jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 3, 2019 16:13:17 GMT -5
They were tumbled separately in small barrels. Certain they could have been done in Lortone 33 four inch barrels. Rio wood, palm, moss and a coral in onces: Well filled moss from the Rio. Nice naturally rounded rock with few defects(hard to find). A Rio wood that was difficult to pre-shape on grinder. Hard rock cafe.
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Post by pauls on Dec 3, 2019 16:35:56 GMT -5
Tumbled separately? What did you use as filler James? I see small barrels might be the trick here, I tried tumbling large stuff in a large barrel and it worked real well as a ball mill, pounded the smaller stuff into oblivion. it didn't do much good for the large stuff either.
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Benathema
has rocks in the head
God chased me down and made sure I knew He was real June 20, 2022. I've been on a Divine Mission.
Member since November 2019
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Post by Benathema on Dec 3, 2019 18:41:11 GMT -5
Neato Magneto!
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 3, 2019 20:04:47 GMT -5
Tumbled separately? What did you use as filler James? I see small barrels might be the trick here, I tried tumbling large stuff in a large barrel and it worked real well as a ball mill, pounded the smaller stuff into oblivion. it didn't do much good for the large stuff either. Yep the small ones are the easiest. No need to have a lot of smalls around them. Just enough to allow the big rock some movement. Big barrels ball milled them every time for me if there was more than one. Even if you only have two big rocks in a barrel they will easily find themselves and the smaller stuff between them. It is the law of averages apparently. One big rock, the rest need to be 1 to 1.5 inches in size or smaller. I used 5.5 inch inside diameter barrels for up to 5 inch longer shaped rocks or 4 inch rounder shaped rocks and the small barrel trick shaped them quickly this way. Shaped the smaller tumbles quickly too. For yet bigger rocks I would just use a barrel just bigger enough to allow movement of the single bigger rock. I built some short 8 inch barrels with a 6 inch opening for a single bigger rock. Yet to try them. Rest assured the smaller rocks around it will shape incredibly fast. And the abrasive will break down very fast. I will use 3/8" SiC for coarse grind. Probably best to use pea gravel for 220-500-1000-polish if finishing in a rotary.
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Post by RocksInNJ on Dec 4, 2019 0:24:13 GMT -5
Wow what a shine!
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Dec 4, 2019 6:55:06 GMT -5
Awesome polished specimens. Were these roughed in the rotary and finished in the vibrasonic or all done in the rotary?
Chuck
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Dec 4, 2019 9:56:53 GMT -5
Nice rolls with the bigger material James!
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 4, 2019 11:14:42 GMT -5
Awesome polished specimens. Were these roughed in the rotary and finished in the vibrasonic or all done in the rotary? Chuck In the vibe RocksInNJ. They sure will not get that polish if there are any other big rocks in the party RocksInNJ. From step 1 to polish, damage from the slightest impacts will permanently damage the surface very easily. And, if there are nothing but small rocks or media the big rock both shapes and polishes much quicker than 'a mix of sizes'. There is really no choice in the matter because the big rock is 100% safe from damage caused by impacts, simple as that. Be aware though that these were pre-shaped with heavy grinding on a wheel. I gave a member a pre-shaped big rock similar to these and she did 220-500-polish successfully in a 33B rotary. I did coarse and 220 in the rotary Chuck. AO 220 and polish in the Vibrasonic. Again the big rock totally sorrounded by smalls as the vibe too will damage the big rock quickly if other big rocks are in the hopper. I had forgotten I sent MsAli a pre-ground big rock with no time in tumbler and she managed a polish in her 33B. She named it George lol.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 4, 2019 11:26:10 GMT -5
Nice rolls with the bigger material James! Those are fast and easy tumbles Michael. The pre-grind was a good bit of work though. A batch of pre-ground rocks. All were very solid Rio Grande cobbles. Collected intentionally for being tumbled as big rocks. NOT easy to find. I hated to take a hammer to them so they got tumbled whole. Many came from the Zapata Texas McDonald's landscape islands, don't tell. I am not sure which quarry they got those rocks from but they were amazing agates.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 4, 2019 11:46:58 GMT -5
