Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
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Post by Chris Sikk on Oct 22, 2021 9:45:49 GMT -5
The vibe tumblers smooth and polish the shape “as is” instead of rounding it. It is how I finish my own worry stones. If a screwdriver can scratch into it, it’s soft material. Likely Mohs 5 or less. Oh cool! You make worry stones? I keep seeing the less expensive vibes for tools, not rocks, and tempted to grab them because they are cheap. However, I have read here that they're not great and I might as well put my money towards something that will work. If I had the money, haha.
What's your process for shaping the stones into worry stones?
Hey! No shoulding on yourself!  Figuring out what you are working with may help with a diagnosis of your issues, though. Oof. Another good catch! I was shoulding myself.  |
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Post by knave on Oct 22, 2021 9:51:36 GMT -5
Chris SikkIt’s still a work in progress but my best is a 1.5” diamond wheel in my drill. Next up to try is a dowel with a rounded end, impregnated with diamond resin.
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Post by knave on Oct 22, 2021 10:05:34 GMT -5
My vision
A large dowel 1” maybe, cut to 2” long. Center drill it on one end with a 1/4” hole, cut the head off a 1/4-20 bolt and epoxy it in place with the threads exposed. So it can tap into the end of my arbor.
Once in the arbor, sand it to the shape I want , then put the diamond resin coating on it.
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stewdogg
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2020
Posts: 388
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Post by stewdogg on Oct 27, 2021 9:38:13 GMT -5
Chris Sikk, you can get into a vibe tumbler for under $100 with the Raytech TV5. I have been using one for the last year and it has been great. I have run a lot of rocks through it so far and it has been very dependable. I made my own rotary tumbler that can hold too many barrels and that is pushing me to get a bigger vibe tumbler to keep up with the rocks rolling in the barrels. The bowl on the TV5 is plastic, which makes it a bit noisier (easy to deal with by muffling noise with a bucket or something) and allows quicker wear on the bowl itself. It took me about a year of continual running it to wear a nice ring in the center of the radius of the bowl. That being said, it would kick the can down the road for the price of getting into a vibe tumbler... cost of new bowl in a year+ vs spending another $150 up front on the Lot-o. I will be curious to see what your solution is for the tooling for the worry stones! Good luck!
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Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
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Post by Chris Sikk on Oct 27, 2021 18:41:58 GMT -5
Chris Sikk , you can get into a vibe tumbler for under $100 with the Raytech TV5. I have been using one for the last year and it has been great. I have run a lot of rocks through it so far and it has been very dependable. I made my own rotary tumbler that can hold too many barrels and that is pushing me to get a bigger vibe tumbler to keep up with the rocks rolling in the barrels. The bowl on the TV5 is plastic, which makes it a bit noisier (easy to deal with by muffling noise with a bucket or something) and allows quicker wear on the bowl itself. It took me about a year of continual running it to wear a nice ring in the center of the radius of the bowl. That being said, it would kick the can down the road for the price of getting into a vibe tumbler... cost of new bowl in a year+ vs spending another $150 up front on the Lot-o. I will be curious to see what your solution is for the tooling for the worry stones! Good luck! I think one of the first comments on my introduction thread suggested a TV5. Heh.
Everyone here has their own individual preferences and it is great that we all share them. The TV5 is very tempting. My biggest issue is that I live in a condo in the city. Until recently, my tumblers were dancing on the patio outside. In fact, the Thumler has really shown me why we don't put them outside. That thing is warped from heat and the plastic ring retainers are all cracked. Thanks to the pandemic, my partner is working from home and has taken over my office. So, she offered to help me convert our storage/laundry room into a small workshop. We went through our closets, moved some things like the xmas tree to a closet and got rid of things we do not use. I removed 2 sets of shelving, a large set of plastic drawers, and a dresser from the room. I bought an inexpensive work bench and set up the tumblers in there. This has happened over the last month. I am finally finished!
The Lortone was louder than I thought it would be in that space, but the room is only 6ft x 13ft or so. Close the door and you can still hear it, After setting it up and switching stages I looked at the Thumler and decided to fire it up because it seemed to be a waste not to use it. Wow. Bad idea. That thing is annoying.
This is why I was looking at Lot-O and the Diamond Pacific ones. Of course, just like our opinions on equipment, loudness is also subjective. Those who say the Minisonic is not incredibly loud may have a different tolerance than a guy living in a condo. Heh.
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Post by knave on Oct 27, 2021 18:45:51 GMT -5
The loto is very quiet when it is mounted solidly to concrete. I moved it up onto my workbench with a heavy weight under it and wow. The whole workbench sang an tune it was LOUD.
