jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,159
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Post by jamesp on Nov 18, 2014 11:12:03 GMT -5
Well, 22 here this morn.... So I think I'm safe for a while!! Had 20F this morning in Atlanta. 2-3 MPH out of NW till 8AM. By 8:30AM it was 16 MPH NW. Sat in chair from 6:15-8AM. Am worn out from cold. you guys must be some tough sum guns. Hats off
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Nov 19, 2014 11:30:14 GMT -5
13 here this morn... but supposed to get up to 40 today! We've got about 1month left of these nice temps... then things will get cold. Come late decemeber into February we stay well below freezing for highs... we do get a few days in the 50's in the winter... and those days are NICE... but we also get a couple weeks where highs wont get over 0-10 degrees.... lows 0 to -30....
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Nov 19, 2014 11:30:36 GMT -5
Not sure about tough... but we are something...that is for sure... ;0)
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Nov 21, 2014 11:40:29 GMT -5
Well, I decided to clean out my 1000 run last night. I believe they've been in 1000 for about 11 days... the last time I checked them, which I think was about 5 days in 1k... they were pretty dull... but very smooth and super shiny when wet. Well... now they are dang close to having a polish... Unless you guys disagree, I will add polish tonight and set it to spinning... I'll be gone elk and deer hunting for a few days, then I'll check it on maybe Monday... Then I'll be gone elk and deer hunting until the 30th... Probably just leave her spinning till then... I am pleased with the results. I will say this though... i wasn't hung up on getting all the little cracks and crevices ground off... I figured if I could jsut get parts of them polished it would be cool... but now I am starting to think my next session, I will grind them all smooth so they get a complete polish... Here are a few pics of some of my favorites... These are all dry... which is a big improvement in shine from the last check! Pics still suck... I PROMISE I'll do better when I check them next. These are just Iphone pics. I have a point and shoot that takes pretty incredible macros... I'll use it next time!
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Post by Pat on Nov 21, 2014 13:57:57 GMT -5
I can see why they are favorites. Cropping the photos in iPhone helps.
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Post by connrock on Nov 22, 2014 9:09:39 GMT -5
Looking good! I would put them in polish but make sure you run them in a nice long burnish with soap,water and a filler so they don't get all banged up. Good luck with the rocks,deer and elk! connrock
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Post by Jugglerguy on Nov 22, 2014 12:53:41 GMT -5
Those are looking really good, hornseeker. I'm sort of a rough tumble perfectionist. I have actually ground rocks down to nothing trying to get the last little flaw out. I don't recommend that, but I'm always disappointed when I move a rock out of the rough grind too early. Don't fool yourself into thinking that that one little flaw is so small that the next stage will take care of it, because it won't. It gets easier to be patient with each load.
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Nov 24, 2014 10:39:08 GMT -5
I haven't started the polish yet... Connrock... can you explain a little better? Do I need to add something besides just polish on this last phase?? Some filler to keep them from tumbling too hard?
Juggler... I was not anticipating the next stage taking care of a flaw, what I was doing was thinking "I dont need the whole rock perfectly polished, as long as parts of it is..." Well... I think there are certain rocks that would be ok to do, but I am feeling like most of them I need to grind and get "all smooth" before I move out of 60...
I am pretty excited to start the polish phase. I may not start it for a week or so though once I get more info (you got me worried Connrock) and get hunting season all done!
Ernie
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Nov 24, 2014 11:50:39 GMT -5
hornseeker I think that what connrock is saying is that you need to do a burnish/wash before you put the rocks in polish. Since they do have some cracks and what not in them you will want to be sure that all the flaws are cleaned out. If there happens to be some grit stuck in there it may negatively affect the polish. My burnish formula for a 3# barrel ... 1/2 tbs. ivory soap shavings, 1 tbs. borax, 5/8 cup water. Once all that is in the barrel I top it off to about 90% full with plastic pellets. The pellets help prevent chipping and such. I will run this from 6 to 24 hours. The water will pour off a grey color. I will then repeat the process after rinsing everything well. At the second pour off if the water is still grey I'll go another round. If it pours off white it's good to go.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Nov 24, 2014 12:31:58 GMT -5
Ken, do you do all of your tumbling in a rotary, or do you finish in a vibe? I finish all of my rocks in a Lot-O vibe, and I follow Connrock's advice to add either borax or Dreft soap to the Lot-O. I was wondering if adding soap to the later stages in a rotary is helpful.
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Nov 25, 2014 11:54:53 GMT -5
Well, I am going to wait to polish until I konw for sure what step to take next. I will be looking for more asnwers soon, but gotta run for now!!
