melj
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Post by melj on Sept 16, 2014 21:06:32 GMT -5
Hey folks. I was wondering if someone might be able to answer this. I am wonder what type of media that I can buy would wear down soft metals the fastest in a rotary tumbler using a dry tumble? Will walnut shells like lizard litter do the trick or is there something that would work better? I would appreciate any help. Thanks!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2014 23:33:53 GMT -5
Hey folks. I was wondering if someone might be able to answer this. I am wonder what type of media that I can buy would wear down soft metals the fastest in a rotary tumbler using a dry tumble? Will walnut shells like lizard litter do the trick or is there something that would work better? I would appreciate any help. Thanks! I suppose that depends on how you define "fastest". I can visualize small diamonds doing a number. They aren't expensive and won't wear out either. Please give us more info from which to advise.
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melj
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Post by melj on Sept 17, 2014 0:23:53 GMT -5
By diamonds, do you mean diamond SHAPED ceramic or triangles? That's what I am already leaning towards. If that's not what you meant, forgive me, but I'm guessing you don't literally mean actual diamonds, lol. Can you suggest a good reliable source online for small amounts of media?
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 17, 2014 6:20:41 GMT -5
There is not a lot of info floating around tumbling metal in a rotary tumbler other than polishing silver and base metals. I use 1/2 pea gravel and 30,46, or 60 grit SiC or aluminum oxide powdered grit with water and 1/2 metal.(home brew) You can try 1/2 pea gravel and 1/2 metal dry. Never tried it dry. Wet cuts faster.. This is a batch of base metals tumbled wet using 1/2 metal and 1/2 granite pea gravel and 46 grit aluminum oxide powder added. tumbled to remove burrs, varnishes and silver plate. Beats hand filing burrs.
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Post by connrock on Sept 17, 2014 9:01:01 GMT -5
If you can tell us exactly what type of metal you're working with and what you want for results I'm sure we can help you a lot more. connrock
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melj
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Post by melj on Sept 17, 2014 9:49:37 GMT -5
Primarily silver
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2014 12:42:19 GMT -5
I was being serious. small industrial diamonds are not too expensive. It is a silly idea that I used to illustrate we need more info.
Now that we know it is silver, please define "wear down".
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2014 13:15:57 GMT -5
Greetings [melj] firstly may i welcome you to RTH Forums from the other side of the pond! My club ( Leith Lapidary Club) does Silver in a rubber 3lb rotary barrel, 1kg (2.2lb) Stainless Steel shot, 1 tablespoon of Burnishing compound, 1 teaspoon of Borax, 100g (4oz) of water, up to 250g (0.551lb) of Silver pieces. For best results run for at least 8 hours, mostly at best the club only runs the rotary for 3 hours, usually with just a single piece of silver weighing no more than 5g (0.176oz). Please check out my Sticky's below. -- Please click images to open larger images in a new Tab, same with everything that is Underlined! I currently have a 3lb Beach (UK), Lortone QT 12/66 (USA) rotaries & 2x Viking Vibrasonic (Diamond Pacific) (USA) virbrating tumblers, with Silicon Carbide grit F80, F220, F600, F1200, with Tin Oxide (1.0 micron) & Aluminum Oxide (1.0 micron & 0.3 micron) polishes. I hail from (The Barony of Seabegs) Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, U.K, where aliens (15mb) sometimes come for a visit & about 4 miles west from that monstrosity & 7 miles west of this new monstrosity! Sticky's: their contents are resource information 1#: Vendors worldwide (2mb), 2#: How to use the forum, 3#: How to identify rocks & minerals, 4#: Save money on expensive grits & polishes, 5#: Aussie Lapidary Forum: Rock Tumbling Guide!
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melj
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Post by melj on Sept 17, 2014 17:31:03 GMT -5
Now that I think about it, I should have just told you all what I was doing from the start. Years ago, my dad bought an unbelievable amount of dug (burried) mostly silver coins, and there are still many hundreds of them that have surfaces that look damaged (a majority cleaned up decently but these are the stragglers we're talking about). My goal is to cause some artificial wear to hopefully remove remaining stubburn surface damage, better look for rare stuff, and pass off the rest as bullion that a respectable buyer would deem worthy of buying, more or less. Now you see my my goal would be to cause wear instead of just polishing...that is my goal so if there would be any suggestions with that in mind...
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eljay
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Post by eljay on Sept 17, 2014 17:35:42 GMT -5
Is there any reason you couldn't do it the way that some ammo reloaders tumble their brass with stainless steel media, water, and soap? I've seen people use that same setup to do things like knock the rust off of old steel molds. I have no idea if there would be any reason not to do that will the silver but it seems like it would be worth researching or perhaps somebody here can say why that would be a bad idea.
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melj
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Post by melj on Sept 17, 2014 19:42:06 GMT -5
Actually the steel shot, soap and water method was tried a long time ago in a 12 pound Lortone rotary tumbler. These are the leftovers that wouldn't clean up right. Basically the idea I had in mind was to try to simulate circulation wear and just wear off a layer of the coins. It's sort of a last ditch effort with these.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 17, 2014 20:29:57 GMT -5
If you are wanting to get the nicks and dings out you will have to tumble with a 60-100grit to remove a layer. Fill barrel 3/4 full of coins, add grit, and water just below coins and roll them.
If you want a smooth finish you will have do the same thing with 220 then 500 grit. if you want them to shine you will have to use 1000 grit or higher.
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melj
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Post by melj on Sept 17, 2014 20:43:54 GMT -5
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 17, 2014 20:50:25 GMT -5
Exactly. That is a nice kit for your task.
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melj
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Post by melj on Sept 17, 2014 21:51:41 GMT -5
Cool, thanks, I may have to give that kit a try. There seem to be a lot of good suggestions here but I may try the silicon grit first. Question, if I fill a 3 pound Lortone barrel 2/3rd or so with coins, about how much grit would I want to add? I know you said "just below" the coins for the water line.
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eljay
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Post by eljay on Sept 17, 2014 23:41:41 GMT -5
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 18, 2014 5:05:52 GMT -5
Cool, thanks, I may have to give that kit a try. There seem to be a lot of good suggestions here but I may try the silicon grit first. Question, if I fill a 3 pound Lortone barrel 2/3rd or so with coins, about how much grit would I want to add? I know you said "just below" the coins for the water line. Try a tablespoon. The silicon carbide should last a long time cutting the soft coins. Run for an hour. If they stick together put 3 tablespoons of any sand in too. If they stick together you will not get even removal. It may remove the edges more than you want, that is where you will get the most wear....
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melj
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Post by melj on Sept 18, 2014 10:20:57 GMT -5
Oh, that's a lot less than I thought. Would it be a good idea to use a "filler" like non-abrasive ceramic or is sand better?
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Sept 18, 2014 11:17:15 GMT -5
Oh, that's a lot less than I thought. Would it be a good idea to use a "filler" like non-abrasive ceramic or is sand better? If needed. If the sand gets it done then so be it. If not, try pea sized gravel. If you want to abrade, the sand will help. If not, use non-abrasive ceramic media... Open it a lot in the beginning to check progress and/or problems..
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