vayank5150
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2017
Posts: 118
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Post by vayank5150 on Feb 8, 2017 19:57:03 GMT -5
After two weeks in coarse grit, I (and my daughter) are happy with the results for this batch. All large pits and crevices are now smoothed out and when these rocks are wet, they shine very nice. So.....we did a really good clean out and added fresh water, medium grit and just enough plastic pellets to make sure the tumbler was 3/4 full (per instructions I got). Crossing our fingers that we are on the right path. I am still shocked that these beautiful looking rocks are all just rocks that she collected from her school playground and from around our house. LOVE THIS HOBBY! 20170208_190930 by Michael Aldrich, on Flickr
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 8, 2017 20:08:00 GMT -5
Those look like they shaped up nicely. Most look like quartz to me, so they should get nice and shiny.
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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 Feb 18, 2017 17:06:00 GMT -5
I do not know how to tell by looking at the rocks, if it is time to move onto the next stage, but after 10 days in Medium grit, we transferred to Fine grit and hoping for the best!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
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Post by Fossilman on Feb 18, 2017 20:25:38 GMT -5
Looking good..................The more rocks you roll,the bette you will get!!!
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Feb 18, 2017 23:52:35 GMT -5
I have been looking for information about what the rocks should look like after stage 2 or 3 but no one seems to have a good explanation. It seems to be generally accepted to run stage 2 and 3 for 7 to 10 days and just move on without much inspection afterwards. The first and last stage are the important ones.
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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 Feb 19, 2017 7:53:25 GMT -5
Stage 1 is all about shaping your rock. If you have pits, cracks, imperfections after this stage, they are not going to change much if it all.
Stage 2 and 3 are about scratch removal. I have tried to show what the process looks like with AO 80 day after day but it doesn't show up that well on a camera. If I had a dissecting microscope with a camera attached I could show the changes in scratch removal but I don't and I don't think my school district does either. When I run rotary batches its 7 days on both stages. I have run longer but have seen no real visible difference to the naked eye to justify running it longer. I am sure i would if I put it under magnification but it would be negligible.
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 Feb 25, 2017 18:51:24 GMT -5
I can't thank all of you enough for all of your advice so far. So, tomorrow will be the clean out for the rocks that have been through 5 weeks of tumbling. This last week, they were in a mixture of "fine" grit along with plastic media. I really need to get this right for my daughter. Before moving on from this last stage to the possibly polishing stage, what should I look for? How do we know that they are ready to move to the polishing stage? Thank you all in advance!
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notjustone
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2017
Posts: 426
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Post by notjustone on Feb 25, 2017 20:51:11 GMT -5
in an article I read it was discribed as this. course grind shapes stones. all other grits remove scratches from previous grit. the article suggested wetting stones and using a good magnifying glass or jewlers loop to look at scratches from grit. when all deep scratches from previous grits are removed its time to move to next grit.
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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 Feb 26, 2017 9:00:31 GMT -5
After stage 3, when they are wet, they should have a shine to them but when they are dry they will still have a matte finish to them. You may see a slight polish finish to them but they won't look as dull as they did after stage 2. I honestly never paid much attention to them after stage 1. Once they were shaped in stage 1, it was a week in stage 2, a week in stage 3, and a week in polish. Like always, just make sure you clean them off really well and get any grit that may be trapped in cracks and pits. Carry over of stage 3 grit into the polish stage will leave your rocks looking hazy.
Jake
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Post by orrum on Feb 26, 2017 15:38:30 GMT -5
Majik marker trick maybe? Works with cabbing. Put magic marker on stone and when it's ground off the scratches are gone. Don't use marker an porous stones.
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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 Feb 26, 2017 16:39:23 GMT -5
After stage 3, when they are wet, they should have a shine to them but when they are dry they will still have a matte finish to them. You may see a slight polish finish to them but they won't look as dull as they did after stage 2. I honestly never paid much attention to them after stage 1. Once they were shaped in stage 1, it was a week in stage 2, a week in stage 3, and a week in polish. Like always, just make sure you clean them off really well and get any grit that may be trapped in cracks and pits. Carry over of stage 3 grit into the polish stage will leave your rocks looking hazy. Jake Thanks for the advice, Jake. We did our clean outs today and while I already know this first batch will not be perfect as there are still some crevices in a couple of the rocks, (patience, patience), we went ahead and moved on to the polishing stage. I remember reading somewhere on here that Borax is added at one of the stages, but cannot seem to find that reference anymore. When do you add Borax?
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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 Feb 26, 2017 18:51:44 GMT -5
So......if I POSSIBLY put too much of the polish in my tumble, will this cause a problem?
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