ubermenehune
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 293
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Post by ubermenehune on Jan 24, 2017 22:37:58 GMT -5
I use shavings from bar soap that i make myself. My personal experience is that soap works better than borax, but YMMV.
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Post by spiceman on Jan 24, 2017 23:39:44 GMT -5
Oh, I see she is missing her 2 front teeth. You can't use a hard rock in place of them, it could cause troubles. LOL Fluorite might be a good choice. :)) A real go man told me that.
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osuguy0301
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2015
Posts: 203
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Post by osuguy0301 on Jan 25, 2017 5:50:26 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum and the addicting hobby of rock tumbling. Ideally, having a 2nd barrel dedicated to your last stage would really cut down on grit contamination. When I first started I only had one barrel so I did start to finish in the same barrel a couple times. Cleaning the rocks and barrel are really important to get that polished look you want. Every stage has its only dedicated stuff that goes with it and is not used for any other stage. Each stage of grit has its own measuring spoon, each stage of grit has its own strainer for clean out, and each stage has its own scrub brush/ toothbrush that I use to clean the rocks and the barrel. I label everything with a Sharpie so I don't get them mixed up.
I run a tumbler in my classroom with my students, they are a little bit older than your daughter. When we do clean outs I preach to scrub any cracks, divots, or pits because we don't want any grit trapped in there. I clean out the barrel because its a more involved process. So far, we have completed 2 batches and are working on our third. On average, we have run step 1 for about a month and then a week each for step 2, 3, and 4. I run a Lortone 45C in my classroom, it has a 4.5 lb barrel so it will work a little faster than your barrel.
Also, did your kit come with any plastic pellets? I use them in stage 3 and 4 in my rotary tumbler. They help cushion the rocks in the later stages so they don't bruise or chip and they help carry the grit and increase the volume in the barrel. Again, you don't want to mix them or carry them over. You should have pellets that you use only for stage 3 and pellets you use only for stage 4. I know some people just use plastic doll fill that you can get at craft stores. When I am not using them I just store them in Tupperware containers listed with what stage they are for.
The folks on this forum are super helpful, keep the questions coming and Good Luck with your batch.
Jake
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vayank5150
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2017
Posts: 118
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Post by vayank5150 on Jan 25, 2017 19:12:09 GMT -5
I did not know that cleanliness of the barrel and the stones themselves was so important. Thank you all. I am preparing to start the next batch of my daughter's rocks, and this is probably a stupid question, but do you recommend a toothbrush cleaning of the rocks prior to starting stage 1?
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Post by wigglinrocks on Jan 25, 2017 19:23:31 GMT -5
Not a stupid question at all . I just rinse the rocks clean or use a scrub brush if there is thick mud and crud on them . Let the rock soak in water for a day or so cleans them up fairly well
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vayank5150
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2017
Posts: 118
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Post by vayank5150 on Jan 25, 2017 19:44:49 GMT -5
OK, so I bought grit from a place called Rockhounds.com, just because I am an Amazon guy. I assume grit is grit? Please correct me if I am wrong. I will run stage 1 for two weeks and go from there. The instructions in the grit called for using plastic pellets in stages 3 and 4. Are pellets pellets? With a 1 lb. tumbler, how much do I need?
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 25, 2017 20:04:21 GMT -5
Grit is not grit. For coarse grit, it probably doesn't matter too much, but for finer grits and especially polish, it matters. I buy my coarse grit at Kingsley North in fifty pound bags. They ship in a large flat rate box and the website does not give accurate shipping costs. A flat rate box costs around $18 to ship. Since my rocks run for several weeks to several months in coarse grit, I use way, way more of that than any other size grit. I like 46/70, but for a small tumbler I think 80 grit is just as good. i get all my other grit from The Rock Shed. They have very good polish at a reasonable price. Plastic pellets can be used to cushion rocks after the first stage or two. You need separate pellets for each stage. If you move them along with the rocks, they will have grit embedded in them that will contaminate later stages. You can reuse them, but only for the same stage on your next batch of rocks. A couple pounds should be enough. I bought mine from the rock shed, but you can also get them from a craft store. They sell them for filling teddy bears or bean bags. Get plastic, not styrofoam.
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vayank5150
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2017
Posts: 118
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Post by vayank5150 on Jan 25, 2017 20:38:52 GMT -5
Thank you, ROCK GOD. Unfortunately, with my tiny 1 lb tumbler, it doesn't yet make sense to buy fifty pounds of grit. Does your supplier sell in smaller quantities?
