melf77
having dreams about rocks
Member since July 2017
Posts: 70
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Post by melf77 on Jul 18, 2017 15:56:32 GMT -5
Complete tumble virgin here. I made the plunge and got a thumler tumbler model B. Started with 6lbs of Ocean Jasp, 2lbs Landscaped Jasp, misc red/sunset Jasp and large Ocean Jasp palm stone. Opened my 60/90 week 1 last Friday and after rinsing and starting 60/90 week 2, I'm friggin hooked. I couldn't believe what a difference even 1 week made. I have over 100lbs of rough from various locations in my house, no joke, and I realize I might have a problem. I also realize I'm gonna need another tumbler or 2. I've checked a few threads and the info was very helpful. I look forward to what will be a long relationship with my tumbler. Thanks
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Post by Pat on Jul 18, 2017 16:17:28 GMT -5
Welcome from California! Not a tumbler, but there are many tumbling experts here.
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Post by krazydiamond on Jul 18, 2017 18:07:32 GMT -5
Welcome to our shared addiction, Melf77!
KD (also in Upstate NY)
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Post by manofglass on Jul 18, 2017 18:28:59 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum
Walt
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Post by wigglinrocks on Jul 18, 2017 20:20:47 GMT -5
Welcome from Wisconsin . 100 pounds of rough sounds like a good start .
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Post by vegasjames on Jul 18, 2017 21:04:18 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH.
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notjustone
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2017
Posts: 426
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Post by notjustone on Jul 18, 2017 21:47:30 GMT -5
welcome central ny here.
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 19, 2017 1:44:27 GMT -5
Welcome from Wisconsin . 100 pounds of rough sounds like a good start . YEAH I got 3-4 hundred pounds and a lot of people have a lot more. As a practicing psychotic psychic.. I predict you will have some more in a few days Rich.
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 19, 2017 1:50:20 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum from Colorado.. With that one rotary it will take you forever to tumble that set and you will have gotten more in the mean while. R u running a slurry to avoid bruising that expensive material or just water? Also hope you have another barrel strictly for polishing. Get a big vibe to shorten the time and to polish faster. Was that the ocean or sea jasper? Enjoy the ride !!
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melf77
having dreams about rocks
Member since July 2017
Posts: 70
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Post by melf77 on Jul 19, 2017 7:40:20 GMT -5
Thanks for the warm welcomes everybody. Thank goodness 100lbs isn't that bad, LOL, and yes, I have been wondering if I should pick up more of a few things while the vender has it. coloradocliff~ If you mean slurry as grit and water, yes. I am using 60/90 SC. After the first week, I was worried as I don't think the slurry was thick enough? compared to photos I have been seeing and videos I have been watching. I think the culprit may be me, in that the water line is higher than what it should be, line was just below the highest rough. If you meant something else by slurry, please explain. Since I'm new, the best thing is listening to somebody else's advice and of course the mistakes I will make. It's Ocean Jasper. It was some of the rough I picked up from RockTumbler.com. Love Ocean Jasper, along with Petrified Wood, Bot's, ect. I did buy ceramic material in case I need it and was gonna use some, but the Ocean Jasper was in varying sizes, so I went without, per their instructions on tumbling their Ocean Jasper Rough. Funny you should mention a vibe, I have been looking at the TT uv-10 or TT uv-18. For now, I really prefer a rounded out stone, so I was thinking the course grit runs in the Rotary and than moving over to the vibe for the remaining steps to cut my time. I would think the TT uv-10? Should be big enough to move my full load material from the Rotary to the vibe, without wasting any space? Does that make sense? For my TT model B, I did pick up an extra rubber barrel insert, taking the polish step seriously. I decided to start tumbling, because I am OCD and the polish on bought stones was NOT up to PAR from some venders in my opinion and I think with time and experience, I could do better. Plus I am really enjoying the process so far, time consuming that it is, LOL.
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Post by wigglinrocks on Jul 19, 2017 8:13:36 GMT -5
Welcome from Wisconsin . 100 pounds of rough sounds like a good start . YEAH I got 3-4 hundred pounds and a lot of people have a lot more. As a practicing psychotic psychic.. I predict you will have some more in a few days Rich. That sounds great , getting a little behind on the collecting .
