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Post by captbob on Sept 30, 2017 12:32:17 GMT -5
Good info on cooking rocks Bill!
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Post by captbob on Sept 30, 2017 10:19:18 GMT -5
Hey Mel, no, it's not that clean anymore! But I do try to keep it kinda clean.
I still have the blade on it that came with the saw. That is a 14" BD blade, which I believe is the MK-301.
When I got the saw, I ordered a back up blade to have on hand. I ordered the MK 303c - which is not the notched blade.
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Post by captbob on Sept 29, 2017 23:16:14 GMT -5
That's pretty interesting results for using no grit other than the initial grit you started with. You might just put those grit makers out of business.  What was the grit you started with? (what #) Can you still feel grit when you rub the slurry between your thumb and fingers or is it spent? 30 or maybe even 46/70 might not be breaking down in that soft sided barrel. I have 2 of those tumblers and only use then for the polish stage - or very "soft" rocks. |
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Post by captbob on Sept 29, 2017 23:01:35 GMT -5
Gotta love a country girl with a 4x4 truck, “hand” tools, snake boots, packing a Springfield XDs9, geological studies an a handheld GPS 😉. well yeah... that's pretty much a given and goes without sayin'!  |
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Post by captbob on Sept 29, 2017 21:31:13 GMT -5
Gotta like a girl that will give ya a peek!
You found the Tiffany Stone mother lode?
Looking forward to a full report.
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Post by captbob on Sept 29, 2017 13:46:56 GMT -5
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Post by captbob on Sept 29, 2017 8:39:54 GMT -5
aside to Melissa ('cuz you check here) Hey Mel, where dat Utah trip report thread be? Whaddya Get? Whaddya Get? Whaddya Get?  |
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Post by captbob on Sept 28, 2017 21:44:39 GMT -5
Oh, and if the "amber" has a bug or lizard or some other small critter in it... bet your house that it's fake.
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Post by captbob on Sept 28, 2017 18:51:58 GMT -5
Ebay. They have a lot of it for cheap There is a reason for that. A LOT of it is fake! Don't be buying amber from China. Not many rocks out there as easy to produce fakes of as amber. You really need to have it in hand ( and know what you are looking at!) to buy or go with a VERY trusted seller. Caveat emptor |
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Post by captbob on Sept 28, 2017 17:19:06 GMT -5
You can order them right at your post office and get a box full. Whatever size you want.
I have maybe a dozen boxes of different sized Priority Mail boxes up in my garage loft.
They don't go bad!
Used to be able to get free tape too. They don't do that anymore. Those were the days!
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Post by captbob on Sept 28, 2017 15:42:44 GMT -5
Wow, looks like you have really moved some rock! Successful trip for you. Hope you are getting good trades.
Just curious, but those (2nd pic) aren't the medium Flat Boxes you are shipping in are they?
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Post by captbob on Sept 28, 2017 14:02:41 GMT -5
?? Thanks! fossilman , ubermenehune and aDave should be receiving theirs today. meviva might have hers show up too and toiv0 should have his tomorrow. I'm maybe more excited for their reactions than I was looking at the cleaned material lol! Did I miss a post saying you were selling? If so, my bad. I thought I had posted (way back on another thread) that I would take a couple medium FR boxes. Keep me in mind when you make another trip please! What were you selling for per pound? (just curious) |
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Post by captbob on Sept 28, 2017 13:56:55 GMT -5
Sorry, just saw this.
Henry, usually just AO. Sometimes depends on the rock being polished. Like when I was doing faced chunks of snowflake obsidian, I recharged the polish pad with Tin Oxide. When I first started, I was using Raybrite A (a Raytech polish) just because it was what I had picked up from Kingsley. Don't think it was any different from just regular AO polish.
Bill, I don't really have a recipe per se. Just like with rock tumbling, I just fly by the seat of my pants. I never measure ANYTHING.
With the vibrating lap, I just sprinkle grit around the pan (maybe a half cup(ish), add water, and rocks and let it run. I add grit or water as needed through out the process. Water, or course, is easy to tell when needed. Grit I usually go by the sound.
As far as steps... it's different every time! Usually start with a medium coarse grit - either 60/90 or 80 depending what I got on sale. Save the 30 or 46/70 grit for the tumblers.
