Post by reeniebeany on Jul 10, 2021 14:35:00 GMT -5
I have a few questions I could use help with...
1) Swarf
120/220 SiC Borax
600 SiC Borax
Both cycles went fine - good rolling action like the videos.
I noticed a lot of dark gray stuff in the dishpan when I was rinsing.
It is a new bowl so I figured it might shed some.
Grit would sink to the bottom, right?
1200 AO pre-polish Borax
Still getting lots of swarf...
Obviously not grit because the 1200 AO is white.
Is this normal?
2) Tumbling action on 1200 AO
The action started out fine - like the 2 previous cycles.
At day 2 the action seemed to bog down and it was still rolling, but it wasn't rolling smoothly.
It just seemed to be kind of stuttering along slowly. Not the snappy volcano action.
There was not a lot of slurry dragging it down, it didn't seem too dry, or too wet.
I messed around with some squirts of water, got it too wet, added more grit and Borax to try and equalize it.
Generally messed around with it for 2 more days then pulled it to rinse.
This is the batch in progress:
Since the first 2 batches went OK it seems like the distribution of size was OK.
Unless the volume loss from the first stages caused a shortage?
The bowl level didn't look that much lower than before.
I know there is a learning curve to master on the moisture balance, but figured there might be something I am missing.
The results were generally pretty mediocre compared to my rotary 1200 AO cycles.
This is totally expected since the action was not right.
Most of the rocks have a general satin glow, some have more shiny bits, none are all shiny.
Flat surfaces are more dull, edges are more shiny.
Is this only related to the poor action or do I need more very smalls when I get to the pre-polish and polish stages?
3) Rock assortment
These are all mostly local rocks from our property or drain rock from the quarry 1.7 miles from us.
I know some rocks are not going to ever shine. I have seen that with the rotary.
I love these so I tumble them even though they are not going to shine.
This fella doesn't photograph well, but he is a real pretty pink and green granite like one. Looks pretty smooth in the hand, but the picture shows the roughness.
I am guessing these kind will never polish up either since they have these little silver colored flakes.
Again, hard to photograph with my phone, but neat rocks
So the question is - does including these keep the whole batch from polishing?
With the rotary it didn't seem to impede the polish; does it work differently in a vibe?
My intention is to run the batch again with the 1200 AO.
Any suggestions or input would be great!!
1) Swarf
120/220 SiC Borax
600 SiC Borax
Both cycles went fine - good rolling action like the videos.
I noticed a lot of dark gray stuff in the dishpan when I was rinsing.
It is a new bowl so I figured it might shed some.
Grit would sink to the bottom, right?
1200 AO pre-polish Borax
Still getting lots of swarf...
Obviously not grit because the 1200 AO is white.
Is this normal?
2) Tumbling action on 1200 AO
The action started out fine - like the 2 previous cycles.
At day 2 the action seemed to bog down and it was still rolling, but it wasn't rolling smoothly.
It just seemed to be kind of stuttering along slowly. Not the snappy volcano action.
There was not a lot of slurry dragging it down, it didn't seem too dry, or too wet.
I messed around with some squirts of water, got it too wet, added more grit and Borax to try and equalize it.
Generally messed around with it for 2 more days then pulled it to rinse.
This is the batch in progress:
Since the first 2 batches went OK it seems like the distribution of size was OK.
Unless the volume loss from the first stages caused a shortage?
The bowl level didn't look that much lower than before.
I know there is a learning curve to master on the moisture balance, but figured there might be something I am missing.
The results were generally pretty mediocre compared to my rotary 1200 AO cycles.
This is totally expected since the action was not right.
Most of the rocks have a general satin glow, some have more shiny bits, none are all shiny.
Flat surfaces are more dull, edges are more shiny.
Is this only related to the poor action or do I need more very smalls when I get to the pre-polish and polish stages?
3) Rock assortment
These are all mostly local rocks from our property or drain rock from the quarry 1.7 miles from us.
I know some rocks are not going to ever shine. I have seen that with the rotary.
I love these so I tumble them even though they are not going to shine.
This fella doesn't photograph well, but he is a real pretty pink and green granite like one. Looks pretty smooth in the hand, but the picture shows the roughness.
I am guessing these kind will never polish up either since they have these little silver colored flakes.
Again, hard to photograph with my phone, but neat rocks
So the question is - does including these keep the whole batch from polishing?
With the rotary it didn't seem to impede the polish; does it work differently in a vibe?
My intention is to run the batch again with the 1200 AO.
Any suggestions or input would be great!!