vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Sept 26, 2022 16:28:25 GMT -5
Me and My girl are having a tumbling related disagreement, She wants to use Ceramic Media all the way through all the stages including stage one. I maintain that you should not use Ceramic in stage 1 or really even in stage two.
So here is the Poll, Do you use Ceramic in stage 1?
1) Yes 2) No
If you dont, Is there any time that you feel ceramic SHOULD be used in stage one, Like with certian types of rocks? If you normally do not use Ceramic in stage 1, What would actually make you use it in stage 1?
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jimgsmith
starting to shine!
Member since September 2022
Posts: 37
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Post by jimgsmith on Sept 26, 2022 16:40:26 GMT -5
For me, the answer is...it depends. Normally I would not use ceramics in stage 1...but...if the rocks were particularly fragile, or needed more smalls to fill in the gaps, I might. I generally use ceramics in all later stages, but again...it depends. Sorry, not a great answer to settle your debate.
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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 26, 2022 16:44:24 GMT -5
For me, the answer is...it depends. Normally I would not use ceramics in stage 1...but...if the rocks were particularly fragile, or needed more smalls to fill in the gaps, I might. I generally use ceramics in all later stages, but again...it depends. Sorry, not a great answer to settle your debate. Basically You just said what I have been telling her. If your doing something like below 6 mohs, you should use some media, if your going with harder rocks you should avoid it because it slows down the process.
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Post by Starguy on Sept 26, 2022 17:08:04 GMT -5
vance71975My tumbles lately have been almost 100% agate/jasper. I don’t use any ceramic media or plastic pellets in any stage. My tumbling is strictly rotary. I think the need for ceramics can be offset by adjusting the ratio of sizes of rocks in the barrel while making sure the tumbler is 2/3 full. Every type of rock can be different and every lapidary has a different tumbler recipe.
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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 26, 2022 17:39:14 GMT -5
vance71975 My tumbles lately have been almost 100% agate/jasper. I don’t use any ceramic media or plastic pellets in any stage. My tumbling is strictly rotary. I think the need for ceramics can be offset by adjusting the ratio of sizes of rocks in the barrel while making sure the tumbler is 2/3 full. Every type of rock can be different and every lapidary has a different tumbler recipe. So If you were going to run say Lapis, or Obsidian, or anything under 6 mohs would you use media?
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,339
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Post by quartz on Sept 26, 2022 17:44:55 GMT -5
I don't use ceramics at all either, and wouldn't use any in in rough stage because a lot of grit would be used up grinding the ceramics up. I start soft material like sunstones {mohs ~5} in 220 and pad with camo colored air soft pellets, the camo ones being slightly heavier than water. I use the pellets dedicated for each grit on all rock kinds until polish, then pad with pieces of leather. This for rotary tumbling, and it works very well for me; also end up a lot cheaper than ceramics. I use corn starch as a thickener when needed. I fill a little more than Starguy, at least 3/4 full. Everyone has their own recipe, fiddle around with it and find yours, have fun.
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quartzilla
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2020
Posts: 1,211
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Post by quartzilla on Sept 26, 2022 18:24:29 GMT -5
I only use it in stage one with softer material like opal or obsidian. With standard tumbling fodder : agate, jasper, rose quartz? Never!
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pebblesky
fully equipped rock polisher
Placed another order in rockshed. Happy 2024 everyone!
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,358
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Post by pebblesky on Sept 26, 2022 18:29:17 GMT -5
My personal take from my own experience is to not use Ceramic Media for the hard rocks in stage 1. My only run with Ceramic Media in stage 1 left a lot of unused grits and the rocks didn't change shape as much as the other runs.
But it would be an interesting experiment to do to compare the results between your batch and your daughter's batch, with and without ceramic media. Different people have different reasons.
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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 26, 2022 18:43:02 GMT -5
My personal take from my own experience is to not use Ceramic Media for the hard rocks in stage 1. My only run with Ceramic Media in stage 1 left a lot of unused grits and the rocks didn't change shape as much as the other runs. But it would be an interesting experiment to do to compare the results between your batch and your daughter's batch, with and without ceramic media. Different people have different reasons. Roflmao My girl as in My girlfriend but thanks for the input!
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pebblesky
fully equipped rock polisher
Placed another order in rockshed. Happy 2024 everyone!
