ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on May 15, 2021 21:56:16 GMT -5
So now my Thumler's Model B is going to continuously be running in coarse phase since I got a Lot-O to run the other phases. My question is, after a week in coarse grit, should I completely clean the barrel out or just add more coarse grit to the ground down grit? And how much - the full amount that I originally added? Thank you all for your input!
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Post by Rockindad on May 15, 2021 22:31:46 GMT -5
Depends...what are you running? What grit are you using? Do you work the rocks outside of the tumbler?
In our Model B's we use 36 or 46/70 SiC at a minimum with harder stuff. We start off with 20Tbsp. in the initial charge. When loaded correctly (rocks and just as important water level) it can be ready for a recharge in 3-4 days. By "ready" I mean that the original grit is broken down much smaller than what we started with (most of the time it is undetectable) and not able to grind like we are trying to achieve in the coarse stage. When I was ill we did not do as many total cleanouts and some barrels were recharged many times over the course of months, usually using 10Tbsp. each time. When things start to get too thick it is time to dump some slurry and add some water.
Softer materials may get 60/90 SiC and less of it as they break down faster and thicken the slurry more.
Nothing wrong with being impatient either. Sometimes we only run one cycle so we can inspect and work on the rocks outside of the tumbler to do some cutting and grinding.
Experience is your friend, develop an eye for your water level and everything becomes much easier.
Also, when recharging get your hands in there and feel that slurry, it will tell you everything. With the Model B's you can also tilt the barrel towards the lid and when you unbolt the metal cover and peel the gasket off there will be slurry sticking to it. Is it gritty or smooth mud...this will help you determine if a recharge is needed.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on May 15, 2021 22:57:08 GMT -5
Depends...what are you running? What grit are you using? Do you work the rocks outside of the tumbler? In our Model B's we use 36 or 46/70 SiC at a minimum with harder stuff. We start off with 20Tbsp. in the initial charge. When loaded correctly (rocks and just as important water level) it can be ready for a recharge in 3-4 days. By "ready" I mean that the original grit is broken down much smaller than what we started with (most of the time it is undetectable) and not able to grind like we are trying to achieve in the coarse stage. When I was ill we did not do as many total cleanouts and some barrels were recharged many times over the course of months, usually using 10Tbsp. each time. When things start to get too thick it is time to dump some slurry and add some water. Softer materials may get 60/90 SiC and less of it as they break down faster and thicken the slurry more. Nothing wrong with being impatient either. Sometimes we only run one cycle so we can inspect and work on the rocks outside of the tumbler to do some cutting and grinding. Experience is your friend, develop an eye for your water level and everything becomes much easier. Also, when recharging get your hands in there and feel that slurry, it will tell you everything. With the Model B's you can also tilt the barrel towards the lid and when you unbolt the metal cover and peel the gasket off there will be slurry sticking to it. Is it gritty or smooth mud...this will help you determine if a recharge is needed. I'm running mostly chert and jasper, with 60/90 grit. I haven't worked the rocks outside the tumbler yet. I have been using 20 tbsp as the first load of grit. I usually check them at 48 hours and then the 7 day mark. But I'll check them tomorrow at the 3 day mark and I'll see how gritty it is. There were a couple of chert nodules with limestone lining them that may have broken down sooner than I'm used to. So, basically what I'm hearing from you is that I need to play it by ear? That makes sense. I just didn't want to recharge after a week if the "old grit" was going to block the new grit from working as well.
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on May 16, 2021 6:49:44 GMT -5
I run the AR 12 in course (60/90) continuously. I check every other week and reuse some of the slurry and do a complete charge. I sort thru the rocks and pull the ready ones and dump the rest back in and top off with some fresh. I used to check weekly but I was getting a lot of unused grit and I hate to waste grit so I went to the 2 week time frame and it works much better for me. When all works as it should I can get enough rock for a 120/220 run in a 3 Lb barrel about every 4 weeks.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,432
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Post by Wooferhound on May 16, 2021 6:51:47 GMT -5
Depends...what are you running? What grit are you using? Do you work the rocks outside of the tumbler? In our Model B's we use 36 or 46/70 SiC at a minimum with harder stuff. We start off with 20Tbsp. in the initial charge. When loaded correctly (rocks and just as important water level) it can be ready for a recharge in 3-4 days. By "ready" I mean that the original grit is broken down much smaller than what we started with (most of the time it is undetectable) and not able to grind like we are trying to achieve in the coarse stage. When I was ill we did not do as many total cleanouts and some barrels were recharged many times over the course of months, usually using 10Tbsp. each time. When things start to get too thick it is time to dump some slurry and add some water. Softer materials may get 60/90 SiC and less of it as they break down faster and thicken the slurry more. Nothing wrong with being impatient either. Sometimes we only run one cycle so we can inspect and work on the rocks outside of the tumbler to do some cutting and grinding. Experience is your friend, develop an eye for your water level and everything becomes much easier. Also, when recharging get your hands in there and feel that slurry, it will tell you everything. With the Model B's you can also tilt the barrel towards the lid and when you unbolt the metal cover and peel the gasket off there will be slurry sticking to it. Is it gritty or smooth mud...this will help you determine if a recharge is needed. I just didn't want to recharge after a week if the "old grit" was going to block the new grit from working as well.
I use 30 Grit in my 6 pound barrels, but it is still used up in a weeks time. Then I use s settlement tank when cleaning out, so I am recovering all of my unused grit.
Old used grit will not Block the New grit from working as well.
