jamijr
having dreams about rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 59
|
Post by jamijr on Aug 29, 2021 11:17:16 GMT -5
Here's why I call them that, keep in mind that both of my tumblers have 2 barrels, so both had their own barrels where they were tumbled without any other rocks in with them. First I put them in my Chicago Electric. Stage one took a month before they finally showed any progress. Even then I had two hand sand two sides of the snowflake obsidian to make any real progress on it as two sides remained rough with the pumice that's mixed in. Since the Lortone tumbles a little faster I decided to put them in that one thinking I'd do stages 2-5 in there. The barrels opened up - twice. The first time with the quartz within ten minutes of starting it up, the next time with the obsidian after a few days. So they ended up in stage two for close to two weeks. It wasn't until I put them back in the Chicago Electric for stages 3-5 that I finally got some serious progress. And today they're out of stage 5, the polish. All those white lines and flakes in the obsidian isn't trapped polish, BTW, it's all veins and flakes of pumice. Here are my Problem Children in all their glory. I've got more photos of them, but those were the two of the best ones.
|
|
|
Post by jasoninsd on Aug 29, 2021 19:34:48 GMT -5
Well, congratulations on getting the problem kids "out of the house"! You definitely ran into some issues getting these done, but great job on persevering.
|
|
jamijr
having dreams about rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 59
|
Post by jamijr on Aug 30, 2021 11:19:28 GMT -5
Well, congratulations on getting the problem kids "out of the house"! You definitely ran into some issues getting these done, but great job on persevering. Thank you. :-D Issues with the barrels opening haven't been resolved, it appears. Yesterday I wanted to start my tumbled glass experiments. I've read a bunch of blogs that say to put salt in the water while tumbling glass but they don't say what kind or how much. So I bought four different colors of those glass beads for vases, three are being tumbled with different salt as well as grit (table, epsom, and pink Himalayan) and one without salt as the control. I also saved one bead from each color in a bag marked with what I'm tumbling them with. Well, I barely got the barrels going and one opened up. Set it up again, made sure there were no leaks, and within five minutes it was opened up again. Then the other opened up. (These are both on the Lortone, BTW.) THEN one of the Chicago Electric ones opened up a few hours later. I finally gave up yesterday. Today I'm going to go through each one and scrub them then try to set it up again. I don't understand why they're opening up. Especially right after starting the tumble. There's no time for a gas build up so it's not that. And the inner lid seems to be sealed tight when I first put them together.
|
|
|
Post by perkins17 on Aug 30, 2021 11:56:56 GMT -5
jamijr, obsidian will put off gas. That could have been your issue. You have to "burp" your barrel every couple of days.
|
|
jamijr
having dreams about rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 59
|
Post by jamijr on Aug 30, 2021 13:05:13 GMT -5
jamijr , obsidian will put off gas. That could have been your issue. You have to "burp" your barrel every couple of days. Actually it was the quartz that kept opening up at first. Until I finally soaked the barrel in hot water then gave it a good scrubbing. Also I put about a tablespoon of baking soda in the barrel. And with the glass beads there's just not enough time for them to build up gas. They're starting to open within seconds of me starting the tumbling process. I don't know if I'm making the nut too tight and therefore lifting up the inner lid or if there's a problem with the seal to begin with. I'm wondering if I could possibly get them to "vacuum seal" by maybe soaking them in some hot water first then dunking them in cool water. Or if that'll damage the barrels.
|
|
|
Post by jasoninsd on Aug 30, 2021 17:29:26 GMT -5
My initial thought was gas buildup, but you had already stated it was happening immediately...which shouldn't be time enough for gas of any kind. I wish I had the experience to help you out on this, but I don't...yet. It's also really weird that it's happening to numerous barrels. If it were just one, I'd be thinking defective...but that apparently isn't the case either... Hmmmm....
|
|
jamijr
having dreams about rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 59
|
Post by jamijr on Aug 30, 2021 21:39:34 GMT -5
One thing I've learned in the last couple of days is that the barrels don't actually have to be tumbling to build up gas. Obviously I let things dry out and clean up before trying to set up again and found the other barrel expands with gas while just sitting still. I've decided to drop some Gas-X capsules in each barrel and let them sit for a bit and see if they start to expand again.
If this keeps up I'm not going to try to tumble glass anymore. If I can ever get a vibrating tumbler I might try glass in that.
|
|
|
Post by jasoninsd on Aug 31, 2021 0:25:14 GMT -5
I know jamesp has a "bit" of experience tumbling glass...maybe he's got some thoughts on it.
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,564
|
Post by jamesp on Aug 31, 2021 3:28:29 GMT -5
I know jamesp has a "bit" of experience tumbling glass...maybe he's got some thoughts on it. Glass is best finished in a vibe like the Lot-O. My best advise...
|
|
jamijr
having dreams about rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 59
|
Post by jamijr on Aug 31, 2021 11:54:28 GMT -5
I know jamesp has a "bit" of experience tumbling glass...maybe he's got some thoughts on it. Glass is best finished in a vibe like the Lot-O. My best advise... Yeah, I decided last night to halt the experiments for now until I can afford to get a vibrating tumbler instead. Even just sitting still I noticed a lot of gas build up. Right now money's tight because my dog had an allergic reaction to something and I had to make an emergency vet trip.
|
|
|
Post by jasoninsd on Aug 31, 2021 12:00:27 GMT -5
Glass is best finished in a vibe like the Lot-O. My best advise... Yeah, I decided last night to halt the experiments for now until I can afford to get a vibrating tumbler instead. Even just sitting still I noticed a lot of gas build up. Right now money's tight because my dog had an allergic reaction to something and I had to make an emergency vet trip. Well shoot. I honestly hope your fur baby is going to be okay. Vet trips are never fun for "moms" or the patient! This probably won't help, but on a side note, I notice a lot of gas buildup after taco night...but that's probably completely unrelated!
|
|
Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
|
Post by Chris Sikk on Sept 18, 2021 11:49:40 GMT -5
I love this thread! It was just what I needed.
Not the barrels seperating or your doggo news, of course!
I have been making slow progress getting any of my "children" to a state I am proud of. So to see your story was inspirational. Eventually, I will get there!
(Or, I am just going to buy a can of clear coat. HAHA)
|
|