ckraus
starting to shine!
Member since January 2019
Posts: 49
|
Post by ckraus on Jun 5, 2019 17:10:38 GMT -5
Ok... Finally got this first stage done, been a roller coaster here the last month! So pics below, the rose, smokey quartz and amethyst all look like I'd expect after the first stage, not so much on the jasper, tiger eye and carnelian. The gravel is filler except for a small amount of rutilated quartz tossed in with the rose and smokey. Would it be best to rerun the jasper, tiger eye and carnelian in stage 1 again?
|
|
|
Post by grumpybill on Jun 5, 2019 17:15:38 GMT -5
I would run everything for at least one more cycle in course grit.
|
|
|
Post by captbob on Jun 5, 2019 17:19:50 GMT -5
First stage is not complete. Time passed does not dictate when a stage is finished. Yes, keep running all in your coarse grit. I have had "first stage" run for almost a year before. You want the rocks to be the shape you want them to end up before you move on to the finer grits.
If some rocks progress faster than others, pull the pieces ready to move on out and set them aside and add fresh rough while the others catch up.
I might cut down on the smalls in the initial grind.
Should be some good lookin' rocks there when you finish them! You are on the right track, just throw out everything you may have read about this step or that step taking X amount of time. You will know when they are ready ... they ain't there yet.
|
|
gatorflash1
spending too much on rocks
Active in Delaware Mineralogical Society, Cabchon Grinding and Polishing, 2 Thumlers B's and a UV-18
Member since October 2018
Posts: 375
|
Post by gatorflash1 on Jun 5, 2019 18:10:44 GMT -5
Yes and no!
Some rough rocks are so cracked or pitted, etc. after Stage 1 that they are not even worth retumbling in Step 1. I either toss them out or break them up into smaller pieces that can be successfully retumbled.
You need to carefully look at your tumbled rocks at the end of every week's tumbling. The ones that look well shaped and tumbled should be pulled out of the step 1 mix and stored in a container marked Ready for Step 2. Then retumble the rest of the rocks in Step 1 with fresh grit. Repeat this weekly process until you have enough rock tumbles ready to move on to Step 2 (120-220 grit).
Some stones will be ready in a week, others take a much longer time. Just do the weekly inspection to see what is ready to move to the next step. Be patient. As the experts say, "Let the stones tell you when they are finished with the step and ready to move onto the next step".
|
|
|
Post by Pat on Jun 5, 2019 18:19:25 GMT -5
Tumblers are the MOST patient people!!!
(Not a tumbler...)
|
|
|
Post by Rockindad on Jun 5, 2019 18:29:34 GMT -5
Really depends on what end result you are looking for. If you are happy to just get them cleaned up a bit and eventually get a little shine on them then you certainly could move them on. However, if you are looking to get similar results to some of the best of the best pics you see on the forum you have to spend the time up front working out the imperfections. With our first load we did the one week of each four stages routine and were really happy with the results, at that time. Wouldn't be too pleased with those results now as our standards evolved quite rapidly. Part of the fun is trying to keep improving.
Al
|
|
|
Post by Rockindad on Jun 5, 2019 18:36:05 GMT -5
Tumblers are the MOST patient people!!! (Not a tumbler...) Like to tumble, but not very patient. Got a vibe because I'm not patient. Keep adding rotaries to make sure I get something finished each week because I'm not patient. Probably get into cabbing "properly" because I'm not patient (and it has been very fun with our modified method). I guess the lesson is my lack of patience is costing me a boatload of money. Al
|
|
|
Post by aDave on Jun 5, 2019 18:55:33 GMT -5
Based upon my preferences, I'm going to jump on the bandwagon with the others and say "keep 'em going" in the first stage. I typically try to get the rocks as smooth and perfect as I can, as long as the rocks will cooperate. Ultimately, you have to be your own judge of what you want, and that's really most important. Just remember, and captbob kind of touched on it, all of your shaping will take place in the coarse stage, as little material will be removed down the road, and there definitely won't be further shaping. So, what you end up with there will pretty much dictate how your rocks will look when they are done. I'm going to go out on a limb, but judging by the size of the load, I'm guessing you're tumbling in something no larger than a three-pound barrel. If that's the case, your coarse stage will take even longer than those being run in larger barrels. You don't get the benefit of the weight of the material helping to break down the grit faster, and you have a smaller amount of "fall" or tumbling action. That's not meant to be a criticism at all - it's just the nature of the beast. If I'm wrong about the barrel size, disregard. Stay the course, and good luck.
|
|
|
Post by Jugglerguy on Jun 5, 2019 20:10:51 GMT -5
I made a video showing how I tumble. There's a lot of time in the video showing how I go through my first stage to select the rocks that are ready to move on. It also shows how long the first stage takes. I am a pretty picky tumbler, so this may not be how you want to do your rocks, but I like my rocks as perfect as possible and I don't mind putting in the time to get them that way.
I use a vibratory tumbler to finish my rocks in the video, so that might not be as helpful.
|
|
|
Post by fernwood on Jun 6, 2019 5:19:23 GMT -5
Agree with others. Let them run in coarse until you are happy with them. I ran the below for 3 weeks in 80 SIC and some rough pea gravel. They are back in 80 with new triangle ceramics for at least another 3 weeks. I will be checking progress weekly and removing those that are ready for the 120/220. Thankfully, I have enough partially rough polished to replace the ones I remove. These are mostly Agates, Jaspers and fossils. A few pieces of pretty granite. Photo shows only about 1/3 of total.