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Post by Rockindad on May 16, 2021 7:58:45 GMT -5
Depends...what are you running? What grit are you using? Do you work the rocks outside of the tumbler? In our Model B's we use 36 or 46/70 SiC at a minimum with harder stuff. We start off with 20Tbsp. in the initial charge. When loaded correctly (rocks and just as important water level) it can be ready for a recharge in 3-4 days. By "ready" I mean that the original grit is broken down much smaller than what we started with (most of the time it is undetectable) and not able to grind like we are trying to achieve in the coarse stage. When I was ill we did not do as many total cleanouts and some barrels were recharged many times over the course of months, usually using 10Tbsp. each time. When things start to get too thick it is time to dump some slurry and add some water. Softer materials may get 60/90 SiC and less of it as they break down faster and thicken the slurry more. Nothing wrong with being impatient either. Sometimes we only run one cycle so we can inspect and work on the rocks outside of the tumbler to do some cutting and grinding. Experience is your friend, develop an eye for your water level and everything becomes much easier. Also, when recharging get your hands in there and feel that slurry, it will tell you everything. With the Model B's you can also tilt the barrel towards the lid and when you unbolt the metal cover and peel the gasket off there will be slurry sticking to it. Is it gritty or smooth mud...this will help you determine if a recharge is needed. I'm running mostly chert and jasper, with 60/90 grit. I haven't worked the rocks outside the tumbler yet. I have been using 20 tbsp as the first load of grit. I usually check them at 48 hours and then the 7 day mark. But I'll check them tomorrow at the 3 day mark and I'll see how gritty it is. There were a couple of chert nodules with limestone lining them that may have broken down sooner than I'm used to. So, basically what I'm hearing from you is that I need to play it by ear? That makes sense. I just didn't want to recharge after a week if the "old grit" was going to block the new grit from working as well. We were initially using 60/90 in the Model B's as that is what we already had on hand, have been much happier since switching to coarser grit. There is a lot of action going on in a 15lb. barrel, keep in mind BOTH the rocks and grit are breaking down in there. We went from working with a single 2lb. and two 3lb. barrels to the Model B, it is a whole different world as far as grit breakdown. Each rock has a greater distance to fall/slide against others due to the larger diameter barrel, this will also break down the grit faster.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on May 16, 2021 10:12:56 GMT -5
I run the AR 12 in course (60/90) continuously. I check every other week and reuse some of the slurry and do a complete charge. I sort thru the rocks and pull the ready ones and dump the rest back in and top off with some fresh. I used to check weekly but I was getting a lot of unused grit and I hate to waste grit so I went to the 2 week time frame and it works much better for me. When all works as it should I can get enough rock for a 120/220 run in a 3 Lb barrel about every 4 weeks. I will definitely try leaving some of the used grit - I hate to waste it, and the large rotary tumblers really use a lot. My grit is ground down in 7 days, but I've been putting in several large rocks with each batch so maybe that is why. I'm about to take out the large ones this week and put in all small rocks (1-2"), so it will be interesting to see how that changes the grit!
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on May 16, 2021 10:16:13 GMT -5
I use 30 Grit in my 6 pound barrels, but it is still used up in a weeks time. Then I use s settlement tank when cleaning out, so I am recovering all of my unused grit.
Old used grit will not Block the New grit from working as well.
Wow! 30 grit! I assume you're tumbling some pretty hard rocks like I am. Maybe I need to switch to coarser grit. I usually check the barrel after a couple days, and then not again until 7 days. I may need to do some checking in between.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
|
Post by ericabelle on May 16, 2021 10:20:51 GMT -5
We were initially using 60/90 in the Model B's as that is what we already had on hand, have been much happier since switching to coarser grit. There is a lot of action going on in a 15lb. barrel, keep in mind BOTH the rocks and grit are breaking down in there. We went from working with a single 2lb. and two 3lb. barrels to the Model B, it is a whole different world as far as grit breakdown. Each rock has a greater distance to fall/slide against others due to the larger diameter barrel, this will also break down the grit faster. That is great advice - I hadn't thought of my grit breaking down faster in the larger barrel. How large are the rocks that you tumble in the Model B? I wonder if the grit breaks down faster with a bunch of small rocks (because of larger total surface area) or large rocks (because there is more weight grinding against each other). I'll hopefully find out because this week I'm going to switch my Model B from large rocks to mostly small rocks for a few weeks.
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Post by Rockindad on May 16, 2021 20:36:27 GMT -5
We were initially using 60/90 in the Model B's as that is what we already had on hand, have been much happier since switching to coarser grit. There is a lot of action going on in a 15lb. barrel, keep in mind BOTH the rocks and grit are breaking down in there. We went from working with a single 2lb. and two 3lb. barrels to the Model B, it is a whole different world as far as grit breakdown. Each rock has a greater distance to fall/slide against others due to the larger diameter barrel, this will also break down the grit faster. That is great advice - I hadn't thought of my grit breaking down faster in the larger barrel. How large are the rocks that you tumble in the Model B? I wonder if the grit breaks down faster with a bunch of small rocks (because of larger total surface area) or large rocks (because there is more weight grinding against each other). I'll hopefully find out because this week I'm going to switch my Model B from large rocks to mostly small rocks for a few weeks. We run quite the variety of sizes- from pebbles to 2"-3" diameter, sometimes larger if we are going to run all the way through polish in rotary. Some small rocks are definitely good for getting in between the larger ones and getting in odd areas. There is a very legitimate reason that "It is best to have a mix of sizes" is oft-repeated. Too many of the little guys* can clog up the works and be counterproductive though. *By little guys I mean 1/2" and smaller. BTW- Not related to this thread but I checked out your Instagram and website. Terrific shooting!
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on May 17, 2021 6:59:26 GMT -5
Rockindad I run a lot of different sizes, too. It's great the variety of sizes you can tumble in the Model B. Thanks so much for the compliment on my photos! I'm looking forward to doing some macro shots of some of my newly polished rocks!
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