p40whk
starting to shine!
Member since October 2018
Posts: 45
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Post by p40whk on Nov 5, 2018 12:31:55 GMT -5
First off, I'd like to say thank you to everyone that helped with kind words and advise as I don't think I would have gotten the results I did without the help from everyone here. A lot of the Sodalite didn't polish up as well as the other rock primarily because I had it mixed in with harder stone. I may run that through the medium and fine stages again by itself. The Banded Amethyst turned out really well and I have a lot more stones not pictured here (just haven't gone through them all yet). Some of this is rock I picked up while hiking in Utah and the rest is purchased from The Rock Shed. I just picked up 50# of rough from Lee on his trip through my area so I have more still to tumble. Any tips or suggestions on some of this would be appreciated. Thanks! Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr Random rock tumbling by Jeff Schaber, on Flickr
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Nov 5, 2018 12:44:24 GMT -5
Nice batch. It looks like you nailed the shine so I am not sure what advice to give. Your finished rocks have some pits and flaws but they are shiny. That may be a personal preference so I try not to critique that part. All rotary or rotary and vibe tumbler? My favorite. Guessing it is a Bahia agate. Chuck
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Post by woodman on Nov 5, 2018 12:54:26 GMT -5
Nice rocks and polish and great photos!
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Post by aDave on Nov 5, 2018 13:14:14 GMT -5
Congrats and nice work!
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p40whk
starting to shine!
Member since October 2018
Posts: 45
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Post by p40whk on Nov 5, 2018 13:27:50 GMT -5
They spent about a week in a Thumbler Model B then went into a Lot-O Tumbler for the finish stages. I used the recipe from This thread for my Lot-O. The pits are something I'd like to get rid of if possible so maybe more time in the Rough Rotary tumbler stage?
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Post by aDave on Nov 5, 2018 13:48:14 GMT -5
They spent about a week in a Thumbler Model B then went into a Lot-O Tumbler for the finish stages. I used the recipe from This thread for my Lot-O. The pits are something I'd like to get rid of if possible so maybe more time in the Rough Rotary tumbler stage? For the most part, imperfection removal and shaping will only take place in the first (coarse) stage. If you want more of the pits removed, you'll do it there by tumbling longer. Many here are running a first stage for weeks, if not months to get desired shaping. There's no set recipe...the time frame should be based upon what you are looking for. That said, there are some caveats. Depending on the rock, you may not be able to remove all of the pits, because in trying to do so, you may grind it down to nothing. Some rocks are also prone to pitting when tumbled. So, to a certain degree there can be a balancing act as to how far you want to go to get "perfect" rocks. The more you tumble and work with different material, it will be easier to figure out how much you'll be able to get out of a certain rock.
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Post by fantastic5 on Nov 5, 2018 14:00:46 GMT -5
Fantastic batch p40whk . Even better with this being your first batch! I really love my Lot-O for finishing work. I too began with a very similar recipe to what you linked to. I have found that if I start with 2 tsp black AO (the cheap stuff from Harbor Freight) and run for a week, they will come out of that run nicely polished. Then I move to my polish barrel and they go to a glass shine in no time at all. And the AO keeps me from doing a clean out every few days to progress through the pre-polish stage. I'm very busy M-F and the less time during the week that I need to spend babysitting the tumblers, the more I like it. Ann
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Post by MsAli on Nov 5, 2018 14:02:14 GMT -5
Not bad at all for your 1st batch!
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p40whk
starting to shine!
Member since October 2018
Posts: 45
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Post by p40whk on Nov 5, 2018 14:34:03 GMT -5
They spent about a week in a Thumbler Model B then went into a Lot-O Tumbler for the finish stages. I used the recipe from This thread for my Lot-O. The pits are something I'd like to get rid of if possible so maybe more time in the Rough Rotary tumbler stage? For the most part, imperfection removal and shaping will only take place in the first (coarse) stage. If you want more of the pits removed, you'll do it there by tumbling longer. Many here are running a first stage for weeks, if not months to get desired shaping. There's no set recipe...the time frame should be based upon what you are looking for. That said, there are some caveats. Depending on the rock, you may not be able to remove all of the pits, because in trying to do so, you may grind it down to nothing. Some rocks are also prone to pitting when tumbled. So, to a certain degree there can be a balancing act as to how far you want to go to get "perfect" rocks. The more you tumble and work with different material, it will be easier to figure out how much you'll be able to get out of a certain rock. I kind of figured that out as some of the rock I started with is gone! I have a batch of Bahai Agates in the Rotary right now, they've been in there for a week and when I looked at them after a week I wasn't happy with how smooth they were. So, I rinsed them and reloaded them in the tumbler with fresh grit for another week to see how well they smooth out. I'll let them go until I get them how I want them. It's a bit difficult to do however when you start with a batch of mixed rock with different Mohs scale (which this batch was). I plan to try and group my tumbles going forward.
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lancemountain
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2017
Posts: 214
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Post by lancemountain on Nov 5, 2018 23:13:00 GMT -5
Looks great for a first batch! Keep at it!
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Post by johnw on Nov 6, 2018 0:08:07 GMT -5
Nice batch. It looks like you nailed the shine so I am not sure what advice to give. Your finished rocks have some pits and flaws but they are shiny. That may be a personal preference so I try not to critique that part. All rotary or rotary and vibe tumbler? My favorite. Guessing it is a Bahia agate. Chuck I agree with Chuck, you nailed it, congrats and this one is really the best. Given this is you first time out of the chute: well done!.....Cheers, johnw
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Post by Pat on Nov 6, 2018 0:19:08 GMT -5
I’m not a tumbler, but those look really good to me!
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Post by fernwood on Nov 6, 2018 6:24:22 GMT -5
Fine line between removing all pits and losing most of the rock. I like how these turned out.
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 6, 2018 8:32:17 GMT -5
GREAT JOB! Just look at that polish!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 6, 2018 9:22:21 GMT -5
Great job on your first try!
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Post by miket on Nov 6, 2018 10:32:43 GMT -5
Very nice! I think the best advice that I've gotten on here is to do what makes you happy as far as tumbling goes. As others have said, I've already noticed that sometimes in trying to remove all of the pits you will remove most of the rock.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,711
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Post by Fossilman on Nov 6, 2018 10:45:27 GMT -5
Nice work and now your hooked........
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Post by Garage Rocker on Nov 6, 2018 11:48:57 GMT -5
Nice shine! I'm a big fan of the Bahias also.
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saxplayer
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2018
Posts: 1,327
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Post by saxplayer on Nov 6, 2018 11:59:08 GMT -5
Great job with your first batch! I also like the Bahia and the banded anythest.
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Post by beefjello on Nov 7, 2018 18:29:56 GMT -5
First tumble?? Damn, nice way to start! Lotta shiny beauties there!
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