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Post by tims on Nov 22, 2016 16:46:47 GMT -5
Here is the problem with the Viking. This is fluorite. The smaller pieces stayed in the plastic beads to the right and received a nice polish. The bigger pieces migrated to the left where there is no protection and got frosted. A big success getting any polish on any fluorite, but the batch as a whole was mostly a failure. Had the fluorite been smaller 3/4 inch pieces they probably would have done fine. That darn Viking tub has separation issues under these conditions: 1 low counterbalance settings like .8(.8 in the video, setting for ages is 1.2 and all goes well) 2 bigger rocks 3 overly thick slurry A shorter fatter hopper would probably mix better. Or better, a Lot-O type egg shape if it would roll the rocks. Just noticed this phenomena for the first time. Checked my batch and it had really thickened up and all the pea gravel had migrated to one side. I had to add a good cup of water to thin the slurry enough to mix everything back together. This gravel might not be as nice as the stuff you're getting as it really muds up ... maybe after a few runs it will weed out the soft stuff and i'll have some good hard gravel to reuse.
Did you ever try your divider idea?
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Post by tims on Nov 21, 2016 18:58:33 GMT -5
Ran about 5 hours today with sic 80, 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar plus a handful of pea gravel. Most everything is getting smooth and i'm wishing i'd pulled some things out along the way as many of my smalls are now indistinguishable from the pea gravel and the half-dozen cab-sized thin slabs i put in have completely disappeared. There are still a few pieces with divots and rough spots but if the weather holds i'm going to move everything on to 220 tomorrow, I hate to take anything out as i'm down to about half a hopper-full.
We finally got some normal weather and it was single digits for a couple nights so i'm going to play safe and just tumble days. Will probably try to get 24 hours with 220 then 24 with polish and see what happens ... if they're awful i can always roll them again next spring.
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Post by tims on Nov 21, 2016 18:26:19 GMT -5
Yay! Hope that new motor gives you as many miles as the original.
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Post by tims on Nov 16, 2016 19:00:02 GMT -5
Mine's #744. Wonder how many they made?
Didn't have mine apart so I didn't even see the numbers for the setting, that's helpful. Probably not as helpful as a brown dog but helpful.
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Post by tims on Nov 15, 2016 17:06:35 GMT -5
Was wondering if the .8, 1.2 etc. is in reference to the counterweight setting? If i'm reading mine correctly it's 1.4, or 14 ticks between the hole and where the weights intersect. 1.1 if you go from the opposite direction:
Either way it sounds too high. After cleaning things up a bit the rocks still look pretty rough. 72 hours with 220 followed by 17 hours with 80 --- here's the full load with pea gravel:
And without:
The overall shapes are rounding but there seem to be lots of nicks and dings that weren't there to start.
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Post by tims on Nov 15, 2016 15:25:14 GMT -5
Holy cow, 2-6 hours? NOT DAYS? lol. OK. No wonder they looked so different today.
I wrote that water / sugar ratio wrong, it was 1 cup sugar and a full cup of water, plus probably another 1/2 cup as it rolled.
I guess i'm just going for shaping if I don't need to run it for days and days, as I am extremely anxious to call this first batch done. Not a good mindset for tumbling i'm sure. Been working on fence all day and haven't got things completely cleaned up yet but that' my plan from lunch and go from there.
Thanks Jim (etc. etc.) for the ongoing help.
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Post by tims on Nov 15, 2016 9:52:29 GMT -5
Well I got rolling again about 4pm yesterday --- my load lost a lot of volume and it ended up about 3/5 rocks, 2/5 pea gravel with 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water and 2 tbsp. 80 grit. Checked it every few hours until about midnight, gave a spritz although everything seemed to be circulating ok, then went to bed. My little box keeps it pretty quiet, about the noise level of a window AC unit. Anyway, checked it when I got up about 7 and the load had frozen up, I tried adding water and stirring it up to get it going again but it had turned into a thick batter that refused to roll. In the midst of a full cleanout now, was afraid it might have chewed up the bottom of my hopper but everything looks ok. It must have done some rolling through the night as all the rocks looked noticeably rounder. I'm thinking I've got too much pea gravel to have so much sugar ... once the grit starts to break down and it muds up the whole mess turns into cookie dough. I don't have much more material on hand to cut back on pea gravel so i'm going to try again with very little sugar or maybe none, and try to keep a better eye on it.
A question re the 80 grit ... do you guys do cleanouts and restart with fresh grit (and if so how often), or add grit occasionally, or just run it to mud and keep going with it?
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Post by tims on Nov 12, 2016 22:19:05 GMT -5
Just west of custer on the north side of the highway is North Pole Road. Within the first couple of miles there are several turnoffs to the east (right) and that general area is garnet rich. High slate ridges with embedded garnet in the slate that erodes down into all the low areas. I like taking the 2nd right, it's pretty rough rutted dirt but you can start picking garnet almost immediately from the intersection with the gravel. Grab a bucket of dirt anywhere in there, take it home and you'll pan out a handful of garnet. I usually just crawl the dirt road on my hands and knees and pick them If you see anything that looks like a shiny facet pick it up, often just one facet will be exposed and it looks tiny but pluck it out and find a nice little garnet. If you run into santa or rudolph you went too far.
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Post by tims on Nov 12, 2016 21:47:07 GMT -5
Getting a look at the internals must qualify as time well spent ... very simple and interesting design. What HP is that little motor?