This is the cheap tile saw grinder I used. It is fitted with a $30 Advanta 7" x 1/4" tuck blade. I bought 5 blades figuring they would wear out quickly. Not so, the first blade is still working. It ended up being the fastest grinder I ever came up with. It takes about 10 minutes to prep one of the Rio agate cobbles. Longer for a 'near sphere' as being ground in this video. This is how this rock looked before grinding: Getting close to 'near sphere'
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Post by RocksInNJ on Dec 4, 2019 12:34:08 GMT -5
You must’ve read my mind. In the middle of reading your post I was thinking, I wonder what kind of grinder he used? Lol
Genius grinder. I want a 10” overhead saw. Now I guess I’ll need a cheapo tile saw just to grind with. I don’t think it would be possible with the moving rubber matted tray. Plus it would be awkward trying to rotate the rock in the opposite direction.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 4, 2019 13:21:45 GMT -5
You must’ve read my mind. In the middle of reading your post I was thinking, I wonder what kind of grinder he used? Lol Genius grinder. I want a 10” overhead saw. Now I guess I’ll need a cheapo tile saw just to grind with. I don’t think it would be possible with the moving rubber matted tray. Plus it would be awkward trying to rotate the rock in the opposite direction. Glad I could read your mind nj:). That tile saw was laying out in the open air shed for over 30 years. It is still out in the shed lol. It was a cheap one from Home Depot. It has a 4000 rpm 3/4 hp motor(about normal for the el cheapo tile saw) which equates to some fast and powerful grinding. The Advanta tuck blade on EBAY for like $28 barely fits in the opening for the saw blade and it is full of ~30 grit sharp diamonds(sharp being the operative). It is turned up on it's edge clamped to a low table and a garden hose is temporary clamped dripping on the rock to eliminate dust. The table is also tilted at 45 degrees to supply a fence to rotate the rock against more safely. Damn thing grinds so fast it needs to be permanently assembled instead of clamps everywhere. Absolutely like this set up. Or the Advanta blade can be lowered by lowering the saw motor so that only a small portion is sticking up. The height of the blade is adjusted to the size of the rock For small rocks it may be sticking up only one inch or less for safety reasons(finger biting). Link about it: www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/sets/72157683648790962
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Post by RocksInNJ on Dec 4, 2019 13:32:36 GMT -5
You must’ve read my mind. In the middle of reading your post I was thinking, I wonder what kind of grinder he used? Lol Genius grinder. I want a 10” overhead saw. Now I guess I’ll need a cheapo tile saw just to grind with. I don’t think it would be possible with the moving rubber matted tray. Plus it would be awkward trying to rotate the rock in the opposite direction. Glad I could read your mind nj:). That tile saw was laying out in the open air shed for over 30 years. It is still out in the shed lol. It was a cheap one from Home Depot. It has a 4000 rpm 3/4 hp motor(about normal for the el cheapo tile saw) which equates to some fast and powerful grinding. The Advanta tuck blade on EBAY for like $28 barely fits in the opening for the saw blade and it is full of ~30 grit sharp diamonds(sharp being the operative). It is turned up on it's edge clamped to a low table and a garden hose is temporary clamped dripping on the rock to eliminate dust. The table is also tilted at 45 degrees to supply a fence to rotate the rock against more safely. Damn thing grinds so fast it needs to be permanently assembled instead of clamps everywhere. Absolutely like this set up. Or the Advanta blade can be lowered by lowering the saw motor so that only a small portion is sticking up. The height of the blade is adjusted to the size of the rock For small rocks it may be sticking up only one inch or less for safety reasons(finger biting). Link about it: www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/sets/72157683648790962Is that just one blade or a bunch of them together? If just one, that’s one thick ass blade. i might be concerned with the openings on the blade, but I guess if your working from the side like in your video it’s safe.
