shadyatbest
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2016
Posts: 23
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Post by shadyatbest on Nov 19, 2016 16:09:31 GMT -5
Hello everyone. My name is Travis, from northern California. I have had this harbor freight 2 barrel tumbler for 5 years and finally got around to firing it up with some motivation from the 6,4 year old niece and nephew. I collected a hand full of rocks and what turned out to be agates from the black Rock desert area of northern nevada. I am totally new to rock hounding but it's been something that I have wanted to do since my teens. I quickly realized that my hand full of smooth rock was not enough to load a barrel so I bought a mix of jasper, blue apatite, green something or rather, petrified wood and quartz from amazon. Using the pre packaged grit from harbor frieght (thumblers tumbler brand) I was amazed while seeing the progress of the coarse grit on rough rock. I watched daily as the blue apatite shrunk while the p wood, quartz, and jasper took twice as long to get down to a suitable shape. I cleaned out the barrel and ran material through the second phase with the 220 grit. I could see the rocks smooth out some more. From here I figured it was time for the 500f pre Polish. This is where I think I am stuck. I have read that the stones are ready once they have a luster when dry. Well, i am not sure if i know what luster looks like. I think of a freshly waxed car and these don't look like that. But then again, these have the final phase to go through. So my questions are. Are these ready for the final 4th phase with Polish? Am I hurrying along too fast? I removed the softer stuff to run later with similar material. It seemed to be getting pitted from harder material. Good or bad? I also have some material in there that I pulled out of the first phase early. It still has square edges but not sharp. Will that damage other similar material? I will attempt to link a picture. The rocks in the top of the photo are the ones that i think could have spent another week in phase 1. Thanks, Travis
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Post by Jugglerguy on Nov 19, 2016 16:38:40 GMT -5
Everyone has different standards, but I like my rocks to be as perfect as possible. Most of my rocks stay several weeks to several months in the first stage. I do a clean out every weekend and only remove the rocks that are completely free of holes, rough spots, and cracks. I would not have moved your rocks on. They need a lot more time in the first stage in my opinion.
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ubermenehune
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 293
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Post by ubermenehune on Nov 19, 2016 16:46:27 GMT -5
Most folks on this forum will tell you to put them back in stage 1 until the stones are smoother and free of imperfections.
Like Rob said, folks have different standards. If you're okay with the shape of the stones and whatever flaws are present, then you'll still be able to get a nice shine.
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shadyatbest
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2016
Posts: 23
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Post by shadyatbest on Nov 20, 2016 0:05:02 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies. I am okay with the shape of these rocks. They would all be tumbled down to nothing if I wanted to get out every imperfection.
What about the other questions? Will a rough piece of jasper scratch other pieces of jasper that have a polish on them? How about the smoothness of these rocks. Assuming I am okay with the shape and I would like a deep glossy finish over most of the rock. Are these ready for the next stage?
The blue apatite (not pictured) was taken out 2 days ago because it was wearing down but was remaining pitted. I assumed it was the harder material bouncing off of it. This being the third phase with 500f grit. I didnt see any wear on the harder stuff. Are there pros or cons of mixing something like quartz with obsidian?
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dottyt
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2016
Posts: 305
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Post by dottyt on Nov 20, 2016 0:46:27 GMT -5
I am not an expert, but I really have only gotten good results with a barrel of stones of the same hardness -- and those all fairly hard (7). I wouldn't do quartz (7) and obsidian (5) together, myself. I have not been successful polishing apatite in a rotary tumbler, but it does shape nicely.
I really like the "perfect tumbled stone" look preferred by many on this site, but most people in my club think it is crazy. Their rocks look more like yours. Jasper should not damage jasper and the smooth parts of the jaspers should get a shine, but the pits and cracks will still be there.
I have never heard of stones needing a luster before going into the polish stage. I am sure none of mine have ever had one, although the stones should look, and better yet feel, smooth. So if you are happy with the stones, I would say go to polish. I have found that the results are glossier with 10 or 14 days in polish as opposed to 7.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Nov 20, 2016 8:04:02 GMT -5
I add rough rocks to the first stage every week. Some come out, and others take their place. My rough stage runs forever this way. As rocks get finished with the first stage, I set them aside until I have enough rocks to start the next stage. Once the rocks get moved to other stages, I would not add rough rocks. The rough rocks should go into the first stage anyway.
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shadyatbest
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2016
Posts: 23
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Post by shadyatbest on Nov 20, 2016 16:37:13 GMT -5
Thanks Dotty and Juggler. Juggeler, you answered another question I had. I was considering leaving a barrel going 24/7 for the first phase. I had been removing some and adding some once or twice a week. That brings up another question. How long does the coarse grits last? I like to remove a barrel, agitate the barrel with the lid close allowing the loose material to settle to the bottom. Then I open it and dig around. Should add grit when doing this? There is usually 1/4 to 3/8th inch of silt in the bottom. Should I dump this out and start fresh?
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ChicagoDave
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2016
Posts: 720
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Post by ChicagoDave on Nov 20, 2016 21:14:17 GMT -5
I clean out my rough grit (46/70) barrels once a week and pull out the rocks ready for the next stage. Everything gets dumped in a strainer and rinsed off. I then add fresh grit, water and more rough rocks to replace the volume removed and start it again.
