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Post by xenaswolf on Sept 24, 2005 13:30:57 GMT -5
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Post by Alice on Sept 24, 2005 14:50:30 GMT -5
those aren't vugs. They look more like pits.
How full is your barrel?
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Post by xenaswolf on Sept 24, 2005 15:00:31 GMT -5
Pretty full like 2 inches from the top with all different sizes of rocks. What causes pits?
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Post by xenaswolf on Sept 24, 2005 15:19:02 GMT -5
Ok guess its time to get some pellets
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Post by Alice on Sept 24, 2005 15:21:47 GMT -5
Xena, you have a 3lb barrel, right?
Those are normally 4" high. If you're filling it only 1/2 way, then you need to add more rocks!
Be sure your barrel is always 5/8 - 3/4 full. Rocks will wear down while tumbling, and while in coarse you find the level has gone down, add more rough rocks.
Pits are normaly caused by crashing rocks when your barrel isn't full enough.
Sometimes you get the odd rock which chips and damages your load, but I don't think that is your case.
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Post by xenaswolf on Sept 24, 2005 15:27:41 GMT -5
Thanks Alice  I usually have them pretty close to 3/4 full. When I open the lid there isn't a whole lot of space between it and the rocks. Maybe 2 inches was a wrong guess. Yep I have the 3lb tumbler. I'll see what happens when I fill it fuller Now, how do I get those pits out? |
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Post by Alice on Sept 24, 2005 15:38:52 GMT -5
just put them back into coarse, and keep tumbling until they smooth out.
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Post by LCARS on Sept 24, 2005 22:18:58 GMT -5
No insult intended but they may just be lower quality stones with natural voids  |
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Post by xenaswolf on Sept 25, 2005 10:48:27 GMT -5
LOL Ya mean my 99 cent rubies may not be gem quality? Well dang it, I feel ripped off!  Ya may be right LCars, and probably are LOL  |
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Post by rockyraccoon on Sept 25, 2005 17:20:29 GMT -5
after what i've read here from different people trying to tumble rubies, garnets, etc. it just looks to me like you spend alot of time and get very little in return. i have a bag of emeralds someone gave me that i have no clue what to do with. if i tumble them they will be grains of rice by the end.
kim
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stefan
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Sept 26, 2005 14:02:15 GMT -5
Yea the lower quality stuff takes a lot of effort to get results- looks like your rubies are just doomed to pitsville you will eat up a lot of grit to get rid of em- But heck if it was high gread material would you really only pay .99 for it???
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Post by xenaswolf on Sept 26, 2005 20:11:56 GMT -5
Hey it could happen! I could also win the lottery...not likely but it COULD happen |
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Post by creativeminded on Sept 27, 2005 9:14:01 GMT -5
Those pits may be where there was some softer pieces that came out.
Tami
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Sept 27, 2005 10:24:24 GMT -5
Plus your having fun right??? So just enjoy what you are doing- Pay me no attention- this having to work for a living is putting a negative spin on everything latly! Oh well at least I got a pay raise!
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Post by xenaswolf on Sept 27, 2005 13:13:10 GMT -5
Woot! Gratz Stefan!
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Post by ladyt on Sept 27, 2005 19:47:40 GMT -5
What do you do when you only have small amounts of any one kind of rock? If you use the pellets, can you mix varities so you can "fill a barrel"?
Thanks, Tonja
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Sept 28, 2005 12:37:07 GMT -5
Depends on the hardness- I keep a bunch of Driveway gravel (mostly granite) around to act as filler!
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Post by LCARS on Sept 28, 2005 13:03:16 GMT -5
Of course, you can always expect somewhat better overall results when you tumble all of the same kind of material. I have had good success mixing as long as everything is within 1-1.5 MOH's hardness of everything else in the tumbler. The worst that can usually happen is that the harder rocks keep scratching the softer ones, preventing them from taking a shine regardless of how much pellets you use. Just separate them when you can identify which ones are not working out & complete your polishing run with pellets as filler. Put the softer stones back in at whatever polishing stage they left off at when you do your next batch of softer stones. If you're using randomly collected rocks from a beach then you can expect that some will shine sooner & better that others & you'll always end up with "leftovers" that need more time in polishing stages with other stones of similar hardness to complete. There are of course, some kinds of stone that simply don't polish. Experience will best tell you how to avoid selecting these type of stones in the first place. If you really like the look of a stone that simply won't take a polish, just leave it as a smooth matte finish & enjoy it that way. Drop it in the fish tank (after washing it) if it only looks good wet. At least then your fish will get to enjoy it & nobody will be the wiser |
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I usually have them pretty close to 3/4 full. When I open the lid there isn't a whole lot of space between it and the rocks. Maybe 2 inches was a wrong guess. Yep I have the 3lb tumbler. I'll see what happens when I fill it fuller 
