nanthawat
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2016
Posts: 3
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Post by nanthawat on Oct 2, 2016 1:47:28 GMT -5
Hi, I am new to the tumbling hobby! I just completed step 4 and half of my stones were polished with other half not. Mainly the Kambaba Jaspers were left unpolished. What am I doing wrong? I apologize in advance if this is an eye-rolling question. Thank you!
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Post by captbob on Oct 2, 2016 8:49:44 GMT -5
First, welcome to the forum. What a pleasure to see someone join with a picture in their first post!! I have never tumbled Kambaba, so someone that has will need to chime in. Some stones don't take a shiny polish, more of a nice matte finish is all that is possible. I do not know if Kambaba is in that group. All your stones are nicely shaped. Looks like you figured out the patience part! That's a win right there. I say good job! And again welcome nanthawat
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,562
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Post by jamesp on Oct 2, 2016 10:43:51 GMT -5
Agreed about the patience shaping your stuff.
Don't know about Kambaba but will say that you have classic frosting on the white/blue rock sitting to far left in colander. Perhaps the white rock too. Maybe one of the green rocks, hard to tell from photo.
Ok, if you have frosting I question if you had your barrel 3/4 full or enough padding. Those rocks may have frosted because they are very soft too. Hard to say.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Oct 2, 2016 10:53:00 GMT -5
Great first batch, definitely blows my first batch out of the water. I have a piece of kambaba that I started a couple of days ago but it is my first experience with that material so I can't say anything about it from experience. I have, however had various rocks that I couldn't get a good shine on. They still look nice but without the glossy shine. No matter what I've tried so far I haven't been able to get them glossy. I think as was said before that it might just be the nature of the material.
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nanthawat
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2016
Posts: 3
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Post by nanthawat on Oct 2, 2016 17:58:55 GMT -5
Thank you for the comments I called The Rock Shed (Where I got the Kambabas from) and they said I should try tumbling them by themselves and probably with plastic pellets. Let's see how that goes. I'll show results in a week!
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nanthawat
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2016
Posts: 3
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Post by nanthawat on Oct 2, 2016 18:01:55 GMT -5
When worse comes to worse and I don't seek out a polishing wheel to help me out...can I use clear nail polish?
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Post by captbob on Oct 2, 2016 18:10:28 GMT -5
There are MANY spray products that would be easier. Available at a Big Box store in the spray paint section.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Oct 2, 2016 19:04:11 GMT -5
Thank you for the comments I called The Rock Shed (Where I got the Kambabas from) and they said I should try tumbling them by themselves and probably with plastic pellets. Let's see how that goes. I'll show results in a week! That is probably great advice. I was really struggling with some red Jasper that I had collected from around my area and someone suggested doing a batch of only that type of rock and they came out great. I have also had some success polishing some of my dull stones using a buffing wheel and a product called Zam that I ordered from Amazon.com. I was warned to be sure to use a mask when using the product to keep from breathing the dust which I understand is toxic.
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Post by Pat on Oct 2, 2016 19:10:39 GMT -5
No patience here for tumbling, but welcome from California.
There are many tumbling experts here. Good luck!
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Post by Peruano on Oct 2, 2016 19:13:13 GMT -5
I tend to assume that the softest things in the tumble batch will not polish as well (always scratched or abraded by the harder things). Hence your stones that did not polish as well may just be that much softer than the rest. Tumble by self or with something softer yet may result in desired shine. Re: Zam - its basically chromium oxide in wax. No you don't want to breath the dust, but it shouldn't produce much dust, just a waxy stripe on your workbench if you don't have a shroud on your muslim wheel. Keep testing your stone by touching it to your cheek - if it markedly warm back off a bit. It will generate a bit of heat but don't go overboard. It also will tend to lodge in every irregularity (scratch) and thus is best used on greenish stones or at least ones that won't object to a greenish tint in tiny spots.
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