mamarhea
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2018
Posts: 11
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Post by mamarhea on Apr 5, 2018 18:52:14 GMT -5
Ok, so these have been tumbling for about 24 hours and the pamphlet said to open them up right about now to release gas. I followed the directions, but each tub looks different from the other. One is just super watery, the other is in this super fluffy foam. And since this is my very first tumble, I have no idea which one looks right, or how to fix the other 😂
Any help is appreciated! Thankfully this batch is just the tester rocks that came with the tumbler and not the GORGEOUS ocean jasper rough that made me want the tumbler in the first place.
Edited to try to add a photo but I'm not sure how
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Post by Noosh9057 on Apr 5, 2018 18:56:49 GMT -5
Both are probably just fine. Some batches will foam more then others.
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mamarhea
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2018
Posts: 11
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Post by mamarhea on Apr 5, 2018 19:07:14 GMT -5
Oh! That's good to know! Alrighty I'll just put them back then lol
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 5, 2018 19:24:42 GMT -5
Wouldn’t expect much of anything to have happened after only a day. I check my rocks once a week. I have only had gas build up once in six years of tumbling. Gas usually only builds up when tumbling glass or obsidian. If you have rubber barrels, just check the bottom to see if it is bulging.
Most tumbler directions do not tell you how long it really takes to do a good job with the first stage. My rocks run for weeks or months in the first stage. I do weekly clean outs and check every rock. The rocks that are done come out and the other rocks go back in for more grinding. To me, rocks look the best when all the flaws have been removed. I think that taking my time with the first stage results in the best tumbles in the end.
What kind of tumbler did you buy?
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Post by aDave on Apr 5, 2018 19:54:49 GMT -5
Wouldn’t expect much of anything to have happened after only a day. I check my rocks once a week. I have only had gas build up once in six years of tumbling. Gas usually only builds up when tumbling glass or obsidian. If you have rubber barrels, just check the bottom to see if it is bulging. Most tumbler directions do not tell you how long it really takes to do a good job with the first stage. My rocks run for weeks or months in the first stage. I do weekly clean outs and check every rock. The rocks that are done come out and the other rocks go back in for more grinding. To me, rocks look the best when all the flaws have been removed. I think that taking my time with the first stage results in the best tumbles in the end. What kind of tumbler did you buy? I'm with Rob on this. I'm going to guess this is a Lortone 33B. If it's not, it's probably the two barrel Thumler. To the OP, pay no attention to the directions. Run your first stage until you are satisfied with the shape of the rocks. Most instructions will mention this is a one week period. Not true. You'll find yourself going far much longer in order to smooth rocks to your satisfaction, as Rob mentioned. Subsequent stages, as mentioned in the instructions, are OK, but they're not perfect. When your first batch is completed, post up all your steps here, the ultimate results, and we can help you tweak things from there.
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mamarhea
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2018
Posts: 11
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Post by mamarhea on Apr 7, 2018 16:29:20 GMT -5
Wouldn’t expect much of anything to have happened after only a day. I check my rocks once a week. I have only had gas build up once in six years of tumbling. Gas usually only builds up when tumbling glass or obsidian. If you have rubber barrels, just check the bottom to see if it is bulging. Most tumbler directions do not tell you how long it really takes to do a good job with the first stage. My rocks run for weeks or months in the first stage. I do weekly clean outs and check every rock. The rocks that are done come out and the other rocks go back in for more grinding. To me, rocks look the best when all the flaws have been removed. I think that taking my time with the first stage results in the best tumbles in the end. What kind of tumbler did you buy? I'm with Rob on this. I'm going to guess this is a Lortone 33B. If it's not, it's probably the two barrel Thumler. To the OP, pay no attention to the directions. Run your first stage until you are satisfied with the shape of the rocks. Most instructions will mention this is a one week period. Not true. You'll find yourself going far much longer in order to smooth rocks to your satisfaction, as Rob mentioned. Subsequent stages, as mentioned in the instructions, are OK, but they're not perfect. When your first batch is completed, post up all your steps here, the ultimate results, and we can help you tweak things from there. You are exactly right! It is a Lortone 33B. I rinsed the lids for both and put them back without changing anything. If one batch is doing better than the other this time next week I suppose I will need to make some changes. I am really glad that you both brought up the fact that step one may take longer than a week. I will take a picture of the results this time next week and post them to see what you all think about which rocks might be ready for stage two and which could benefit from more time. This is my first/practice batch. I have some stunning ocean jasper rough that I want to tumble once I get this process figured out.
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nchillbilly
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2018
Posts: 212
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Post by nchillbilly on Apr 7, 2018 17:14:19 GMT -5
The great thing about rock tumbling is that once a batch is done, if you're not happy with them you can run them again. They won't spoil either, so if you decide a year from now you want to re-run them, no problem.
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Post by aDave on Apr 7, 2018 21:18:02 GMT -5
You are exactly right! It is a Lortone 33B. I rinsed the lids for both and put them back without changing anything. If one batch is doing better than the other this time next week I suppose I will need to make some changes. I am really glad that you both brought up the fact that step one may take longer than a week. I will take a picture of the results this time next week and post them to see what you all think about which rocks might be ready for stage two and which could benefit from more time. This is my first/practice batch. I have some stunning ocean jasper rough that I want to tumble once I get this process figured out. I know you are looking for input from us as to what might be ready to move along, but it's really up to you. You might like rocks that are marginally shaped, but we might tend to want them more perfect. That's just us. I know that Rob Jugglerguy tends to like rocks that are tumbled to eliminate as many imperfections as possible, and I'm kind of in the same vein. You may not be as picky. It really is up to you as to how you your rocks to look at the end of the day. Just know that all of your shaping really takes place during the coarse stage. Anything after that is really just prepping for polish. Get the rocks to the point where you are happy with them, and then move them along in subsequent stages. If none of that makes sense, don't hesitate to ask more questions.
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napoleonrags
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2015
Posts: 474
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Post by napoleonrags on Apr 8, 2018 19:20:36 GMT -5
Welcome. Chuck that OJ in with everything else. It's fairly hard and won't dissappear like softer rocks. I don't think that the OJ will be ruined if you start rolling it now.
Gather no moss, Colin
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mamarhea
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2018
Posts: 11
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Post by mamarhea on Apr 10, 2018 16:30:37 GMT -5
Welcome. Chuck that OJ in with everything else. It's fairly hard and won't dissappear like softer rocks. I don't think that the OJ will be ruined if you start rolling it now. Gather no moss, Colin Thank you! I probably would except that both barrels are already at capacity
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goatgrinder
spending too much on rocks
Make mine a man cave
Member since January 2017
Posts: 368
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Post by goatgrinder on Apr 10, 2018 20:09:34 GMT -5
Welcome from Atlanta. Keep in mind that perfection can only be framed with imperfection. It's all good (and shiny).
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