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 19, 2017 9:37:17 GMT -5
Thanks for the warm welcomes everybody. Thank goodness 100lbs isn't that bad, LOL, and yes, I have been wondering if I should pick up more of a few things while the vender has it. coloradocliff ~ If you mean slurry as grit and water, yes. I am using 60/90 SC. After the first week, I was worried as I don't think the slurry was thick enough? compared to photos I have been seeing and videos I have been watching. I think the culprit may be me, in that the water line is higher than what it should be, line was just below the highest rough. If you meant something else by slurry, please explain. Since I'm new, the best thing is listening to somebody else's advice and of course the mistakes I will make. It's Ocean Jasper. It was some of the rough I picked up from RockTumbler.com. Love Ocean Jasper, along with Petrified Wood, Bot's, ect. I did buy ceramic material in case I need it and was gonna use some, but the Ocean Jasper was in varying sizes, so I went without, per their instructions on tumbling their Ocean Jasper Rough. Funny you should mention a vibe, I have been looking at the TT uv-10 or TT uv-18. For now, I really prefer a rounded out stone, so I was thinking the course grit runs in the Rotary and than moving over to the vibe for the remaining steps to cut my time. I would think the TT uv-10? Should be big enough to move my full load material from the Rotary to the vibe, without wasting any space? Does that make sense? For my TT model B, I did pick up an extra rubber barrel insert, taking the polish step seriously. I decided to start tumbling, because I am OCD and the polish on bought stones was NOT up to PAR from some venders in my opinion and I think with time and experience, I could do better. Plus I am really enjoying the process so far, time consuming that it is, LOL. Slurry, like in a colloidal particle mix. Your rocks, the grit, AND a clay type grit carrier, like kitty litter. The rocks impact each other and clack together causing microfractures and chips. Most new tumblers, myself included, suffer a lot of damage from this. In your barrel size people generally use about 12-14 ounces of the cheap, non scent kitty litter for the thickener it will produce. Milk shake thickness or a bit thicker will both carry the grits and cushion your rock. You'll catch on to thickness quickly. Some people on here talk "gravy" thickness.. This helped me a lot and I hope it helps you. The people who sell us tumble and grit don't give very good information. You can open your barrel and add some then roll for a day or part of a day and check out your thickness until you get the right amount figured out. The slurry in the pict is too thick. Add a bit of water, roll a while and then open and check again. Pain to keep checking but it will get you where you want to be quicker and without the frustrations. Also some people fil the barrel 7/8 full of materials to lessen the damage. If you're getting damage you will see it after you get past the 500 grit stage. Heartbreaker to tumble for a couple months and see your rocks badly dmaged. Again, most of us have experienced it. The 10 vibe is all the size you need. Many people use the lot o twin because they can run smaller batches of different grits. I think the 10 has better mixing action. A lot of people here buy their equipment and stone from The Rockshed. Price , good material and fast shipment. Rock tumbler.com iss a bit pricier but have decent material. Rockshed has lots more business. Fun to shop different places. Ceramic media in larger size is great. Really cushions the load from damage. Don't use small. Most people also only use the larger and run a fair percentage or small rocks with their load. Great on having the extra polish barrel. Important. Being anal here is a good thing if you want great polish. Very relaxing albeit consuming hobby. Might talk the hubby into home building you a more durable and higher capacity rotary set up. Pretty wild rigs on here and also many of the regular commercial type. Lot of people rolla set of rock for months and months in coarse. Some people pregrind their rock to remove the defects before putting them in to tumble. Sounds like you been doing your home work. Look forward to seeing your progress. Take and post pictures so the members can give you proper advice and encouragement. Have a good one sis, Cliff
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 19, 2017 9:43:20 GMT -5
YEAH I got 3-4 hundred pounds and a lot of people have a lot more. As a practicing psychotic psychic.. I predict you will have some more in a few days Rich. That sounds great , getting a little behind on the collecting . Getting a lot behind of everything Rich.. Too many irons in the fire. Too bad I have to work. Should have been a ban robber. Better hours and shorter work weeks. I think that the material you are collecting is cool and for sure different if you cn find enough of it. Maybe steal some time and do a bit of research and road trips. That prairie agate, you sent me if sure interesting looking. Its way down the list for stuff I want to play with but have a couple of nice ones sitting out and I pick em up once in a while and study them. So many rocks, so little time. You would think that 45 pound rotary capacity and two vibe barrels working would help but just deepens the addiction. Bagged some finished and gave out to kids again yesterday. .
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Post by wigglinrocks on Jul 19, 2017 10:23:30 GMT -5
That sounds great , getting a little behind on the collecting . Getting a lot behind of everything Rich.. Too many irons in the fire. Too bad I have to work. Should have been a ban robber. Better hours and shorter work weeks. I think that the material you are collecting is cool and for sure different if you cn find enough of it. Maybe steal some time and do a bit of research and road trips. That prairie agate, you sent me if sure interesting looking. Its way down the list for stuff I want to play with but have a couple of nice ones sitting out and I pick em up once in a while and study them. So many rocks, so little time. You would think that 45 pound rotary capacity and two vibe barrels working would help but just deepens the addiction. Bagged some finished and gave out to kids again yesterday. .
