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Post by Toad on Mar 25, 2007 13:56:22 GMT -5
Grit gets thrown away, but polish is saved. Right?
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Post by deb193 on Mar 25, 2007 14:00:05 GMT -5
I save a little old grit, that once washed, can help jump start slurry. But so will Borax, so I am not sure why I bother.
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desertdweller
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since August 2006
Posts: 1,803
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Post by desertdweller on Mar 25, 2007 14:14:14 GMT -5
We use our grit over and over again. Since we tumble in a tire, and we are tumbling a fairly soft material, it only takes a day or so to shape the stuff. We screen the rocks out of the slurry, put it in a shallow container and leave it in the sun to dry. After its dried up, we break it with a hammer and toss the pieces in with the next batch. This is only for the first stage of the tumbling process and the grit works really well for about 5 or 6 batches, after that we usually add new grit.
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Post by LCARS on Mar 25, 2007 18:15:25 GMT -5
I re-use my rock slurries from all stages and any leftover SC grit from the shaping phases. It is easy to separate since it is usually the heaviest element in the mix, sinking to the bottom right away. It is easy with a little care to pour off the suspension while leaving the vast majority of left-over grit in the bottom.
I decant the slurries from exclusive batches of the same material to use as a primer for the next batch of same material. Silicate based slurries are used in silicate batches and quartz based slurries are used with quartz based batches, chalcedonic slurries used only in chalcedonic batches etc.
If I do not plan to re-use it right away I will dry the slurry and crush it into a fine powder with a mortar & pestle then store it in marked containers for easy identification later on. At any given time I usually have two or more conatiners decanting in the corner of my kitchen counter.
To use the recovered slurry, I add 1Tbsp/lb of the dried powder when beginning any stage. Priming in this way reduces the total processing time in each phase by boosting the initial compound carrying capacity of the water without having to wait the amount of time it takes for the slurry to form on it's own with only water (& borax of course) to start.
Pre-polish & polish are the only types of slurry I don't solidify, since the micron sized particles tend to stay in suspension. I simply decant the excess water off the top and store the saturated liquid in Ziploc containers until I need it again. I always add half the normal amount of new polish and add some new water when using recovered polish slurry since there is an innevitable chemo/mechanical break-down of any polish over extended use.
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Mar 27, 2007 12:51:01 GMT -5
DANG Rob! Yes I save slurry- dry it and use it as jump start and polish- Heck I only add new polish every 3 or 4 loads (when I get under 2 tbls)
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rockinmom
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2007
Posts: 481
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Post by rockinmom on Mar 27, 2007 13:55:33 GMT -5
Okay.. this one has gone right over my head! Please forgive me but, how do you reuse your grit when they say that it loses it's ability to shape after about 7 or 8 days? Tammy
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chassroc
Cave Dweller
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
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Post by chassroc on Mar 27, 2007 14:30:44 GMT -5
Assuming that slurry is a good thing for your tumble
Starting your coarse grind with half water(and full load of grit) and half slurry will create a creamy slurry more quickly and will be good for your rocks. Adjust the proportions mentioned here as desired 90/10 or 75/25 or 95/5 as you see fit. csroc
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Post by LCARS on Mar 27, 2007 20:50:49 GMT -5
Okay.. this one has gone right over my head! Please forgive me but, how do you reuse your grit when they say that it loses it's ability to shape after about 7 or 8 days? Tammy If it is properly formed, silicon carbide abrasive should be very crystaline, being roughy cubic to rhombohedral in shape. As the grit is "broken down" by impacts the grit particles should mostly shear along their cleavage planes making smaller particles of roughly the same structure. This allows grit to keep it's cutting power as it mechanically breaks down to expose fresh edges and also why you can get away with only a coarse & fine stage of grit in a tumbler. Grit makes smaller scratches as it gets smaller. Eventually, the grit breaks down too much to be effective but it all depends on the quality and consisyency of it's manufacture. If it is cooled too quickly it will be less crystaline and more amorphous, losing it's ability to keep cutting for very long (crap grit syndrome or "CGS" for short). Hey, I should add that to the terms definition thread. If it cools too slowly it becomes carborundum which is even harder than normal SC but more brittle so it will mechanically break down too quickly to properly smooth the stone. Sometimes, if you do a partial recharge on a barrel that is "almost" done, you will be left with some amount of fairly fresh grit at the end that "could" be saved and added to a future batch. If you do it just right though, your last recharge will have worn out by the time your rocks are ready for the next stage, it's a bit luck, abit skill, and a bit intuition. The longer you stay in the hobby, the more you start to develop your own tricks & techniques. Hang around here long enough and you will learn about all kinds of things.
