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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 15, 2018 19:45:37 GMT -5
Nice cab! You've definitely got some cool material. And congrats on the photo!!!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 15, 2018 9:49:39 GMT -5
Great shine, as usual, Rob. I've got a bag of coral I've barely dented yet.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 15, 2018 9:34:53 GMT -5
Very nice post jamesp. Thank you for the info. How does a stay-at-home person like me obtain a good colloidal clay product? I am very restricted in space and only have a few tumblers/vibs, and pretty much at the mercies of Amazon and the local supermarket or hardware store for supplies like clay products. That is why all of my experience is centered around kitty litter. Are you not happy with what the cat litter is doing for you? I have been using it for a couple years with good results. It thickens the slurry nicely and carries the grit like James' Georgia clay. I went from 7 day cleanouts with sometimes watery slurry and grit in the bottom of the barrel, to 3-4 day cleanouts with nice smooth slurries and no leftover grit.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 14, 2018 18:57:21 GMT -5
Hey, Lewis. Welcome to the forum from just up the road in Lexington. I don't know anything about the Thumler tumblers, I use Lortone products. I have the 12, dual 6 and dual 3 pound models. Someone will be able to answer the questions you asked, though. Look forward to seeing your work.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 14, 2018 14:49:41 GMT -5
Love Montana agate. Thanks for sharing!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 14, 2018 9:30:18 GMT -5
3-in-1 also. Probably not as often as I should. Nice write up. Made it look 'so easy, even a caveman could do it.' Now we just need to see some shiny rocks!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 22:25:16 GMT -5
Those rules are in place because of the limit on space the forum is allowed for the attachment tool. If a third party hosting site, like Flickr, is used, the photos can be left up indefinitely. I'm not a moderator, I just slept in a Holiday Inn Express last night. right on G.R. Pat, you missed it. They were some super sweet slabs. No joke!!!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 22:22:51 GMT -5
That Nevada Sunrise,is like Holy Moly,killer cool... WOW,.. "Holy Moly" YES! You got it!!!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 22:19:27 GMT -5
@hookedonrocks . Hmmmmm, I don’t see anything!🤔 Wondering what the others saw...😐 Pat, Tommy said to delete the photos after you sell cause it takes up too much space not my rules Those rules are in place because of the limit on space the forum is allowed for the attachment tool. If a third party hosting site, like Flickr, is used, the photos can be left up indefinitely. I'm not a moderator, I just slept in a Holiday Inn Express last night.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 18:59:21 GMT -5
Randy: OMG beautiful work! Can you tell us newbies your process and about how long the process took to achieve these stellar results? Thanks Thanks, Mike. I've gone back and looked at your posts to see where you are in the process before handing out any tips. Interesting story. Looks like you took about a 6 year break from the forum. Don't know if you were tumbling at any time during that period. There is a lot of discussion about whether or not to get a Lot O, which would help to know. Granted, I didn't look at every post, so I may have missed some pertinent information.
It looks like you have, or had, a 15 lb. rotary tumbler? That is helpful, it's an efficient size. I use a Lortone QT12, a QT66 and a 33B. So, a 12 lb, two 6 lb, and two 3lb barrels. The two larger sizes get the lion's share of my worthy material. They just tumble more efficiently. The two 3lb barrels are usually reserved for softer materials, specialty tumbles, smaller flats and, lately, obsidian/glass. I do cleanouts on a somewhat predictable schedule, but the 'ear test' also plays a role. The 12 and 6lb barrels usually get cleaned out at 4 or 5 day intervals. The 3lb barrels normally run for 7-10 days before cleanout. There just isn't the action necessary to break down grit in the smaller diameter barrels. This may be the time to mention that I add a clay cat litter thickener to all my barrels, along with the grit and water. I have found through experience that the thickener speeds up the grit breakdown time. I saw in some of your posts from 2011 that you were getting watery slurry after 7 days. It is much easier to get that milkshake slurry that does a lot of grinding with the slurry accelerant. Again, my experience. Litter additive amount? In your 15lb rotary barrel, I would be using about (I don't measure anything precisely) 1.5 cups of 46/70 and a cup, to a cup and a half, of clay based cat litter. Water to just below level of rocks. That will grind the heck out of the rocks and give you a quick cleanout turnaround.
