LazerFlash
Cave Dweller
The more they over-think the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the toilet.
Member since September 2021
Posts: 548
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Post by LazerFlash on Sept 26, 2021 13:50:22 GMT -5
Having run more than a few tumbles through our Harbor Freight 3-pounder, from coarse thru aluminum oxide, I'm wondering if it's the best practice to continue to use the same barrel for the final stages as I use in the beginning...? I am pretty good at cleaning out, using some Oxyclean water and a nail brush on both the barrel and the lid. But, over the past few months, I'm noticing that there's pitting forming on the lid and it's getting harder and harder to get things completely clean. I'm pretty sure that I can get a new rubber lid, but I'm also thinking maybe a separate barrel for the polishing stages might be useful, too.
Am I over-thinking this?
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Post by perkins17 on Sept 26, 2021 15:00:32 GMT -5
Having run more than a few tumbles through our Harbor Freight 3-pounder, from coarse thru aluminum oxide, I'm wondering if it's the best practice to continue to use the same barrel for the final stages as I use in the beginning...? I am pretty good at cleaning out, using some Oxyclean water and a nail brush on both the barrel and the lid. But, over the past few months, I'm noticing that there's pitting forming on the lid and it's getting harder and harder to get things completely clean. I'm pretty sure that I can get a new rubber lid, but I'm also thinking maybe a separate barrel for the polishing stages might be useful, too.
Am I over-thinking this? You should be fine using one barrel for all stages. Some people keep a separate barrel for polishing only. I would just run a burnishing cycle between pre polish and polish. For my burnishing, I use Ivory soap. For your tumbler you would probably want to let it run for at least and hour like that. You would simply clean the barrel very well, then add the same amount of water you normally use and add about a table spoon of ivory soap. Some people use dish soap or hand soap. Lots of people swear by borax as well. As long as your lid liner does not wear through and you can't see grit particles imbedded in it, you should be fine not replacing it.
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terryjh
starting to shine!
Member since July 2021
Posts: 46
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Post by terryjh on Sept 26, 2021 17:23:53 GMT -5
Hi lazerflash.
There are many, many different processes here that folks use with very good results.
For me, I use the same barrel for coarse on up through pre-polish. I do use a dedicated barrel for polish. I do this for both my rotary and vibe equipment. I believe some grit gets embedded in the walls of the drums and bowls and won't get scrubbed out with brushes. I imagine 90% of the time using the same drum for grit and polish is not an issue if cleaned well. I simply decided to use separate ones to keep that variable at bay.
Happy Tumbln'
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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 Sept 26, 2021 19:09:47 GMT -5
You should be fine using one barrel for all stages. Some people keep a separate barrel for polishing only. I would just run a burnishing cycle between pre polish and polish. For my burnishing, I use Ivory soap. For your tumbler you would probably want to let it run for at least and hour like that. You would simply clean the barrel very well, then add the same amount of water you normally use and add about a table spoon of ivory soap. Some people use dish soap or hand soap. Lots of people swear by borax as well. As long as your lid liner does not wear through and you can't see grit particles imbedded in it, you should be fine not replacing it. Came here to say that the burnishing stage has been a game changer for me. I was having difficulty getting the shine I wanted. Truthfully, I still haven't finished a batch that has been properly burnished, but after doing a burnishing stage for some rocks after stage two (that are now waiting for more friends to have a full barrel) I was blown away by how much better they look. I am excited to see the results and have some that have been polished that I want to compare with, before I redo them. I just have a feeling that burnish stage was what I was missing.
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quartzilla
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2020
Posts: 1,218
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Post by quartzilla on Sept 27, 2021 7:51:10 GMT -5
You should be fine using one barrel for all stages. Some people keep a separate barrel for polishing only. I would just run a burnishing cycle between pre polish and polish. For my burnishing, I use Ivory soap. For your tumbler you would probably want to let it run for at least and hour like that. You would simply clean the barrel very well, then add the same amount of water you normally use and add about a table spoon of ivory soap. Some people use dish soap or hand soap. Lots of people swear by borax as well. As long as your lid liner does not wear through and you can't see grit particles imbedded in it, you should be fine not replacing it. Came here to say that the burnishing stage has been a game changer for me. I was having difficulty getting the shine I wanted. Truthfully, I still haven't finished a batch that has been properly burnished, but after doing a burnishing stage for some rocks after stage two (that are now waiting for more friends to have a full barrel) I was blown away by how much better they look. I am excited to see the results and have some that have been polished that I want to compare with, before I redo them. I just have a feeling that burnish stage was what I was missing. I burnish with borax and soap flakes after stage 2. Surprising how cruddy the water is after this.
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LazerFlash
Cave Dweller
The more they over-think the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the toilet.
Member since September 2021
Posts: 548
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Post by LazerFlash on Sept 27, 2021 16:26:29 GMT -5
Thanks for the responses. A quick question: Approximately how long do you run the burnishings?
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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 Sept 27, 2021 17:41:55 GMT -5
Thanks for the responses. A quick question: Approximately how long do you run the burnishings? I think I read here to try something like 1.5-3 hours. So that is what I did with Borax. I sacrificed some stuffed animals from Goodwill for their plastic beads to cushion the rocks. These beads are now in a container marked for burnishing and I will use others for stage 3 and 4 to prevent contamination.
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afterburnt
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2021
Posts: 152
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Post by afterburnt on Sept 28, 2021 13:48:27 GMT -5
I have three bowls for my vibe, mostly because I don't need to clean them so thoroughly.
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RedWingTumbler
having dreams about rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 65
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Post by RedWingTumbler on Sept 28, 2021 18:22:50 GMT -5
I wash my barrels by hand between stages & also run a short wash cycle with the stones & ceramic media (about an hour with borax & a squirt of Dawn dish soap) before changing grit. No need for separate barrels, as long as you keep them clean & take steps to avoid cross-contamination.
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bourbon13
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2021
Posts: 10
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Post by bourbon13 on Sept 29, 2021 10:15:35 GMT -5
I use a separate barrel for all phases (80g, 220g,500g,and a barrel for 1,000/polish)The 500 barrel and the 1,000/polish barrel are Lot-O barrels the other two are regular barrels.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Sept 29, 2021 14:53:02 GMT -5
When I started tumbling, almost 3 years ago, was having trouble getting my first Shine to come out right. So I bought extra barrels for all my machines to do the polish in.
Eventually I discovered that it was my technique that was keeping the shine away and not cross contamination between stages.
These days, I use the same barrel all the way through the polishing process, but I do a Wash between all the stages.
My wash is just the Rocks with Plain Water filled to the top of the barrel, No plastic beads, No Ceramic Filler. I have been getting some excellent Shine just doing this. I use plastic beads in stage 3 (600) and above. I use the same beads in all the batches in all the stages without any problems.
Now I know that the extra barrels are Not needed, but they are nice to have around for Spare Parts.
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