Post by jamesp on Jan 7, 2021 7:18:34 GMT -5
Two tours of duty ? You are a brave fellow. Congrats on that accomplishment.
Ramblin wreck, ha.
Welcome to rock tumbling, a science of many variables.
I copied this from www.hisglassworks.com/support/loose-abrasives/using-pumice-on-your-glass.html
This statement parallels what you said about the small tumbler(thicker slurry), he calls it 'mud pies'.
Mind you this guy is using pumice for a lapping process instead of a tumbling process.(very different processes)
By the way pumice is Mohs 6 and glass is Mohs 5 in most cases.
The fellow above sells pumice in #1(coarse) 2F(medium fine) 4F(very fine)
The rotary tumbler may break pumice down to fine particles too quickly, not sure.
It is a 'foam' but again what is the size of the base particles after the foam has broken down.
Pumice comes from many sources, not sure if there is a sizing standard for abrasives after the foam has broken down into particles.
"MAKING MUD PIES
Pumice sits between loose abrasives like silicon carbide and cerium not only in it's abrasive quality on your glass, but also in how it is mixed and used with water. While silicon carbide is used with water to create a loose slurry for grinding your glass and cerium is used with water to make an almost liquid slurry for use with felt to polish your glass, pumice is mixed with water to form an almost mud like consistency in order to finish your glass surfaces. It's much finer than silicon carbide so it will mix with the water, but not as fine as cerium so it needs less viscosity in order to work well on your glass surfaces."
He says pumice is finer than SiC, not sure why he makes that claim. SiC can be crushed to extremely fine particles.
Be aware if the slurry is too thick the contents in a tumbler can get stuck in place.
It may take a powerful vibratory tumbler to move rocks in a serious thick slurry(my finding).
Ask the oversea guys, they tumble polish flourite and even yet softer calcite.
I think they use a powerful vibe with super thick slurries so as to protect the soft rocks.
Ramblin wreck, ha.
Welcome to rock tumbling, a science of many variables.
I copied this from www.hisglassworks.com/support/loose-abrasives/using-pumice-on-your-glass.html
This statement parallels what you said about the small tumbler(thicker slurry), he calls it 'mud pies'.
Mind you this guy is using pumice for a lapping process instead of a tumbling process.(very different processes)
By the way pumice is Mohs 6 and glass is Mohs 5 in most cases.
The fellow above sells pumice in #1(coarse) 2F(medium fine) 4F(very fine)
The rotary tumbler may break pumice down to fine particles too quickly, not sure.
It is a 'foam' but again what is the size of the base particles after the foam has broken down.
Pumice comes from many sources, not sure if there is a sizing standard for abrasives after the foam has broken down into particles.
"MAKING MUD PIES
Pumice sits between loose abrasives like silicon carbide and cerium not only in it's abrasive quality on your glass, but also in how it is mixed and used with water. While silicon carbide is used with water to create a loose slurry for grinding your glass and cerium is used with water to make an almost liquid slurry for use with felt to polish your glass, pumice is mixed with water to form an almost mud like consistency in order to finish your glass surfaces. It's much finer than silicon carbide so it will mix with the water, but not as fine as cerium so it needs less viscosity in order to work well on your glass surfaces."
He says pumice is finer than SiC, not sure why he makes that claim. SiC can be crushed to extremely fine particles.
Be aware if the slurry is too thick the contents in a tumbler can get stuck in place.
It may take a powerful vibratory tumbler to move rocks in a serious thick slurry(my finding).
Ask the oversea guys, they tumble polish flourite and even yet softer calcite.
I think they use a powerful vibe with super thick slurries so as to protect the soft rocks.