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
|
Post by Fossilman on Jun 6, 2019 10:03:44 GMT -5
I see some banged up material, not good - not enough media.. As said, separate and save for next 1st stage and continue on with the rest.... I have a batch of material that will take nine weeks to complete.. Patience is the key... Keep on tumbling... Two thumbs up
|
|
|
Post by miket on Jun 6, 2019 11:08:14 GMT -5
Yessir, patience is one thing you need. As the others said, tumble them in the first stage until you're satisfied with each and every rock that you're wanting to move on. I still have rocks in my 6 pound barrels that have been going since Christmas. When there's some ready they come out and more go in.
|
|
ckraus
starting to shine!
Member since January 2019
Posts: 49
|
Post by ckraus on Jun 7, 2019 18:08:43 GMT -5
Awesome, thanks everyone!!! Yes there are a few pieces that need to come out now, the rest shall go on. Now for the next question.... I should add more coarse grit each week or so during the shaping stage...yes?
|
|
|
Post by aDave on Jun 7, 2019 18:42:59 GMT -5
Awesome, thanks everyone!!! Yes there are a few pieces that need to come out now, the rest shall go on. Now for the next question.... I should add more coarse grit each week or so during the shaping stage...yes? Yes, most definitely. After one week, most, if not all, of your grit will be broken down, and you're not getting the full benefit of what you'd get with fresh grit. Some folks just do a "recharge" by adding grit to the slurry that's in there. Others do a complete cleanout by washing everything, inspecting each rock, adding a fresh load of grit, and starting again. I fall into the latter group. I feel like I have a bit more control of what's going on in the barrel by starting fresh each week. I've tried the recharge thing, and I didn't care for it.
|
|
gatorflash1
spending too much on rocks
Active in Delaware Mineralogical Society, Cabchon Grinding and Polishing, 2 Thumlers B's and a UV-18
Member since October 2018
Posts: 375
|
Post by gatorflash1 on Jun 21, 2019 12:42:42 GMT -5
Awesome, thanks everyone!!! Yes there are a few pieces that need to come out now, the rest shall go on. Now for the next question.... I should add more coarse grit each week or so during the shaping stage...yes? I try to clean the rocks and tumbler each week, grade and separate those rocks that are ready for stage 2, and restart stage 1 with new grit. This seems to give me the fastest time getting a load of good rocks ready for stage 2. I think my course #60 grit has broken down after a week and going another week is probably like tumbling the stones in 120-220 grit that only does about 5% of the total grinding on your tumbles. I don't know what other folks say about this process but it seems to work well for me and the cost of the #60 grit that I use for stage 1 is not excessive.
|
|
scottyh
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2007
Posts: 181
|
Post by scottyh on Jun 23, 2019 4:50:28 GMT -5
If those were my rocks I would keep them in stage 1 for a lot longer. I have had many rocks last 12 or more months in stage 1.
|
|
|
Post by arghvark on Jun 24, 2019 9:36:16 GMT -5
Just another in agreement with the others here. Thanks to lots of expert info from this forum, I've arrived at a system for stage one that works pretty well. Using about a golf ball size piece of potter's clay and the right amount of water, a good slurry is built quickly, a good grind takes place, and grit is exhausted in 5 days (in a 6 lb rotary barrel using 46/70 grit.) Full cleanout, sort, repeat. While I haven't had rocks I ran a year in 1st stage, many take a couple-few months.
Argh
|
|
jimaz
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2018
Posts: 461
|
Post by jimaz on Jun 24, 2019 12:53:39 GMT -5
It's so exciting to get you first load through stage 1 that you want to proceed to the next stage. I was doing the same thing about a year ago when I first started. In the end I got a good shine on my stones, but they were not shaped well. Now I'm going back and rerunning them. I think a lot of us have fallen into this trap for our first few tumbles. I'm still using a single rotary tumbler and still get anxious to open and see what I have. When you open and look you are sometimes disappointed that you don't have enough material to fill the barrel for the next stage. That's why we need to add some more material to the rocks that aren't well shaped and go for another round of stage 1. It may take a while, but soon you will have enough to proceed. Sometimes when you finish stage 2 you run into the same issues, and the process starts all over again. I'm now considering a second tumbler to help move things along a little quicker. But this also brings up another question, rotary or vibe.
Good luck with your future loads.
|
|
|
Post by arghvark on Jun 24, 2019 13:09:24 GMT -5
But this also brings up another question, rotary or vibe. I love having both, but a vibe isn't good for shaping. It will vastly accelerate 2nd stage and after, but won't help with the long time spent grinding. Argh
|
|
hnhstngs
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since September 2018
Posts: 93
|
Post by hnhstngs on Jun 25, 2019 15:38:54 GMT -5
I'm now considering a second tumbler to help move things along a little quicker. But this also brings up another question, rotary or vibe. Good luck with your future loads. I considered a second tumbler as well and now have a total of five ....... I avoided the question by getting both!
|
|