As far as time involved for first stage, it is totally dependent on the rock. Some go quicker, others take longer. I have tumbled Botswana agate for 2-3 months. I think the longest may have been some Polka Dot agate that rolled for about 6-7 months. But, I don't pre-grind much and I don't take stones out to grind after they have been put in the barrel. You can speed things up by grinding flaws, if you want to shorten that timeframe. At cleanout, I pull the rocks that are ready to move to stage two. That is an objective benchmark. I have a high standard. I would like to see good shape, no defects, and no bruising. Sometimes, you have to cut your losses and move them along, even with flaws. That is where discretion comes in. Is it ever going to be perfect? Does it have character with flaws? Can you clean out the flaws it has? You get my drift.
After stage one, I need to give no further instruction than...Lot O. I can't speak to any other vibe tumbler, but the Lot O couldn't make it easier to finish off any number of rock types to a mirror polish. If you are finishing by another method, let me know and I will point you in the right direction. If you ended up buying a Lot O, this is all you will need:
forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/76542/lot-recipe-card?page=1
Long winded, yes, but you asked for the 'process'. Let me know if I can help in any other way.
Randy
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 18:26:18 GMT -5
I'm usually done with winter before it begins. I'm a California boy transplanted to Utah. I could live without snow. This year we've had a mild one. The past few days I've opened my office windows a bit in the afternoon. Spring is in the air & I'm loving it! Lynn I don't love the snow either. Typical KY weather, though. Just wait a day or two and it will be 60, then back to 30, then....
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 18:05:08 GMT -5
Can't say as I 'like' this post. Hope you didn't hurt yourself too bad. I'm ready for it to go away too, so we can get to our two weeks of Spring before the humidity hits. See you in July! Be prepared for it!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 17:57:10 GMT -5
Really, really pretty!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 17:16:06 GMT -5
I must say I prefer your "Dungeon" as a rock/glass haven over a brightly painted, decal clad, hospital clean museum. I can just tell there's magic going on down in that murky mad laboratory. Dr. Frankenglass, I presume. 'Dr. Frankenglass', at your service.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 16:51:47 GMT -5
I've had my fill of it. I am ready for it to go away so I can start tapping trees. Assuming that is that I heal up enough to do it. Oh yeah, forgot to mention. Fell on the snow this week and have lost 3 days of work now. Can't say as I 'like' this post. Hope you didn't hurt yourself too bad. I'm ready for it to go away too, so we can get to our two weeks of Spring before the humidity hits.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 16:48:47 GMT -5
18 inches is a big snow! And unexpected in March, especially in TN. Little girl had trouble plowing through it until they trampled it down a bit. Growing up in Michigan, I thought I had seen bad winter storms, but that one here in Tn was crazy. Had never seen thundersnow before. Shut the city down for a full week. Power out to half the city, trees down everywhere. We were lucky, didn't loose power. But was blocked into our neighborhood for 4 days. Loved every minute of it! 20 something, newly married...went walking/hiking every day, it was heaven! We were lucky and didn't lose power either. Different story when you can't take a hot shower or watch Netflix. I was, however, out back at 4AM trying to knock snow off our big spruce tree, so it wouldn't snap from the weight.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 10:14:05 GMT -5
jamesp in his new dungeon shop.
Haha! Just has a Silence of the Lambs feel to it. No matter, it's functional and might just bring in that extra income you're hoping for.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 9:46:54 GMT -5
Wonderful snow pictures Garage Rocker! 25 years ago today we had an honest snow of 18 inches in Chattanooga Tn. Your pictures bring back memories. Love your Aussies! We had a aussie with one blue eye, she was the best! 18 inches is a big snow! And unexpected in March, especially in TN. Little girl had trouble plowing through it until they trampled it down a bit.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 8:10:53 GMT -5
Never seen K2, interesting stuff. Like the earrings also.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Mar 13, 2018 2:05:14 GMT -5
one blue eye... McNab Collie? The two certainly loved the outing! Too cold looking for my blood! Burrr! Glenn They are both Australian Shepherds, Glenn. One standard and one miniature. That one blue eye is pretty cool.
And yes, they both love the snow.
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