Post by waterboysh on May 6, 2021 9:03:08 GMT -5
First off: I have not actually started this batch yet. All the rocks are still rough and sitting in a plastic tub. But I will be starting it probably sometime within the next month and I'll post updates here and use this as a log of sorts to track my progress and hopefully get useful feedback from people with a lot more experience.
I'll be doing stage 1 in a Lortone QT6 and stages 2 - 4 on the Lortone 33B. Right now, I have a big mix of rocks going in all my tumblers. Some of it is the mixed rock rough that came with the 33B (I ordered the kit that came with grit, rocks, and media) and some of it is random rocks I threw in. I've got both barrels on the 33B currently running 500 grit AO; one is one week 1 and the other on week 2. When I get some completed rocks from my first batch I'll make a separate post for it. Once the QT6 gets low, I'll replace the mixed rough in it with the additional rocks I ordered from The Rock Shed. I placed the order the same time I ordered the 33B (because it gives you an additional 20% off crushed rock) so didn't really know what I was doing. I was like "oh, I'll get a little of this and a little of that. They have the same mohs hardness so it'll be okay." but I've since learned from reading here that it can sometimes be more complex than that. Here is what I've got, from left to right.
I also ordered 15 lbs of mixed rock mini thinking it would be good to use as "tumbling media" in stage 1. The description on The Rock Shed says the pieces range in size from 1/8" to 3/8". It was on clearance so it was pretty cheap. Not sure how well that will work or if it's actually a good idea or not.
Anyway, here's a picture of the rough. I'll probably take another couple of pictures just before I start this batch.
I'll be doing stage 1 in a Lortone QT6 and stages 2 - 4 on the Lortone 33B. Right now, I have a big mix of rocks going in all my tumblers. Some of it is the mixed rock rough that came with the 33B (I ordered the kit that came with grit, rocks, and media) and some of it is random rocks I threw in. I've got both barrels on the 33B currently running 500 grit AO; one is one week 1 and the other on week 2. When I get some completed rocks from my first batch I'll make a separate post for it. Once the QT6 gets low, I'll replace the mixed rough in it with the additional rocks I ordered from The Rock Shed. I placed the order the same time I ordered the 33B (because it gives you an additional 20% off crushed rock) so didn't really know what I was doing. I was like "oh, I'll get a little of this and a little of that. They have the same mohs hardness so it'll be okay." but I've since learned from reading here that it can sometimes be more complex than that. Here is what I've got, from left to right.
- Mexican Flower Jasper - 1lb large, 1lb medium
- Tiger's Eye red/gold - 1lb gold, 3 lb red both medium
- Bahia Agate - 3lb medium
I also ordered 15 lbs of mixed rock mini thinking it would be good to use as "tumbling media" in stage 1. The description on The Rock Shed says the pieces range in size from 1/8" to 3/8". It was on clearance so it was pretty cheap. Not sure how well that will work or if it's actually a good idea or not.
Anyway, here's a picture of the rough. I'll probably take another couple of pictures just before I start this batch.