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Post by pursefullofrocks on Dec 30, 2020 3:26:10 GMT -5
Hey people! Got a question about cleaning between tumbling stages. We all are familiar with the standard process, tumble, clean, tumble clean and so on. Do any of you take any additional steps to aid the tumbling process and eliminate the chance of contamination. I’ve had friends that tumble and then in between stages after cleaning and brushing/scrubbing the run the rocks in ivory soap in the tumbler to eliminate any hidden grit. Now we are having the debate about how much of the soap residue must be removed before continuing on to the next grit stage? Some? All? None? Should they be rinsed in cold or hot water? What are you best methods?
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Post by HankRocks on Dec 30, 2020 7:40:30 GMT -5
Hey people! Got a question about cleaning between tumbling stages. We all are familiar with the standard process, tumble, clean, tumble clean and so on. Do any of you take any additional steps to aid the tumbling process and eliminate the chance of contamination. I’ve had friends that tumble and then in between stages after cleaning and brushing/scrubbing the run the rocks in ivory soap in the tumbler to eliminate any hidden grit. Now we are having the debate about how much of the soap residue must be removed before continuing on to the next grit stage? Some? All? None? Should they be rinsed in cold or hot water? What are you best methods? Two different schools of thought on the frequency of cleaning. I never do a soap run between SiC stages. Not that I think it's wrong, in my mind it's not necessary, a piece of 80 grit gets loose in a 220 it's not a problem as whatever scratches it manages to make before it breaks down will be eliminated by the 220 in the run. Same for 600 SiC run. I usually do a soap run between the last SiC stage(600) and the first AlO stage(80, or 500 in my case). Sometimes I skip that soap run if it's a normal mix of agate, jasper and wood, using it for the Pendant/slab run with all of the smalls. There are a lot more surfaces and places to rinse than the hose can get. The only consistent soap run I do is after Polish stage, for burnishing. Usually add a tablespoon of Borax to this soap run. I depend on a good hose rinse after a soap run to remove any soap residue. For rinse water temp, it's whatever comes out of the driveway faucet, warm in the Summer, cool to cold in the winter. For me I like simple, the less stages and sub-stages the better. This is not an endorsement of my methodology, it's just the way I do it and I am almost always pleased with the polish results. Good luck
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Post by greig on Dec 30, 2020 9:53:25 GMT -5
I think it is important to clean really well prior to polish (only). Still, I don't usually use soap for that. I rinse the rocks really well and then put them back into the tumbler with clean water and let it run 20+ minutes to loosen up any dirt that I missed in the rinse. I may add some borax and TSP in the rinse if the remains of slurry are persistent/sticky. I am sometimes amazed at how dirty grey the water is from the rinse of "clean" rocks.
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Post by pursefullofrocks on Dec 30, 2020 12:47:58 GMT -5
Thanks! This should add to our group dabate lol. Any thoughts on after final polish and suds of choice, should they be left as is or give a good hand polish afterwards? Is the suds of choice simply to clean or act as an additional polish?
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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 Dec 30, 2020 15:18:32 GMT -5
I add a handful of craft poms with some dawn and water in the barrel, then plop it back on the tumbler and let it run while I take care of the rocks. When it's done I pour it though a strainer, rinse and squeeze out the poms a few times, then set them out to dry. I tend to use lukewarm water just to keep the digits happy.
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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 31, 2020 10:30:38 GMT -5
I use a spoon of Dawn detergent and a half spoon of 20 Mule Borax between all my steps in my 15lb rotarys and 18lb vib tumblers just because I don't see where it hurts anything, it doesn't cost hardly anything, and I only run the mixture for an hour or two so it doesn't take any time. This is done after I have already checked the rocks and cleaned them well with hose spray and toothbrush. I've yet to have problems with any prior old grit scratching up the batches of newer grit rock tumbling. If a super wash works for the polishing stages I don't understand why it will not work for the grinding stages, and I tumble many pounds of rocks at a time in each of my tumblers. But, that's just me.
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stewdogg
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2020
Posts: 388
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Post by stewdogg on Dec 31, 2020 12:21:08 GMT -5
During the soap/borax run are the rocks covered in water or just sprayed with a bit of water?
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Post by Bob on Dec 31, 2020 16:55:57 GMT -5
I only rinse the rocks with water enough to see if they are ready to go to the next stage or not. If they obviously aren't, I don't even rinse them at all but put them in the next batch covered with slurry on purpose. In 6 years I have never scrubbed a rock, or used soap on a rock, or washed an individual rock carefully in normal tumbling processing. But before a polish run, I do rinse them very carefully more than once, as well as rinsing my hands and every thing else including the barrel more than once.
