quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,332
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Post by quartz on Nov 24, 2018 1:01:39 GMT -5
I generally run five cups of 16 grit for two weeks, add five cups of 16 grit, run another two weeks, do a so-so cleanup, then 80 grit for two weeks. This is where I see the weight reduction show up. My barrels are 12" PVC a foot long, and I run ~17 R.P.M. We have an 8lb. 12oz. [finished] agate my wife found in the rough at an estate sale. I ground on it for months with smaller pieces to get it good enough to move to finer grits. The piece has a crack running diagonally through it, but never broke. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about that; just don't drop it. That piece you are working on is a bunch nicer than our big one, ours is really sorta blah.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Nov 24, 2018 7:23:03 GMT -5
Watching your progress and enjoying your enthusiasm. Looks like you are getting into the well rounded stages when all your hard work pays off.
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Post by miket on Nov 24, 2018 7:42:11 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing, Big Crazy is coming along nicely! They all are, of course, but that's the one I'm watching for. Oh, and I like the one with the eye 😎 miket, you mean this guy, the mean one, the one with one eye? The other two had "eyes" as well, so just checking." I will keep this one separate with my special critter tumble that's running concurrently and when finished its yours. Cheers, johnw So the question to ask is, can this be a Sentient Being? It certainly has a form of visual character. Now, that's heavy. Yep, this is the one. Maybe he's not mean, maybe he's just ancient and misunderstood... Maybe the things he's seen and absorbed over the years have changed him. It happens. Sentient? Anything is possible! Oh, and thank you 😎
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Post by johnw on Nov 24, 2018 13:04:04 GMT -5
Watching your progress and enjoying your enthusiasm. Looks like you are getting into the well rounded stages when all your hard work pays off. Hi jamesp, thanks, I certainly hope so but am concerned about the roughness along one edge. I am not sure it will go away with just the 200 grit tumble and I need go back and redo the 60-90 grit. Like I said, I think I am back at ground zero again. Decided: back it goes for twenty more days of 60-90 grit but in a smaller barrel. Cheer, johnw
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Post by johnw on Nov 24, 2018 17:14:47 GMT -5
The transition from 65T to 40T barrel. Here are some visuals of the transition. Huge difference in size of barrels
Added barrel guides to center barrel when tumbling
Barrel is 11.5 " deep
Added Bahia's from re-do, plus Big Crazy
Added 5 pounds small lace rough as fill
Added 4 pounds 60-90 grit
Added 7 pounds of water to bring up to 3/4 full mark
Total weight is 52 pounds all buttoned up
RPM is 17 Easy-peasy, can heft this one, no issues. Thanks for being part of my journey............... TBC in twenty days. Cheers, johnw
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Post by johnw on Jan 6, 2019 16:20:21 GMT -5
Here is the Big Rock Tumble Update and I am sorry for the delay, I ran into issues with the 65T bearings, small pulley“V” belt and both tumbling rails. Seems I may have screwed things up a bit with the 135 pound load I had, previously. It should not have happened given the machine can take up 150 pounds of rocks. I am guessing that may have been an upper limit consideration Diamond Pacific established during their design phase. Anyway, The issue was clicking bearings. During the teardown I discovered the ‘V” belt had a defect, yeah, big time defect, y’think?. See the picture. The bearings were replaced and everything was re-assembled. Cranked it up and still had some noise, seems like from the bearing area, but could be the plastic covers on the tumbling rods. I’m getting the rods refurbished and replaced with new ones, so I am still down. I will be up and running by the end of this week. That’s the update on the machine. The tumbling update: The 60-90 phase has been completed after running for an extended time amounting to a total of about 76 days. Big Crazy looks good, and I am sorting thru the Bahia’s and Mookaite’s for go and toss back......... for additional rough grinding. BTW during this process I consumed at least 24 pounds of grit. Seems high but needed to get rid of some of the rough spots on the Big Crazy and for the most part it worked. So here we go, the Big Crazy is " stepping out in style" and really has visually come a long way since when we first got started………. and, we have only passed the 60-90 phase. When this dude has gone thru final polish, I’m gonna need sunglasses. Oops, a clicking sound you say, wonder why. hmmmm? Here is the Big Crazy, steppin' out in style This dude is lookin' good The colors are beginning to come thru
Well, that's it for now, thank's for looking and hope you are enjoying Big Crazy's Journey. I'll have an update next week. Cheers, johnw
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fishnpinball
Cave Dweller
So much to learn, so little time
Member since March 2017
Posts: 1,491
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Post by fishnpinball on Jan 6, 2019 18:57:22 GMT -5
That is turning into a beauty.
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saxplayer
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2018
Posts: 1,327
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Post by saxplayer on Jan 6, 2019 19:47:30 GMT -5
What is it measuring approx? It's beaut.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jan 6, 2019 19:55:34 GMT -5
Hi John! Thanks for the ongoing progress reports. A very enjoyable read. It looks like you picked a dandy in Big Crazy. Looking forward to more reports. How much does Big Crazy weigh now? This would make an interesting article for Rock and Gem magazine.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jan 6, 2019 20:20:38 GMT -5
The good news is your rock is looking great. Bummer about the tumbler issues. Those tumblers are high dollar units and I would expect more from them. With my first home built tumbler I did not make it easy enough to keep it maintained so on my latest build I made sure to correct that. Your belt picture reminded my of the belts on mine when I finally retired it. I had a few belts that were all in that condition but that was after a pretty abusive 5 years of 24-7 running. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/83136/built-tumbler-after-years-abuseChuck
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Post by johnw on Jan 6, 2019 23:17:12 GMT -5
What is it measuring approx? It's beaut. saxplayer, Thank you for the compliments, here are the current measurements 7-1/2" L x 3-3/4"W x3-7/8 H. At the time of the first post, I took the suppliers dimensions as stated being 7"x4"x3" at face value. Turns out they were approximations. Mea-Culpa. I should have taken the measurements myself. Lesson learned. Cheers, johnw
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saxplayer
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2018
Posts: 1,327
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Post by saxplayer on Jan 6, 2019 23:25:18 GMT -5
A ton of work, cost and effort but if you can produce a mostly crack free stone that is 7'' and Mexican lace with red hues - a WIN!!!