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Post by tims on Nov 12, 2016 19:15:51 GMT -5
Thanks guys. I'll pick up some pea gravel and i've got SiC 80 but was afraid to use it. Next run will be 80, sugar and pea gravel and we'll see if it shapes up. I've got materials for a box lined up and should be able to cobble it together tomorrow and start running again outdoors. The thermometer is a good idea as well, although for now i'm on the fence about running nights when i can't keep an eye on things. I'm a bit insomniac but when i do get to sleep, a flaming vibe jumping around with one belt probably wouldn't be enough to wake me.
I put together a cleanout station today, just an old washtup with drain holes with crushed charcoal covered with 50# of sand. Old piece of screen over that to shake everything while rinsing with the hose gets the major goop off easy and the tub drips out clear water instead of blue.
I've only got about 72 hours total in so far so i've got a ways to go. Oh and regarding separation, i haven't noticed an issue there yet but i've been cleaning out and recharging every 24 hours so they might not have had time. Flats sticking to the edges have been evident.
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Post by tims on Nov 12, 2016 18:54:00 GMT -5
Did you? I hope so Maybe next time. Assuming i can get through a batch in the next 30 days ... Looking forward to seeing everyone else's results for encouragement.
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Post by tims on Nov 12, 2016 6:39:00 GMT -5
You probably take the interstate to gillette? Hiway 16 from custer to upton is my usual stomping ground. I usually hit nearby shale prairie that are abundant with marine fossils (ammonite, baculite, clams, belemnite, shark teeth etc). These are found in different spots all around newcastle, upton and osage. You also see alot of chert and some jaspers, quartz and flint. There's a spot near custer to pick up garnet to your heart's content, plus teepee canyon and other well-picked but productive spots to find a variety of hills agates. Almost any of the forest service roads that wind through the hills proper will be littered with jasper, quartz, calcite, and the occasional agate, just be careful to stick to non-prohibited public land.
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Post by tims on Nov 11, 2016 0:50:46 GMT -5
Thought this was some kind of petrified resin but nothing supports it, and the best i can guess is siderite. Ideas? - Streak: white - Hardness: scratches with a nail but not easily - Magnetic: not at room temp - Weight: kind of a light heft but sinks in salt solution - Location: NE Wyoming shale
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Post by tims on Nov 11, 2016 0:35:09 GMT -5
Streak test with yellow / red / black pieces all gave a white streak. If i can find a torch i might put more heat to it and see if it shows magnetism. I've about convinced myself it's at least partially siderite.
Posting to the ID thread.
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Post by tims on Nov 11, 2016 0:12:51 GMT -5
No reaction to vinegar but worth a try ... i could imagine red-brown calcite formations looking similar.
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Post by tims on Nov 10, 2016 19:04:20 GMT -5
I'm still on the fence about a rotary; at the moment i'm not concerned with final shape as long as they're smooth.
And I used to be in cold territory lol ... Northern Wyoming is usually winter by now but it's still t-shirt weather this year. I don't think it's got down to freezing at night yet which is very uncommon. Through the winter though yeah, it should get cold ... teens - 30s are pretty normal for December through March with stretches in single digits / subzero. Still, the vibe generates enough heat that ventilation is probably still necessary in a small enclosure. Am thinking maybe an insulated plywood box with a top with that's slightly elevated and bigger than the box, with edges that overhang the box so it can vent / circulate air without holes to let the sound escape directly.
Next batch i'll try to fill the hopper with rock instead of padding it with ceramic, but will probably still use a bit of the small stuff for getting into crannies. I've discarded a lot of quartz gravel that now I wish I had back for filler but there's more where that came from.
Keep us posted if you do go with a smaller motor as it sounds like a sensible upgrade if it works ok.
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Post by tims on Nov 10, 2016 18:23:53 GMT -5
Open flame doesn't seem to have any effect. I thought it could possibly be siderite, which should display magnetic properties when heated, but using a nail on a string didn't show any magnetism although just heating over a candle may not get it hot enough. Siderite is still my best guess for now since it's listed in the geological survey for the area and some googled specimens have a similar look.
Here's a pic broken up:
It does seem to have a crystalline structure and may be a mix of several things. I'm convinced it's not originally organic. No cloned dinos for me
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Post by tims on Nov 10, 2016 17:24:45 GMT -5
The contents of the stones ... that's where my ignorance could really get me in trouble. The only things I run indoors are my flat lap and tumbler, and they both run pretty clean but I still wear a mask and eye protection with the lap, and make sure to clean up any drips or splashes immediately. The saw and wheels are outdoor use only but I always wear a mask and apron. I'll try to do a better job of ID-ing my material because I hate gloves so there's always skin contact.
These are the little details that might never occur to a novice, and just one of the reasons this community is so valuable. Thanks guys.
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Post by tims on Nov 10, 2016 1:52:11 GMT -5
PS this is just scattered on the surface, no digging for this kid.
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Post by tims on Nov 10, 2016 1:50:18 GMT -5
Well i don't think this is copal either. Supposedly copal should pass the salt-water amber test, floating in a 4 to 1 water / salt solution. This stuff feels rather light but sinks like a rock. It appears to be a hardened resin, but a red-hot nail applied doesn't melt it or create any smell. It scratches easily with a nail but not as easily as i'd expect if it were only ~2.5 mohs.
I find this material alongside baculite and pelecypods. I'm reading through the USGS geological report for the area and so far it has mentioned the baculite, clams, and also iron oxide nodules (i've always known them as hematite) that are in the area so maybe this stuff will get a mention as well. If all else fails this may go to the ID thread ...
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