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Post by joshuamcduffie on Dec 17, 2019 11:22:34 GMT -5
Ok, I've been running a 1Lb rotary tumbler for about a year now, with pretty good results. I figured I'd like to upgrade, to get some more throughput.
I was able to pick up a two-barrel rotary tumbler setup but the guy who sold it didn't give me much information about it.
The barrels are 7 inches across, and 8 inches high, which works out to about 308 cubic inches, or 1.33 gallons. How do I figure out how much raw material, grit and water to use? I've got about 5 lbs each of 60/90 SiC, 150/220 SiC and 500 SiC to work with, as well as TXP for the final polish.
Any advise as to how to best fill and use the tumbler? I don't want to waste a bunch of material, time or money experimenting. Thanks!
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Post by As I in does tries! on Dec 17, 2019 15:16:00 GMT -5
Greetings from Scotland on the other side of the pond! Lortone C200-12 2x 12lb rubber barrels 8 inch x 8 inch ![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/73/d2/10/73d21096ed19ba25208f309b16bbfdbf.jpg) Scott Murray Tumblers Lortone bought the designs for peanuts when SM went bust. Scott Murray barrels are hex shaped metal with a rubber insert and have 6 wing nuts to un-do to open the barrel, same again to close it. dual scott murray rotary tumbler Image search: tinyurl.com/u4mfnssSee my Aussie Lapidary Forum: Rock Tumbling Guide! for 12lb barrel amounts in signature below, Fixed 80 (60/90) grit you will need between half a pound to a pound in weight per barrel load!
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braat
spending too much on rocks
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Post by braat on Dec 17, 2019 18:39:54 GMT -5
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
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Post by Wooferhound on Dec 18, 2019 5:17:48 GMT -5
A 1 Pound Tumbler. How many rocks can you fit in there ?
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Post by joshuamcduffie on Dec 18, 2019 9:11:24 GMT -5
Wooferhound, it's the little National Geographic one. I wanted to upgrade, you know? Get more rocks done.
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Post by joshuamcduffie on Dec 18, 2019 9:12:05 GMT -5
@as I in does tries! & braat - thanks for the help!
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Post by RocksInNJ on Dec 18, 2019 11:06:58 GMT -5
You want to fill the barrel to about 2/3-3/4 full with rocks. Then fill with water until it reaches the bottom of the top layer of rocks, After that add about one heaping Tbsp of grit per pound of rock. Due note with the 60/90 first stage, you may have to repeat the process multiple times, depending on how smooth the rocks are. All the other stages won’t shape the rocks much, so don’t move on to the second stage until all the rocks are smooth or until youre happy with the results.
Clean the rocks well in between stages with a toothbrush or something to make sure there is no grit stuck in any little crevices, as this will contaminate the next run and scratch up your rocks.
Hope this help and best of luck with your tumbles.
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Post by As I in does tries! on Dec 20, 2019 15:06:03 GMT -5
Greetings Joshua, so what is your new tumbler, a photo of your machine would help a lot!?
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gatorflash1
spending too much on rocks
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Active in Delaware Mineralogical Society, Cabchon Grinding and Polishing, 2 Thumlers B's and a UV-18
Member since October 2018
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Post by gatorflash1 on Dec 21, 2019 9:24:38 GMT -5
Hi joshuamcduffie - Here is my $.02 USD worth of advice to a distant Scottish relative, maybe. I don't claim to be an expert. As you are aware there are lots of different ideas about tumbling rocks so please take mine with a grain of salt. I learned from some experts and have had reasonably good success working mainly with agates and similar rocks. I dump my rocks into the barrel until they are between 50 to 75% of the barrel capacity. Then I add ceramic media to get no more than 75% barrel capacity. Then I make sure I have a balanced load of different sizes. Then I weigh the rocks to see how many pounds of rocks I have in the barrel. Then I add 1 to 2 tablespoons of grit per pound, starting with 1.5 tablespoons. I fill the barrel with water to just below the bottom of the top layer of the rocks in the tumbler. I use one barrel for stages 1 thru 3, and the other barrel for my final polish stage. I clean the rocks and barrel very well between stages, adding a little soap to really scrub everything out so the old grit doesn't contaminate grinding and polishing of the current stage. I don't move to the next stage until I'm happy with the current stage. In my experience stage 1 takes the longest time, and does about 95%+ of the work shaping the finished rocks. I use #46 to #60 SiC grit in stage 1. I will run some loads for several months, recharging the grit every couple of weeks or so before moving to stage 2 and higher. One of my favorite references is the book Modern Rock Tumbling which has many good ideas about many different type of tumbling, grits, polishes, rocks, etc. I recommend it. www.lapidarymart.com/products/modern-rock-tumblingDoes this calculate for you?
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