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Post by johnw on Jan 6, 2019 23:28:55 GMT -5
Hi John! Thanks for the ongoing progress reports. A very enjoyable read. It looks like you picked a dandy in Big Crazy. Looking forward to more reports. How much does Big Crazy weigh now? This would make an interesting article for Rock and Gem magazine. Hi Garry, when we first started Big Crazy weighed in at 5 pounds 11 ounces. He now weighs 5 pounds even. I attribute the weight loss to the extended running with 60-90 grit. Not sure what typical loss ratio vs time are, so cannot say if this is good or bad. I believe hardness is rated at 7.7 so maybe it's a normal loss rate for 76 days. Cheers, johnw
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Post by johnw on Jan 6, 2019 23:32:48 GMT -5
A ton of work, cost and effort but if you can produce a mostly crack free stone that is 7'' and Mexican lace with red hues - a WIN!!! Will Big Crazy lose its yellow hues over time? Cheers, johnw
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Post by johnw on Jan 7, 2019 0:58:36 GMT -5
The good news is your rock is looking great. Bummer about the tumbler issues. Those tumblers are high dollar units and I would expect more from them. With my first home built tumbler I did not make it easy enough to keep it maintained so on my latest build I made sure to correct that. Your belt picture reminded my of the belts on mine when I finally retired it. I had a few belts that were all in that condition but that was after a pretty abusive 5 years of 24-7 running. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/83136/built-tumbler-after-years-abuseChuck Hi Chuck, yes it's a bummer ok, but it happens and DP replaced the bearings and v belt, at no cost. No sure if it was load driven or just a crappy set of bearings and a faulty V belt. Anyway, I'll be up and running again during the week. Given all these issues, I realized I needed another machine. Reason being at this current rate, all the Big Crazy's I have planned to run will require at least three years before I even get to the Big One. That said, I have to thank many folks who previously gave me several ideas on how to make my own tumbler and it became a make or buy decision, and finally I decided to buy. TBC.........Cheers, johnw
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Post by fernwood on Jan 7, 2019 5:02:30 GMT -5
Looking good. Sorry for your equipment failure.
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goatgrinder
spending too much on rocks
Make mine a man cave
Member since January 2017
Posts: 368
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Post by goatgrinder on Jan 7, 2019 19:15:43 GMT -5
And the saga continues. Can't wait for the cowboy to ride off into the sunset. Followed by sweet music. Best.
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Post by johnw on Jan 7, 2019 19:53:19 GMT -5
And the saga continues. Can't wait for the cowboy to ride off into the sunset. Followed by sweet music. Best. Err, hang on pardner, I'm thinkin' you got the wrong channel. The only guy who rode off into the sunset was Humphrey Bogart after the clip about no stinkin' badges in Shoutbox We is too busy here what with the Zoo, the Big Crazy Pastry Shop and tumbling Big Crazy's. Not only that I am having a big argument with the cookers over at Big Crazy's Pastry Shop cuz I wanna use the very last display I posted on that thread as the next Big Crazy Tumble. They tell me it was their very best plum pudding and want to save it. So I got my work cut out trying to cut a deal with them. So being the case I have no time to ride any Sentient Beings, err, sorry I mean Horses, into the Sunset. Besides all that I have to set up a new tumbler so I can get more Big Crazy's tumbling. They are all kinda pushy and don't like to wait in line. The second one I wanted to run the "Pandora", got shoved outa line cuz it requires too much hot melt prep time, whereas the Plum Pudding one is raring to go. Go figure. Jeez, I really should write novels for little old ladies wanting to read fantasy stories. Oh well. c'est la vie, I'll just have to keep tumbling rocks. Cheers, johnw
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Post by johnw on Jan 8, 2019 0:42:40 GMT -5
Big Rock Tumble Progress update…….,from yesterday: Is there a “Lapidary Doctor” in the house? Big Crazy has two whopping holes in its skin and need diagnosis on how to fix. Here are images of the problem: This is not an image of an asteroid impact on the surface of Mars, it's one of the holes.
The hole is about 1/4" deep x 1/4" wide x 3/8" long
The one on the back is about 1/8" deep x 1" long x 1/16 "-1/8 " wide.
The top hole is at 9 o'clock. The one on the back is almost directly opposite.So the question becomes how to fix this and what equipment do I need. The only tool I have is a small Dremel. Do I sand or grind these holes out or just fill them with epoxy and continue tumbling, thru polish? I would appreciate all suggestions on how to resolve this issue. Thank's, johnw
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jan 8, 2019 3:01:49 GMT -5
Hi John, For the back hole, since it is so shallow, I would definitely contour grind it out and sand until the surface of the depression matches the finish of the adjacent area. I would probably do the same for the front too, but can't tell if that would work by looking at the photo. Sometimes those holes go deeper than you think at first glance.
As far as tools, I have a small selection of diamond bits I picked up at the Boeing surplus store. They range from 1/8" to 5/8". I put them in a chuck and turn it with a 1/4 horse motor. Don't know if you have anything like that though.
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