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 Jun 6, 2021 19:30:19 GMT -5
I tried to find a thread that would answer this question, but I just found a lot on HOW to develop a good slurry. I can tell that once a good slurry does develop, my rocks really start shaping much faster. I'm referring to the coarse grind here, and I'm using 60/90 grit. I have a Thumler's Model B (15 lb barrel), and right now I'm tumbling "smalls" : 3" - 1" rocks. So, the slurry development has been noticeably slower, but once it does develop; the grit wears to nothing quickly (I'm assuming because of the larger surface area of lots of small rocks.)
So, ideally, how soon should I notice a nice, thick slurry? Should I notice one in 24 hours? 48? Right now, I'm getting one in about 3-4 days, and the grit is completely gone at 6-7 days. I know the larger barrels are supposed to be very effective grinders, and I just want to maximize its effectiveness. Thanks for your good advice in advance!
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Post by manofglass on Jun 6, 2021 21:28:47 GMT -5
Depends on what your tumbling In my smaller can 3 weeks in the larger one In the other can never dose thicken up
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Post by Bob on Jun 7, 2021 10:04:19 GMT -5
Don't look or analyze the day to day, just run unopened a week to finish the batch. Leave .5 to 1" of old slurry in barrel in new batch before add water and grit. It can easy take a year to get enough experience with water and rock height to form perfect slurries. There are so many variable--Mohs, size, size mix,rpm, grit, temp, water level, prior slurry, rind on rock or not, water additives, cushioning or not,plus others. You learn by doing over and over.
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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 Jun 20, 2021 20:03:49 GMT -5
Ok, I hear you that it takes experience to figure things out, but I was just asking because I could tell that, once a nice slurry developed, that grit got to work; but I didn't know how quickly I could get that to develop. I'm getting a perfect one now with water, Borax, and grit to develop at about 30 hours of tumbling. I don't even have to clean the rim of the barrel or lid before closing it is such a clingy coating. (THAT'S what I was happiest about!) The way I'm doing things without much of a thickener (just 4 tablespoons of Borax) I have just been trying to get that good slurry ASAP.
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Wooferhound
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Lortone QT66 and 3A
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Post by Wooferhound on Jun 21, 2021 12:52:50 GMT -5
Less water equals faster developing slurry
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Post by Starguy on Jun 22, 2021 14:58:18 GMT -5
ericabelle I judge my coarse tumble efficiency by how thick the slurry is. I don’t worry about it for seven days or so. If your slurry is too thick or too thin after seven days, adjust the amount of water or adjust the ratio of big rocks to small rocks. Many beginners don’t understand how important it is to tumble a mix of rock sizes. If you don’t have smaller rocks in the batch, you’re not tumbling efficiently. A lot of people add ceramic media. I personally buy small Lake Superior agates from Kingsley to adjust my size ratio. Either way, you will have a hard time developing slurry if all of the rocks are the same size. Good luck. I can’t wait to see some photos of the results. edit: by the way, I do rotary only.
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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 Jun 23, 2021 14:57:30 GMT -5
Thanks, Starguy for the info! I bought some tiny Mexican lace agates from The Rock Shed to add get some smaller sizes, mostly because I was getting some pretty broken and beat up rocks. I guess it helps the sliding action of the rocks a lot - I hadn't thought of slurry development, but that makes sense! I recently put on a new belt, making my rotary tumble faster. It sounded like World War III until I added more small rocks! Every little adjustment changes the conditions, but that is part of the fun!
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Post by greig on Jun 24, 2021 17:08:35 GMT -5
Interesting topic. I never considered the slurry to be an indicator of effectiveness. For sure it tells me how much material was removed/rounded. I have found the slurry gets thick with certain kinds of rocks, especially softer ones: Garnet, fluorite and apatite come to mind. Leave them too long and the slurry is like damp model clay. I have found that SIC coarse grit is effective for a certain amount of time and breaks down after perhaps 7-10 days with hard rock. I just add more later if required.
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Post by Starguy on Jun 24, 2021 19:13:12 GMT -5
greig is right. Don”t worry about it too much. Do your best to adjust the water/rock/grit ratio. You will know when you get an efficient grind. ericabelle. I don’t keep a journal of what’s in each tumbler much anymore.. when I was starting I did. It makes it easier to adjust the recipe. Keep a good attitude and keel logging on to this site. There is a lot of good knowledge here.
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Post by Bob on Jun 25, 2021 13:52:20 GMT -5
I don’t keep a journal of what’s in each tumbler much anymore.. when I was starting I did. Very good point. I did that too, and noted lots of things such as water level, rock size mix, whether used cushioning or not, and how slurry appeared a week later. But after a while, you have learned so much that there just is no need to record all that. You might wonder how long it takes to get a good feel for things such that there is no longer any need for meticulous learning records like mentioned above. Hmmm. Never thought it about before. For me, I think I did for about a year. Given the tumblers I had at the time and recharging weekly, that probably represents about 100 barrel recharges. After that, I started decreasing the data record for each fresh barrel. Now, most of the time I record only the date and how many days should elapse (usually 7) before next cleanout, grit size, and if material is anything other than just normal stuff, such as obsidian/glass, nephrite, sodalite, crystal quartz, psilomelane, etc. There will be a time when you forget the water, and get quite a shock when you open the barrel a week later. But, oddly, there was a lot of grinding that took place even though it was all dry I've learned.
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