|
Post by Original Admin on Mar 18, 2011 12:08:54 GMT -5
Ive not done any tumbling for a while - so I bought some Apache Tears from Gary (kasag4). Im totally impressed - heres the pic. I would recommend Gary as a seller to anyone. Ok - they are in 80 now with a few left over which I might put in once the main lot is ground down. Ive never done them before - I believe they can be hard to shine but I know folk here have had them looking like black diamonds in the past so Im going to be asking questions in the final stages. I was thinking 400 600 Cerium Oxide Does that sound about right? A guy in a rock shop the other day told me that this would bring the shine out (the CO) but I have some tin oxide aswell. Its great to have the barrel rolling again - granted only 1 3LB barrel but that noise doesnt half bring back memories of having 12 going at once!!! Mark
|
|
|
Post by rockrookie on Mar 18, 2011 16:57:17 GMT -5
can't wait to see the finished product . have fun ,Mark !! --paul
|
|
stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
|
Post by stefan on Mar 18, 2011 20:35:41 GMT -5
I would add a step between the 80 and the 400. Tin oxide should work well for the final polish. Also don't forget to cusion that load in the latter stages. Nice rough and nice to see you rolling em again!
|
|
|
Post by Original Admin on Mar 19, 2011 4:48:59 GMT -5
Rockrookie - yup - this is just great - I got up this morning and had to go to the garage just to look at the barrel going round!!!! Stefan - sure I missed putting the 220 stage in after the 80 they are in. Going for the plastic pellets - all mine are dirty and even my old "polish only" ones wont cut it for these so I will get some new ones. Also - ive got new barrels for this aswell for the 400 - 600 - polish phase - a new barrel for each phase. Im determined to get these looking "the business".
|
|
|
Post by tanyafrench on Mar 19, 2011 8:52:02 GMT -5
Oh, these will be awesome. I as well have a beautiful gift bag of Apache Tears from Gary, but I've been too chicken to try them yet. After seeing all the successes here I am just going to have to break down and give it a go. Can't wait to see how yours come out.
Tanya
|
|
crgator
starting to shine!
Member since January 2011
Posts: 31
|
Post by crgator on Mar 19, 2011 13:16:23 GMT -5
I may have just had beginner's luck, because I think mine turned out really well. I used the grit package available from the Rock Shed, (coarse (60-90 grit), medium (120-220 grit) fine grit (500 pre polish) and 1 lb. of our polish. I believe the polish is AO. A couple of things I did was I added a week in 1000 grit Aluminum Oxide before the polish stage, and thinking I remembered something about strips of leather in the final polish, I put about a dozen strips of about 1/2" X 1 1/2" strips of leather in for the polish. I don't know if I want to try again, because I'm afraid it was beginner's luck and I won't be so lucky the next time.
|
|
adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,777
|
Post by adrian65 on Mar 21, 2011 2:10:25 GMT -5
Beautiful rough! I didn't tumble any obsidian, but I understand it's not the easyest rock to tumble. Good luck! Did you put aside at least one of them, to outline the difference between rough and polished?
Adrian
|
|
|
Post by krazydiamond on Mar 21, 2011 16:54:18 GMT -5
crgator - beautiful batch! and nicely photographed. 1Mark - don't forget to burp yer barrel often, obsidian, glass and apache tears tend to outgas something terrible...and it makes such a mess when a barrel goes "pop". adding a bit of borax can help this a little. nice to see you rolling again!!! good luck with this batch! KD
|
|
|
Post by frane on Mar 21, 2011 18:33:10 GMT -5
KD beat me to it. You really have to burp the barrel often because if it burps itself, what a mess! I have tried baking soda and it helps a bit. Still need to burp it but it will give you an extra day in general. after the initial shaping, lots of filler through till the end and I always run them in the grit a bit longer. Instead of a week, 10 days. With filler, they are not wearing down as fast but then you end up with a nicer finish. I always go with the 1000 grit too. If I miss that stage, I can never get a really good shine. I think I will have to try the leather trick at some point and see how that goes. Looks like great stones so just have fun!
