vayank5150
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2017
Posts: 118
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Post by vayank5150 on Apr 3, 2017 17:31:59 GMT -5
Hey gang,
Since our initial go at polishing my daughter's rocks didn't turn out so good, we have backed it up and re-run the "fine" stage for a week. We just did a clean out and put them into a Borax tumble for three days. I have read that some people use Ivory soap shavings after the Borax stage, before moving on to the polish stage. I am wondering if Ivory soap is required and if so, how much for a 3lb tumbler, and for how long? Thank you all so much in advance.
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Post by Pat on Apr 3, 2017 17:58:15 GMT -5
I don't tumble rocks, but wouldn't Ivory create a mountain of bubbles?
We use about one drop of Dawn for cleaning sterling pieces in our little tumbler. With mixed stainless steel shot.
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Post by HankRocks on Apr 3, 2017 18:13:25 GMT -5
I use shavings from an Ivory Soap Bar for cleanup. It was told to me that some soap has chemicals that will over time affect the barrel, not sureif its true or not but we use Ivory so it works for me. A bit of borax breaks down any surface tension and makes the soap more effective. You can google borax and that's what it's used as.
H
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Post by aDave on Apr 3, 2017 19:03:58 GMT -5
If I recall, the use of somthing like Ivory or Borax for burnishing is an either/or proposition. You don't have to use both. I simply use Borax myself.
Dave
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grizman
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since July 2011
Posts: 878
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Post by grizman on Apr 3, 2017 19:31:00 GMT -5
Yup, me too. I have used the Ivory but I seem to like the Borax better for the finishing AFTER the polish stage, not before. I have also just added some Borax to my polish stage and that works too.
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ubermenehune
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 293
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Post by ubermenehune on Apr 3, 2017 19:32:36 GMT -5
One or the other. No need to use both. And it doesn't have to be Ivory. I've used several brands and they all work fine.
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cabjunky
has rocks in the head
Regency Rose Plume
Member since November 2008
Posts: 683
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Post by cabjunky on Apr 3, 2017 21:02:36 GMT -5
I use borax about an 1/8 cup (in a 12 pound barrel). I only run it for final burnish for 3 hours, rinse, and let air dry. Borax will kill most plants, so be careful where you dump the water at the end.
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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 Apr 4, 2017 19:05:19 GMT -5
Thank you ALL! So....our Borax tumble will have concluded it's 3rd day tomorrow. From there, to polish, right?
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Post by aDave on Apr 4, 2017 19:56:26 GMT -5
Thank you ALL! So....our Borax tumble will have concluded it's 3rd day tomorrow. From there, to polish, right? Yep. And then Borax after that. Overnight is more than long enough. Dave
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ubermenehune
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 293
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Post by ubermenehune on Apr 5, 2017 6:58:22 GMT -5
A borax-only stage before polish?
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Post by aDave on Apr 5, 2017 11:02:09 GMT -5
A borax-only stage before polish? Yep. I've been going straight from 500 to polish, so I use it to help clean any remnants/film of the 500 before moving it along. It only runs for about 6 hours or so. Dave
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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 Apr 5, 2017 16:29:53 GMT -5
OK, gang. We moved from Borax stage to polish stage. I believe we have done everything "right" this time, other than being ignorant of the MOHS profile for our rocks as we do not exactly know what all of our rocks are. From what I have seen, tumbling harder rocks with softer rocks is a 'no-no", so if this batch still comes out dull from the polish stage, I am not sure what I will try next.
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ubermenehune
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 293
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Post by ubermenehune on Apr 5, 2017 16:56:30 GMT -5
A borax-only stage before polish? Yep. I've been going straight from 500 to polish, so I use it to help clean any remnants/film of the 500 before moving it along. It only runs for about 6 hours or so. Dave Three days of straight borax with no grit just seemed a bit excessive. I don't use borax anymore, but when I did, I only ran it for 4 hours or so after the polish stage.
