jasonshort
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2019
Posts: 113
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Post by jasonshort on Jun 9, 2019 13:50:22 GMT -5
My daughter was given these rocks. They are next on my list to tumble. Can someone help me figure out what they are and point me in the direction for the correct way to tumble them? I sprayed them with some water. Thanks
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Post by fernwood on Jun 9, 2019 13:51:35 GMT -5
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Post by rockjunquie on Jun 9, 2019 13:53:43 GMT -5
Done
Good luck!
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Post by fernwood on Jun 9, 2019 13:55:58 GMT -5
Where were they found?
Many look like Lake Superior agates, fossils and Jasper I find in WI. Hardness of 7-7.5 mohs.
I use some cushioning material of pre-polished pea gravel Start in 80 grit, then 120/220, 500/600 SIC/AO, 1200 A) pre-polish and either 12,000 AO or Rapid Polish. Do a 24 hour Boarx cleaning between all stages after a high pressure wash.
Total time could be 3 months or longer in a 3 lb. rotary.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jun 9, 2019 14:07:29 GMT -5
I agree that some of those look like Lake Superior agates. If so, that's a really, really nice batch of rocks.
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jasonshort
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2019
Posts: 113
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Post by jasonshort on Jun 9, 2019 14:54:56 GMT -5
3 months...wow Ok. What is the best tumbler to use that will get these done quicker. I was looking at a QT12, QT66 or a Lot O. Any suggestions would be awesome.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jun 9, 2019 15:20:55 GMT -5
I like my rocks nicely rounded before I shine them up. To do that, I start all my rocks in a rotary tumbler and run them until they are smooth all over. I check them weekly and pull out just the rocks that are finished and the rest go back in with more rough rock. This takes a long time. Either the QT66 or QT12 will work well for this stage. I use 46/70 grit that I buy fifty pounds at a time from Kingsley North to get the best price. When you get enough rock set aside, then the Lot-O will do a much quicker job of finishing them up while using much less grit than a rotary tumbler. You can accomplish the same thing with a rotary, but it will take a lot longer if you want really good results. For the Lot-O, you will need 120/220 or just straight 229 silicon carbide grit, 500 aluminum oxide grit, and aluminum oxide polish. I get these from The Rock Shed. Some people here use another method with only two steps, but about the same number of days. The Lot-O stages will take about a week total. You can do all the stages in the Lot-O, but the rocks won’t be smooth when you get done. They may be shiny though. Vibratory tumblers do not change the shape of rocks too much and they won’t remove holes the way a rotary tumbler will. Look at this thread where I tumbled in just the Lot-O to try to round the rocks.If I was buying just one tumbler, I would probably go with the QT66. However, I would also start saving up for a Lot-O, because that machine is awesome.
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jasonshort
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2019
Posts: 113
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Post by jasonshort on Jun 9, 2019 16:20:51 GMT -5
Thanks for eveyones help. How long do you think it would take to get these rocks round in a QT 66 or QT 12? If my AR1 takes 3 months I would hope that a bigger rotary would be quicker...Right???
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Post by aDave on Jun 9, 2019 16:40:42 GMT -5
Thanks for eveyones help. How long do you think it would take to get these rocks round in a QT 66 or QT 12? If my AR1 takes 3 months I would hope that a bigger rotary would be quicker...Right??? All things being equal, it should be quicker. It actually depend on a few things: How flawless do you want your rocks? How "rough" is the rough to start with? Any deep imperfections? Are your barrels properly loaded with a good mix of sizes? There are probably more factors, but those are just a few. I'd still plan on weeks, if not months.
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fuss
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2018
Posts: 250
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Post by fuss on Jun 12, 2019 7:31:48 GMT -5
Do you know the origin of those? they could be LS agates based on appearance and if so some could have some decent value depending on size and banding pattern. Personally I would look through them and set aside the nicer ones as tumbling could devalue them especially if done incorrectly.
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jasonshort
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2019
Posts: 113
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Post by jasonshort on Jun 12, 2019 9:08:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the help. I am new to rock tumbling. How do i pick the ones ov value? What do I look for?
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