From there, it just depends on the rock and the progress it is making. If the coarse grit runs a long time (days) and the rock is ready, I may go straight to 500 if something is needed in between, so be it. 120/220 or just straight 220 - again depending on what is open.
I usually go to polish after the 500, because the 500 has broken down to 1000 or even finer by that point.
If I'm really serious about a rock I may do a 1000 run.
Again, all depends on the rock and if I just want to polish it or really POLISH it.
Sorry, but no rhyme or reason to what I do!
Weights - if needed, absolutely yes!
MOST rocks I run on the vibe lap are so darn big and heavy that no weight is necessary. I like BIG rocks!!
Facing and face polishing big rocks is what appeals most to me. A quality chunk of rough, so one can see where it started off with a polished face is my ideal rock.
When I do use weights, I use blue adhesive putty (Home Depot) to hold big honkin' fishing weights on top of the rock/slab. The blue putty works quite well for me, the weights stay in place and the putty can be used several times for different rocks.
It wasn't asked, but I do have separate pans for different grit steps. Beats having to make sure no coarser grit is carried over to the finer grit(s) run.
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Post by captbob on Sept 27, 2017 14:21:50 GMT -5
What lesson? I certainly wasn't trying to give one.
ALL I'm saying is that your cooling project isn't necessary. Reckon it can't hurt anything, just not necessary.
Figure if I can save just one person from spending $20 (per tumbler) on a solution that isn't needed, that's helpful.
Do what ya want. Spending money on fans to cool tumblers running in an air conditioned room is amusing if nothing else.
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Post by captbob on Sept 27, 2017 13:15:38 GMT -5
SO... you are spending $20 per fan per tumbler to cool motors that are running at the temperature they are designed to. As long as it makes you feel better, go for it. I seriously doubt the motors care. Been running many Thumler's motors for 10 years. Never had one quit working.  Famous last words. uh... okay...? How so? 10 years from $50 motors that are still running just fine works for me. Wish I got 10 years of flawless, uninterrupted service out of everything I bought. Buy all the fans and take all the temperature readings you want to, I just don't think that these motors need anyone to go to that expense and effort. They run just fine as they are intended to do. More likely that a motor may go south due to someone not bothering to oil them as needed. What I meant was there is a reason these tumbling units have steel or metal in proximity of the motor and that is to use as a heat sink and it draws heat away from the motor which is a good thing. Maybe they use metal because that is the best material for the build. People don't want a plastic tumbler and wood really isn't practical. I don't see the small (metal) bracket that the Thumler's motors are mounted to as a heat sink, (they barely get warm) it's just the best way to support the motor, and probably for the lowest cost. You may be over thinking this and imagining a problem that doesn't exist. These motors don't need their own little personal $20 fans. And no one needs the extra wires all over the place - each needing another outlet. But, if it makes ya feel better ... |
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Post by captbob on Sept 27, 2017 8:35:45 GMT -5
SO... you are spending $20 per fan per tumbler to cool motors that are running at the temperature they are designed to.
As long as it makes you feel better, go for it. I seriously doubt the motors care.
Been running many Thumler's motors for 10 years. Never had one quit working.
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Post by captbob on Sept 25, 2017 23:48:03 GMT -5
Careful doing that happy dance, you might fall and break a hip! I have never once been called up for jury duty. Not sure I know anyone else (my age) that hasn't. Always thought it might be fun, but I would probably end up getting the most boring trial ever. |
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Post by captbob on Sept 25, 2017 18:35:55 GMT -5
Aren't you a math teacher Rob? Is this that "new" math?
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Post by captbob on Sept 25, 2017 17:15:37 GMT -5
That sounds like a really fun time Mel !!
WHY don't you get a new saw? Life is too short for such aggravations!
My procedure would add:
Hear saw has quit cutting, go to saw, take a deep breath and open lid.
Quickly leave garage and wait 10 minutes for oil mist to settle so I'm not breathing that crap.
If cutting outside, I can lower the mist settling time to 5 minutes.
ETA: oh, forgot a couple steps.
Unplug saw BEFORE opening hood. So I don't do anything stupid and get an oil bath.
Plug saw back in when I return after oil mist has settled.
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Post by captbob on Sept 25, 2017 15:32:29 GMT -5
Also be kinda nice if each item said what the heck it is. Where from would be a bonus.
Even the obvious rocks, some may not know.
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Famous last words.
