Post by waterboysh on May 20, 2021 13:15:12 GMT -5
My very first batch of rocks that have gone through all the stages should be ready on Saturday (I'll be sure to post some pictures). This last weekend, I removed the contents of a 3lb barrel that was finishing up the 500 AO stage to wait for this weekend for polish (I have three 3 lb barrels, but one is dedicated for polish and can only run 2 at a time) so I could go ahead and start another batch in 120/220 while I wait.
Anyway, one of the rocks I've been really excited about is a green aventurine that came out of stage 1 absolutely perfect. No chipping, bruising, fractures or anything. It's now made it through 3 stages and it has gotten significantly smaller. I know that stages 2+ don't remove much material, but I was really surprised at just how much smaller this rock got after 1 week in 120/220 SiC and 2 weeks in 500 AO. I almost don't even want to put it into polish because of how small it's gotten.
This is what I started with. The description says the rocks vary from 3/4″ to 1 1/2″ in size. Now... I don't know what size this particular rock was to begin with or how long it ran in course, and I also didn't think to take pictures from stage to stage. So I'm really just going off memory here. I can measure the actual rock sometime when I get home, but I'd have to say it's down to the 1/4" - 1/2" range now.
But it got me thinking about what size rocks to get in the future. I'll be running course in a Lortone QT6 so I can fit bigger rocks, but stages 2+ will be in a smaller 3lb Lortone barrel. So ideally, I think I'd want to start with rocks that are just slightly to large for the 3lb barrel and then run them in course until they are the appropriate size (and ready to move on of course).
Anyway, one of the rocks I've been really excited about is a green aventurine that came out of stage 1 absolutely perfect. No chipping, bruising, fractures or anything. It's now made it through 3 stages and it has gotten significantly smaller. I know that stages 2+ don't remove much material, but I was really surprised at just how much smaller this rock got after 1 week in 120/220 SiC and 2 weeks in 500 AO. I almost don't even want to put it into polish because of how small it's gotten.
This is what I started with. The description says the rocks vary from 3/4″ to 1 1/2″ in size. Now... I don't know what size this particular rock was to begin with or how long it ran in course, and I also didn't think to take pictures from stage to stage. So I'm really just going off memory here. I can measure the actual rock sometime when I get home, but I'd have to say it's down to the 1/4" - 1/2" range now.
But it got me thinking about what size rocks to get in the future. I'll be running course in a Lortone QT6 so I can fit bigger rocks, but stages 2+ will be in a smaller 3lb Lortone barrel. So ideally, I think I'd want to start with rocks that are just slightly to large for the 3lb barrel and then run them in course until they are the appropriate size (and ready to move on of course).