tander91
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1
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Post by tander91 on Sept 2, 2022 13:13:12 GMT -5
Hello!
I am new to all of this and hoping that I'll be able to glean some sage wisdom from all of you well-seasoned members. I just got done with my first round of tumbling in the course stage. I had amethyst, quartz (rose and girasol), and petrified wood together since I had seen they were similar hardness on the Mohs scale. I ran them for seven days and then checked the rocks. I notice that there seems to be a lot of bruising. I used ceramic pellets in with the rocks to try and cushion them and make the barrel 3/4 full at the start of the cycle. Is this bruising just something that commonly happens with certain types rocks or are there other steps I can take to keep them at least getting less bruised? Would it have been better to run these rocks with only other rocks of the same type?
Thanks!
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stonemon
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2017
Posts: 1,024
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Post by stonemon on Sept 2, 2022 13:50:50 GMT -5
Greetings from western Oregon! The experts will be along to answer your questions.
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Post by Pat on Sept 2, 2022 14:02:11 GMT -5
Welcome from California. Not a tumbler, but there are tumbling experts here. Enjoy!
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Post by Starguy on Sept 2, 2022 14:27:35 GMT -5
tander91Welcome to RTH from Idaho. Quartz is somewhat susceptible to bruising/chipping in rotary tumblers. What kind of tumbler are you running. It sounds like you have a good handle on the situation. Keeping the barrel at least 2/3 full helps. It helps to have a mix of sizes in your batch. The ceramics will help with that. Too many big pieces is a sure recipe for bruising. Once you get them through coarse, you could try adding some plastic pellets for subsequent stages. The pellets should be dedicated to their own stage. Don’t transfer them with the rocks from one stage to the next. I don’t worry about bruising much in stage 1. It’s kind of part of the process for shaping the rocks. If it’s so bad that the fine, (220) stage won’t get rid of the chips, then it becomes an issue. Looking forward to seeing some of your work.
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2022
Posts: 2,561
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Post by rockbrain on Sept 2, 2022 15:22:21 GMT -5
Welcome from Central California.
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Post by vegasjames on Sept 2, 2022 16:41:05 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum from Southern Nevada.
Personally,I try to run rocks of the same type so I know they are the same hardness. I use the chips from breaking up the rock for fill and make sure there is a ix of sizes in the barrel. I also fill the barrels a little more than 3/4, pretty much full, but loosely packed to make sure there is still movement. After putting the lid on I shake the container to make sure the rocks still have room to move.
Although, I do not follow the general rules of tumbling anyway. Almost all my tumbling I do with water only, no grit or polish starting with a rotary tumbler for about a month in 12 pound barrels (larger barrels are faster), them in the UV-18 vibe tumbler for about a week.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2022 18:33:45 GMT -5
Hi from Illinois!
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mattman1979
off to a rocking start
Learning a new addiction :)
Member since September 2022
Posts: 18
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Post by mattman1979 on Sept 2, 2022 18:47:36 GMT -5
Welcome from another newb this week from southeast Ohio.
This place is a wealth of knowledge.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 2, 2022 19:02:31 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona!
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Post by jasoninsd on Sept 2, 2022 19:42:25 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum from South Dakota! I think I would have to agree with what Brent (Starguy) chimed in...
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Post by liveoak on Sept 3, 2022 5:55:28 GMT -5
Welcome from NW Florida
Patty
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