hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 14, 2014 14:43:26 GMT -5
I came home several days ago to see this on my front step... I couldn't get my knife off my pocket quick enough... It was a big heavy box from the Rock Shed and this is what was inside!! Lortone QT-66 with the extra 12# barrel... I do aspire to tumble some big rocks... and thought that 12# barrel would be useful. Bunch of different grits... I was set up and ready to go... With that said, I have spent many days on the Yellowstone River fishing and hunting... not just for fish and ducks... but for rocks too! I love petrified wood and usually come home with several pockets stuffed full each trip... and also maybe 3-10 agates as well... Good Day on the Y-Stone! Anyhow... I sorted through some of my buckets of recent finds and came up with a good bunch of rocks to throw in for my first tumble... Mostly wood, a little agate... and some random other stuff that Im not sure if it will polish, but we'll see. This is all heavily river tumbled rock... I suspect they really wont need a lot of time in the course grind... some of the agates are fairly "pocked" with roughness, but overall... most the rocks are smooth... Some close ups and to give a reference of size... Wood Wood Agate Wood This is a rock that I am fond of, collect tons of them... have no idea if it will polish up or not... dont think it will. Barrel Loaded up.... and some 40-60 grit Sil Carb... super coarse... but what I had! And off we go... I will post more pics and will welcome comments/critique!!! This stuff will roll for about a week and I'll wash the stuff out and put the 120/220 in there!
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Post by captbob on Oct 14, 2014 15:35:46 GMT -5
Fantastic! Looking forward to all the updates!! Hope someone is taking notes on what a tumbling thread is supposed to look like. ETA: A week and then 120/220? *snicker* "Rome wasn't built in a day" comes to mind. You might want to consider adding some smalls or filler like ceramic media - I'd just find some smalls. No pictures of the fish dinner?
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 14, 2014 16:04:43 GMT -5
I was just following directions!!! Hehehe I did think though, that since these are all river rocks, the rough grind would be shorter.. I get the "picture".... I'll beef it up! I'll grab some smalls and put in there!! Thank you!!
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bsky4463
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2013
Posts: 1,696
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Post by bsky4463 on Oct 14, 2014 16:57:18 GMT -5
I too enjoy hauling home the wood from our MT rivers. On the tumble, make sure to pick the agateized pieces of petwood. The ones without any agate showing, dont feel quit as dense. These ones are just often just black in the center, even if cool colors on the outside. I found it best to leave them natural. But the agatized ones tumble up beautifully! When I started with my rotary I referenced roillingstones post (about 8 down from the top) on this thread. Enjoy the ride. Cheers.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 14, 2014 17:11:35 GMT -5
Very exciting stuff. welcome to the club. I really enjoy watching people get started and then seeing the progress.
Chuck
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Post by snowmom on Oct 14, 2014 17:21:01 GMT -5
watching closely, keep the pictures coming.
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 14, 2014 21:00:33 GMT -5
Where ya at BigSky?
I was worried about the non agatized wood not taking a polish... It's definitely a mix rt now! May sort out after this coarse grind!
Thank you!
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bsky4463
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2013
Posts: 1,696
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Post by bsky4463 on Oct 14, 2014 21:08:03 GMT -5
Experimentation is a huge part of tumbling, enjoy the ride. If you get some that turn out black, leave the in the sun or in bleach and you may get the growth rings to show. But when you get the agatized wood to tumble....oh my. True joy. Cheers.
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Post by Starguy on Oct 14, 2014 21:11:24 GMT -5
Lamar river. Nice wood!
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 15, 2014 9:23:01 GMT -5
Im pretty sure collecting on the Lamar would be illegal... wouldn't it?
This first tumble I didn't really sort through the rocks and do anything special... just grabbed some wood and a few agates and a few miscellaneous and went for it...
Hopefully this was ok, but yesterday when I got home I went out in the driveway and grabbed a couple big handfulls of 1/2 inch minus crushed rock/gravel that is on my driveway and through it in as smalls... I actually saw that there was some agate AND wood in the mix... lol... shouldn't be hard to sort though, as most is just standard gray "rock".... after just 36 hrs... the rocks in the tumbler were noticeably smoother... I imagine by Sunday they will be good.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Oct 15, 2014 9:26:30 GMT -5
Think you'll be happy with the tumbler.
Nice material going in there. All self collected too, a bonus in my mind.
Looks to me also that more smalls are needed and possibly less water. I've had success with 1 cup in the 6# and 2 cup in the 12#, some folks use less. I think most of tumbling people here think that the bottom of the top layer guideline is too much.
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 15, 2014 11:13:08 GMT -5
I'll pour some out tonight..its only been running 2 days, should be fine right?
I did throw fines in... mixture of sand up to 1/2 inch crushed rock form driveway!
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Oct 15, 2014 11:26:55 GMT -5
I would think it will be fine. If the drive way gravel is limestone the "extra" water could be good. Limestone being soft it would grind down quickly making a thick slurry. Pure speculation on my part.
P.S. If your not doing so already keep notes. Helped me a lot when I first started to remember what worked and what didn't.
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azgnoinc
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 484
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Post by azgnoinc on Oct 15, 2014 12:10:22 GMT -5
Look forward to the progress pics as your initial batch comes along!!
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Oct 15, 2014 12:18:04 GMT -5
Be careful. The Park rangers can come down real hard if they catch you hounding. Even little kids are told to "put the rock back in the river so everyone can enjoy it". A bit sad as the rocks will eventually just be dust. But I guess it would be a zoo if they allowed it. As bgsky said, the petwood that is black inside will be disappointed when tumbled. The nice outside you often see is due to centuries of exposure. The inside is very monotone black and disappointing. When done you might just have a black rock. As said, sometimes bleach, acid, etc will bring rings back out. I always chip or cut petwood before tumbling to be sure it is agatized inside Plz keep us informed of the progress!
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Post by pghram on Oct 15, 2014 13:54:16 GMT -5
Congrats on the new tumbler & welcome. I hope that one takes a shine because it will be a knock-out.
Rich
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 15, 2014 14:43:26 GMT -5
In this batch, I do know there are a good number of pieces of wood that are agatized. So... Not all is lost!!
Thank you all for comments and tips!!!
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 15, 2014 22:09:00 GMT -5
Ok, got home tonight and opened her up to reduce water level... While doing so I picked about 15 rocks out and rinsed them off... I had a couple of those really nice all black rocks now!!! Haha! Dang it! Pet wood gone bad!!! Oh well!
However, a number of other pieces still have great grain definitions and are getting really smooth!
Anyhow, I poured water out until I could barely see it down thru the rocks and will let it go for a bit...
Thanks again! I did get a couple pics but have to get them uploaded to photobucket.
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Oct 15, 2014 22:27:28 GMT -5
Just found this thread, nice work getting going!
I'd say (and it's admittedly hard to see that third dimension in photos of barrels) that your barrel looks under-loaded. Keep it rolling though, see how it looks after 7 days (I go 10 but that's just me)
Also, 46/70 is great to rough grind. It breaks down just like 60/90 does but gets more bite before it is pulverized.
I'm on crutches for another 2.5 weeks so I need to be careful how much time I spend in the garage, so my barrels are sitting and waiting for me... keep up the good posts!
Also, didn't think of Montana as a warm water fishery, cool to see something other than salmonids on the menu!
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Oct 15, 2014 23:06:46 GMT -5
A couple posts below, in Herch's pic... is how much water was in there. The tub is dang near 3/4 full... even though it may not appear so...
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