gave me. It's awesome, I like it best with some of the outside left on with the white streaks and spots!!! The lovely Susan wants some preground to thin it for cabs because my chunks are too heavy to wear. I have to grind it to make the cortex stay but have the pretty coral in the middle. Remember the black ones with white intermixed you gave me? That's the correct look. I will get a photo of it Bill. It has only run 6 days so the filler coral has a long way to go. The white cortex gets darn hard closer to the color zone. most of it will take a polish. Polished or not, it is very white and looks striking next to color, especially black.
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Post by orrum on Sept 22, 2016 20:50:24 GMT -5
It polished good James, white and black both!
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Intheswamp
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Member since September 2015
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Post by Intheswamp on Sept 22, 2016 21:12:46 GMT -5
Completed crazy lace. 6 days rotary, 4 days in vibe. SiC 30 in rotary. 3 days AO 80 and 10 hours AO 14,000 in vibe. Nice!!!
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Post by spiceman on Sept 22, 2016 21:19:53 GMT -5
The "on lookers",they are a enthusiastic bunch. When I leave this world I want to come back as a dog. They have a rough life.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Sept 22, 2016 21:53:12 GMT -5
Man, that's a pretty piece of lace.
You should thank...ah, never mind.
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Post by tims on Sept 22, 2016 23:32:29 GMT -5
That's gorgeous agate. Hopefully just a display specimen? That as a pendant could seriously hurt somebody.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,341
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Post by quartz on Sept 23, 2016 0:06:10 GMT -5
Lace is nice to begin with, yours came out really great.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Sept 23, 2016 3:57:23 GMT -5
Man, that's a pretty piece of lace. You should thank...ah, never mind. Oh yes indeed. THANKS rockpickerforever !!
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Sept 23, 2016 3:59:27 GMT -5
That's gorgeous agate. Hopefully just a display specimen? That as a pendant could seriously hurt somebody. Not going to make a pendent for the wife. A serious weapon on the end of a chain.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Sept 23, 2016 4:00:37 GMT -5
The "on lookers",they are a enthusiastic bunch. When I leave this world I want to come back as a dog. They have a rough life. Will 2nd that spiceman. Dogs have the life.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Sept 23, 2016 4:12:14 GMT -5
Lace is nice to begin with, yours came out really great. Just freaking out how fast the coarse AO 80 put a shine on that rock in the Viking. Going from SiC 30 straight to AO 80 and then to AO 14,000. Lifting that rock out of the vibe every 12 hours watching breakdown of 2(may be a one tablespoon scoop) tablespoons of AO 80 AO 80 to ~AO 220 in first 12 hours AO 220 to ~AO 500 in at 12 hours AO 500 to ~AO 1000 at 48 hours Looks like AO 5000 at 72 hours. Cup of sugar and a cup of water first 48 hours, added 1/2 cup water at till 72 hours and cleaned her out. The AO 80 is cheap crap sand blasting AO from Harbor Freight/Northern Hydraulics.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Sept 23, 2016 4:13:49 GMT -5
It polished good James, white and black both! Is that coral hard Bill ?
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Sept 25, 2016 6:35:59 GMT -5
For the first time in my tumbling career the one vibe is about busier than one rotary. So am building 5 small rotary barrels. Will start to do some of the finish work in the rotaries: 2-6 days in rotary with SiC 30 depending on quality of pre-grind shaping and hardness of rock at 55 RPM. Do a clean out. Then run AO 80 in the rotary's on the slower 30 RPM shaft to see if I get a pre-polish so the vibe will make a polish quicker. All with clay slurry w/milk shake consistency. Note, the single large rock totally changes the grit dynamics. SiC 30 is totally pulverized in 12 hours(maybe sooner). Freaky. Fast slurry build up = fast rock wear. That includes the 1.5-2 inch (media) tumbles. So, adding SiC 30 grit daily, and simply pouring some slurry off and adding water to keep slurry at milk shake consistency. Which brings up another point, running last SiC 30 grit add and running it 2-3 days may break it down to 500 finish. Allowing faster vibe times by starting vibe off at AO 500 instead of AO 80. Media. Hate to say it, but this 'media' is all hard coral and Rio material. It is far advanced in rough shaping running with large rocks. Never had to add so many rocks so fast to keep barrel 3/4 full. 6(crazy lace) + 4(obsidian) + 2(rhyolite) = 12 days in SiC 30. Started with 100% coral intentionally to see the wear rate. All added rocks were different color than this coral: Obviously had to add a lot of material to keep barrel 3/4 full(some of the new rocks had been partially tumbled):
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Post by Garage Rocker on Sept 25, 2016 8:53:52 GMT -5
Glad you venture out to the frontier with these experiments. Some encouraging results with your new method. Sure is a time saver. Keep posting!
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