reeniebeany
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rotary Only
Member since January 2020
Posts: 125
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Post by reeniebeany on Apr 9, 2020 14:51:53 GMT -5
Hello all, Hope everyone is safe and well!!!
I am out of coarse Silicon Carbide Grit. My DH said he would check his sand blasting stuff to see if he had anything before I order more.
What he has found so far is a big jug of Aluminum Oxide 70G We are running on the assumption that the 70G is the coarseness grade. It looks like coarse black grit to my (very) untrained eye.
I know 1200 Aluminum Oxide is used to polish. Can you use coarse Aluminum Oxide for the first stage?
Even if it isn't as effective as Silicon Carbide, the price is right. In these trying economic times I want to be frugal. But if it is going to do something evil to my tumbler, that would be false economy.
I have one barrel running stage 4 polish and the other barrel running stage 3. I am out of stage 1 and 2 grit.
Reeniebeany
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EricD
Cave Dweller
High in the Mountains
Member since November 2019
Posts: 1,142
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Post by EricD on Apr 9, 2020 15:08:01 GMT -5
I have used 36 grit AO in my rotary. It won't damage your barrels but it is not optimum for shaping rocks as the sharp edges of it wear down quickly as compared to SiC
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Post by pauls on Apr 9, 2020 16:27:33 GMT -5
Time for an experiment. Do it and let us know how it goes.
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NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
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Post by NevadaBill on Apr 12, 2020 16:15:50 GMT -5
I have a bunch of AO 80, and had planned on running some long-term experiments with it. But I did not get far. I was not impressed with the results I was getting initially in the first couple of weeks, after recharging and the like.
Later I came to understand that my methods were flawed, and that as Eric puts it, the Aluminum Oxide breaks down quickly and is better used in later stages. SiC is best used for shaping rocks initially.
Some day when I have more time on my hands, I will go back and experiment more with a new plan. But I would not suggest buying the AO 70, with expectations that you can use traditional tumbling methods with it.
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