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,358
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Post by pebblesky on Sept 26, 2022 18:53:02 GMT -5
Oh sorry
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Post by Starguy on Sept 26, 2022 19:36:04 GMT -5
vance71975 My tumbles lately have been almost 100% agate/jasper. I don’t use any ceramic media or plastic pellets in any stage. My tumbling is strictly rotary. I think the need for ceramics can be offset by adjusting the ratio of sizes of rocks in the barrel while making sure the tumbler is 2/3 full. Every type of rock can be different and every lapidary has a different tumbler recipe. So If you were going to run say Lapis, or Obsidian, or anything under 6 mohs would you use media? I wouldn’t but that’s just me. I’ve tumbled a lot of different rocks over the years but never any ceramic. Sometimes I’ve used plastic pellets for later stages with delicate rocks. They can help pad rocks like obsidian in rotaries. I have no vibe experience.
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nursetumbler
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2022
Posts: 928
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Post by nursetumbler on Sept 26, 2022 19:55:44 GMT -5
I don't use ceramics at all either, and wouldn't use any in in rough stage because a lot of grit would be used up grinding the ceramics up. I start soft material like sunstones {mohs ~5} in 220 and pad with camo colored air soft pellets, the camo ones being slightly heavier than water. I use the pellets dedicated for each grit on all rock kinds until polish, then pad with pieces of leather. This for rotary tumbling, and it works very well for me; also end up a lot cheaper than ceramics. I use corn starch as a thickener when needed. I fill a little more than Starguy, at least 3/4 full. Everyone has their own recipe, fiddle around with it and find yours, have fun. quartzWhere did you get the camo air soft pellets and do they come in different colors Kelly
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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 26, 2022 20:23:52 GMT -5
So If you were going to run say Lapis, or Obsidian, or anything under 6 mohs would you use media? I wouldn’t but that’s just me. I’ve tumbled a lot of different rocks over the years but never any ceramic. Sometimes I’ve used plastic pellets for later stages with delicate rocks. They can help pad rocks like obsidian in rotaries. I have no vibe experience. All I have is a Rotary so I am good with rotary advice lol
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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 26, 2022 20:30:27 GMT -5
Oh sorry No worries I thought it was funny
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Post by Bob on Sept 26, 2022 20:56:12 GMT -5
No on ceramics in rough grind. I view that would be unaffordable.
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Post by Starguy on Sept 26, 2022 20:58:07 GMT -5
I don't use ceramics at all either, and wouldn't use any in in rough stage because a lot of grit would be used up grinding the ceramics up. I start soft material like sunstones {mohs ~5} in 220 and pad with camo colored air soft pellets, the camo ones being slightly heavier than water. I use the pellets dedicated for each grit on all rock kinds until polish, then pad with pieces of leather. This for rotary tumbling, and it works very well for me; also end up a lot cheaper than ceramics. I use corn starch as a thickener when needed. I fill a little more than Starguy , at least 3/4 full. Everyone has their own recipe, fiddle around with it and find yours, have fun. I agree about 3/4 full. 2/3s is minimum for me.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,339
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Post by quartz on Sept 26, 2022 21:22:28 GMT -5
nursetumbler, I get the camo {short for camouflage} colored plastic pellets at our local Walmart, likely available online too. As the name suggests camo color is a variety of colors in itself. The camo colored are the only ones I have found with a specific gravity greater than one, therefore they tend to sink rather than float in water. Is this a valuable thing to have the pellets tend to sink rather than float, I have no idea, but it sounds good within the great gray vacuum between my ears.
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nursetumbler
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2022
Posts: 928
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Post by nursetumbler on Sept 27, 2022 2:47:50 GMT -5
nursetumbler, I get the camo {short for camouflage} colored plastic pellets at our local Walmart, likely available online too. As the name suggests camo color is a variety of colors in itself. The camo colored are the only ones I have found with a specific gravity greater than one, therefore they tend to sink rather than float in water. Is this a valuable thing to have the pellets tend to sink rather than float, I have no idea, but it sounds good within the great gray vacuum between my ears. Thank you quartz. The plastic pellets I have now float. I got them from a lapidary shop. Cost cant be to much so may pick up a different color for each stage or separate the camo ones if there is enough colors in the pkg. Again thank you
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waterboysh
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 369
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Post by waterboysh on Sept 27, 2022 10:41:25 GMT -5
I do not use ceramic, but I do add a small amount of pea gravel into my coarse barrel. My thought process is to add enough to help provide more contact area and get into the smaller areas of the rocks, but not enough that it'll slow down the grind significantly. At the end of the week, all 10 Tbsp of 60/90 in my 6lb barrel is completely used up. The way I do it is add the gravel first at the bottom of the barrel, just enough to cover the bottom in a single layer. Then I add my rocks. Then I add a handful or two of gravel to the top.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,339
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Post by quartz on Sept 27, 2022 11:14:21 GMT -5
nursetumbler, I don't think you will find enough color changes in a batch of the pellets to help, I separate the pellets from each grit run in sandwich bags. Beats sitting there trying to organize by color with a pair of tweezers.
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