vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Sept 9, 2022 17:28:05 GMT -5
Ok so I thought I had the timing figured out for the number of days... BUT I got my Tumble-Bee today, I sit it up, put my first batch in, got my grit and water in, and Fired it up. WELLLLLL this thing spins about as fast as the National Geographic type tumbler my girl has on speed setting 2. I would say it is about twice as fast as the Videos I have saw of the Lortone.
So, My question is this, What should be a good number of days before checking it considering it is spinning so fast? Do consider, On these Quartz and Quartzite im running i am not looking for 100% perfectly smooth,My goal is actually just to round off the jagged edges while not really loosing all of the natural features of the rock. So divots, and indentents will be fine. I am tumbling for a jewerly maker who wants to wire wrap the pieces, so all i really need to do is smooth it out and clean up the edges and get a fair shine on it. At least for these, I will work on Perfectly smooth and mirror shine on My mexican lace agates later on down the line.
So Im doing a 5 stage tumble, here is the break down im thinking, let me know if it sounds ok for a fairly fast moving tumbler.
3 days 80 SiC(Check, and let run longer as needed) 3 days 220 SiC 3 days 500 SiC 3 days 1000AO 7 to 14 days 8000 Grit AO Polish.
Does this look ok for a fast moving tumber?
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dshanpnw
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2020
Posts: 892
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Post by dshanpnw on Sept 11, 2022 17:38:15 GMT -5
I'd say you're on the right track, however, when you check them and they are not to how you want them then adjust your schedule. I think it is something you will have to feel out especially if the RPMs are that high. Better to check at 3 days rather than at 5 and there be nothing left of your rocks.
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Post by Starguy on Sept 11, 2022 17:50:13 GMT -5
vance71975 I don’t think the RPMs will hurt on coarse grit. I would be more concerned about fine through polish. The high RPMs could cause chipping/bruising. Based on the thread title: One time I thought I was wrong but I was mistaken.
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Sept 11, 2022 22:39:45 GMT -5
vance71975 I don’t think the RPMs will hurt on coarse grit. I would be more concerned about fine through polish. The high RPMs could cause chipping/bruising. Based on the thread title: One time I thought I was wrong but I was mistaken. Can I offset the risk of chipping/brusing with a lot of ceramic media?
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Post by Starguy on Sept 12, 2022 16:59:44 GMT -5
vance71975 I don’t think the RPMs will hurt on coarse grit. I would be more concerned about fine through polish. The high RPMs could cause chipping/bruising. Based on the thread title: One time I thought I was wrong but I was mistaken. Can I offset the risk of chipping/brusing with a lot of ceramic media? A good mix of sizes and having the barrel 2/3 - 3/4 full is the best way to go. I tend to look for small agates (50-100 pieces per pound) to use as filler instead of ceramics. Small agates work just as well, they cost about the same and they stand a chance of turning out attractive. Ceramics don’t turn out attractive. Plastic pellets work well as filler/cushioning in later stages. It kind of depends on what you are tumbling too. With a tumbler full of agate, I don’t add anything. With obsidian/glass, quartz, garnet, or anything crystalline I’ll usually add some plastic pellets. Is there any way to adjust rpm’s?
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Sept 12, 2022 17:19:00 GMT -5
Can I offset the risk of chipping/brusing with a lot of ceramic media? A good mix of sizes and having the barrel 2/3 - 3/4 full is the best way to go. I tend to look for small agates (50-100 pieces per pound) to use as filler instead of ceramics. Small agates work just as well, they cost about the same and they stand a chance of turning out attractive. Ceramics don’t turn out attractive. Plastic pellets work well as filler/cushioning in later stages. It kind of depends on what you are tumbling too. With a tumbler full of agate, I don’t add anything. With obsidian/glass, quartz, garnet, or anything crystalline I’ll usually add some plastic pellets. Is there any way to adjust rpm’s? No but I did find out that it does not spin nearly as fast as I initally thought it did, it is however faster than the lortone, its 60rpm.
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pebblesky
fully equipped rock polisher
Purchased another UV mini bowl for tumbling
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,392
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Post by pebblesky on Sept 12, 2022 17:25:22 GMT -5
Can I offset the risk of chipping/brusing with a lot of ceramic media? A good mix of sizes and having the barrel 2/3 - 3/4 full is the best way to go. I tend to look for small agates (50-100 pieces per pound) to use as filler instead of ceramics. Small agates work just as well, they cost about the same and they stand a chance of turning out attractive. Ceramics don’t turn out attractive. Plastic pellets work well as filler/cushioning in later stages. It kind of depends on what you are tumbling too. With a tumbler full of agate, I don’t add anything. With obsidian/glass, quartz, garnet, or anything crystalline I’ll usually add some plastic pellets. Is there any way to adjust rpm’s? Yeah I realized the money I spent on ceramic media could be used on mini-size rock instead rockshed used to carry mini-sized mixed rocks for $2.5 per pound or $10 for 5 pounds, but they are currently out of stock.
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nursetumbler
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2022
Posts: 928
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Post by nursetumbler on Sept 13, 2022 19:13:44 GMT -5
A good mix of sizes and having the barrel 2/3 - 3/4 full is the best way to go. I tend to look for small agates (50-100 pieces per pound) to use as filler instead of ceramics. Small agates work just as well, they cost about the same and they stand a chance of turning out attractive. Ceramics don’t turn out attractive. Plastic pellets work well as filler/cushioning in later stages. It kind of depends on what you are tumbling too. With a tumbler full of agate, I don’t add anything. With obsidian/glass, quartz, garnet, or anything crystalline I’ll usually add some plastic pellets. Is there any way to adjust rpm’s? Yeah I realized the money I spent on ceramic media could be used on mini-size rock instead rockshed used to carry mini-sized mixed rocks for $2.5 per pound or $10 for 5 pounds, but they are currently out of stock. pebbleskyBeaches are NEVER out of stock and I just so happen know someone that can hit a beach on any day off she has and get some beach pebbles.
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pebblesky
fully equipped rock polisher
Purchased another UV mini bowl for tumbling
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,392
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Post by pebblesky on Sept 13, 2022 20:09:02 GMT -5
Yeah I realized the money I spent on ceramic media could be used on mini-size rock instead rockshed used to carry mini-sized mixed rocks for $2.5 per pound or $10 for 5 pounds, but they are currently out of stock. pebblesky Beaches are NEVER out of stock and I just so happen know someone that can hit a beach on any day off she has and get some beach pebbles. True but someone might be too attached to her hand-picked stones
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nursetumbler
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2022
Posts: 928
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Post by nursetumbler on Sept 13, 2022 20:55:18 GMT -5
pebblesky Beaches are NEVER out of stock and I just so happen know someone that can hit a beach on any day off she has and get some beach pebbles. True but someone might be too attached to her hand-picked stones NOPE!! Beach pebbles are used for fill. If a pretty one happens to pop out at the end GREAT!! If not so be it.
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