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Post by catmandewe on Dec 12, 2022 22:16:27 GMT -5
Got to Quartzsite last week, we brought with us a large tumbler and a 55 gallon drum of tumbling rock to see how it would work out. Put the whole barrel of rough into the tumbler and added a 50 pound sack of 80 grit Aluminum Oxide. Ran it for a little bit and it was definitely not full enough so we added 4 more 5 gallon buckets of rough, so now it has approximately 700 lbs of rock and 50 lbs of grit and about 30 gallons of water in it, is running good now. It did started raining yesterday and one end sank into the ground and put it out of level so it started rubbing on one of the uprights, took a forklift and lifted it up and adjusted the leveling legs and now it is running level again and not rubbing anywhere. No rubber coating inside so it is pretty loud, I think the level of action inside is going to cut down considerably on the amount of time it should take to finish up. Should be interesting to see how it works.    Happy Tumbling! Tony |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 12, 2022 22:30:42 GMT -5
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vance71975
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2022
Posts: 652
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Post by vance71975 on Dec 13, 2022 0:54:25 GMT -5
Any reason why you picked 80 grit AO instead of 80 grit SiC?
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2022
Posts: 1,166
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Post by rockbrain on Dec 13, 2022 10:09:10 GMT -5
I felt like I was going big with 12 lb barrels. What kind of rough did you load it with?
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Dec 13, 2022 10:40:53 GMT -5
Any reason why you picked 80 grit AO instead of 80 grit SiC? Guessing cost and availability. 80 aluminum oxide is a media for sand blasting so easy to get in large quantities even at places like harbor freight. Not what I would of recommended as it breaks down completely different then SIC but I have also never had to add 50 pounds of grit to a barrel. Silicone carbide stays sharp as it breaks down whereas A/O rounds off and becomes less effective for material removal as it breaks down. Actually I think in that barrel with that much rock if it was left alone for long enough in 80 A/O they will come out polished. Not smooth but polished. 50 pounds of 36 grit SIC would be ideal but $122 plus a big shipping bill from the rock shed. 50 Pounds of A/O from harbor freight $69 This is a photo from a video Jugglerguy did and these rocks have only been in 80 grit A/O. No other stages. They were left rolling for one year without opening but likely were done way before. I bet in 6-8 weeks that big tumbler would produce decently polished (Not smooth) rocks.  Video credit Chuck |
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Post by catmandewe on Dec 13, 2022 10:52:51 GMT -5
Any reason why you picked 80 grit AO instead of 80 grit SiC? Because I had 4 bags of it laying around. I am going to let it run for a while then check it, hoping to let it break down on its own and then move right to a vibe for polish. I have done that with 80 SC before but this is a trial run on the 80 AO. I am hoping the weight of the material in the barrel will help also. If it doesnt work then I just need to add some SC and finish it up. Tony |
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Post by catmandewe on Dec 13, 2022 10:55:04 GMT -5
I felt like I was going big with 12 lb barrels. What kind of rough did you load it with? Agates, jaspers and petrified wood Tony |
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Post by catmandewe on Dec 13, 2022 10:56:38 GMT -5
Any reason why you picked 80 grit AO instead of 80 grit SiC? Guessing cost and availability. 80 aluminum oxide is a media for sand blasting so easy to get in large quantities even at places like harbor freight. Not what I would of recommended as it breaks down completely different then SIC but I have also never had to add 50 pounds of grit to a barrel. Silicone carbide stays sharp as it breaks down whereas A/O rounds off and becomes less effective for material removal as it breaks down. Actually I think in that barrel with that much rock if it was left alone for long enough in 80 A/O they will come out polished. Not smooth but polished. 50 pounds of 36 grit SIC would be ideal but $122 plus a big shipping bill from the rock shed. 50 Pounds of A/O from harbor freight $69 Chuck If they come out already polished like in the video then that would be just perfect!! Tony |
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Dec 13, 2022 10:58:36 GMT -5
Any reason why you picked 80 grit AO instead of 80 grit SiC? Because I had 4 bags of it laying around. I am going to let it run for a while then check it, hoping to let it break down on its own and then move right to a vibe for polish. I have done that with 80 SC before but this is a trial run on the 80 AO. I am hoping the weight of the material in the barrel will help also. If it doesnt work then I just need to add some SC and finish it up. Tony I posted above. I actually think it is possible to come out with polished rocks with exactly what you have done. Rob did his experiment in a 3 pound barrel and never checked it for a year which made for a great video but the bummer is we don't know if those rocks were polished after 2 months, 4 months 8 months? I would like to see that same experiment but opened and checked at intervals to see what the sweet spot was. The amount of force being created with that much weight is going to make things happen at an accelerated rate for sure. pretty sure all the gift shop polished rocks from china have to be dowe similar to this. It is the only way to keep costs and labor down. Massive quantity set it and forget it. Chuck |
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pebblesky
has rocks in the head
rebel 17
Member since September 2022
Posts: 677
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Post by pebblesky on Dec 13, 2022 11:40:29 GMT -5
Looking forward to the results!