You should cut or have cut a couple of the prairies before mashing and tumbling them . Interesting colors inside you would never expect by looking at the hide .
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 19, 2017 10:31:00 GMT -5
Getting a lot behind of everything Rich.. Too many irons in the fire. Too bad I have to work. Should have been a ban robber. Better hours and shorter work weeks. I think that the material you are collecting is cool and for sure different if you cn find enough of it. Maybe steal some time and do a bit of research and road trips. That prairie agate, you sent me if sure interesting looking. Its way down the list for stuff I want to play with but have a couple of nice ones sitting out and I pick em up once in a while and study them. So many rocks, so little time. You would think that 45 pound rotary capacity and two vibe barrels working would help but just deepens the addiction. Bagged some finished and gave out to kids again yesterday. .
You should cut or have cut a couple of the prairies before mashing and tumbling them . Interesting colors inside you would never expect by looking at the hide . Like the outsides of the prairies. Thought I would slab a couple before I did anything. Need to learn about them. Unique for sure. Tumble some of them whole but need a super grinder for that. Also have some big bots and huge Montanas . Thought I would run them together. Right now doing big pet wood and dino poop, and so don't have room yet.
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melf77
having dreams about rocks
Member since July 2017
Posts: 70
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Post by melf77 on Jul 19, 2017 11:16:54 GMT -5
Thanks for the warm welcomes everybody. Thank goodness 100lbs isn't that bad, LOL, and yes, I have been wondering if I should pick up more of a few things while the vender has it. coloradocliff ~ If you mean slurry as grit and water, yes. I am using 60/90 SC. After the first week, I was worried as I don't think the slurry was thick enough? compared to photos I have been seeing and videos I have been watching. I think the culprit may be me, in that the water line is higher than what it should be, line was just below the highest rough. If you meant something else by slurry, please explain. Since I'm new, the best thing is listening to somebody else's advice and of course the mistakes I will make. It's Ocean Jasper. It was some of the rough I picked up from RockTumbler.com. Love Ocean Jasper, along with Petrified Wood, Bot's, ect. I did buy ceramic material in case I need it and was gonna use some, but the Ocean Jasper was in varying sizes, so I went without, per their instructions on tumbling their Ocean Jasper Rough. Funny you should mention a vibe, I have been looking at the TT uv-10 or TT uv-18. For now, I really prefer a rounded out stone, so I was thinking the course grit runs in the Rotary and than moving over to the vibe for the remaining steps to cut my time. I would think the TT uv-10? Should be big enough to move my full load material from the Rotary to the vibe, without wasting any space? Does that make sense? For my TT model B, I did pick up an extra rubber barrel insert, taking the polish step seriously. I decided to start tumbling, because I am OCD and the polish on bought stones was NOT up to PAR from some venders in my opinion and I think with time and experience, I could do better. Plus I am really enjoying the process so far, time consuming that it is, LOL. Slurry, like in a colloidal particle mix. Your rocks, the grit, AND a clay type grit carrier, like kitty litter. The rocks impact each other and clack together causing microfractures and chips. Most new tumblers, myself included, suffer a lot of damage from this. In your barrel size people generally use about 12-14 ounces of the cheap, non scent kitty litter for the thickener it will produce. Milk shake thickness or a bit thicker will both carry the grits and cushion your rock. You'll catch on to thickness quickly. Some people on here talk "gravy" thickness.. This helped me a lot and I hope it helps you. The people who sell us tumble and grit don't give very good information. You can open your barrel and add some then roll for a day or part of a day and check out your thickness until you get the right amount figured out. The slurry in the pict is too thick. Add a bit of water, roll a while and then open and check again. Pain to keep checking but it will get you where you want to be quicker and without the frustrations. Also some people fil the barrel 7/8 full of materials to lessen the damage. If you're getting damage you will see it after you get past the 500 grit stage. Heartbreaker to tumble for a couple months and see your rocks badly dmaged. Again, most of us have experienced it. The 10 vibe is all the size you need. Many people use the lot o twin because they can run smaller batches of different grits. I think the 10 has better mixing action. A lot of people here buy their equipment and stone from The Rockshed. Price , good material and fast shipment. Rock tumbler.com iss a bit pricier but have decent material. Rockshed has lots more business. Fun to shop different places. Ceramic media in larger size is great. Really cushions the load from damage. Don't use small. Most people also only use the larger and run a fair percentage or small rocks with their load. Great on having the extra polish barrel. Important. Being anal here is a good thing if you want great polish. Very relaxing albeit consuming hobby. Might talk the hubby into home building you a more durable and higher capacity rotary set up. Pretty wild rigs on here and also many of the regular commercial type. Lot of people rolla set of rock for months and months in coarse. Some people pregrind their rock to remove the defects before putting them in to tumble. Sounds like you been doing your home work. Look forward to seeing your progress. Take and post pictures so the members can give you proper advice and encouragement. Have a good one sis, Cliff
Cliff Thanks so much for explaining and the tips. Hubby is picking up a cheap bag of plain clay litter on the way home today and I will add tonight and keep my eye on it to get the right consistency. Before I bought the TT B, I was playing with the idea of him just building a tumbler. He does like to tinker. I just bit the bullet though and bought one. I do have some rough pitted pretty bad and such I am considering looking into pre-grinding, so I don't have to run in course forever. So that will be a new experience too.
