hurk
starting to shine!
Member since March 2003
Posts: 37
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Post by hurk on Jun 16, 2003 14:22:05 GMT -5
Hi gang need some info for first stage .. In Andy's Pics he said he should have recharged after 4 days I think I may be wasteing time over here I have been letting my stones grind for 8 days without a recharge but I am guessing this all depends on the hardness of the material? Another guestion I have is " If you have to much water in your charge, does this change the way it grinds the stones" ie. does it not grind as well??? Some info on this would be a help!! Thanks HURK
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Post by Andrew on Jun 17, 2003 0:43:44 GMT -5
Hurk,
I say 5 days tops mostly for an 80 grit run - I find that with everything I do there are no particles of 80 grit left of a sufficient size to continue grinding.
Best way for me to check, is take the barrel out and stand it upright so that the lid you are about to remove is at the bottom. Leave the sediments to settle onto the lid for about 10 mins.
Then, carefully remove the lid trying not to swill the contents over the now dirty inner surface.
Run your finger through the mud to see how much grit is left - its easy to spot as its black against the muddy colored water etc. Then its just a case of making up your mind to see whether you can get a bit more out of it by replacing the lid, or flushing out and starting with a new lot.
I find that there is more degredation of the grit faster in an initial tumble than say the 5th, as there is generally more material to pound the grit and break it down.
With regards to the water, my rule is only put enough water in to stop the sludge thickening too much and turning "sticky" and eventually actually setting in the barrel. I have had this twice.
Too much water and you can stop the "top" of the water from swilling over the stones effectively washing them so that the next particle of grit can strike home!!
It doesnt make that much of a difference to be truthfull, unless you totally fill the barrel and drastically restrict movement.
3/4 full of water no more and not less than 2/3 is what I aim for - with a few stones sticking out the top initially.
Hope this is of use. Andy
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hurk
starting to shine!
Member since March 2003
Posts: 37
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Post by hurk on Jun 17, 2003 13:09:12 GMT -5
thanks Andy I will try the turning over of the barrel and see what i come up with.... for some reason after a 80 grind stage I end up with alot of the grit colected on the bottom looking still useable perhaps doing this will help keep the grit where it should be ... between the stones and use it up HURK
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Post by docone31 on Jun 18, 2003 7:31:46 GMT -5
I have had that happen. What I do today is fill my bbl in stages. I put in some stones, apply grit, more stones more grit, finish adding stones, finish the grit. I do not add grit at 4 or 5 days as I preform. If I need to I will run a second batch. Except for the rubies and saphires I am running now, I have not had to really add or do second batches. Do watch the Jaspers, and petrified woods, they must be burped or puddles can develop. I have had some interesting complications with fossilized scat! I make an interesting ring with dinosaur scat and I do not really reccomend tumbling. It looks better polished
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mudd1973
starting to shine!
new member of Culver City Rock and Mineral Club
Member since May 2003
Posts: 33
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Post by mudd1973 on Jun 18, 2003 23:04:48 GMT -5
Hi Hurk, What shape do you preform your rocks to? How much gets abraided off of the preforms when you start with a rough grit? I am preforming a batch to use for necklaces: sort of freeform facetted chunky beads. I've been shaping them on a 60 diamond grinder so all edges and faces are already smooth. After all the work preforming, I'm considering skipping the rough grit phase and starting with a medium grit so that the beads will retain some of the facetted look. I figure if I don't like the look, I can always startover with the rough grit. I'm using beach rocks I found along the Malibu coast after the winter storms. They are mostly mixes of tans, yellows, pink, gray, white and some red. They may be jasper but when I found them they had some trnslucency, so the may be agates. Any advice from anyone who has tumbled preforms would be greatly appreciated.
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hurk
starting to shine!
Member since March 2003
Posts: 37
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Post by hurk on Jun 23, 2003 14:00:12 GMT -5
Hey there mudd... If you are happy with the shape already I think you could go right to the 220 stage providing there are no scratches on the stone... the first stage is mostly for shapeing and removing the pits and scratches... I find I lose volume in the 220 stage as well but very little... as for the beach stone Ive been doing alot of in most cases they are very smooth already I have had good results doing a 10 day cycle at 400 then 5-8 in polish... as for the first stage what i have been doing of late is what andy has described in the pictures as i loose volume i will top of with more rough stones this way I end up with some round and others more jagged but still smooth ...in doing this I end up with 1/2 pound or so more polished stones when the whole tumble is complete hope this helps HURK
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mudd1973
starting to shine!
new member of Culver City Rock and Mineral Club
Member since May 2003
Posts: 33
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Post by mudd1973 on Jun 24, 2003 12:44:03 GMT -5
Thanks for the info Hurk. Since I've already ground away all the pits and cracks, I think I'll try your approach for beach rocks and start with 400. I'll try to remember to take before and after pictures.
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