whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 318
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Post by whyofquartz on Apr 21, 2020 14:17:23 GMT -5
Inspired by the guys doing the big rock tumbles especially Benathema who had i think 3 going at one time. i decided to try my hand at it so got me a big rock and some smaller rocks and started on the 3lb version of this another angle on the rock I added the gravel to the barrel then the rock and more gravel added 2 spoon-fulls of old slurry and fresh 60gr and let tumble for 8 days
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 318
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Post by whyofquartz on Apr 21, 2020 14:26:28 GMT -5
that 8 days was up this passed Sunday 4/19/2020 so i opened it up and learned that the absolute size of the stones is just as important as the relative size of the stones it occurred to me after i had restarted this with a more traditional mix that i may have gotten the results i wanted by replacing some of the small stones with another big rock but too late now i put this much gravel with this much medium stuff and this other similar sized "hammer" that i didn't get a better picture of. i restarted the roll with fresh used slop and new 60gr. we shall see what she yields on 4/26/2020
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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
Posts: 703
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Post by Benathema on Apr 21, 2020 14:56:22 GMT -5
Dooooooooo itttttt...
We'll take this tumbling world for a roll and see what big'ns come out the other side!
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 318
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Post by whyofquartz on Apr 21, 2020 15:04:50 GMT -5
I am definitely going to try two big rocks in pea-gravel, I may even do it as week 2 of these two big ones. my plan is to just keep tumbling till i run out of rocks(more likely i will stop when i finish the 5lb of coarse i bought, just to have a stopping point) then move to 220. i hope to be able to expand my tumbling capabilities. but i do not know when that will happen.
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Post by RocksInNJ on Apr 21, 2020 16:28:45 GMT -5
Dooooooooo itttttt... We'll take this tumbling world for a roll and see what big'ns come out the other side!
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quartzilla
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2020
Posts: 1,237
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Post by quartzilla on Apr 22, 2020 23:11:24 GMT -5
Al Bundy approves.
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 318
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Post by whyofquartz on May 4, 2020 12:27:42 GMT -5
week four, round three for this guy. i got too busy the week end of 4/25 to do a clean out though i should have just taken the time to refresh the grit, never the less the rocks tumbled undisturbed for two solid weeks now we are making some progress! but the argument for 36gr is getting pretty strong I am really hoping for some radical transformation before this is done Anyhow it is now just these two mini-brutes in with pea gravel, i am very fortunate that my driveway generates quartz and agate gravel so i don't have to crush rocks myself. Though i may start "milling" my own chocolate agate gravel for filler anyway.
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 318
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Post by whyofquartz on May 12, 2020 8:28:00 GMT -5
alrighty, here is this weeks progress. this was two big rocks in a bunch of pea gravel with no sludge not quite the results i was hoping for here but most of the gravel is looking better so back to a more traditional mix the big bullies the middle weights the runts And now for something completely different, individual profiles: This guy i have tumbled before but i thought it needed a little more work This one had some nice lines in it i hope will be accentuated by tumbling This one has a waxy luster, i don't remember what that indicates but it is a good example of the term This little chunk has a little pyrite in there, i have two pieces of this that i collected from a city park in Bryan Tx, the other will go in an all granite batch i have "planned" for "later"
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Post by joshuamcduffie on May 12, 2020 9:00:25 GMT -5
what do you mean by "no sludge"?
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 318
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Post by whyofquartz on May 12, 2020 13:11:53 GMT -5
what do you mean by "no sludge"? I have been occasionally reusing slightly dehydrated slurry as a thickener. I have not managed to completely dry old slurry so the best i can do is a thin sludge.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,561
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Post by jamesp on May 12, 2020 15:52:43 GMT -5
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 318
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Post by whyofquartz on May 18, 2020 9:09:29 GMT -5
No big update this week, I didn't have time to do a proper clean-out. It got late so i just added a few more rocks, a little thickener, and some more 60gr and put it back on the motor.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,709
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Post by Fossilman on May 18, 2020 10:22:47 GMT -5
It's always worth a try on anything!