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Post by MsAli on Dec 4, 2019 14:25:21 GMT -5
Awesome polished specimens. Were these roughed in the rotary and finished in the vibrasonic or all done in the rotary? Chuck In the vibe RocksInNJ . They sure will not get that polish if there are any other big rocks in the party RocksInNJ . From step 1 to polish, damage from the slightest impacts will permanently damage the surface very easily. And, if there are nothing but small rocks or media the big rock both shapes and polishes much quicker than 'a mix of sizes'. There is really no choice in the matter because the big rock is 100% safe from damage caused by impacts, simple as that. Be aware though that these were pre-shaped with heavy grinding on a wheel. I gave a member a pre-shaped big rock similar to these and she did 220-500-polish successfully in a 33B rotary. I did coarse and 220 in the rotary Chuck. AO 220 and polish in the Vibrasonic. Again the big rock totally sorrounded by smalls as the vibe too will damage the big rock quickly if other big rocks are in the hopper. I had forgotten I sent MsAli a pre-ground big rock with no time in tumbler and she managed a polish in her 33B. She named it George lol. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/81775/george-big-yellow-completed-batch
I still love George and he sits proudly in my display case
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 4, 2019 15:25:16 GMT -5
A pinnacle in MY tumbling career MsAli when YOU tumbled that rascal to a fine polish in your tiny rotary. I would have been nervous tackling that project and you came thru in flying colors. You proved that victory can be had with a small rotary. You are a bold lady. (Icon of large audience applauding) Hope you don't mind. Had to post him here.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 4, 2019 15:36:01 GMT -5
Glad I could read your mind nj:). That tile saw was laying out in the open air shed for over 30 years. It is still out in the shed lol. It was a cheap one from Home Depot. It has a 4000 rpm 3/4 hp motor(about normal for the el cheapo tile saw) which equates to some fast and powerful grinding. The Advanta tuck blade on EBAY for like $28 barely fits in the opening for the saw blade and it is full of ~30 grit sharp diamonds(sharp being the operative). It is turned up on it's edge clamped to a low table and a garden hose is temporary clamped dripping on the rock to eliminate dust. The table is also tilted at 45 degrees to supply a fence to rotate the rock against more safely. Damn thing grinds so fast it needs to be permanently assembled instead of clamps everywhere. Absolutely like this set up. Or the Advanta blade can be lowered by lowering the saw motor so that only a small portion is sticking up. The height of the blade is adjusted to the size of the rock For small rocks it may be sticking up only one inch or less for safety reasons(finger biting). Link about it: www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/sets/72157683648790962Is that just one blade or a bunch of them together? If just one, that’s one thick ass blade. i might be concerned with the openings on the blade, but I guess if your working from the side like in your video it’s safe. It is a single 'blade' that is 1/4" thick. So the contact point is small allowing it to have a lot point pressure. At 4000 rpm the openings have zero effect since the thing is spinning at 67 times per second. To help you know it's intended use, it is used on a hand grinder to remove mortar between bricks. Called a 'tuck' blade. It was balanced well and spun smoothly. Poorly balanced blades or grinding wheels cause problems grinding our hard rock by chipping and bruising them from bouncing. Even after years of use it still runs well balanced.
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Post by MsAli on Dec 4, 2019 16:23:59 GMT -5
I don't mind you posted him in this thread. He is quite fabulous
Super proud to do him justice and will always be grateful that you gave me the opportunity to try
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 4, 2019 17:12:10 GMT -5
The pressure was on because you were posting the progress step by step MsAli which raised the suspense ! And a big crowd following too, a lot to be said about that. Made me think about having a tumbler that ran a dozen 33 barrels and doing a dozen George's at a time. Well you hit it out of the park !
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Post by RocksInNJ on Dec 4, 2019 17:22:10 GMT -5
Nice rolls with the bigger material James! Those are fast and easy tumbles Michael. The pre-grind was a good bit of work though. A batch of pre-ground rocks. All were very solid Rio Grande cobbles. Collected intentionally for being tumbled as big rocks. NOT easy to find. I hated to take a hammer to them so they got tumbled whole. Many came from the Zapata Texas McDonald's landscape islands, don't tell. I am not sure which quarry they got those rocks from but they were amazing agates. McDonalds??? Really??? I’ve been everywhere just looking for a decent rock and you go to McDonalds and come home with some beautiful McRocks??? I can’t say what I mumbled to myself when I read that on here, so I’ll just say, man life is so unfair! That’s ridiculous, but hey congrats to you for not only scoring some nice rocks, but for snatching them from those mindless rats that always mess up my order. Unbelievable!!!
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Post by miket on Dec 4, 2019 18:59:35 GMT -5
Those are fast and easy tumbles Michael. The pre-grind was a good bit of work though. A batch of pre-ground rocks. All were very solid Rio Grande cobbles. Collected intentionally for being tumbled as big rocks. NOT easy to find. I hated to take a hammer to them so they got tumbled whole. Many came from the Zapata Texas McDonald's landscape islands, don't tell. I am not sure which quarry they got those rocks from but they were amazing agates. McDonalds??? Really??? I’ve been everywhere just looking for a decent rock and you go to McDonalds and come home with some beautiful McRocks??? I can’t say what I mumbled to myself when I read that on here, so I’ll just say, man life is so unfair! That’s ridiculous, but hey congrats to you for not only scoring some nice rocks, but for snatching them from those mindless rats that always mess up my order. Unbelievable!!! Then you really won't like this one... People find fairburn agates all over Rapid City in landscaping. Big fairburns. Lucky SOB's. 😐
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