Fran
|
|
rockwizz
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since May 2007
Posts: 971
|
Post by rockwizz on Mar 25, 2011 0:18:55 GMT -5
wow, best batch of obsidian I've seen in a while.
Ozzy
|
|
|
Post by Original Admin on Mar 25, 2011 8:18:14 GMT -5
I check for the gas - but thusfar - there hasnt been any. The lids on my barrels are sucked in by a vacuum as I press them in from the middle - so they are concave (is that the right way round?) So there would be a bit of play for any gas to level the lids off. Touch wood - no probs sofar. crgator - beautiful batch! and nicely photographed. 1Mark - don't forget to burp yer barrel often, obsidian, glass and apache tears tend to outgas something terrible...and it makes such a mess when a barrel goes "pop". adding a bit of borax can help this a little. nice to see you rolling again!!! good luck with this batch! KD
|
|
|
Post by Original Admin on Mar 25, 2011 8:22:23 GMT -5
Oh dear - looks like ive got some samples there to seriously match up to. Who knows if mine will turn out as good as that? Ok - so after the first 6 or so days at 80, we have the following. Rounding nicely - and I was 50/50 as to whether they were done. but back in they go at 80 for another round of shaping. I almost filled (about 2cm from the top) the barrel first time round - so the barrel above shows a drop of about 3cm volume - I would say now its at the right level for a round of 80. The barrel there is probably about 3/4 full. Mark
|
|
stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
|
Post by stefan on Mar 25, 2011 12:21:13 GMT -5
Looking good! I think they will be ready after this run of course!
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
|
Post by Fossilman on Mar 25, 2011 12:27:59 GMT -5
Nice...................
|
|
crgator
starting to shine!
Member since January 2011
Posts: 31
|
Post by crgator on Mar 26, 2011 9:34:51 GMT -5
I really wish I had taken before photos, and after each stage photos of mine. It would be really cool to compare the changes. I do have one tear that came out after the second stage and that is really neat to compare to the finished product.
I agree with stefans remarks.
Hope they turn out great. I may try another batch because I really do like them.
|
|
|
Post by connrock on Mar 27, 2011 8:57:14 GMT -5
Hi Mark,,, Well it looks like you're doing a LOT better then I did with my last attempt with them!
Great photos!!
Good luck!
connrock
|
|
|
Post by MyNewHobby on Mar 27, 2011 17:02:38 GMT -5
OMG!!! Could someone please pick me up off the floor!! OMG!!!
Those are amazing!
|
|
|
Post by krazydiamond on Apr 1, 2011 20:56:27 GMT -5
think we need an update, Mark!!
KD
|
|
|
Post by Original Admin on Apr 21, 2011 16:40:02 GMT -5
Time is flying by. KD ! - Sorry for the delay - ok - they completed a second round in 80 and they are rounded off enough now. I left them on the kitchen side until I could get round to digging out some fresh plastic pellets. I put them in a barrel today for a round in 220 - sealed it all up and put it on the tumbler. When I listened - they were sliding not rolling in the barrel as I took a chance and used one with no rubber strips stuck inside to "flip" them as the barrel span? spun? round (span I think - thats a tricky one So - I wasnt contented with that - so I took the barrel off - opened it up cleaned it out - stuck some rubber car mat strips in - reloaded - resealed and got it going again. I avoided doing it first up and took a chance because I had no super glue - which I normally use - but once I found the trusty araldite (its an epoxy brand over here I dont know if you have it in the US as a brand) I was in heaven and knew I could sort it out. So off they go for 10 days in 220 and a hefty load of plastic pellets. Shape didnt change much after the second 80 - only size reduced as you will know really so no need for a pic. Roll on 10 days!!!!
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Apr 21, 2011 16:55:14 GMT -5
If it were me, I'd used high grade tin oxide for the final polish. A friend recommended it to me and it worked way better than AO or CO......Mel
|
|