heathervee
having dreams about rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 57
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Post by heathervee on Oct 20, 2021 12:59:30 GMT -5
Agreed. It pains me to remember all the rocks I would pick up in river gravel bars and say to myself "So what if it has a 90% deep inside corner? Grit is an abrasive and it will win in the end no matter what." Well, that may be true, but turning a very bent rock the size of a lemon into a smooth rock the size of a grape in a year isn't exactly efficient. Given all the grit it took, I must have $paid$ dearly for that idiocy. I used to never see a rock I didn't like laying out there. Now, I can visualize what it's going to take, and that just comes with the experience you are building now. There are times I will toss 90% of the rocks back on the ground and walk on. I live in FL, 99% of our rocks have already been ground into sand! LOL. But I get what you are saying. Like boyfriends, go for the ones that are already good, not the ones you think you can change.
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heathervee
having dreams about rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 57
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Post by heathervee on Oct 20, 2021 13:03:33 GMT -5
heathervee , I can truly relate to your “true ADD fashion!” 🤣 I constantly have a 12 lb. rotary tumbler rolling as well as a vibe tumbler. I also have a bunch of rocks lying around. I’m about to purchase a saw so I can shape rocks before tumbling and slice some extra nice rocks into slabs. Good luck with your tumbling! Thanks! I got very lucky in that I have a husband who not only supports my crazy hobbies, but encourages them! He just bought me 2 more rotaries from goodwill.com, and is fixing the wiring on my first vibe - bought for $25! I'm resisting the urge to get saws, a cab machine, ect...
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heathervee
having dreams about rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 57
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Post by heathervee on Oct 20, 2021 13:05:35 GMT -5
Again, I want to thank everyone for their feedback. And I apologize in advance for what may turn into a rant... I now know I may need to tumble stage 1 for a month, maybe more. HOWEVER, in my defense - every booklet, instruction manual, and website I consulted said "7-10 days" for the course stage. As a new tumbler, how are you supposed to know better? Even the videos I've been watching are VERY vague - the poster will check the rocks multiple times during stage 1, BUT WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? ?? For a hobby with a relatively low barrier to entry, why is there such a lack of simple, concise and accurate information? I really feel for you here, because I went through the same stuff. My local rock shop handed me a Kingsley north guideline sheet, that recommended more grit than necessary, and less time than necessary. Hang out here, learn from the pros. You'll pick it up, and then you too will be turning out great looking rocks. Thanks! I'm taking notes on each batch at this point to see what does and doesn't work. I don't expect I'll do it forever, but it's a pretty handy learning tool.
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heathervee
having dreams about rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 57
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Post by heathervee on Oct 20, 2021 13:10:16 GMT -5
- every booklet, instruction manual, and website I consulted said "7-10 days" for the course stage. As a new tumbler, how are you supposed to know better? Even the videos I've been watching are VERY vague - the poster will check the rocks multiple times during stage 1, BUT WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? ?? For a hobby with a relatively low barrier to entry, why is there such a lack of simple, concise and accurate information? I felt for you when I read that. Since I had not read any of those things since 2014, I wondered if you misinterpreted or if the literature was really so misleading. I don't have that Modern Tumbling book any more to check that. I just checked the Lortone manual, and sure enough see how you could conclude that because it lacks sufficient information for sure. I just checked the Covington manual and notice this part: "GRINDING TIME
A round barrel running at proper speed and carefully checked will rough grind a load of selected beach agate in 100 hours, fine grind in 100 hours, polish in 50 hours and detergent run in 12 hours. The same material in a hexagonal tumbler will require about 50% more time.
Hammer broken hard materials such as India Bloodstone or Montana Dendritic Agate in round barrels may require 3 or 4 rough grindings of 5 days each, with fine grind of 4 days, polish of 3 days.
Grinding time in rough grit varies and is difficult to specify. Keeping a log of your findings is very important. Set up a chart to show the type of stones, abrasive used, slurry consistency, how long it took for each step, and any other pertinent data.