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 318
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Post by whyofquartz on May 18, 2020 10:34:41 GMT -5
It's always worth a try on anything! it was getting very 'clattery' in the barrel so I thought some thickener would help. I should have gotten pictures of the new stuff but as I said it was very late and I wanted to get a shower and go to bed. hopefully we get a spectacular reveal next weekend.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,561
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Post by jamesp on May 19, 2020 3:59:38 GMT -5
It's always worth a try on anything! it was getting very 'clattery' in the barrel so I thought some thickener would help. I should have gotten pictures of the new stuff but as I said it was very late and I wanted to get a shower and go to bed. hopefully we get a spectacular reveal next weekend. To avoid clatter I gave up on doing more than one big rock at a time whyofquartz. Do the math: If there is only one big rock and all the rest are small rocks there is zero chance of hard banging even at high speeds. My finding was to use as small a barrel to allow space for the big rock to roll freely and surround it 100% with small rocks about 1 inch. Small barrel in my case being about 6 inches inside diameter, big rock a chunky 3 to 4 inch oval or rounder. I adjusted the speed(devil's advocate) up to 80 rpm and it still ran smooth and it wore fast. But the coarse SiC was **worn out in 24(probably much sooner)hours ! I actually slowed it down to 34 rpm to fit my schedule and still had to add coarse SiC 30 every 2 days. Being a production junkie I would(and did build 5)obtain 5 to 10 small barrels sized for your big rocks and use a tumbler long/big enough to turn 10 small barrels with a big rock surrounded by small rocks in each. When running my 5 small barrels at conservative 34 rpm with a .75 to 1.5 pound big rock with smalls in each I had to add coarse SiC like every 2 days. It was a work out even using quick access barrel caps. **At 80 rpm it seemed the SiC 30 was completely broken down in less than 12 hours. I would carefully wash the batch out in a tub and could find zero 30 grit particles after 12 hours ! I was suspicious that the 30 grit was used up in 4 to 6 hours ! And the big rocks were wearing at unusually high rates with 24 hour grit additions. The small rocks were wearing totally fast too. Next step is to design a coarse grit injector lol. Or make small concrete balls of SiC 30 for time release.
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 318
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Post by whyofquartz on May 19, 2020 10:24:44 GMT -5
it was getting very 'clattery' in the barrel so I thought some thickener would help. I should have gotten pictures of the new stuff but as I said it was very late and I wanted to get a shower and go to bed. hopefully we get a spectacular reveal next weekend. To avoid clatter I gave up on doing more than one big rock at a time whyofquartz . Do the math: If there is only one big rock and all the rest are small rocks there is zero chance of hard banging even at high speeds. My finding was to use as small a barrel to allow space for the big rock to roll freely and surround it 100% with small rocks about 1 inch. Small barrel in my case being about 6 inches inside diameter, big rock a chunky 3 to 4 inch oval or rounder. I adjusted the speed(devil's advocate) up to 80 rpm and it still ran smooth and it wore fast. But the coarse SiC was **worn out in 24(probably much sooner)hours ! I actually slowed it down to 34 rpm to fit my schedule and still had to add coarse SiC 30 every 2 days. Being a production junkie I would(and did build 5)obtain 5 to 10 small barrels sized for your big rocks and use a tumbler long/big enough to turn 10 small barrels with a big rock surrounded by small rocks in each. When running my 5 small barrels at conservative 34 rpm with a .75 to 1.5 pound big rock with smalls in each I had to add coarse SiC like every 2 days. It was a work out even using quick access barrel caps. **At 80 rpm it seemed the SiC 30 was completely broken down in less than 12 hours. I would carefully wash the batch out in a tub and could find zero 30 grit particles after 12 hours ! I was suspicious that the 30 grit was used up in 4 to 6 hours ! And the big rocks were wearing at unusually high rates with 24 hour grit additions. The small rocks were wearing totally fast too. Next step is to design a coarse grit injector lol. Or make small concrete balls of SiC 30 for time release. I appreciate the advice James, I had added the second stone since it seemed that the my Big'un wasn't a BigEnough'un so i suspected i could get some millstone action by having 2 in there. when i graduate these i will try another bigger stone but i still would like to move a variety of sizes of stones through my tumbler
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 318
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Post by whyofquartz on May 19, 2020 12:57:33 GMT -5
Alright! I have some 30gr on the way from Kingsly
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 318
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Post by whyofquartz on May 25, 2020 10:10:18 GMT -5
Another busy weekend, I did not photograph my clean-out but I will try to make it up to y'all by photographing all the stuff i have already pushed through but didn't get afters of. Unfortunately the piece of granite with pyrite in it seems to have dissolved completely, I can find no sign of it.
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Post by greig on May 25, 2020 10:17:48 GMT -5
I am definitely going to try two big rocks in pea-gravel, I may even do it as week 2 of these two big ones. my plan is to just keep tumbling till i run out of rocks(more likely i will stop when i finish the 5lb of coarse i bought, just to have a stopping point) then move to 220. i hope to be able to expand my tumbling capabilities. but i do not know when that will happen. Said like a trooper: "keep tumbling till I run out of rocks..."
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 318
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Post by whyofquartz on Jun 1, 2020 13:18:21 GMT -5
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