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Post by wigglinrocks on Nov 20, 2016 22:01:22 GMT -5
Yup , just what Juggler and Chicago said .
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shadyatbest
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2016
Posts: 23
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Post by shadyatbest on Nov 20, 2016 22:30:15 GMT -5
Okay. Thanks guys. I will make Sunday my barrel cleaning and grit adding days. Is it normal for the grit to pretty much disappear after a day or two. I run the silt through my fingers and, for the most part, feel nothing larger than powder. There might be a layer of very fine black sand/grit(?) upon separating the material in the sink. I have basically the same question about the pre polishing and the polishing. When will I know when or if the Polishing powder is exhausted. I just noticed the tutorial post above, i will read that next. I also have questions on water level for all phases. The instructions that came with the tumbler says to add water to the bottom of the top rocks. But read a post today saying to just cover all the material. Please take a look at these two. The one on the right is the current barrel going through the pre polishing 3rd phase. The one of the left is obsidian currently in the first phase with 40 grit silicon oxcide. I am trying to tear through the obsidian. Are the barrels too full, too low, not enough water, too much water. My thoughts are that the right barrel could use a few more rocks and that the left side has a tad too much water. Thanks
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ChicagoDave
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2016
Posts: 720
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Post by ChicagoDave on Nov 20, 2016 22:39:03 GMT -5
The water looks good on the right barrel, but I think it could use some more rocks. But I also think I fill my barrels more than most people recommend!
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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 Nov 20, 2016 22:43:38 GMT -5
Hopefully you are not washing rocks in a sink connected to your household plumbing system. The grit/slurry will settle and turn to near concrete hardness in the pipes, plugging everything up. Do your rock washing in anything but that which is connected to the household drain system.
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dottyt
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2016
Posts: 305
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Post by dottyt on Nov 21, 2016 0:03:52 GMT -5
I clean out my rough grit (46/70) barrels once a week and pull out the rocks ready for the next stage. Everything gets dumped in a strainer and rinsed off. I then add fresh grit, water and more rough rocks to replace the volume removed and start it again. That's interesting. I try to do a clean-out and add fresh grit for Stage 1 once a week, but often something comes up and I don't get to it for a few days. This definitely effects the rounding action in a bad way; I was thinking that if I switched to a coarser grit (I am just using 60) I could get away with this better, good to know that you can't. For the coarse stage you want the grit to break down so it is effective (not just like sand always going to the bottom of the barrel) but not to be ground up into too small particles -- in which case it is more like the medium stage than the coarse stage and you don't get good shaping. I don't think this is as true for later stages though because with these you are smoothing and not shaping. I don't think it would be true at all for for polish, as if the polish "grit" breaks down you would just get finer polish. Or am I missing something here? Anyway, I used to run polish for 1 week and got an okay shine, then with 10 days it was better, and with 15 days it is better yet. This is without changing or adding polish, just checking the rocks now and then.
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shadyatbest
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2016
Posts: 23
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Post by shadyatbest on Nov 21, 2016 4:27:02 GMT -5
Thanks for the tips. My garage sink runs outside to a planter bed, a ghetto hookup. I read the pdf in the thread on the top of the page. It answered other questions and concerns that I had. I think I will pick up another double barrel tumbler and designate the 2 new barrels to the pre polish and polish.
So one more question for now. Who has the best prices on grit/polish. Who has good prices on rough. And any tips on things like filler. I read about using toy doll filling for the plastic beads. Anything else like that?
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unclesoska
freely admits to licking rocks
All those jade boulders tossed in search of gold!
Member since February 2011
Posts: 934
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Post by unclesoska on Nov 21, 2016 4:48:00 GMT -5
If you do a burnish stage with Borax, avoid the planter bed for disposal. Borax is a herbacide, great for weed killing on sidewalks and such.
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osuguy0301
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2015
Posts: 203
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Post by osuguy0301 on Nov 23, 2016 7:14:37 GMT -5
I have been letting my 60/90 grit for about 3 weeks to a month lately. I clean out every Friday, add new grit, and new rough to bring the volume back up. After every clean out I set aside the ones that are to my liking until I have enough to run my 120/220 grit. I typically don't care about the perfect shape but I don't want cracks or pits that can transfer grit to the next stage and contaminate the batch.
I wouldn't run blue apatite with jaspers, quartz, agates, etc. Like you have seen, it will grind away to nothing. I have some that also came from a mixed bag and its just sitting in a box since most of the stuff I run is about 7 hardness.
I only have one extra barrel and I use it for polish only. I run 60/90, 120/220, and pre-polish all in the same barrel. As long as you do a good clean out, you shouldn't have any problems.
I buy my grit from TheRockShed and have also bought rough from there too. I have been happy with everything I have bought in the past.
I use plastic pellets for the 500 grit pre-polish and the polish stages. Make sure to not transfer the pellets. The pellets you use for pre-polish, set them aside and only use them in the pre-polish stage. The pellets you use for your polish stage set aside and one use for when you polish.
I have been tumbling for about a year and the folks on this forum have a great wealth of knowledge and have helped me immensely. Follow their recommendations and they won't steer you wrong!
Jake
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