Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum where we share a love of rocks and a sense of community as enduring as the stones we polish.
The RTH Forum of www.RockTumbling.com is an Amazon Associate site and we earn money from
qualifying purchases you make after clicking on our links such as this
Rock Tumbling Supplies on Amazon
link for instance, or any of our various product ads and banners. By clicking our links every time you begin your Amazon shopping
experience, you are generating a bit of revenue for the forum which helps us cover our expenses. Thank you for your support!
If you cannot see Amazon ad banners directly below this text, please whitelist this site in your ad blocker(s). The ads below have been hand-selected for relevant content, and your patronage directly benefits this forum community, thanks!
txrockhunter found a Covington write up on it. Description said it was that clay from California if memory serves. That is where the 'Montmorillonite' word came from.
Psyllium is a great vibe slurry additive. Not sure it is used in the rotary. Sure may be, but me not aware.
Went back and found it, here is the MSDS. Yes, silica reduced for respiratory reasons:
That's what they say. Had to bop this big insulator real hard to break a chip off. AO is a tough abrasive-NOT brittle. Can not afford to have porous ceramics around high voltage. Water absorption not good, so they often use straight up aluminum oxide ceramic. Bet it will be slow to shape in the tumbler.
fragment off a 10 pound high voltage insulator scratches crystalline quartz tumble
Contacted a local company that makes abrasive wheels asking if they sell any scrap. He said they had a 30gallon drum of AO scrap for $400. Passed on that "deal".
Will be watching this to see how it turns out. Are you planning to filter slurry to recover diamonds released from the pads? Wonder if the pads will have too much of a cushioning effect? So overall you have 0.66 lbs of 50 grit diamond. Strange you can get the pads with 30 carats so much cheaper than you buy the diamonds alone.
You think about extracting the diamonds from the pads? Burning would be nasty but you could try pyrolysis. Played around with this when I went through a precious metal recovery from PCs phase. Put the pads in a pretty airtight metal container then put in fire or on grill. End up with ash.
That looks to be the oldest tumbler yet posted Mike. The barrel looks original. oil cups on the motor, wow. I have the Viking version of that type tumbler. Like it a lot. Does the barrel have a name ?
If that craftsman rig has a 5/8 11 thread you can sure put the diamond cups on it. And possibly use water to boot. Curious what the lapper thing was used for. Sure looks like a wet lap for sharpening tools of some sort. I see the vice is set to the outside of the grinder wheel. Still, I believe it was set up for water to prevent heat at grind.
Can't find any labels or marks. The Craftsman unit has a drain hole.
I've used 16 grit for roughing in a 5-gallon PVC barrel for several years, breaks down well in about two weeks. Generally I run a load [50 lbs.] for two weeks, open it, add more grit [5 cups], then another two weeks before cleanout and inspection. That barrel runs 17 RPM. Some pass to 80 grit, some stay for more roughing. I've tried the 16 in an octagonal barrel that's 8" inside across the flats, 1 3/4 gallon capacity, and it doesn't break the grit down well, seems larger volume and more crushing weight is needed. The first barrel I used for roughing started out 7/16 [.437] thick and cracked after 12 years of fairly regular use, thin spot measured .110 thick. End covers lasted well, were 3/4" UHMW plastic. Per what jamesp has said, I'm going to try some in the 36 grit range to see how it compares. The damage to rocks, generally ~mohs 7 for us, isn't caused by the grit, but by the rocks banging on each other. A full run thru polish in the 2 5-gallon barrel set generally takes 11 weeks. I do have a barrel dedicated for polish.
$100 off Craigslist. Always wondered how good the tilted hex tumblers worked. Don't know how old but all straight slot screws/bolts and square nuts. Haven't found a label. Has "oilable" bearings with little metal flip caps.
Thought this was a flat lap but the vise lines up on the side of the wheel. Ideas? Thinking this could be made into a combo grinder/lap.
Running about 20lbs of yard rocks with dishwasher soap to clean the barrel.
This space is for temporary chat only and all posts drop off automatically and are not saved.
Members with real questions or comments that need an actual response, please post on the main forum - not here! Casual PG-13 posts only, no politics or religion please!
Wooferhound: Yoo Ho Ho all you Skally Wags
Sept 20, 2024 9:43:22 GMT -5
RickB: I resemble that remark
Sept 21, 2024 8:20:53 GMT -5
Wooferhound: Now , where did I put that Buried Treasure ?
Sept 21, 2024 12:20:41 GMT -5
amygdule: I don't remember where I buried it
Sept 21, 2024 14:03:04 GMT -5
parfive: Last night of summer and you canβt fix that w/a Sharpie.
Sept 21, 2024 22:39:07 GMT -5
1dave: Be the person to make others believe in good people again!
Sept 28, 2024 14:40:36 GMT -5
rocknrob: We could use more people like that now for sure. Or if being a nice person is too hard, just leave some tumbled agates around places where kids play for them to find!
Sept 28, 2024 20:14:18 GMT -5
Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum where we share a love of rocks and a sense of community as enduring as the stones we polish.
The RTH Forum of www.RockTumbling.com is an Amazon Associate site and we earn money from
qualifying purchases you make after clicking on our links such as this
Rock Tumbling Supplies on Amazon
link for instance, or any of our various product ads and banners. By clicking our links every time you begin your Amazon shopping
experience, you are generating a bit of revenue for the forum which helps us cover our expenses. Thank you for your support!