Back to the floor it went
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pizzano
Cave Dweller 
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Oct 27, 2021 19:00:17 GMT -5
Chris Sikk , you can get into a vibe tumbler for under $100 with the Raytech TV5. I have been using one for the last year and it has been great. I have run a lot of rocks through it so far and it has been very dependable. I made my own rotary tumbler that can hold too many barrels and that is pushing me to get a bigger vibe tumbler to keep up with the rocks rolling in the barrels. The bowl on the TV5 is plastic, which makes it a bit noisier (easy to deal with by muffling noise with a bucket or something) and allows quicker wear on the bowl itself. It took me about a year of continual running it to wear a nice ring in the center of the radius of the bowl. That being said, it would kick the can down the road for the price of getting into a vibe tumbler... cost of new bowl in a year+ vs spending another $150 up front on the Lot-o. I will be curious to see what your solution is for the tooling for the worry stones! Good luck! I think one of the first comments on my introduction thread suggested a TV5. Heh.
Everyone here has their own individual preferences and it is great that we all share them. The TV5 is very tempting. My biggest issue is that I live in a condo in the city. Until recently, my tumblers were dancing on the patio outside. In fact, the Thumler has really shown me why we don't put them outside. That thing is warped from heat and the plastic ring retainers are all cracked. Thanks to the pandemic, my partner is working from home and has taken over my office. So, she offered to help me convert our storage/laundry room into a small workshop. We went through our closets, moved some things like the xmas tree to a closet and got rid of things we do not use. I removed 2 sets of shelving, a large set of plastic drawers, and a dresser from the room. I bought an inexpensive work bench and set up the tumblers in there. This has happened over the last month. I am finally finished!
The Lortone was louder than I thought it would be in that space, but the room is only 6ft x 13ft or so. Close the door and you can still hear it, After setting it up and switching stages I looked at the Thumler and decided to fire it up because it seemed to be a waste not to use it. Wow. Bad idea. That thing is annoying.
This is why I was looking at Lot-O and the Diamond Pacific ones. Of course, just like our opinions on equipment, loudness is also subjective. Those who say the Minisonic is not incredibly loud may have a different tolerance than a guy living in a condo. Heh.
Chris........you couldn't be in a much tighter environment......could ya.....?.....nice job of economizing....protect your power surges......! As for that vibe....TV5.....good small scale device.......but, as with any "bowl" vibe, noise (not stability) is an issue until you get past the "grinding" stages.....given proper fillers during polishing stages, they tone down quite a bit..........! |
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Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
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Post by Chris Sikk on Oct 27, 2021 19:20:49 GMT -5
Chris........you couldn't be in a much tighter environment......could ya.....?.....nice job of economizing....protect your power surges......! As for that vibe....TV5.....good small scale device.......but, as with any "bowl" vibe, noise (not stability) is an issue until you get past the "grinding" stages.....given proper fillers during polishing stages, they tone down quite a bit..........! Thanks!
Good call on the power surges. I have a water alarm over there because we just replaced that HVAC unit which leaked and ruined the floors last year. So, I put the tumblers over there too.
Really good to hear that things are better past the grinding stages...hmm. So, I could do the first 2 stages in the rotary, carve my finger/thumb worry stone part, and possibly finish in a vibe...
I read on the board that "parts tumblers" are not great at doing rocks, but the TV5 is a parts tumbler, right? So, it is just the fact that it is plastic and will not take the beating of the rocks, otherwise there is little difference in the vibe tumbler world? And the advantage of the TV5 is that new bowls are readily available and perhaps other cheap parts tumblers that is not the case?
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pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Oct 27, 2021 19:42:36 GMT -5
Chris....I own 1 TV5, 5 TV bowls and two Lyman Turbo vibes........TV5 doesn't handle the early stage(s) size loads the Lyman's do........Lyman bowls are really only good for everything put polishing stages, properly sealed of course.....lol.......The TV5 bowls work great on the Lyman's for polishing stages....and even early stages, but I prefer not to mix and match my bowls.
At some point a vibe comes into play with polishing if you get serious (you are).......comes down to afford ability, level of motivational learning curve and space. You've got one down.......lol
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Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
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Post by Chris Sikk on Oct 27, 2021 21:24:19 GMT -5
Chris....I own 1 TV5, 5 TV bowls and two Lyman Turbo vibes........TV5 doesn't handle the early stage(s) size loads the Lyman's do........Lyman bowls are really only good for everything put polishing stages, properly sealed of course.....lol.......The TV5 bowls work great on the Lyman's for polishing stages....and even early stages, but I prefer not to mix and match my bowls. At some point a vibe comes into play with polishing if you get serious (you are).......comes down to afford ability, level of motivational learning curve and space. You've got one down.......lol Yup, upon my assumption about "parts tumblers" I did a search and found you have lots of experience with the vibes. Haha. As my brain starts processing the idea of making another purchase, it jumps to "Oh, how do I even use a vibe? Grit? Water? Media?" Then, I step in and say, "One step at a time, sir." Glad I can find a lot of that information here on the site and from folks like you!
For now, I will attempt to stop changing my route and continue along where I am. I want to see how my latest batch fair before I scrap my technique. Now, if I have some success, it may be nice to get the vibe to shorten a polish stage. Or, if my current method fails, I will try the vibe.
Current experiment is:
- stage 1 done.
- carve rocks to worry stones.
- stage 2 done.
- Oh damn. Carve again. Oops. - stage 3 is now running.
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Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
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Post by Chris Sikk on Oct 27, 2021 21:35:09 GMT -5
Current experiment is: - stage 1 done.
