Rotary tumbling sodalite in a NatGeo hobby tumbler?
Jan 4, 2022 19:25:13 GMT -5
catskillrocks likes this
Post by werdna on Jan 4, 2022 19:25:13 GMT -5
Hi everyone,
I'm new to the forum and new to tumbling, but I've been doing a lot of research and a little spending. My actual tumbling experience is almost nil. I've got my (kids') first batch 5 days into stage 1 -- just the starter rocks from the (kids') NatGeo hobby tumbler pack + a few hopefully decent hard rocks from our "gem mine" bags from local trips to those places that hide various rocks in sand for kids (tiger's eye, jasper, some quartz, etc.). Based on research I added some small ceramic filler, although I realize it's not compeltely needed for stage 1 -- I did it more to raise the level of the canister to 2/3 and get closer to 1lb of rocks. Since getting the tumbler for the kids, I've been doing a lot more research and the first thing I learned was that apparently the grit that came with the tumbler is no good, esp. the polish, and my tumbler is relatively fast. So to deal with the grit/polish issue I ordered a polly plastics grit kit with small ceramic filler medium and I plan to use extra grit as needed and to avoid kiddo tears on the last step, toss the NG stage 4 pack and instead use the PP stage 4 "polish" (1200 Alum Oxide). Hopefully it gets some shine on, although I saw some comments suggesting I need much smaller 12,000+ grit. Is that right? And would that just replace the 1,200 step as a stage 4?
Anyway, we'll see how that goes and hopefully there are no crazy problems. In the meantime I ordered more rocks by 1# bags (2 kinds of agates, amethyst, 2 kinds of jasper, and sodalite) from rock shed. Most are pretty hard, although I may run the 7.5s separate from the 7s. The last (sodalite) I thought was simply 5.5-6.0, and I assumed I'd need to run it alone, but it sounds like sodalite is a little more complex in that the white part could be quite soft (3?) and depending on how much I get on my rocks (still in delivery), I might have some tumbling issues, esp. in a fast spinning tumbler. My questions on tumbling the sodalite are:
1) Assuming I'm not going to buy a new/vibro tumbler, what's the best way to do them in a 1-speed NatGeo rotary hobby tumbler? Lower fill? Higher fill? More ceramic? Fewer days on earlier stages? I assume making it more gentle might help, but not sure.
2) Do I need to do anything special re: the grit schedule/recipe?
3) Following up on #2, does sodalite need special polish? (cerium oxide or smaller AO than my 1,200)
I won't do the sodalite until we've done more of the other easier rocks, which will take time, but I want to be prepared.
Thanks in advance for any tips (that I can reasonably apply)!
I'm new to the forum and new to tumbling, but I've been doing a lot of research and a little spending. My actual tumbling experience is almost nil. I've got my (kids') first batch 5 days into stage 1 -- just the starter rocks from the (kids') NatGeo hobby tumbler pack + a few hopefully decent hard rocks from our "gem mine" bags from local trips to those places that hide various rocks in sand for kids (tiger's eye, jasper, some quartz, etc.). Based on research I added some small ceramic filler, although I realize it's not compeltely needed for stage 1 -- I did it more to raise the level of the canister to 2/3 and get closer to 1lb of rocks. Since getting the tumbler for the kids, I've been doing a lot more research and the first thing I learned was that apparently the grit that came with the tumbler is no good, esp. the polish, and my tumbler is relatively fast. So to deal with the grit/polish issue I ordered a polly plastics grit kit with small ceramic filler medium and I plan to use extra grit as needed and to avoid kiddo tears on the last step, toss the NG stage 4 pack and instead use the PP stage 4 "polish" (1200 Alum Oxide). Hopefully it gets some shine on, although I saw some comments suggesting I need much smaller 12,000+ grit. Is that right? And would that just replace the 1,200 step as a stage 4?
Anyway, we'll see how that goes and hopefully there are no crazy problems. In the meantime I ordered more rocks by 1# bags (2 kinds of agates, amethyst, 2 kinds of jasper, and sodalite) from rock shed. Most are pretty hard, although I may run the 7.5s separate from the 7s. The last (sodalite) I thought was simply 5.5-6.0, and I assumed I'd need to run it alone, but it sounds like sodalite is a little more complex in that the white part could be quite soft (3?) and depending on how much I get on my rocks (still in delivery), I might have some tumbling issues, esp. in a fast spinning tumbler. My questions on tumbling the sodalite are:
1) Assuming I'm not going to buy a new/vibro tumbler, what's the best way to do them in a 1-speed NatGeo rotary hobby tumbler? Lower fill? Higher fill? More ceramic? Fewer days on earlier stages? I assume making it more gentle might help, but not sure.
2) Do I need to do anything special re: the grit schedule/recipe?
3) Following up on #2, does sodalite need special polish? (cerium oxide or smaller AO than my 1,200)
I won't do the sodalite until we've done more of the other easier rocks, which will take time, but I want to be prepared.
Thanks in advance for any tips (that I can reasonably apply)!