Starting in 220 grit, and continuing to any smaller grits, I rinse rocks in clean water and lay out on a towel under a bright lamp to examine each carefully. I examine each when wet, lifting out of rinse bowl. Then I lay them out to dry and examine them again. Many fractures will reveal themselves only after drying.
I also never use a barrel to skip a grit stage. If I did that, a 80 grit particle not perfectly cleaned out of the lip might fall into say a 600 grit run and ruin it. A 80 particle falling into 220 isn't likely to ruin it, nor a 220 falling into a 600, as long as this happens at beginning of the batch. But by washing the barrel lip carefully with a brush dedicated to each grit level, the chances of contamination are very little.
On a polish run, I'm so anal about it, that I even go to the trouble of dipping rocks and my hand in clean water before placing each handful of rocks in the barrel, even though everything might have been carefully rinsed only 15 mins ago. I also make sure my fingernails are clean in case a large grit particle might be in there and fall out into the polish run.
I have two sets of brushes, all dedicated specific to grit size or polish. There is the set of 4 small barrel lip cleaning brushes, rough grind, 220, 600, and 1,000. Then there are 2 large and stiffer barrel scrubbing brushes, 1,000 and polish. Each of these is kept inside a plastic bag when not in use. All are painted to match the color codes of everything else at that grit level. My barrel inner lids, my rock storage containers, my brushes, my rinsing buckets, sieves, almost everything is painted to make sure no mistakes.
Black or purple = 50/70 grit; red 80 grit, orange 220 grit, yellow 600 grit, tan 1,000 grit, beige 1,200 grit, and white for polish. All white things are kept inside the house. Others in the garage on vertical shelf with large grits at bottom so even if one particle of grit falls, it can only fall on something for a larger grit run and not harm anything. This is all about rock tumbling hygiene. Once you get this down, you can do it half asleep and not screw up.
This evening, I have 3 barrel changes due: One 1,000, another 220, and another 80. I spread newspaper on workbench and also do finest grit level first, so I will do the 1,000 barrel, then the 220, then the 80. So even as I work, my workbench, my hands, etc. remain safe for the next level if a grit particle falls somewhere.
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Post by rmf on Jan 1, 2021 6:37:05 GMT -5
I have found that if I put a little soap in the 600 grit and in the polish, I do not have to burnish with soap after the final polish. some of this also depends on how vuggy the rocks are. Normal agates and jaspers that are solid are not the problem.
I have also found that vib tumblers are more forgiving about the stray coarse grit than rotary tumblers. Possibly because they break it down faster.
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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 Jan 1, 2021 21:26:05 GMT -5
During the soap/borax run are the rocks covered in water or just sprayed with a bit of water? Normal 3/4th bowl full of rocks and ceramic media. Water level is up to the bottom of the top layer of rocks. The only thing missing is the SiC or AO or polish This super wash is just rocks, water, wee bit of Dawn and 20 mule borax, 1 tablespoon for my 15lb tumbler. Simple and fast process. I'm not sure it helps in a big way but it doesn't cause an harm that I can tell.
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Prov
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2020
Posts: 116
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Post by Prov on Jan 3, 2021 17:57:56 GMT -5
I wash and inspect my rocks between each load. Recently, I've taken to using a toothbrush with dawn soap and giving them all a quick scrub down, and focus on parts that are likely to trap grit, if they exist. After that it's back into the barrel for whatever stage is next.
I do my 60/90 in my rotary, then swap into my Lot-O for 220, and 500. I have a dedicated barrel for the polish stage.
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dshanpnw
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2020
Posts: 892
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Post by dshanpnw on Jan 10, 2021 18:50:53 GMT -5
Hello PFOR (Pursefullofrocks) and others, today I started a batch that had been waiting for the 220 stage. I did a cleaning before to make extra sure there was no 60/90 going forward in either the stones or the media. I loaded the bowl with rocks and media and ran it with about 2-3 tbs of Ivory soap shavings with about a cup of water. I'm thinking maybe the extra cleaning won't hurt, plus, I had another good look at the rocks too. I just make it my standard routine to clean between every stage with the super wash before polish. I try to be as clean as possible for the polish by using tools and bowl solely for polishing. I just finished my very second batch today, so not an expert, just listening to them. Thanks to everyone for their input.
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