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Post by wigglinrocks on Jul 19, 2017 11:43:18 GMT -5
You should cut or have cut a couple of the prairies before mashing and tumbling them . Interesting colors inside you would never expect by looking at the hide . Like the outsides of the prairies. Thought I would slab a couple before I did anything. Need to learn about them. Unique for sure. Tumble some of them whole but need a super grinder for that. Also have some big bots and huge Montanas . Thought I would run them together. Right now doing big pet wood and dino poop, and so don't have room yet. I think you will like the prairies . If ya don't , I can send you some stuff I wouldn't waste my time on .
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 19, 2017 12:32:39 GMT -5
Slurry, like in a colloidal particle mix. Your rocks, the grit, AND a clay type grit carrier, like kitty litter. The rocks impact each other and clack together causing microfractures and chips. Most new tumblers, myself included, suffer a lot of damage from this. In your barrel size people generally use about 12-14 ounces of the cheap, non scent kitty litter for the thickener it will produce. Milk shake thickness or a bit thicker will both carry the grits and cushion your rock. You'll catch on to thickness quickly. Some people on here talk "gravy" thickness.. This helped me a lot and I hope it helps you. The people who sell us tumble and grit don't give very good information. You can open your barrel and add some then roll for a day or part of a day and check out your thickness until you get the right amount figured out. The slurry in the pict is too thick. Add a bit of water, roll a while and then open and check again. Pain to keep checking but it will get you where you want to be quicker and without the frustrations. Also some people fil the barrel 7/8 full of materials to lessen the damage. If you're getting damage you will see it after you get past the 500 grit stage. Heartbreaker to tumble for a couple months and see your rocks badly dmaged. Again, most of us have experienced it. The 10 vibe is all the size you need. Many people use the lot o twin because they can run smaller batches of different grits. I think the 10 has better mixing action. A lot of people here buy their equipment and stone from The Rockshed. Price , good material and fast shipment. Rock tumbler.com iss a bit pricier but have decent material. Rockshed has lots more business. Fun to shop different places. Ceramic media in larger size is great. Really cushions the load from damage. Don't use small. Most people also only use the larger and run a fair percentage or small rocks with their load. Great on having the extra polish barrel. Important. Being anal here is a good thing if you want great polish. Very relaxing albeit consuming hobby. Might talk the hubby into home building you a more durable and higher capacity rotary set up. Pretty wild rigs on here and also many of the regular commercial type. Lot of people rolla set of rock for months and months in coarse. Some people pregrind their rock to remove the defects before putting them in to tumble. Sounds like you been doing your home work. Look forward to seeing your progress. Take and post pictures so the members can give you proper advice and encouragement. Have a good one sis, Cliff
Cliff Thanks so much for explaining and the tips. Hubby is picking up a cheap bag of plain clay litter on the way home today and I will add tonight and keep my eye on it to get the right consistency. Before I bought the TT B, I was playing with the idea of him just building a tumbler. He does like to tinker. I just bit the bullet though and bought one. I do have some rough pitted pretty bad and such I am considering looking into pre-grinding, so I don't have to run in course forever. So that will be a new experience too. jamesp is the McGiver and pregrind king on the forum. He has designed PVC and built great homemade barrels and is a wealth of information that is in his back posts. Hes also a very cool guy.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
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Post by Fossilman on Jul 21, 2017 9:29:22 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum.....Tumblers heaven here....
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 21, 2017 10:14:43 GMT -5
Are you making gravy yet? or a malt slurry? ` melf77
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