rockhoundmn
noticing nice landscape pebbles
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Post by rockhoundmn on Jan 15, 2021 1:34:06 GMT -5
Hi All,
I wasn't sure how to search for this so I started a thread. I'm looking for opinions or suggestions from anyone who has tried this themselves.
I have a bunch of rough that would be destroyed by a week of tumbling in 60/90 grit and I want to preserve as much as possible because I like the surface exactly as it is, but they need something to smooth them out enough for the polish stage and remove pits, cracks etc.
How does everyone deal with these? Just a few days in the tumbler? Skip to the next grit size in the process to smooth out? Something else?
Looking forward to your ideas and experiences! Have a backlog of the stuff I'm looking to get started on.
Thanks!
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agatemaggot
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Post by agatemaggot on Jan 15, 2021 2:06:04 GMT -5
Why start with 60 -90 ? If you don't want to remove material just smooth, try 600 for a couple days and check your progress .
Not smoothing ? drop back to 400 grit and try again !
Cracks you are probably stuck with also the larger pits, you will have to remove a bit of material for those.
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Post by stephan on Jan 15, 2021 2:24:02 GMT -5
I think jamesp posted something about tumbling with garnets, and the surface texture of his material was preserved but polished
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 15, 2021 2:30:14 GMT -5
I'm curious on what some of the answers are going to be for this. I have a hard time giving up on rocks that are full of blemishes and can't seem to get them out of the first stage. I think I need to realize when to cut my losses and come to terms with the fact not every rock wants to be polished... Not saying this should be the case for you...just me. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png)
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Post by rmf on Jan 15, 2021 4:06:18 GMT -5
rockhoundmn If they dont need 60/90 start them at 220. If you dont want to change the shape much and just lightly polish. Use a vib tumbler with 220 grit for 3days or so then proceed with 600 and polish. I once had some small quartz crystals from brazil that were frosted but had nice crystal faces and terminations. I tumbled with 220 3 days, 600 - 3 days, followed by polish in a vib and the outside still had the crystal faces, they were clear and nolonger frosted. Not perfect but sell able.
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Post by amygdule on Jan 15, 2021 4:28:22 GMT -5
Quartz beach sand and a sprinkle of Spic & Span for 24 hours
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Wooferhound
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Post by Wooferhound on Jan 15, 2021 7:38:13 GMT -5
You don't even need to use grit. Just throw your material in the barrel with water and let it roll. And you don't even need water if you want it to roll a little rougher. Different grit has different effect: Silicon Carbide, Aluminum Oxide, Volcanic Pumice, Sand, Corn Cob, Etc. A smaller barrel (3 lbs) is more gentle than a big barrel (6 lbs) so you can use the barrel that is most appropriate. Plus tumble Time give you almost complete control.
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rocket
spending too much on rocks
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Post by rocket on Jan 15, 2021 8:45:23 GMT -5
I'm curious on what some of the answers are going to be for this. I have a hard time giving up on rocks that are full of blemishes and can't seem to get them out of the first stage. I think I need to realize when to cut my losses and come to terms with the fact not every rock wants to be polished... Not saying this should be the case for you...just me. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) I now start every clean out with three containers...each rock is either “woot” move on to next stage, “ahhhh” you need more time in this stage, or “nope” not gonna waste any more time and grit on you. When I first started this method the “nopes” really bothered me, but today I consider them just as important or more important as the others...Rocket
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rockhoundmn
noticing nice landscape pebbles
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Post by rockhoundmn on Jan 15, 2021 9:02:32 GMT -5
Thanks everyone! Making like a sponge here and soaking up all this info. All brand new to me, I've only ever tumbled using 60/90, having started just last month.
Have done lots of reading but mostly intro level stuff. It sure helps to be able to come here and ask questions directly, when I need to know something I haven't yet come across.
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Post by greig on Jan 15, 2021 11:44:04 GMT -5
I have tried two approaches. The first is to do all 4 stages, but with much less time (sometimes just hours) in stage 1 & 2. Also, less grit. The other which I now prefer is to start with stage 3 and keep a good eye on the tumble. If the material is soft, it will still round in stage 3, but takes longer. If the rock is hard, then use lots of grit and leave for longer.
