NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
|
Post by NevadaBill on Jan 29, 2019 18:16:01 GMT -5
Good day, this is my first attempt at tumbling rocks. I picked these rocks up while walking around in the desert Southwest. This post is kind of a test because I would like to learn how to embed the actual pictures in to the post, rather than just have links to the pictures. Hope this works out. Shot 1 - the group. Some rocks didn't make the group photo because they are ugly. Shot 2 - closer look at some of the rocks. Shot 3 - another closer look at some. Shot 4 - a closer look at some of them Shot 5 - some of the rocks. Thanks for looking. I am happy with how many of them turned out and think I learned a lot about what not-to-do with this group also. -Bill
|
|
saxplayer
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2018
Posts: 1,327
|
Post by saxplayer on Jan 29, 2019 22:42:14 GMT -5
Good job Bill on your first batch! There is always lots to learn here and I have picked up a ton of hints too! Let me start by saying - do what makes you happy and only that It is easy to get caught up in the "perfect" rock but if you like how you are doing them - don't change! What questions or concerns do you have? I think you can spend more time in stage 1 rough grit to get more shaping (if that's what you want) - or even pre-shape with a trim saw etc to get rid of some of the flaws / cracks while in stage 1. Just some thoughts. Thanks, and good job on the first batch.
|
|
|
Post by aDave on Jan 29, 2019 23:07:45 GMT -5
I agree with what saxplayer says above. To a degree, you're in a minority (IMHO), as many folks come in here after the first batch is complete, and they didn't get the results they wanted. In fact, many don't even get much of a polish, so they are left wondering what they did wrong. In that sense, congrats to you. Just know, that if you are in the camp where you like natural looking polished rocks (with lots of cracks, crevasses, pits) as a finished product, you'll really have to be diligent in cleaning your rocks after each stage. Maybe you did it, but be sure to inspect and brush the rocks while rinsing in order to totally remove any traces of trapped grit. If that grit isn't removed, and the rocks are moved along, there is a chance you could contaminate the following stage.
|
|
|
Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 30, 2019 10:15:46 GMT -5
Hi Bill. I responded to your other thread with your list of questions. My answers in that thread were for someone looking for very well shaped rocks. When I finish tumbling a rough rock, it doesn’t look anything like it did originally. That’s how I like them. You might be in the camp of people who like the rock to look somewhat natural but shiny. Your questions about letting the rocks dry out between stages is much more important if you want natural looking rocks that retain their cracks and pits. You have to be very careful to clean out all the nooks and crannies if you’re going to tumble this way. I would suggest doing a cleaning run or two between stages. Just put your rocks back in the tumbler with ivory soap shavings or borax and run for an hour or two. You might even want to do that twice. You could also clean the holes with a toothbrush or by spraying a strong stream of water into them. You just need to be careful not to move any grit from one stage to the next.
The way I tumble, I try to get rid of all the cracks, so letting the rocks dry out between stages isn’t as big of a deal. If there’s no place for the grit and old slurry to his, there’s no problem.
|
|
NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
|
Post by NevadaBill on Jan 30, 2019 19:25:04 GMT -5
Good job Bill on your first batch! ... I think you can spend more time in stage 1 rough grit to get more shaping (if that's what you want) - or even pre-shape with a trim saw etc to get rid of some of the flaws / cracks while in stage 1... Saxplayer - Thank you for the kind words. Also, you must be reading my mind. Not only have I been looking at trim saws lately, I am about to make a post on the forums and ask for advice on a good, quality saw. Hehe. And the advice about multiple-weeks (stage 1) is great! After reading many articles here last night, it seems that (stage 1) can run as long as 8 weeks! I never knew. I really appreciate you taking the time to offer this information up. -Bill
|
|
NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
|
Post by NevadaBill on Jan 30, 2019 19:36:43 GMT -5
I agree with what saxplayer says above. To a degree, you're in a minority (IMHO), as many folks come in here after the first batch is complete, and they didn't get the results they wanted. In fact, many don't even get much of a polish, so they are left wondering what they did wrong. In that sense, congrats to you. Just know, that if you are in the camp where you like natural looking polished rocks (with lots of cracks, crevasses, pits) as a finished product, you'll really have to be diligent in cleaning your rocks after each stage. Maybe you did it, but be sure to inspect and brush the rocks while rinsing in order to totally remove any traces of trapped grit. If that grit isn't removed, and the rocks are moved along, there is a chance you could contaminate the following stage. Dave: I appreciate the nice words. I did my best and still don't think they are shiny enough. But I didn't know about "burnishing" with Ivory soap until yesterday. So, maybe I will try that as a final stage in my next batch. Thank you for the solid advice on eliminating grit after each stage. I watched a Youtube video series, and it emphasized cleaning everything. So I used a toothbrush on every rock. But my mistake was just throwing each rock (with matrix, etc) in to the barrel without any grinding, trimming, or prep at all. But I think I needed to make these errors in the learning process. I will pay more attention to this in all future batches. Also, I have read that even with ceramic media, that you should have a batch of media for each stage. And only use that media with that stage alone. Not sure if it is really true or not. But I ended up using 2 pounds, then 3 pounds+ of ceramic media this time, and I used the same media for Stage 2, 3, 4, and even the second polishing stage 5. I need to know if this is true or not. I bought the media from MJR, so I think they are good material. But I might have messed things up a bit by using the same media for all of my stages. I need to figure this part out. Thank you.
