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Post by gmitch067 on May 10, 2017 10:08:42 GMT -5
I noted from other member's posts that sharp edged rocks increase wear of the UV10 barrel creating a danger of leaking. In preparation for receipt of my first vibe unit (UV10 - any day now! Yippiiii!), I have started a run of Moonstone and Amazonite in my QT12 (with 80 grit) to round them out a little... knock off the sharp edges. I have never tumbled these two rock types before. They both have similar hardness (6-6.5 Mohs), but I wonder if the Moonstone is more brittle and could cause even more sharp surfaces after banging around with the Amazonite. They have only been in the QT12 for two days.
Question-1: Is this a good (or poor) choice of rocks to combine in in a UV10 load? Question-2: Is the 220 grit run vigorous enough during the vibe process to remove pitting, cracks, or spalling - or do I need to go back to the rotary tumbler to remove those?
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Post by gmitch067 on May 12, 2017 0:22:47 GMT -5
I ran a QT12 rotary tumbler load consisting of 5 lbs Amazonite and 5 lbs of Moonstone - 80 grit for 2 days. They all now had the sharp edges rounded a bit, but there were still many cracks and pitting present. After 2 days the rocks had reduced in size (as expected). I now had 4 lbs of Amazonite and 4 lbs of Moonstone (although I only used 2 lbs for the vibe). I am not sure if this procedure will extend the life of my UV-10 drum... but it is a start. I still do not know if the 220 grit vibe is vigorous enough to handle the pitting (and later - the spalling damage) of hard stones like agates - or if I am going to have to address those by tumbling or dremel.
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Post by Jugglerguy on May 12, 2017 10:43:07 GMT -5
Vibe tumblers do not change the shape of rocks much. The very sharp edges will be mellowed a bit, but you won't get rounded rocks out. I cut crosses and tumble them in my Lot-O vibe. The ninety degree corners get slightly rounded, but the cross shapes are not affected at all. Don't expect to remove pitting, cracks, or spalls with your vibe. Do any of that shaping in your rotary tumblers. Most of us here run our rocks in rotary tumblers for many weeks before moving them to a vibe. I like to clean my barrels once a week and remove just the rocks that are shaped up the way I like them. (I like them completely free of pits and cracks.) All the rest go back in the rotary along with some fresh rock to spin for another week. I stockpile the rocks that are ready for the vibe until I have enough to fill it. I always use at least 30% ceramic media of mixed sizes in the Lot-O batch.
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Post by gmitch067 on May 12, 2017 17:33:39 GMT -5
A lot of good information Rob. Thank you! I will probably do the same - Using ceramics to smooth out the tumbler action (and reduce noise), and tumbling until I weed-out enough keepers to advance to the UV-10. I have had a QT66 drum running mixed agates for almost 2.5 months in 80 grit (A guy has to have SOMETHING to do on a Saturday!!! Mine is weeding agates and replacing worn grit!). I have only come away with a few worth advancing to 220 grit - enough for only half a sandwich ziplock - mostly the smokey quartz looking type. I've added a few to that bag by attacking them with a dremel grinding wheel, and a few treated with Starbond CA glue to fill a pit or two. A few of the red carnelian have been rescued from tumbler chaos because they have depth and color in their favor... I like to spend some time shaping with a dremel, and sanding them down with wet/dry silicon carbide sandpaper to polish and fit into cheap settings. The kids love them! The two red carnelian pieces were from the same dome shaped stone which otherwise was doomed to tumble for another 2 months because of heavy pitting! I cut the dome off and worked it into a smaller setting (My Daughter-in-Law says she likes red stones... Hmmmm.). The Peruvian pink opal was relatively uneventful... but pink(!!!) and my Grand Daughter was happy. I found the Scriptstone Cobra Jasper at the Consolidated Rock Shop here in Vacaville - a lonely 3" slab piece - and fell in love... I think I will keep that one (unless one of my kids wants it. Lol!)
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Post by Jugglerguy on May 12, 2017 22:52:28 GMT -5
Those pendants look great!
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