toxicrocks
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2005
Posts: 21
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Post by toxicrocks on Nov 10, 2005 19:38:01 GMT -5
I have 2 more questions now that I'm a few weeks into this gig.
1) Are cracked rocks common after the second stage (120/220)? I combined the best rocks after the rough grind from 2 barrels (Lortone 33B) into a single barrel - enough so that it was 2/3 full of rock. I did not add plastic pellets. After a week in 120/220 I noticed several rocks had fractures and/or chips that were not there before. Is this normal and one of those "just learn to live with it" kind of things? I culled out the cracked rocks, will break them and put them into another rough grind.
2) How much plastic pellet should I add for the fine (pre-polish) grind? If I have a half a barrel full of rock from the last stage, do I fill with pellets to make it 2/3 full? If so, would there be too many pellets to prevent the polish to work? I guess what I mean is, do the rocks have to rub with one another for the 500F to work, or can it work from pellet-to-rock contact?
Thanks guys and gals, Alex
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Post by Cher on Nov 10, 2005 19:53:17 GMT -5
Hi Alex, 1.) There can often be fractures that will show all the way through to the end. I use pellets in all of my stages except coarse and haven't had many problems with chipped rocks. If I find one after the second stage (120/200 grit) they go back to coarse.
2.) I fill the barrel about 1/3 full with pellets, then to about 3/4's full with rocks for the middle stages. When you're getting in to the 500 grit and up, it's not the rocks rubbing against each other to smooth them, it's the grit polishing out the scratches from the previous grit. Each grit being finer will remove the scratches from the previous stage. The pellets don't interfere with the process, they cushion the rocks from banging into each other and causing fractures and chips. My polish barrel is about half and half rocks to pellets.
Hope this helps some to give you an idea. Everyone learns their own way to do things and what they like. It just takes some time to develop what's best for you.
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Post by rockds on Nov 10, 2005 20:17:14 GMT -5
alex, if it makes u feel any better, I did the same thing my 1st go round. Now, like cher, I use pellets in all stages but 1st and have had no problems.
robert
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toxicrocks
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2005
Posts: 21
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Post by toxicrocks on Nov 10, 2005 20:25:15 GMT -5
Yeah, I will probably start using the pellets after the first stage as well. I better get another pound or two so I can dedicate a batch for each phase. I would not have guessed that you could use such a high amount of pellets and still have it work in the pre-polish and polish stages - thanks!
I'm thinking that I didn't have enough mass (rocks or rocks+pellets) after the first stage because there were several chips at the bottom of the barrel.
Many thanks! Alex
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Post by Alice on Nov 10, 2005 20:38:37 GMT -5
I usually don't add pellets to 120/220. Usually I have enough rocks to fill the barrel after coarse, because I keep pulling out and adding more rocks during the coarse stage.
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Post by Cher on Nov 10, 2005 20:47:56 GMT -5
Just thought of another thing Alex. Make sure you have a variety of rock sizes in the load, right down to some pea size. The size differences help them tumble better.
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toxicrocks
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2005
Posts: 21
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Post by toxicrocks on Nov 10, 2005 20:52:38 GMT -5
Cher,
I did/do have varied sizes, pea-size to about 2" in my 3 lb barrels. I hesitated to fill the barrel too full, so I stayed around 2/3 full and maybe was a little shy of that. Could I have had too little in there, enabling them to bang around on each other? I filled with water just to the bottom of the top layer of rock, per instructions.
Alex
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Post by Cher on Nov 10, 2005 20:59:16 GMT -5
Could be I suppose, too much space allowing them to crash. I think most try to keep the barrels just shy of 3/4 full. How many of the bigger rocks did you have in there. In a 3 pound barrel you'd only want one or two that size, most of it like 3/4 to 1 inch size then a handful of smaller. If you don't have enough rocks to fill it, add more pellets, it won't hurt.
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toxicrocks
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2005
Posts: 21
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Post by toxicrocks on Nov 10, 2005 22:55:25 GMT -5
Hi Cher/others,
Is getting dead-on accurate water level that important on the later stages with pellets? The reason I ask is that the pellets float and make it hard to tell where the water level is in the barrel. I have between 1/2 and 2/3 of a barrel with rocks after 120/220, and then added pellets to 3/4 full. Then I added 6 tbls of 500F (making the barrel look almost full). Then I added water and it was pretty hard to tell when I reached the 3/4 mark, so I "eyeballed" it. Any concern with those steps?
Thanks, Alex
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Post by Cher on Nov 10, 2005 23:10:54 GMT -5
When you finish with one stage, put the pellets in plastic baggie and mark them for what stage they were used in, 500, 120/200 or whatever, don't use the same pellets all the way through. Then the next time you have exactly what you need in the bag, put the pellets in first and cover them with the rocks so you can see your water level.
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Post by rockkitten on Nov 11, 2005 0:22:54 GMT -5
THIS WAS VERY INTERESTING INFO, BUT NOW I HAVE A QUESTION. I HAVE A 15#ER AND THE INSTRUCTIONS (AND JAMES) SAID TO FILL THE TUMBLERS ONLY 5/8 FULL, WHICH IS JUST A LITTLE ABOVE HALF. IS THAT NOT FULL ENOUGH OR DO I JUST USE 5/8 FOR THE ROUGH TUMBLE???
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Post by rockkitten on Nov 11, 2005 0:25:01 GMT -5
OOPS!!! I HAVE A 12#ER, NOT 15.
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carolelgin
starting to spend too much on rocks
BlueBelle
Member since October 2005
Posts: 161
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Post by carolelgin on Nov 11, 2005 16:50:25 GMT -5
Pellet talk....
Hobby Lobby was having a sale on the PE pellets. I loaded up to the max. BRING ME ROCKS! Got to talk to a little ol' lady about making beanie toys. I stood and smiled. She probably would have passed out if she knew I was going to dirty up the pellets.
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g0too
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2005
Posts: 198
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Post by g0too on Nov 11, 2005 17:33:45 GMT -5
I have a plastic pellet question as well.
Although I already have a couple of pounds of plastic pellets that are white. I was wondering if I run short can I use the plastic pellets that are used for bb guns as they are usually coloured yellow pink or green, I am only wondering as they can be bought at most shops where I live whereas the white ones for tumbling have to be ordered in. Also if they are suitable for tumbling, is there a risk of the colour being transfered to the rocks being tumbled.
Cheers Chris
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Post by rockds on Nov 11, 2005 17:59:50 GMT -5
Chris, don't know if the BB pellets can be used in tumbling but I don't see why not. The color will not mess with your rocks, once color is in poly, it stays there unless you have the right chemicals to extract which shouldn't be an issue in tumbling.
robert
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Post by Cher on Nov 11, 2005 21:25:56 GMT -5
Rockkitten, I don't have a barrel that big so I'm not really sure. Did you get any instructions with it? They would have it in there but if James suggested an amount, follow what he says.
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Post by cookie3rocks on Nov 11, 2005 21:29:33 GMT -5
I have been using pellets for 120/220 and up for a while now. Got lazy with this last batch, 1/3 is in the vibe in tripoli and 2/3 in the rotary in 120/220 with 3# barrels (no pellets in any). The vibe seems fine. Will let you know about the barrels.
cookie
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