- carve rocks to worry stones.
- stage 2 done.
- Oh damn. Carve again. Oops. - stage 3 is now running.
Previously, I did many by hand (dremel) with wet sand paper. Unimpressed with the results, I tried to do a couple polish stages in the tumbler.
This is where I learned of the scratches I missed. And, I then purchased the diamond paste to try and repair that previous batch. I have worked 4 worry stones and decided I must go backward a bit to remove the scratches because my paste is too fine for the damage in the stones that my previous carving and sanding did.
With the current experiment above and in the previous post when I carved after stage 2, I used a large diamond ball bur instead of the smaller diamond burs and cutting discs. I just could not be as accurate with a smaller tool making a smooth 'worry' surface. The discs worked well to get a more even surface, but just like the smaller tools, if I spend a second too long in a spot, there is a gouge. The larger ball bur is nice, but I was concerned with micro gouges. Something I had flirted with previously was using a stone ball bur. So, I ran the stone ball bur after the diamond. To the naked eye it looked better. I will see what happens in a week or so.
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Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
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Post by Chris Sikk on Nov 5, 2021 22:05:22 GMT -5
Opened up the tumbler and ran a burnish. I examined the rocks with my magnifying specs and I really didn't notice a real difference between the backside of the rocks and the carved 'worry' side. I looked at several stones. It was difficult because of the variety of contrast/colors in the stones, especially magnified. So, I am only somewhat confident in my decision to proceed to polish.
On another note, reading the forum and watching a Jugglerguy video has made this batch far superior than my previous attempts. Thanks to all the amazing people here! I do want to post some pictures of my previous tumbles versus what I have learned here. I am just waiting for this batch to finish! |
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Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
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Post by Chris Sikk on Nov 27, 2021 19:42:31 GMT -5
Okay. This is my previous attempt in which it was mostly done with the dremel and sand papers of many, many grits. I tried some polish, but then ran the rocks through a rotary tumbler I inherited.
And this is my latest attempt with the help of this forum and patience.
I'll post some individual closeups in the photo thread, located here. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 27, 2021 20:05:35 GMT -5
Woot! What a difference. They look great!
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Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
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Post by Chris Sikk on Nov 27, 2021 20:18:34 GMT -5
Shucks! Thanks.
What I am seeing is that I may need to do some work between stage 3 and polish, perhaps...not totally sure. Some of the rocks are a bit gray in the worry section. My experiment, as I stated above involves a large diamond ball bur and then a large stone bur to theoretically even out any gouges I cannot see. Off the top of my head, I cannot remember the grit of the diamond ball bur, but if it was 225 for example and then my stage 3 is 500, perhaps I need to do something in-between? Or after the 500 of stage 3?
I suppose it comes down to the individual rocks. Some look pretty great and others have that hint of gray that tells me the concave 'worry' carving may be capturing some microscopic bits of grit/polish.
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Nov 28, 2021 9:12:18 GMT -5
It's great to see your improvements. What a transformation!
Keep up the good work, at this rate you'll have it mastered in no time 👍
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 28, 2021 10:37:11 GMT -5
Shucks! Thanks.
What I am seeing is that I may need to do some work between stage 3 and polish, perhaps...not totally sure. Some of the rocks are a bit gray in the worry section. My experiment, as I stated above involves a large diamond ball bur and then a large stone bur to theoretically even out any gouges I cannot see. Off the top of my head, I cannot remember the grit of the diamond ball bur, but if it was 225 for example and then my stage 3 is 500, perhaps I need to do something in-between? Or after the 500 of stage 3?
I suppose it comes down to the individual rocks. Some look pretty great and others have that hint of gray that tells me the concave 'worry' carving may be capturing some microscopic bits of grit/polish.
In the picture above I only see one with grey - the black and white one in the top right. It looks like maybe you could have spent a little more time with your stone burr on that one to even out the gouges a bit more. Harder stones are going to take a bit more work to get the gouges out. You could always add an additional grit in between and that would also work. Probably even take a little less time. |
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Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
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Post by Chris Sikk on Nov 30, 2021 0:43:00 GMT -5
In the picture above I only see one with grey - the black and white one in the top right. It looks like maybe you could have spent a little more time with your stone burr on that one to even out the gouges a bit more. Harder stones are going to take a bit more work to get the gouges out. You could always add an additional grit in between and that would also work. Probably even take a little less time. Right. I have been enjoying the artistic aspects of this and ignoring the some of the science. It's not that I do not want to know what types of rocks I am working with, but I have some nasty perfectionists tendencies and insecurities. So instead of saying I think this is quartz, I would rather ask someone else or hope for the best. Obviously, a knowledge of the hardness would only improve my work.
I would say learning more from the amazing people here about identifying stones would be a good next step as I improve my polishing.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 30, 2021 10:56:53 GMT -5
Here is an excellent article by 1dave that explains all the tests you can do to determine a stone ID. For your purposes, I think Section 3 - Hardness is what you would be most interested in. Once you've determined the hardness of the stone you're working you will know whether you need to grind a little longer on it to eliminate the grey area or not.
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