houndenstein
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2020
Posts: 1
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Post by houndenstein on Dec 9, 2020 2:58:59 GMT -5
I have never done anything other than slabbing, so I greatly appreciate the help. I am a specimen dealer and came across a deal on bulk dumortierite in quartz. I want to throw it in a tumbler and polish it. I've been told that in order to maintain as much material as possible, you should use a vibe tumbler. However, with tumbling quartz, wouldn't it be better to first rotary tumble to reduce sharp edges? Also, is the 18lb Chicago Electric from Harbor Freight good enough to handle quartz? I have other large quantities of included quartz and would like to keep tumbling. I need something that lasts. Cost isn't that big of a deal. Quiet would be nice since my business is a fine mineral gallery and silence is grand! Any recommendations will be seriously appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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Post by taylor on Dec 9, 2020 18:16:02 GMT -5
Welcome! I'll let those with waaay more experience handle the questions.
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Post by manofglass on Dec 9, 2020 19:05:19 GMT -5
Welcome from Michigan
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 9, 2020 19:12:01 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona!
Can't help with the tumbling, but I sure do want to see pictures.  |
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 9, 2020 21:13:07 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum from South Dakota. Wish I could help you with your questions, but I'm a bit of a newbie to tumbling myself...well, I don't tumble "myself", I tumble rocks...oh heck, you know what I mean!
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Post by Mel on Dec 10, 2020 21:09:06 GMT -5
I have never done anything other than slabbing, so I greatly appreciate the help. I am a specimen dealer and came across a deal on bulk dumortierite in quartz. I want to throw it in a tumbler and polish it. I've been told that in order to maintain as much material as possible, you should use a vibe tumbler. However, with tumbling quartz, wouldn't it be better to first rotary tumble to reduce sharp edges? Also, is the 18lb Chicago Electric from Harbor Freight good enough to handle quartz? I have other large quantities of included quartz and would like to keep tumbling. I need something that lasts. Cost isn't that big of a deal. Quiet would be nice since my business is a fine mineral gallery and silence is grand! Any recommendations will be seriously appreciated. Thanks in advance. Welcome! This is an awesome forum with excellent people. My experience has been that a properly full barrel (running Lortone machines) l is relatively quiet but I am also pretty used to it. I would look up some YouTube videos of machines in action to get an idea. If you have a storage closet or back room, you could most likely run a couple machines there without issue depending how close they are to your customer space. A large wooden crate placed over top (but vented properly) could be worth a try too. Could you set one up after hours to test out the sound level? Or run it at home? |
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gatorflash1
spending too much on rocks
Active in Delaware Mineralogical Society, Cabchon Grinding and Polishing, 2 Thumlers B's and a UV-18
Member since October 2018
Posts: 375
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Post by gatorflash1 on Dec 12, 2020 8:10:37 GMT -5
Welcome to the party from Delaware. I usually recommend getting a book to newbies, "Modern Rock Tumbling". It a great book that covers all the basics and will save you a lot of money, not having to learn from experience. Here is a link. rocktumbler.com/book.shtmlCheers! |
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mindisue
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2020
Posts: 10
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Post by mindisue on Dec 13, 2020 10:45:53 GMT -5
I have never done anything other than slabbing, so I greatly appreciate the help. I am a specimen dealer and came across a deal on bulk dumortierite in quartz. I want to throw it in a tumbler and polish it. I've been told that in order to maintain as much material as possible, you should use a vibe tumbler. However, with tumbling quartz, wouldn't it be better to first rotary tumble to reduce sharp edges? Also, is the 18lb Chicago Electric from Harbor Freight good enough to handle quartz? I have other large quantities of included quartz and would like to keep tumbling. I need something that lasts. Cost isn't that big of a deal. Quiet would be nice since my business is a fine mineral gallery and silence is grand! Any recommendations will be seriously appreciated. Thanks in advance. My understanding is that the Harbor Freight Vibratory tumbler is NOT for rocks. And yes, I would run stage 1 and probably stage 2 in a rotary first. I've been very happy with my Lot-O double barrel. I also have a UV 18. It's REALLY loud. The Lot-O is much quieter, and the results are amazing. If I had to pick just one to keep, it would be my Lot-O. |
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Post by rmf on Dec 13, 2020 11:10:38 GMT -5
I went back to rotary tumbling for coarse grit and rough tumbling after I learned that Vibe tumblers SUCK!! at doing coarse grit and stones with a lot of sharp edges. Vibs are great once the stones have been rounded a little in coarse in a rotary say maybe a week or so. Also the vib I had purchased wore through the tub in 6 loads when doing coarse, medium and fine (46/7, 220, 600). By tumbling in rotary I was able to extend the life of the tubs which were expensive.
the sharp edges tend to lock together and prevent tumbling in a vib where if they are slightly rounded they slip by. If you are trying to keep the terminations on the quartz and the crystal shape try vib at 220 instead of coarse .
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Dec 13, 2020 11:31:20 GMT -5
Initially I used the TV5 Vibe Tumbler as my only tumbler. As others have said, it doesn't do a very good job of rounding harder minerals like Agate and quartz. It will round softer Stones like apatite Amazonite or marble.
I bought a rotary tumbler over the summer and that did a great job at rounding out the stones prior to putting them in the vibe for the second third and fourth stages. The larger rotaries make more noise than the small ones. Imagine a big popcorn making machine. The vibe tumblers make a lot of noise. I usually wear hearing protection if I have to work around the vibe.
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