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ubermenehune
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 293
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Post by ubermenehune on Apr 5, 2017 16:59:25 GMT -5
OK, gang. We moved from Borax stage to polish stage. I believe we have done everything "right" this time, other than being ignorant of the MOHS profile for our rocks as we do not exactly know what all of our rocks are. From what I have seen, tumbling harder rocks with softer rocks is a 'no-no", so if this batch still comes out dull from the polish stage, I am not sure what I will try next. Tumbling mixed Mohs in a single batch won't impact shine on the harder stones. The softer stones will just weather away faster than the harder ones, and are more difficult to polish in general.
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Post by aDave on Apr 5, 2017 17:04:34 GMT -5
Yep. I've been going straight from 500 to polish, so I use it to help clean any remnants/film of the 500 before moving it along. It only runs for about 6 hours or so. Dave Three days of straight borax with no grit just seemed a bit excessive. I don't use borax anymore, but when I did, I only ran it for 4 hours or so after the polish stage. I agree wholeheartedly about the three days...hence, my use of Borax for only a few hours. Dave
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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 Apr 5, 2017 17:36:34 GMT -5
Three days of straight borax with no grit just seemed a bit excessive. I don't use borax anymore, but when I did, I only ran it for 4 hours or so after the polish stage. I agree wholeheartedly about the three days...hence, my use of Borax for only a few hours. Dave Thanks guys. I found a post somewhere on these boards that recommended running Borax for 3 days, so......being the noobs that my daughter and I are, that is what we did. I am VERY hopeful that this polish stage will produce at least SOME polished rocks. My question now is, how long should I run these rocks in the polish stage?
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Apr 5, 2017 22:02:38 GMT -5
The initial post said you moved the stones back to fine grind, then 3 days in borax, now to polish.... what about pre-polish? If by "fine" you mean size 500 grit then that's good, but fine usually means 120/220 grit, and there's no way rocks should go from 120/220 directly to polish or they will never shine up well. As for borax/ivory, I use the soap, about 1 Tb in a 6 lb barrel, but 45 minutes is all that's needed as it's just to loosen up and remove residual slurry and stuck grit before moving to the next stage.
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Apr 5, 2017 22:06:45 GMT -5
As for how long to run in polish, 7-10 days will usually put on an okay shine, but the shine will often improve if they are left in polish for two or three weeks. (I open up the barrel and use a 10X magnifying loupe to inspect the surface of several stones after maybe two weeks, then decide if they need longer or if that's as good as the surface is likely to get.) Depends how patient you and your daughter are. -Don
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ubermenehune
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 293
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Post by ubermenehune on Apr 5, 2017 22:12:39 GMT -5
I agree wholeheartedly about the three days...hence, my use of Borax for only a few hours. Dave Thanks guys. I found a post somewhere on these boards that recommended running Borax for 3 days, so......being the noobs that my daughter and I are, that is what we did. I am VERY hopeful that this polish stage will produce at least SOME polished rocks. My question now is, how long should I run these rocks in the polish stage? In a rotary, a week is the standard prescribed duration. At the very least, it might be a good point to open up the barrel and see how your stones look and run longer if necessary. Your stones may still look a little hazy after they dry, until you burnish with borax for a few hours to remove any residue.
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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 Apr 6, 2017 6:36:38 GMT -5
The initial post said you moved the stones back to fine grind, then 3 days in borax, now to polish.... what about pre-polish? If by "fine" you mean size 500 grit then that's good, but fine usually means 120/220 grit, and there's no way rocks should go from 120/220 directly to polish or they will never shine up well. As for borax/ivory, I use the soap, about 1 Tb in a 6 lb barrel, but 45 minutes is all that's needed as it's just to loosen up and remove residual slurry and stuck grit before moving to the next stage. Ruh roh....with the way I buy grit, I have bought from multiple sources. Some are marked Coarse, Medium, Fine and Polish. The bags do not say anything other than that. No numbers. Some do have numbers....like "Coarse-60/90", "Medium-150/220", "Fine-500 grit". However, I do not see any that are marked "pre-polish", so I have assumed all along that polish follows "Fine"?
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