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Post by connrock on Nov 25, 2014 12:00:13 GMT -5
Sorry if I confused you!
hornseeker hit the nail on the head.
Burnishing is done to clean the rocks. If you are doing rocks that you know have flaws,pits,cracks,etc you have to be careful to clean the rocks VERY good before polishing them so a burnishing/washing stage is necessary to get all the grit/slurry out of all the flaws.
Another thing I used to do when I did all my stages in rotaries was about 1/2 - 1 hour before I was going to change a load,I opened the barrel and added powdered laundry soap(Dreft).I put in about 1 teaspoon of soap in a 6lb barrel.This helps to get some of the crap out of the flaws as well.
Burnishing is also used after polishing to get all of the polish film off of the rocks.After you're polish stage you have shiny rocks,,,,after the burnishing stage you have VERY shiny rocks!
If was going to do a burnish from a load in a 6 lb barrel I would only burnish 1/2 of the rocks at a time.I put the rocks in a barrel,add the soap and use very hot water to just cover the rocks. Then add clean plastic pellets to the very top of the barrel. Using hot water creates a slight vacuum which sometimes helps the barrel from leaking.
When the polished rocks come out of the final burnish I rinse them in cool water and then place them onto a plastic mesh and make sure none of the rocks are touching each other.I put a small fan there to try to dry them a little faster. connrock
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Nov 25, 2014 14:04:37 GMT -5
Ken, do you do all of your tumbling in a rotary, or do you finish in a vibe? I finish all of my rocks in a Lot-O vibe, and I follow Connrock's advice to add either borax or Dreft soap to the Lot-O. I was wondering if adding soap to the later stages in a rotary is helpful. Rob, last couple batches of finished rock were done in a UV18. Having trouble keeping up with it and need more rotary. When I was strictly rotary I once tried ivory in the rough grind. Someone suggested that the bubbles would help carry grit. Didn't work. Seemed like the foam acted as a cushion. Never added soap to anything else but was always very picky about the burnish. Would sometimes go three rounds of burnish if I didn't think they were clean enough. Going to try the dreft next time I run the vibe.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Nov 25, 2014 14:25:28 GMT -5
Yep, I usually do a double wash between all stages except rough to 220.
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Nov 26, 2014 10:08:26 GMT -5
Thanks Conn and all.
Burnish/wash.... how long? Just like a 1 hour deal? 1/2 hour?
THanks!!
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Nov 26, 2014 10:18:21 GMT -5
By the way... last weekends hunt trip ended like this. My girlfriend made a great shot on this little mule deer buck and now we have another #57 pounds of pure, grade A, organic, yummy meat in the freezer.
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Nov 26, 2014 10:18:47 GMT -5
I love snow... cept that it makes rockhounding awfully hard....
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Post by connrock on Nov 27, 2014 8:12:34 GMT -5
About 1/2 - 1 hour is OK for a burnish,,,,,I've left them in overnight at times too,,,,just because I didn't feel like taking them out! LOL Nice deer,,,,I HATE snow! LOL connrock
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Dec 22, 2014 12:58:43 GMT -5
OK... back at it. Took a couple weeks to get moved then find the time and ambition to get the tumbler running again...
I ran them twice in soapy water for a couple hours each... these rocks DO have a lot of cracks and pits that undoubtedly have grit hid in them... SO... I am not holding my breath for an unflawed finish...
So, this is my first batch of rocks... I went ahead last night and put them all back in the barrel... they had lost more volume of course, so I went out in the side yard and scooped up some pea gravel... put it and 20 TBS of polish in with ... hmmm... wanted to say 10 oz water... but I am NOW questioning what I did for water. I was following a 6# barrel recipe... and this is a 12... and I cant remember if I doubled the water or not... I'll have to open her up tonight and check! Should be pretty easy to tell!
Anyhow, had a lot of fun looking at each and every rock with my mom and dad last night before I put them back in the barrel and set them to rolling....
I am a little disconcerned about the amount of grit Im using... Is the rockshed the best place to buy grit, say if a guy is running a couple 12-15# barrels all the time?? Would I save enough on grit alone to justify buying a vibe for the final couple phases???
Thanks all!
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Post by captbob on Dec 22, 2014 13:07:10 GMT -5
I just received a 45 lb box of 80 grit from Kingsley North (this sale pointed out by Sabre52) for $75 which included Flat Rate shipping. WAAAY cheaper than the 50 lbs of 60/90 from Rockshed. www.kingsleynorth.com/skshop/product.php?id=100837&catID=105380 grit can be run longer and you could eliminate the need for 120/220 if you wanted to...
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