Post by waterboysh on Feb 3, 2022 23:55:19 GMT -5
Since I got my Lot-o, I've run 2 batches through polish with only minimal issues, but those were rocks that had made it all the way through pre-polish in rotary already. So I've never done the earlier stages. I wanted to get some practice in before I try putting the Tiger's Eye in that I've been working on, so I filled the barrel up with the aquarium gravel I use as a filler. I followed all the steps I've read and what I did for my 2 polish runs.
I turned it upside down and let all the water run out. Then I put it in the tumbler and everything was moving fine. I slowly added 1 Tbsp of 120/220 SiC, then put the lid on. I came back to check on it about 30 minutes later and the rocks showed no sign of having grit on them. I could stick my finger down in while it was running and not feel any grit whatsoever. I had read about some people using hand soap as a thickener, so I added a small squirt of soap. Came back 30 minutes later and everything was a foamy mess. I used dish soap and I guess that's more foamy than hand soap. At no point did I add extra water though. So I turned it off and turned it upside down over my bucket and a little water came out, but not much. I dumped everything out and all the grit was in a big clump down in the bottom. So I rinsed everything out to start over. This time, I did not add any water to the Lot-o. I just dumped them in from the strainer.
Put it back on the tumbler, added my 1 Tbsp of 120/220 again. Came back 30 minutes later and it was the same as last time. But apparently I didn't rinse things well enough because everything was a little foamy. I added 1/2 tsp of Borax and let it run a couple of minutes. Then I turned off the tumbler, held the lid in place, turned the barrel upside down and shook it a lot. When I put it back in place and powered it up, there was a lot of grit that made it's way up to the top. I put the lid back on. Came back 30 minutes later and it was still slightly foamy and no sign of any grit or slurry. I stick my finger in and don't feel any grit. So just like last time, I dump the rocks out and the grit is all just clumped up on the bottom. This time I rinsed everything really really well because I figure maybe the residue soap messed things up. Then I started again.
This time, before adding the rocks to the barrel, I shook every single bit of water out of the strainer that I could manage. I added my 1 Tbsp of 120/220. Came out 30 minutes later to check and there is still no sign of grit or slurry on the rocks. I did the turn upside down and shake thing again. After putting the barrel back on, I see lots of grit coming up. At this point I'm starting to wonder if using nothing but really small rocks is causing problems. So I threw in a few rough rocks that I haven't tumbled yet. And now I'm inside typing this. So... here are my questions.
1. How does the initial slurry even form in the Lot-o? My initial thought was that the grit would stick to the rocks and coat them. But maybe this is wrong. I'm wondering if in the very early stages if it's normal for the grit to mostly sink to the bottom, and only the rocks are the bottom are being ground. But as they grind, the rock dust mixes with the moisture to make a slurry and starts carrying the grit from the bottom all around the barrel. If this is the case, it could just be that I'm being a little impatient.
2. How long does it take to develop a slurry in the Lot-o? When I did the polish stage before, it was pretty fast, but that also had Borax added in from the get-go and I think that helps carry the grit around.
3. How much of problem is it running nothing but small rocks?
4. What can I do to prevent needing to turn the barrel upside down and shaking it around?
I turned it upside down and let all the water run out. Then I put it in the tumbler and everything was moving fine. I slowly added 1 Tbsp of 120/220 SiC, then put the lid on. I came back to check on it about 30 minutes later and the rocks showed no sign of having grit on them. I could stick my finger down in while it was running and not feel any grit whatsoever. I had read about some people using hand soap as a thickener, so I added a small squirt of soap. Came back 30 minutes later and everything was a foamy mess. I used dish soap and I guess that's more foamy than hand soap. At no point did I add extra water though. So I turned it off and turned it upside down over my bucket and a little water came out, but not much. I dumped everything out and all the grit was in a big clump down in the bottom. So I rinsed everything out to start over. This time, I did not add any water to the Lot-o. I just dumped them in from the strainer.
Put it back on the tumbler, added my 1 Tbsp of 120/220 again. Came back 30 minutes later and it was the same as last time. But apparently I didn't rinse things well enough because everything was a little foamy. I added 1/2 tsp of Borax and let it run a couple of minutes. Then I turned off the tumbler, held the lid in place, turned the barrel upside down and shook it a lot. When I put it back in place and powered it up, there was a lot of grit that made it's way up to the top. I put the lid back on. Came back 30 minutes later and it was still slightly foamy and no sign of any grit or slurry. I stick my finger in and don't feel any grit. So just like last time, I dump the rocks out and the grit is all just clumped up on the bottom. This time I rinsed everything really really well because I figure maybe the residue soap messed things up. Then I started again.
This time, before adding the rocks to the barrel, I shook every single bit of water out of the strainer that I could manage. I added my 1 Tbsp of 120/220. Came out 30 minutes later to check and there is still no sign of grit or slurry on the rocks. I did the turn upside down and shake thing again. After putting the barrel back on, I see lots of grit coming up. At this point I'm starting to wonder if using nothing but really small rocks is causing problems. So I threw in a few rough rocks that I haven't tumbled yet. And now I'm inside typing this. So... here are my questions.
1. How does the initial slurry even form in the Lot-o? My initial thought was that the grit would stick to the rocks and coat them. But maybe this is wrong. I'm wondering if in the very early stages if it's normal for the grit to mostly sink to the bottom, and only the rocks are the bottom are being ground. But as they grind, the rock dust mixes with the moisture to make a slurry and starts carrying the grit from the bottom all around the barrel. If this is the case, it could just be that I'm being a little impatient.
2. How long does it take to develop a slurry in the Lot-o? When I did the polish stage before, it was pretty fast, but that also had Borax added in from the get-go and I think that helps carry the grit around.
3. How much of problem is it running nothing but small rocks?
4. What can I do to prevent needing to turn the barrel upside down and shaking it around?
