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Post by orrum on Oct 14, 2016 19:22:55 GMT -5
No no keep the knife it makes me a legend in my own mind!!#
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Oct 14, 2016 19:46:47 GMT -5
No no keep the knife it makes me a legend in my own mind!!# Oh your a legend alright Bill.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,555
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Post by jamesp on Oct 14, 2016 19:50:37 GMT -5
jamesp, did I ever tell you I miss Fred? I mean, I really like the knapped knife that orrum made and sent to you, but as your avatar, I think I could relate to the green frog better. And one more time, did you name the puppy?? Don't upset Bill. He is sensitive. Collects toilets when rock hunting. A bit touched ? I did, wife has not. I call her Mud Pie. Gets into mud EVERYWHERE she goes. Wife threatened to name her Yellow Rain since she is not house broken yet.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Oct 14, 2016 19:51:01 GMT -5
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Post by orrum on Oct 14, 2016 20:50:18 GMT -5
I named a Dachshund Puddles. Great lil dog but hey Yellow Rain is way better!!!
Hey James don't make fun of my toilet hounding!!! Wait til you see one of my toilet knapped Tomahawks!!#! They call it Johnny Stone!!! LOL
Yes I am sensitive, duhhhh, I think the Az sun got me!!!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Oct 14, 2016 22:21:52 GMT -5
jamesp, if I see that rooster tail, I'll definitely give it a try. That's good looking stuff. You're pet wood took a good shine, for sure. I might have to throw a big rock in at next cleanout, see what happens.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
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Post by quartz on Oct 14, 2016 23:16:27 GMT -5
Getting some fine polishes on those big ones, you are.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Oct 15, 2016 2:11:37 GMT -5
jamesp, if I see that rooster tail, I'll definitely give it a try. That's good looking stuff. You're pet wood took a good shine, for sure. I might have to throw a big rock in at next cleanout, see what happens. In running this big stuff the 30 grit breaks down real fast. However, I had 3-4 barrels run that the 30 grit did not break down. Or it took 3-4 days instead of 12 hours. It has happened before. I remember you mentioned issues with the 30 grit, was doing better with 46/70. I believe it. Traced the problem easily. I ran out of paste like red clay and used some sandy clay. The high sand content would not circulate the heavy 30 grit well. Rock slurry does well, paste like clay does well. Too much of any clay or slurry does not do well. Neither does sandy clay. I can not speak for kitty litter. Never tried it. The bigger 12-15 pound barrels did much better with sandy clay. These 6 pound barrels have to be measured out carefully-clay/water/rocks. The ends of the barrel are too close together seems to be the problem. Restricting some of the rock movement at the ends and therefore the mixing. Especially with a 'big' big rock. It hinders movement. The small barrels do better at 55 RPM. However, using good clay made all go well at a more normal 30 RPM assuming all is mixed well- water/clay/rocks. Adding fresh clay and doing a clean out every 12 hours did the best. Fresh clay each time. The smaller your coarse grit the easier it is to get it to circulate. The gravel floor of my greenhouse is covered with 200-400 grit particles because I dump the slurry there. Once 30 has broken to 200 it is useless for shaping much. Basically throwing away 200-300 grit, but if it is not going to contribute during shaping then you might as well chunk it and add fresh aggressive grit. 5 clean outs in the morning and 5 in the evening. Too much work running 5 barrels. But 3 weeks looked like 2.5 months worth of shaping. No matter, it proved a point. Experimenting done. Will back off and run 2 or 3 barrels and probably do lazier 24 hour clean outs. Max rock size for 6 inch barrel may be 3 pounds without further pampering. Unless rock is a really bruise proof stone. I want to see some of 'Randy's Rooster Tail' w/macros. Sumatra Flame, Rooster Tail and Snake Skin are the hardest agates I have run up on.
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jamesp
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Posts: 36,555
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Post by jamesp on Oct 15, 2016 2:21:01 GMT -5
Getting some fine polishes on those big ones, you are. Thinking about a 3/4 inch rubber divider to press fit into the Vibrasonic hopper. To divide it into two chambers for a big rock in each side. I should think a slightly over sized carefully cut-to-fit-tight divider should stay put. Could make a pattern out of card stock paper. Cut rubber on band saw. Sand edges real nice. Wedge it in with vaseline press fit style. Could shift it left or right for varying rock sizes. Remove at clean out and reinstall. Maybe have two for three compartments to run 3 hardball size at same time. Thoughts ?
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Post by 1dave on Oct 15, 2016 7:03:38 GMT -5
THINKING! That is your problem James.
If you are not careful you are going to get every run perfect! Well, perfect is good enough.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Oct 15, 2016 7:13:35 GMT -5
THINKING! That is your problem James. If you are not careful you are going to get every run perfect! Well, perfect is good enough. Dave not exactly with vacant mind. Having particularly good time polishing these bigger ones. Just so happens my vibe is friendly running them. I want to see more people doing same. The vibe may be a limitation. Oops, thinking again. Here is what my buddy Chris thinks about me
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Post by 1dave on Oct 15, 2016 7:27:36 GMT -5
THINKING! That is your problem James. If you are not careful you are going to get every run perfect! Well, perfect is good enough. Dave not exactly with vacant mind. Having particularly good time polishing these bigger ones. Just so happens my vibe is friendly running them. I want to see more people doing same. The vibe may be a limitation. Oops, thinking again. Here is what my buddy Chris thinks about me Having FUN is what it is all about. What other people think isn't part of the equation.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Oct 15, 2016 7:30:33 GMT -5
Don't care what she thinks, just frightened.(The Ms.')