|
|
NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
|
Post by NevadaBill on Jan 30, 2019 19:46:02 GMT -5
... Your questions about letting the rocks dry out between stages is much more important if you want natural looking rocks that retain their cracks and pits. You have to be very careful to clean out all the nooks and crannies if you’re going to tumble this way. I would suggest doing a cleaning run or two between stages. Just put your rocks back in the tumbler with ivory soap shavings or borax and run for an hour or two. You might even want to do that twice. You could also clean the holes with a toothbrush or by spraying a strong stream of water into them. You just need to be careful not to move any grit from one stage to the next. The way I tumble, I try to get rid of all the cracks, so letting the rocks dry out between stages isn’t as big of a deal. If there’s no place for the grit and old slurry to his, there’s no problem. Juggler: That's very interesting reading, and I can't wait to get to the thread I posted yesterday about allowing rocks to dry out. I really appreciate that time you took to explain this. I am very confused over the subject. As for my preference, I am not sure I have one yet. I never really thought about the possibility of ending up with "natural" versus "round" looking rocks before. I think I would prefer less cracks and pits. But I don't want to lose so much of the rock, where something really interesting looking, might all get ground down and eliminated all together. I have to think about that one. My wife is already upset with me because her favorite rock from batch 1 was softer than the others, and it got ground away in to nothing practically! I didn't know about tumbling like-hardness rocks. I have to buy a Moh's kit, or something like that so I don't mess up more good (interesting looking) rocks. I can't wait to get to the thread and read your response, but mark my words that I have copy/pasted your input (above) in to my best practices notes that I am putting together for reference library later!
|
|
|
Post by aDave on Jan 30, 2019 19:59:00 GMT -5
Dave: I appreciate the nice words. I did my best and still don't think they are shiny enough. But I didn't know about "burnishing" with Ivory soap until yesterday. So, maybe I will try that as a final stage in my next batch. Thank you for the solid advice on eliminating grit after each stage. I watched a Youtube video series, and it emphasized cleaning everything. So I used a toothbrush on every rock. But my mistake was just throwing each rock (with matrix, etc) in to the barrel without any grinding, trimming, or prep at all. But I think I needed to make these errors in the learning process. I will pay more attention to this in all future batches. Also, I have read that even with ceramic media, that you should have a batch of media for each stage. And only use that media with that stage alone. Not sure if it is really true or not. But I ended up using 2 pounds, then 3 pounds+ of ceramic media this time, and I used the same media for Stage 2, 3, 4, and even the second polishing stage 5. I need to know if this is true or not. I bought the media from MJR, so I think they are good material. But I might have messed things up a bit by using the same media for all of my stages. I need to figure this part out. Thank you. Bill, I addressed (what turns out to be) your lack of shine in your "beginner question" thread, so I won't address that here. I didn't realize that was the case, as I had seen this thread first. Just know that burnishing is only a cleaning stage that helps to remove residue and film. It will not further polish your rocks. If your rocks aren't adequately polished, burnishing will do little to nothing. Just so you know, it's not absolutely necessary to do prep on your rocks. I typically don't unless I'm cutting them in the first place. They just go in as is, unless I need to cut off protrusions, sections of the rock with very big fissures/depressions, or any other flaws that I don't think rough tumbling will take care of. Ceramic media can be moved along with your rocks to subsequent stages. No need to dedicate them to any one stage. Plastic pellets should not be moved along, and you should absolutely have pellets dedicated to whatever stage you are working in. You either read some questionable advice or are conflating the two...which is understandable considering the amount of information you've been trying to absorb lately.
|
|
NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
|
Post by NevadaBill on Jan 30, 2019 21:01:09 GMT -5
Thanks Dave, good points taken here, which actually answer about 3 of my follow up questions. I appreciate that. I won't confuse burnishing with 14000 polishing, good. re-Prepping the rocks; I am going to buy a trim saw. Some of the rocks come with some horrible fractures, matrix, and I worry about grinding off too much beauty in the rock, in my efforts to properly shape it. I will either grind some, or trim some off prior to tumbling. As long as it doesn't appear too obvious (not just 1 flat cut, etc). Thanks, I will stick with ceramic media then. learned a new word: "Conflating". Thank you!
|
|