Fugly
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2004
Posts: 11
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Post by Fugly on Oct 6, 2004 8:29:04 GMT -5
Hi,, I'm new this is my first time I tumbled. I just went through all the stages and followed all the directions I used same hardness of rocks and cleaned the barrel thoroughly between each step. The rocks have come out still with a white film (dull) unless wet.. I'm soo dissapointed.. what went wrong? Can I fix this? I'm glad I found this board ...
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Post by Cher on Oct 6, 2004 8:44:16 GMT -5
Hi Fugly, Welcome to the forum. How long did you run the rocks in each step? If it was any less that a week for each different grit, they probably need more time. [glow=red,2,300] ~ Cher ~[/glow] pages.prodigy.net/bestsmileys1/signs/RockOn.gif [/img]
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Fugly
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2004
Posts: 11
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Post by Fugly on Oct 6, 2004 8:48:44 GMT -5
I ran the steps as directed by the instructions . It was a week for each step accept the pre-polish which said 3 days. How do you know when it is enough time. If the suggested time is not enough? Thanks Alex
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Emerald
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 417
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Post by Emerald on Oct 6, 2004 8:54:38 GMT -5
Fugly what type of rock did you tumble? That also might be the key to the problem.
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Fugly
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2004
Posts: 11
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Post by Fugly on Oct 6, 2004 9:02:02 GMT -5
I had read that beach rocks were the best to start with for beginners so that is what i used. ....... Will the polish pellets help in the final stages or is it a waste of money.
I went to the beach and collected some nice looking red ones. I'm not too sure what they are but i'll try and scan a picture.. they are all the same though!
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Fugly
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2004
Posts: 11
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Post by Fugly on Oct 6, 2004 9:15:44 GMT -5
They are just dull not so much with the film but dull..
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Emerald
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 417
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Post by Emerald on Oct 6, 2004 9:16:26 GMT -5
A photo might help identify what you're tumbling. I'm rather new at this myself. But have read here on the forums that some stones can take quite awhile before they work their way into a polish. We have some very experienced rock tumblers on our forums....I'm sure someone will help you identify the problem. (give it a day for them to respond.)
Do post a pic for us when you have time! Regards, Emerald
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Fugly
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2004
Posts: 11
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Post by Fugly on Oct 6, 2004 9:19:26 GMT -5
lol.. u must have been typing while I was doing the pic.. look above.. i just scanned them.
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Emerald
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 417
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Post by Emerald on Oct 6, 2004 9:20:15 GMT -5
Ohh.... I see a potential problem. Notice the pits in some of the rock? If you take a magnifying glass I betcha you'll find grit in there. More than likely, you're carrying grit from a previous stage to the next. It won't take a polish because there are a few pieces of the coarser grit floating around while it tumblers.
Before I go to the next stage, I usually go through each stone to check for places that might grab the grit. I set those stones aside, either to no longer tumble (depending on how bad it is) or to trim or grind away the offending area.
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Emerald
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 417
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Post by Emerald on Oct 6, 2004 9:22:53 GMT -5
too funny...yep!
Glad you uploaded the photo. The stones are pretty...
They look a little like some kind of composite stone. I'm beginning to learn to select stones to tumble that have little or no fractures in them. Even if they are tiny fractures it can lead to problems down the road with grit contamination.
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Emerald
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 417
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Post by Emerald on Oct 6, 2004 9:28:12 GMT -5
Also, you mentioned plastic pellets. Primarily they're used to cushion the load during the polish stage and DO work! So, if you'd like to tumble more rock...its a good investment. They can be reused, but only in that particular grit cycle that you used it in. (If you used it in tin oxide...then reserve those pellets for tin oxide only) Or once again, you'll risk contaminating the load during later stages.
I've used pellets in other stages as well, to fill in space when I didn't have enough stones to fill a load properly. It doesn't add much weight...which is good if you're trying to get small tumbled stones.
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Emerald
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 417
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Post by Emerald on Oct 6, 2004 11:02:16 GMT -5
Fugly, Did you look up close at the rock? Just wondering if that was grit in the tiny crevaces?
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Fugly
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2004
Posts: 11
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Post by Fugly on Oct 6, 2004 11:41:43 GMT -5
Ya I looked and i think the problem is grit in the pits. Next time I will sand or grind the pits and fractures or not use those stones after the first stage.
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Emerald
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 417
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Post by Emerald on Oct 6, 2004 11:48:39 GMT -5
Ah bummer Fugly!
Don't let this discourage you.... To see a rock in the rough go to a slick surface that's like polished glass is really worth it! I have some green quartz that is absolutely amazing! The tumbling really brings out the natural beauty of the stone.
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WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
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Post by WarrenA on Oct 6, 2004 22:17:25 GMT -5
If the rocks that you scanned look nice to you when wet, start over run them in coarse for 2 weeks then look and see if the pits are gone if they are then procede to the next step. this hobby will teach you patience- or just drive you crazy. welcome to the board be sure to look over the old posts and drool over the member photos. btw there are a few rocks out there that will NOT shine no matter what you do.
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Post by cookie3rocks on Oct 6, 2004 22:45:19 GMT -5
If I have learned anything on this forum it's this: Chunk the instructions and read these boards. My Vibratory tumbler didn't come with instuctions at all, I was screwed from the get go. Now I'm turning out some beautiful batches. Any question you have, the answer is here and everyone is more than happy to share. You'll get the feel for it. If the stones don't look right after the instructions say "one week", roll them some more. Good luck and welcome ;D
cookie
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Post by puppie96 on Oct 7, 2004 4:10:50 GMT -5
Obviously there's guess work going on here, but those look like rocks that have successfully polished for me, but what happens is that some areas polish great and others don't at all -- the pits usually come along with softer areas in the stone that don't polish.
I don't know the answer to how to deal with this and I am still experiementing. Obviously one choice is to keep grinding over and over to get rid of the pitting. Sometimes that works, in my experience, more often it doesn't, and there are continuing pits endlessly. On the other hand, I have many many pitted rocks which polish beautifully and still have the pits and crevices. Looking at some of these, it is obvious that many of their best features would be ground away if you tried to get rid of the pits. I've been reading everything I can find about agates, and one thing that strikes me is that they often tell you that you can utterly destroy a good stone by messing with it -- now I am very careful -- I look at them and try to make sure that further grinding won't remove the colors and patterns that made the rock good to start with.
Tumbling rocks is not an easy game.
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agatenut
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 127
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Post by agatenut on Oct 7, 2004 6:34:30 GMT -5
Hey Fugly,
Welcome to the board! Your rocks look like granite. I've never tried to tumble granite so I don't know how they do, but, THey are made up of quartz (the white/gray parts) feldspar (the pinkish stuff) and some biotite (the black specks). Now these different minerals do have different hardnesses. Biotite is really soft (2 or 3 on Mohs). Feldspar has a hardness of 6, and quartz has a hardness of 7. These differences may be the reason why it doesn't take a shine, but maybe some other members here have been successful with granite. Anyone?
ralph
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Fugly
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2004
Posts: 11
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Post by Fugly on Oct 7, 2004 8:27:19 GMT -5
Thanks for all your help.... I will try again with these suggestions in mind.
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Post by BearCreekLapidary on Oct 7, 2004 20:41:30 GMT -5
Hello Fugly,
I am way behind .... welcome to the board!
Don't get discouraged ... once you get the basics down ... that is when the good stuff starts to happen!
Enjoy,
John Southwestern Kansas
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