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,352
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Post by quartz on Oct 15, 2016 10:01:06 GMT -5
The rubber divider idea might work, if it/they will stay put you've just increased the versatility of the machine a lot. Well worth trying, not a big deal to make.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Oct 15, 2016 10:16:35 GMT -5
The rubber divider idea might work, if it/they will stay put you've just increased the versatility of the machine a lot. Well worth trying, not a big deal to make. Figured most of the forces would be parallel to the dividers if all the chambers are filled to the same level. The tub on that machine is right at home rolling a big rock.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Oct 15, 2016 22:29:56 GMT -5
Next experiment. Big rock + hammer broken SiC grinding wheels = longer grind times between clean outs and grit additions. Broken SiC wheels serve as perfect time release, lasting 5-7 days with regular size tumbles. Probably 2-3 days w/big rock. Found five 5 gallon buckets of these 5 inch SiC 40/50 grit wheels: After a few days
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Post by Garage Rocker on Oct 15, 2016 23:16:41 GMT -5
I've got 45 pounds of Sic 30 that I'll probably set aside and order some 46/70. It just seems to work better with my recipe. I might give a thicker slurry one more try before I do. Big stone too, maybe.
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Rockandroll
having dreams about rocks
Member since January 2008
Posts: 52
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Post by Rockandroll on Oct 16, 2016 0:12:52 GMT -5
Next experiment. Big rock + hammer broken SiC grinding wheels = longer grind times between clean outs and grit additions. Broken SiC wheels serve as perfect time release, lasting 5-7 days with regular size tumbles. Probably 2-3 days w/big rock. Found five 5 gallon buckets of these 5 inch SiC 40/50 grit wheels: I was quite interested in your other posts about broken up grinding wheels. I'm currently limited to 3lb barrels, but love big rocks. I've got a large chunk of crazy lace that's been dominating one of my barrels for several months now with painfully slow progress. Thinking of breaking up one of the worn out wheels I've got laying around to see if that speeds things up. Either that or purchasing some garnet smalls...
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Oct 16, 2016 7:36:31 GMT -5
Next experiment. Big rock + hammer broken SiC grinding wheels = longer grind times between clean outs and grit additions. Broken SiC wheels serve as perfect time release, lasting 5-7 days with regular size tumbles. Probably 2-3 days w/big rock. Found five 5 gallon buckets of these 5 inch SiC 40/50 grit wheels: I was quite interested in your other posts about broken up grinding wheels. I'm currently limited to 3lb barrels, but love big rocks. I've got a large chunk of crazy lace that's been dominating one of my barrels for several months now with painfully slow progress. Thinking of breaking up one of the worn out wheels I've got laying around to see if that speeds things up. Either that or purchasing some garnet smalls... I got these old grinding wheels from an old industrial salvage yard Rockandroll. They are rare in that they are silicon carbide. They only cost $20/five gallon bucket. No brainer purchase. Most grinding wheels are aluminum oxide and will not shape most rocks. So beware that you need to use silicon carbide wheels. If there was a way to cast silicon carbide 'pellets' to make time release chunks I would see merit. These SiC grinding wheels are heat fused and require a good shot with the hammer to break. They hold together great in the tumbling barrel. The drawback to using these chunks is barrel wear. Not only do they grind rocks fast but barrels too. I build my own cheap PVC barrels and treat them like a saw blade-expendable. Don't care if they were out. Last about 2-3 years and trash them, build new ones. The small garnets are only used in the vibe with pea sized media. The garnets fill the voids between the pea gravel for polishing a big rock. A gentler 'bed' for the big rock. Could have used tiny agates or ceramic media to fill the voids just as well, I just happened to have the garnets on hand and they last a long time serving as media. The garnet/pea gravel mix does fine on all size tumbles in the vibe, not just big rocks. I only use aluminum oxide in the vibe. And start with AO 80 or AO 220 which is not conventional but does well in my vibe. Aluminum oxide looses it's sharp edges very quickly in a vibe.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Oct 16, 2016 7:50:16 GMT -5
I've got 45 pounds of Sic 30 that I'll probably set aside and order some 46/70. It just seems to work better with my recipe. I might give a thicker slurry one more try before I do. Big stone too, maybe. With my present arrangement I would be doing clean outs or grit additions very few hours with 46/70 Randy. That big rock speeds the grind up a lot. After 6 hours the SiC 30 is already reduced to 60- 80. I use the micro setting on the Olympus to inspect grit size now. Am getting accurate measurements on the grit as it breaks down. Because I want to know if I am wasting electricity rolling degraded grit. Back in May, 30 grit after 12 hours with out a big rock. Just average size tumbles in clay slurry. Using old Nikon macro. This is the point I realized how fast the SiC breaks down. Was very surprised. 12 hours on left, virgin on right
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