arkietumbler
starting to shine!
Member since February 2016
Posts: 28
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Post by arkietumbler on Feb 27, 2016 0:11:22 GMT -5
My journey began 8 days ago when I loaded a Harbor Freight rotary tumbler with about 3 pounds of rough I purchased on Amazon. It was an Asia mix. I used 3 tablespoons of 50/60 coarse grit along with a mixture of large and small ceramic media to fill in the gaps. I decided to check the load this afternoon. Here are my results after opening the barrel and dumping into a Walmart spaghetti strainer and 5 gallon bucket. After rinsing thoroughly with water. Here are the results. Quite a few pieces look to need a little more time in the coarse stage. I bought a used Lot-O that I will be setting up as well as a Thumler Model B scheduled to come in tomorrow. Any suggestions you guys have are greatly appreciated!
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napoleonrags
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2015
Posts: 474
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Post by napoleonrags on Feb 27, 2016 0:27:53 GMT -5
Nice mix. Model B will keep you busy. Lotos are dream machines. Keep on rollin.
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Post by captbob on Feb 27, 2016 2:47:23 GMT -5
Off and running with a nice start there!
This is where you need to learn about culling the rocks that are ready to move on and adding new pieces to your coarse grit load.
You have some pieces in this mix that are "softer" rock than others and they might ought to be pulled out and set aside. Pieces that are well shaped already, like that Coquina Jasper at the top of the 2nd picture, you may want to pull out so it doesn't grind away to nothing. And maybe Ruby in Fushite so it doesn't under cut.
Nice colorful batch, but you are going to need to keep an eye on it for rocks that wear down sooner than others.
Welcome to the forum!
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 27, 2016 8:53:43 GMT -5
I agree with what captbob said above about culling but will also add that you should try to keep enough rough on hand so that you do not have to put ceramics in stage one. Using ceramic is stage one is a waste for two reasons. The first is that is will wear out pretty quick and the second is your wasting grit. If your adding grit for three pounds of rock then it makes sense to put in three pounds of rock. When you get a little deeper into it you will realize stage one grit is like gold. You can never have enough. Keep at it and keep posting pictures and questions. Chuck
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arkietumbler
starting to shine!
Member since February 2016
Posts: 28
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Post by arkietumbler on Feb 27, 2016 10:44:10 GMT -5
Thanks captbob and Drummond Island Rocks! Great tips! I have culled the ruby in fushite, coquina jasper, lapis lazuli and sodalite. You can still see a few pits in the sodalite and lapis lazuili. Is this going to hurt the subsequent stages? I'm afraid if I tumble them again, they will just end up grit in the barrel! The agates and quartz are going to take some more time. I plan on picking up some pea gravel today to mix in with my batch and forego my ceramic for my Lot-O (new ceramic of course) I also have about 2 pounds or so of rough that I held off on because my barrel was too small. The Thumler Model B will be in today so I will probably wait to load them all up at once. Will keep everyone posted.
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Post by captbob on Feb 27, 2016 11:47:55 GMT -5
Chuck had a very good point about the ceramics. Save them for finer grits. I don't take my ceramics from one grit to the next, separate ceramics for each grit. But, I'm kinda picky. The pea gravel should be fine for the coarse grit stage, but I'd rather add rocks worth tumbling in lieu of the gravel.
Maybe put that sodalite back in for awhile longer to get rid of those pits. Probably put that ruby back in for a couple more days as well, but it's going to need close watching as the green will under cut (wear away faster than) the ruby.
The coquina jasper is going to be a keeper for sure! It may end up with a matte finish (not shiny) but it may win best in show on this batch.
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Post by beefjello on Feb 27, 2016 12:06:22 GMT -5
Off to a good start there! Welcome to the fun!
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Fossilman
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Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,687
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Post by Fossilman on Feb 27, 2016 12:37:56 GMT -5
Now that's a great batch........Oh yes,welcome to the forum..
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arkietumbler
starting to shine!
Member since February 2016
Posts: 28
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Post by arkietumbler on Mar 3, 2016 16:53:25 GMT -5
Quick update on my progress although is just mostly mechanical. The Lot-O is set up, mounted and ready to go. Got my Thumler Model B from the Rock Shed. WOW! I only have around 8 pounds of rough for this beast of a barrel! I need to grab a bag of landscape gravel from Lowe's to fill this thing to 3/4 full!
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arkietumbler
starting to shine!
Member since February 2016
Posts: 28
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Post by arkietumbler on Mar 8, 2016 19:25:49 GMT -5
I started the Thumbler Model B on Sunday evening with a 5lbs of large mix and the rest of my rough that didn't quite smooth out so I am running it with this batch. I filled the rest with pea gravel to about 1/2 full.
I checked it this afternoon and it sounded too 'sloshy' almost like too much water. Opened it and it was way too soupy. I emptied about about 2 cups of water to just to the tops of the large rocks. Don't know if I jumped the gun and let it run a few more days or I was wise to remove the excess water. I know the grit will break down and break down debris thickening the mixture. It's only been going for two days, but it sounded "off" if that makes any sense.
Hard to judge with a mix of small and large rocks about how much water to add.
Should I have added more grit by removing the excess water or just leave it be?
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