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Post by HankRocks on Dec 13, 2022 11:58:41 GMT -5
At least folks will be able to find you in Quartzite, Go to the Noise!!!
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vance71975
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2022
Posts: 652
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Post by vance71975 on Dec 13, 2022 12:32:46 GMT -5
Any reason why you picked 80 grit AO instead of 80 grit SiC? Because I had 4 bags of it laying around. I am going to let it run for a while then check it, hoping to let it break down on its own and then move right to a vibe for polish. I have done that with 80 SC before but this is a trial run on the 80 AO. I am hoping the weight of the material in the barrel will help also. If it doesnt work then I just need to add some SC and finish it up. Tony Cant wait to see photos of how it works out! |
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vance71975
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2022
Posts: 652
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Post by vance71975 on Dec 13, 2022 12:34:24 GMT -5
Any reason why you picked 80 grit AO instead of 80 grit SiC? Guessing cost and availability. 80 aluminum oxide is a media for sand blasting so easy to get in large quantities even at places like harbor freight. Not what I would of recommended as it breaks down completely different then SIC but I have also never had to add 50 pounds of grit to a barrel. Silicone carbide stays sharp as it breaks down whereas A/O rounds off and becomes less effective for material removal as it breaks down. Actually I think in that barrel with that much rock if it was left alone for long enough in 80 A/O they will come out polished. Not smooth but polished. 50 pounds of 36 grit SIC would be ideal but $122 plus a big shipping bill from the rock shed. 50 Pounds of A/O from harbor freight $69 This is a photo from a video Jugglerguy did and these rocks have only been in 80 grit A/O. No other stages. They were left rolling for one year without opening but likely were done way before. I bet in 6-8 weeks that big tumbler would produce decently polished (Not smooth) rocks. Video credit Chuck One of my fav videos by Rob. Tho I am no where near that patient personally lol |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 13, 2022 18:28:16 GMT -5
Rob did his experiment in a 3 pound barrel and never checked it for a year which made for a great video but the bummer is we don't know if those rocks were polished after 2 months, 4 months 8 months? I would like to see that same experiment but opened and checked at intervals to see what the sweet spot was. The amount of force being created with that much weight is going to make things happen at an accelerated rate for sure. pretty sure all the gift shop polished rocks from china have to be dowe similar to this. It is the only way to keep costs and labor down. Massive quantity set it and forget it. Chuck I did those for a year just because it gave me a great title for a video. I'm glad I did too, that was by far my best performing video ever. You're right though. If we wanted to learn even more, they should have been checked at least monthly. |
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Post by catmandewe on Dec 14, 2022 23:15:20 GMT -5
Woke up this morning and the tumbler wasnt making much noise, so we popped the lid open, it had built up some pressure as it hissed when I took the first bolt out of the lid. It had absorbed all the water and was the consistency of about a 3" slump concrete. I added more water and checked a few of the stones, it has already rounded the rough corners and there is a hint of a shine already after only 3 days. Made a slurry about the consistency of pancake batter, and its running along again. I think it will only take about 2 weeks, three at the most. Tony   |
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Dec 15, 2022 13:21:31 GMT -5
YUK. Your going to need a firehose for clean outs. I could not imagine the mess it will make. Very cool just so extreme.
Chuck
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pebblesky
has rocks in the head
rebel 17
Member since September 2022
Posts: 677
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Post by pebblesky on Dec 15, 2022 13:39:57 GMT -5
I can't imagine how fun it is to do the clean up. Can we use the mud to plaster the walls?
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Post by catmandewe on Dec 16, 2022 13:13:54 GMT -5
Checked it again today, slurry is thickening up again, created a vacuum in the barrel.
I found a couple of mason jars of 46 grit SC from an estate I bought, so I went ahead and dumped them in, added a little water and fired her back up.
I pulled a few pieces out and washed them off to see how it was coming, they are rounding well and are already showing a slight polish when dried. Not bad for day 5.
Tony
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Dec 16, 2022 13:19:42 GMT -5
Checked it again today, slurry is thickening up again, created a vacuum in the barrel. I found a couple of mason jars of 46 grit SC from an estate I bought, so I went ahead and dumped them in, added a little water and fired her back up. I pulled a few pieces out and washed them off to see how it was coming, they are rounding well and are already showing a slight polish when dried. Not bad for day 5. Tony Curious to hear back on the results of adding that S/C. I would think that would hinder any shine you stood to get using just the A/O. Faster grind rate but the way it breaks down usually continues to scratch VS polish. Might not have been enough to hurt with that volume of rock though. |
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vance71975
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2022
Posts: 652
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Post by vance71975 on Dec 16, 2022 20:39:22 GMT -5
Looks like your gonna need 200 gallons of water instead of 30 lol
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twice 
app for that 
