Canard
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2004
Posts: 10
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Post by Canard on Nov 10, 2004 14:11:15 GMT -5
Tumbling, tumbling lots of stones that have been found hither and yon. Unfortunately, some otherwise gorgeous rocks have rather deep pits. Weeks of tumbling in corse grit don't seem to be doing much. Should I just chuck them? Is finding a grinder the only way to get rid of the pits? Any tips and tricks would be appreciated. Thanks, Don
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Post by Cher on Nov 10, 2004 14:31:13 GMT -5
Hi Don, If you have a dremel, you can get some diamond burrs and grind them down with that. It takes some time but it works.
Cher
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Nov 10, 2004 14:40:33 GMT -5
If they still have deep pits after a long time in coarse grind, those pits are probably reforming along the way. Could be a mix of different material, or just some softer parts, that erode out quickly, leaving pits. If that's the case, then I'd just call it quits for those stones. Even if you ground the pits out with grinder, they'd likely just reform in the next stage of the grind. Not every stone works. I do a lot of culling in coarse grind.
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Post by connrock on Nov 10, 2004 19:28:18 GMT -5
Don, Pits are the pits.All they will do is cause you trouble and it's best to not even pick up rocks with pits. A good way to tell if a rock is hard enough to tumble nicely is to put a piece of quartz in your pocket and when you find a nice looking rock try to scratch it with the quartz. If it scratches it (not just makes a line) then it's OK to tumble.If not,,,,chuck it! Tom
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Post by puppie96 on Nov 10, 2004 23:29:41 GMT -5
My somewhat opposing view is to take a look at the rock and continue if you like it. Lots of rocks have pits. Many of them would lose too much rock if you tried to grind them out. I'm going through this difficulty right now. If I like it, I keep going. Sometimes pits can even add to the look of the stone.
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Nov 11, 2004 8:08:32 GMT -5
I agree that just because a rock has pits does mean it needs to be tossed. Some do, some don't. I have some that had pits that turned out quite interesting.
llana
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