The objective is to grind out the pits, surface fractures, rough spots, preparatory to finishing the surface by finer grinding. Do not expect every stone to be perfect. Use judgment about when to quit. Continuation of the grind after 75% is done is poor economy. Keep in mind the stones will not change much from rough grind to finish. Only minor blemishes will be removed and no amount of fine grind or polish will cure a defect.
Let the stones dry for a final test. When you examine them, look at each stone. Turn it over under good light. If 20 or 30 are rough grind completed, take the 20 and proceed with a finer grit grind."Although there is a lot of good info there, it too is crazy misleading in my opinion about getting beach agate polished in a total of less than 300 hours. Heck--that's only 13 days--less than 2 weeks. No freakin' way unless those babies were prerounded so well on the beach that you could start in 220 and I would even not be able to be done so soon then. The statement above that I just underlined is truthfully vague and in that way accurate. Am I the only person that sees individual rocks so long that they get to know them--or hate them? I've had rocks in my barrels for over a year many times. "Oh, there's that #$@! piece of jasper again! My God, that fracture/dent/concavity that I thought would be ground out last Christmas is STILL THERE!!!!" Right now I've got a lot of chert, including Alibates chert, in process and a rough estimate is 6 month minimum start to finish. That's almost 2,000 hours! Now, admittedly going for perfection takes longer and I may tumble longer than almost anyone else especially since many of my rocks are minimum lemon size when I start. So I guess you are right and I can understand your frustration. The thought has crossed my mind that after doing this a few more years, I might write something that goes into just how long this really takes. What to call it? Hmmm..."Rock Tumbling to Perfection: Insanity and Frustration" "Rock Tumbling to Perfection--Save Yourself and Just do Hard Drugs Instead" or "Rock Tumblers Who Go for Perfection and the Psychiatrists Who Love Them". I'm surprised Ronco doesn't make a rock tumbler - what a perfect hobby for the "set it and forget it" tagline. It would, however, make the world's most boring infomercial.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,681
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Post by Fossilman on Oct 20, 2021 13:51:51 GMT -5
There are always do overs... Watch, study and pick up pointers, roll them again.... Yes some grits are not as good as others. I buy mine from www.therockshed.com , Shawn will treat you right...
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Post by parfive on Oct 20, 2021 14:20:19 GMT -5
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heathervee
having dreams about rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 57
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Post by heathervee on Oct 20, 2021 15:31:53 GMT -5
I know, very sad. I didn't know him well, but I did work with him early in my career at Home Shopping Network. He was a very nice man.
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heathervee
having dreams about rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 57
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Post by heathervee on Oct 20, 2021 19:30:40 GMT -5
The objective is to grind out the pits, surface fractures, rough spots, preparatory to finishing the surface by finer grinding. Do not expect every stone to be perfect. Use judgment about when to quit. Continuation of the grind after 75% is done is poor economy. Keep in mind the stones will not change much from rough grind to finish. Only minor blemishes will be removed and no amount of fine grind or polish will cure a defect.
This was SO helpful! I consulted it today when I did my week 3 rough grind check. There are maybe 2 stones I'd consider taking out, but I tossed them back in anyway. I think there are some I should toss, but it's hard to tell because I've added a few new ones each week to stay at 3/4 full.
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Post by Mel on Oct 22, 2021 15:27:05 GMT -5
I'm all for fluff around and find out, but it seems like the lack of good and consistent info out there would drive people away from the hobby, unless you already have a geo background and come into with knowledge. I'm sharing from what I know personally to be true based on my experience making rocks shiny, and feedback from customers who've had Nat Geo setups. The lack of consistent information seems to be that some companies want to sell a lot of tumblers and a lot of grit. No parent is going to buy a kit for their kid if it says "can take up to 4 months to get great results, and there's nothing to do but wait in the meantime." That's why it took me so long to pick up lapidary; the time sink. Now I don't care, but a lot of people want instant gratification, and can't really blame them. Most other hobbies provide it.
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Post by Bob on Oct 22, 2021 20:55:30 GMT -5
I suppose a bonsai grower might be able to tolerate what we do. But our rocks are dead, at least he works with the living.
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