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Post by wigglinrocks on Jan 25, 2017 20:50:29 GMT -5
Kingsleynorth.com or Rockshed.com sell grit or polish in 1 lb , 5lb or larger packages
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 25, 2017 20:54:05 GMT -5
Thank you, ROCK GOD. Unfortunately, with my tiny 1 lb tumbler, it doesn't yet make sense to buy fifty pounds of grit. Does your supplier sell in smaller quantities? Yep, it just costs more per pound. I really like how you refer to me as ROCK GOD. It's about time I get some respect around here. Maybe it will catch on.
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vayank5150
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2017
Posts: 118
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Post by vayank5150 on Jan 25, 2017 20:56:44 GMT -5
Thank you, ROCK GOD. Unfortunately, with my tiny 1 lb tumbler, it doesn't yet make sense to buy fifty pounds of grit. Does your supplier sell in smaller quantities? Yep, it just costs more per pound. I really like how you refer to me as ROCK GOD. It's about time I get some respect around here. Maybe it will catch on. Well, it is CAPITALIZED in the forums, so I assumed it meant something?
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 25, 2017 21:07:02 GMT -5
Yep, it just costs more per pound. I really like how you refer to me as ROCK GOD. It's about time I get some respect around here. Maybe it will catch on. Well, it is CAPITALIZED in the forums, so I assumed it meant something? Absolutely. You are not confused. It's just that no one else has been using my proper title.
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vayank5150
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2017
Posts: 118
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Post by vayank5150 on Jan 25, 2017 21:12:26 GMT -5
Well, it is CAPITALIZED in the forums, so I assumed it meant something? Absolutely. You are not confused. It's just that no one else has been using my proper title. LOL. Just throwing this out there.......while the rocks my daughter finds in Virginia may not be the best tumbling rocks, to me it means something to have actually found the rocks that we tumble. How many of you import rocks from other places? What is the norm?
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Post by Pat on Jan 25, 2017 21:14:28 GMT -5
I just have to get in on this ROCK GOD thing! Jugglerguy
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Post by wigglinrocks on Jan 25, 2017 21:17:02 GMT -5
Well, it is CAPITALIZED in the forums, so I assumed it meant something? Absolutely. You are not confused. It's just that no one else has been using my proper title. I bet there is no conceit in your family . You have it all .
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 25, 2017 21:26:48 GMT -5
Absolutely. You are not confused. It's just that no one else has been using my proper title. LOL. Just throwing this out there.......while the rocks my daughter finds in Virginia may not be the best tumbling rocks, to me it means something to have actually found the rocks that we tumble. How many of you import rocks from other places? What is the norm? I probably tumble half of my own finds and half stuff from other places. I love getting out and collecting my own rocks, but rocks from other places are much nicer. I'd like to say that my own finds are cheaper, but I drive 5-7 hours to Lake Superior where I do most of my collecting.
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Post by spiceman on Jan 25, 2017 21:36:07 GMT -5
Measure the hardness of each rock and just tumble same hardness together. (MOHS scale ) If not, the softer rocks will disappear because of the harder rocks. The hard rocks eat the soft rocks. It's happened to everybody once or twice. LOL
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vayank5150
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2017
Posts: 118
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Post by vayank5150 on Jan 26, 2017 7:17:19 GMT -5
So, here's another question. Since I plan to run this new batch for 2 weeks or longer, do I need to stop, clean out and add new grit after week one, or do I just let it runs as is for two full weeks?
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jan 26, 2017 7:45:21 GMT -5
So, here's another question. Since I plan to run this new batch for 2 weeks or longer, do I need to stop, clean out and add new grit after week one, or do I just let it runs as is for two full weeks? You kind of answered your own question in another post. You had said after your one week run in stage one there was no remaining grit. That is why you need to put in more grit each week. Some folks just open up the barrel add grit and adjust the water level while others (my self included) do a full clean out and inspect the rocks each week. This is your opportunity to pull out just the ones that look ready for stage 2 and add more rough rocks back to the stage one barrel. If you do not do a full clean out each week you may be wasting grit and time rolling a few rocks that are already good. This culling only takes place in stage one. From stage two on all the rocks move on each week together. Chuck
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jan 26, 2017 7:45:40 GMT -5
So, here's another question. Since I plan to run this new batch for 2 weeks or longer, do I need to stop, clean out and add new grit after week one, or do I just let it runs as is for two full weeks? You'll need to clean out and add new grit after each week in the first stage. The grit breaks down and isn't as effective at grinding the rocks over time. Oops, Chuck beat me to it.
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