In fact, the next time I try silver ore in calcite (soft stuff), I plan on starting in stage 4 and finishing with automotive alloy polish in dry walnut shell. Win or fail - I will make a video to share. ;-)
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jlcochran42
starting to shine!
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Post by jlcochran42 on Jan 15, 2021 23:05:30 GMT -5
Hi All, I wasn't sure how to search for this so I started a thread. I'm looking for opinions or suggestions from anyone who has tried this themselves. I have a bunch of rough that would be destroyed by a week of tumbling in 60/90 grit and I want to preserve as much as possible because I like the surface exactly as it is, but they need something to smooth them out enough for the polish stage and remove pits, cracks etc. How does everyone deal with these? Just a few days in the tumbler? Skip to the next grit size in the process to smooth out? Something else? Looking forward to your ideas and experiences! Have a backlog of the stuff I'm looking to get started on. Thanks! I'm going to follow this thread because I'm going to attempt to smooth out some small emeralds. First thing I would is not use a 60/90. Like mentioned, start out with a 220 grit and keep an eye on it to see how it does.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jan 16, 2021 4:46:07 GMT -5
Do you know what type of rock it is ? It must be very soft if 60/90 is effecting it so much in a week's time. Soft rocks are often tricky to polish rockhoundmn.
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rockhoundmn
noticing nice landscape pebbles
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Post by rockhoundmn on Jan 16, 2021 19:37:27 GMT -5
Hi jamespSorry I wasn't really clear. The rocks are mostly agate & jasper. They have lots of imperfections, but I'd like to keep as much of the surface pattern on them as possible. They also are relatively small in size. I've only tried a handful of agates so far in stage 1 and all have lost banding or other features that I'd like to be able to keep. My question was about whether others use a particular method to keep as much surface pattern while also rounding the rougher edges and pits/holes/cracks. I realize there won't be a perfect solution to this and I'll sacrifice either surface area along with the imperfections, or I will have to live with the harder edges if I want to be conservative with the abrasives. But I figure somebody has tried to do this before me and can tell me what their experience is with this.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 16, 2021 20:10:51 GMT -5
Hi jamesp Sorry I wasn't really clear. The rocks are mostly agate & jasper. They have lots of imperfections, but I'd like to keep as much of the surface pattern on them as possible. They also are relatively small in size. I've only tried a handful of agates so far in stage 1 and all have lost banding or other features that I'd like to be able to keep. My question was about whether others use a particular method to keep as much surface pattern while also rounding the rougher edges and pits/holes/cracks. I realize there won't be a perfect solution to this and I'll sacrifice either surface area along with the imperfections, or I will have to live with the harder edges if I want to be conservative with the abrasives. But I figure somebody has tried to do this before me and can tell me what their experience is with this. If I'm understanding what you're wanting out of these...and I'm no expert...the only solution I can think of to what you're wanting out of these, is to grind the imperfections with a dremel or other similar hand tool. Then move them to a vibratory tumbler and start with the 120/220 stage in order to keep the overall exterior shape and patterns to them... Just my thoughts on this...
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EricD
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High in the Mountains
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Post by EricD on Jan 16, 2021 20:35:03 GMT -5
I'm curious on what some of the answers are going to be for this. I have a hard time giving up on rocks that are full of blemishes and can't seem to get them out of the first stage. I think I need to realize when to cut my losses and come to terms with the fact not every rock wants to be polished... Not saying this should be the case for you...just me. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) There's a lot of agate, jasper, etc in the gravel in the parking lot at my shop. Hi jamesp Sorry I wasn't really clear. The rocks are mostly agate & jasper. They have lots of imperfections, but I'd like to keep as much of the surface pattern on them as possible. They also are relatively small in size. I've only tried a handful of agates so far in stage 1 and all have lost banding or other features that I'd like to be able to keep. My question was about whether others use a particular method to keep as much surface pattern while also rounding the rougher edges and pits/holes/cracks. I realize there won't be a perfect solution to this and I'll sacrifice either surface area along with the imperfections, or I will have to live with the harder edges if I want to be conservative with the abrasives. But I figure somebody has tried to do this before me and can tell me what their experience is with this. If I'm understanding what you're wanting out of these...and I'm no expert...the only solution I can think of to what you're wanting out of these, is to grind the imperfections with a dremel or other similar hand tool. Then move them to a vibratory tumbler and start with the 120/220 stage in order to keep the overall exterior shape and patterns to them... Just my thoughts on this... ^ that's probably the best advice in this situation. I can't see doing in a rotary at all, but I'm sure with enough dedication it's possible.
