hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Dec 2, 2014 13:43:30 GMT -5
What about just using sand and the small gravel associated with it sometimes on sand bars of rivers and such? I have an unlimited free supply of sand within a block of my house...
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Post by captbob on Dec 2, 2014 14:01:31 GMT -5
What about just using sand and the small gravel associated with it sometimes on sand bars of rivers and such? I have an unlimited free supply of sand within a block of my house... Granted, these folks are trying to sell grit; but the bottom line is sand is a Mohs 7 (same as most rocks you may want to tumble) and SiC grit is Mohs 9 rocktumbler.com/blog/can-i-use-sand-in-a-rock-tumbler-instead-of-grit/
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Post by glennz01 on Dec 2, 2014 14:25:32 GMT -5
I don't think sand will do a very good job on the polish stage The only time I would use sand for anything is if I was trying to tumble really soft things.
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Post by captbob on Dec 2, 2014 16:27:35 GMT -5
I don't think sand will do a very good job on the polish stage Dang. I just got home from driving down to the beach and loading the back of the truck with sand. I wonder if I can cancel my order for 50,000 baggies with labels reading: Mother Nature's Secret Rock Polishing Compound.
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Post by glennz01 on Dec 2, 2014 16:47:07 GMT -5
I don't think sand will do a very good job on the polish stage Dang. I just got home from driving down to the beach and loading the back of the truck with sand. I wonder if I can cancel my order for 50,000 baggies with labels reading: Mother Nature's Secret Rock Polishing Compound. Preparing for winter? It would be interesting to put a stone on a beach and somehow secure it and find out how many years it takes to make it smooth. Glacial river silt could possibly do a good job if you had the stuff in a wind tunnel for a few years. Some stones found on the rivers are fairly polished enough to go in final polish in tumblers.
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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 2, 2014 22:05:41 GMT -5
I wasn't asking about sand as a grit, but as a cushioner... Wouldn't a bunch of sand work for cushion just like pellets or leather or whatever? I am a noob to tumbling... So forgive my ignorance if I'm missing something obvious!
And yeah... I pick up agate, wood and jasper that I'm sure would do fine going straight into 500 or 1000.
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Post by glennz01 on Dec 2, 2014 22:29:13 GMT -5
I wasn't asking about sand as a grit, but as a cushioner... Wouldn't a bunch of sand work for cushion just like pellets or leather or whatever? I am a noob to tumbling... So forgive my ignorance if I'm missing something obvious! And yeah... I pick up agate, wood and jasper that I'm sure would do fine going straight into 500 or 1000. That's ok, we were all at that place once before! The problem with using sand or other small things for polish is that it acts as an abrasive for the most part. If you fill the whole barrel with sand you are not going to get much tumbling action as it tends to stick together. If you have little sand or material It will act as a grit not allowing the larger stones to rub againsed one another ultimately not coming into much contact with the polish (it is finer than flour). Also the sand will eventually break from the impact 2 larger stones breaking the sand revealing sharp edges which will not polish material. As a rule of thumb I don't tumble much smaller than 1/4 inch in my tumbler.. Depending on the sizes of stones your using that could be too small also.
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Post by captbob on Dec 2, 2014 23:01:32 GMT -5
I wasn't asking about sand as a grit, but as a cushioner... Wouldn't a bunch of sand work for cushion just like pellets or leather or whatever? I am a noob to tumbling... So forgive my ignorance if I'm missing something obvious! And yeah... I pick up agate, wood and jasper that I'm sure would do fine going straight into 500 or 1000. That's ok, we were all at that place once before! The problem with using sand or other small things for polish is that it acts as an abrasive for the most part. If you fill the whole barrel with sand you are not going to get much tumbling action as it tends to stick together. If you have little sand or material It will act as a grit not allowing the larger stones to rub againsed one another ultimately not coming into much contact with the polish (it is finer than flour). Also the sand will eventually break from the impact 2 larger stones breaking the sand revealing sharp edges which will not polish material. As a rule of thumb I don't tumble much smaller than 1/4 inch in my tumbler.. Depending on the sizes of stones your using that could be too small also. I'm actually at a loss for words. 'cept Bless yer heart my head hurts
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Post by glennz01 on Dec 3, 2014 2:55:59 GMT -5
That's ok, we were all at that place once before! The problem with using sand or other small things for polish is that it acts as an abrasive for the most part. If you fill the whole barrel with sand you are not going to get much tumbling action as it tends to stick together. If you have little sand or material It will act as a grit not allowing the larger stones to rub againsed one another ultimately not coming into much contact with the polish (it is finer than flour). Also the sand will eventually break from the impact 2 larger stones breaking the sand revealing sharp edges which will not polish material. As a rule of thumb I don't tumble much smaller than 1/4 inch in my tumbler.. Depending on the sizes of stones your using that could be too small also. I'm actually at a loss for words. 'cept Bless yer heart my head hurts
Well captbob if you lived by a beach and seen how the sand smoothed / polished stones I'm sure you might think along the same lines if you didn't know better.
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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 3, 2014 9:28:56 GMT -5
Again... Ive got a long ways to go before I really understand how this works, but I was thinking... and yeah, the polish is tiny... so why wouldnt it be carried/coat the sand and the sand rubbing between bigger cobbles would polish? As long as the sand was indeed a 7, and the rocks were hard agate and such...??
Anyhow, just a thought. I haven't heard many people talk about using sand for grinding and polishing, so I will refrain!!
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Post by glennz01 on Dec 3, 2014 22:06:01 GMT -5
I won't be able to do much with the tumbler until after next week (finals) due to the homework load and my activity will go down a lot (at least until Tuesday)
To the above question all i can say at this time is round verses sharp and gravel/sand provides traction on ice when driving a vehicle which is what is not needed for final polish.
Thanks for understanding all
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unclesoska
freely admits to licking rocks
All those jade boulders tossed in search of gold!
Member since February 2011
Posts: 934
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Post by unclesoska on Dec 4, 2014 12:13:42 GMT -5
I was having trouble w/ impact fracturing in my Vibe tumbler. The manufacturer suggested using sand as a cushioning agent. I haven't tried it yet. My problems seem to have gone away by filling bowl almost full, and also adjusting the counter weight for a "gentler" action. BTW, vibe is a Model B Vibrahone.
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Post by glennz01 on Dec 4, 2014 13:36:25 GMT -5
I was having trouble w/ impact fracturing in my Vibe tumbler. The manufacturer suggested using sand as a cushioning agent. I haven't tried it yet. My problems seem to have gone away by filling bowl almost full, and also adjusting the counter weight for a "gentler" action. BTW, vibe is a Model B Vibrahone. I could see that working for a vibe
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Post by gingerkid on Dec 4, 2014 14:28:52 GMT -5
Hi, glennz01, are you polishing brass for reloads, too? Do you reload? Good luck on your finals!
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Post by glennz01 on Dec 4, 2014 15:45:55 GMT -5
Hi, glennz01, are you polishing brass for reloads, too? Do you reload? Good luck on your finals! just rock
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Post by glennz01 on Dec 21, 2014 17:45:55 GMT -5
Heres a photo of some of the rocks I cleaned and am getting ready for final polish.. Not enough to fill the barrel yet.. I am going to see how running the tumbler with just water will clean off the stones... hopefully make it fast for me I have been procrastinating on cleaning For size reference, This is a medium flat rate box
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