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Post by parfive on Mar 27, 2007 23:31:00 GMT -5
Or you can throw it all away all the time.
My rocks have come to expect nice new fresh stuff from The Rock Shed every stage . . . . . yeah, they're spoiled. ;D
Rich
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Post by LCARS on Mar 28, 2007 1:46:24 GMT -5
Well, when you have to buy grit locally in 1lb bulk bags for $4 each, you tend to get a bit stingey with it. The shipping costs getting a huge discount bag of grit sent to Canada from the rock shed kills any savings and not to mention terminal damage to my credit card.
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Post by parfive on Mar 28, 2007 22:46:13 GMT -5
LCARS - Nothin' wrong with being frugal. I think everyone has one thing or another they're cheap about.
But I gotta chuckle ;D ;D when you talk about "1 lb bulk bags of grit." I mean, a pound of pot might be considered bulk, or a pound of Viagra . . . but a pound of grit?
Rich
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Post by Toad on Mar 29, 2007 4:24:12 GMT -5
LOL, Rich.
I didn't mean for this to turn into a discussion on grit. 1 load and done for me. But rather, I just wanted to confirm that everyone reuses polish. Thanks.
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rockinmom
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2007
Posts: 481
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Post by rockinmom on Mar 29, 2007 13:51:30 GMT -5
Okay. I get it now. Thanks! ;D
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falcon
starting to shine!
Member since March 2007
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Post by falcon on Mar 29, 2007 20:58:28 GMT -5
LOL---speak for yourself, toad, I love this thread I was contemplating reuseing grit/slurry and didnt know if i was being frugal or downright cheap. lcars, you are a wealth of information... thanx now, can anyone be a little more specific on the SC breakdown process? I mean, how long will it take 60/90 to (effectively) be 120/220... 500... 1000? can I really run 60/90 for a month straight (no recharge) and then go on to the polish (re-used polish at that) I have the same problem as LCARS with the '1lb bulk bags' and 500 grit is about $10/lb. i'm not made of money, and every little bit helps. f.
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Post by Toad on Mar 29, 2007 22:19:59 GMT -5
Rock tumbling is an expensive hobby in Canada.
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Post by parfive on Mar 29, 2007 23:36:01 GMT -5
Falcon: "how long will it take 60/90 to (effectively) be 120/220... 500... 1000? can I really run 60/90 for a month straight (no recharge) and then go on to the polish"
I'd say that 60/90 is broken down to somewhere between 220 and 500 after four or five days, a week at most, assuming you're tumbling something hard like agate or jasper.
As for running a load all the way to polish in 60/90, it'll work if you've already completely shaped the rocks with as many 60/90 re-charges as necessary. Stefan's done it, leaving a barrel rolling for months, and posted about it. Someone else recently (Rockyraccoon?) also did it for many months.
Rich
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falcon
starting to shine!
Member since March 2007
Posts: 44
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Post by falcon on Mar 31, 2007 14:26:30 GMT -5
thanx rich, thats just the kind of info i'm lookin for
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,777
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Post by adrian65 on Mar 31, 2007 15:21:50 GMT -5
Wow, it seems tumbling is like chess: the basic rules can be learned in one day but there are secrets to learn for a lifetime!
Adrian
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