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
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Post by lordsorril on Jan 16, 2021 22:36:39 GMT -5
they need something to smooth them out enough for the polish stage and remove pits, cracks etc. How does everyone deal with these? Unless they were valuable stones or really soft material (Mohs 4-) I would use 60 grit AOx with 120 SiC in the same barrel at a 1:1 grit ratio. I would also use rounded smalls for added surface area contact. This would eventually condition most stones enough to reach a state they could be finished in a vibe. Of course: Ask 100 people...get 100 answers. Good luck!
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rockhoundmn
noticing nice landscape pebbles
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Post by rockhoundmn on Jan 18, 2021 1:53:22 GMT -5
That's what I love about this place, getting 100 different answers. Somewhere amongst them all is a method that works for me, I just have to find it!
So, trial and error is where I'm at. I figure if a picture paints a thousand words then a video speaks pretty clearly. Here is the result of my first batch in the Lot-O. Ran for about 52 hours with 1 1/2 tablespoons of 120/220 SC and fresh out of a borax bath.
Hopefully this clearly shows what I'm hoping to conserve and what I'm hoping to remove. Again, any agate I've used is small size or gray colored as these are the ones I'm ok with losing in a worst case scenario. Not going to touch my fav agates till I know what I'm doing.
Edited to add: I think some of these will move on to the next stage, others I will be using the Dremel to try and get rid of pits (then back into same stage) and some I will repeat the same stage.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 18, 2021 3:05:53 GMT -5
I like the video! ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) I can see why you're trying to protect as much of the surface of those rocks as you can...there's some pretty amazing looking rocks in that batch! ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) I've been tumbling a batch of Crazy Lace in my rotary for the last month and a half. I couldn't get any that looked like they should move past stage one! I stopped the tumble as I was going to grind them down, then had a spell of bad weather which delayed things. Just today, I finally opened the barrel after rerunning them AGAIN for the last week. I finally moved about half of the batch into the vibe...which had half a barrel of other stones waiting. I was really concerned about losing patterning on several pieces of the Crazy Lace...I finally passed a few that weren't "perfect" just to save it at the point I liked the look of the patterning...others, I put back in the rotary to see if they'll get better or worse. So, hopefully I'll finally have another tumble batch done by the end of the week! LOL
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
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Post by lordsorril on Jan 18, 2021 7:53:04 GMT -5
So, trial and error is where I'm at. Those are nice looking agates/jaspers. Hard material and relatively solid pieces. I'm not a tumbling purist who needs perfectly round stones, but, If I was working on them: I would hit them with another round of coarse grit for a week or two as they are hard enough and can take the abuse, but, of course you would lose some mass and patterning...In the end: All that matters is that you are happy with the finished product.
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Post by Bob on Jan 18, 2021 16:04:14 GMT -5
So, trial and error is where I'm at. Those are nice looking agates/jaspers. Hard material and relatively solid pieces. I'm not a tumbling purist who needs perfectly round stones, but, If I was working on them: I would hit them with another round of coarse grit for a week or two as they are hard enough and can take the abuse, but, of course you would lose some mass and patterning...In the end: All that matters is that you are happy with the finished product. I definitely second that. As you get more experience, you'll have a better feel for this type of thing as well as not fall in love with individual rocks as much. So also don't be afraid to get set these aside in a box to tackle again in 6 months. I can almost promise you that your priorities and methods will both have evolved a lot by then. Tumbling purist lordsorril may not be but photo purist is most definitely he.
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