Post by rollingstone on Sept 16, 2007 17:42:04 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for the very kind words!
KD, darn, you figured out my urethane trick!!! (j/k) I dunno... yours seem to have the same kind of shine... you must be a urethane user too! ;D
Adrian and Shannon - no problem, no secret recipe. I use a 4 stage tumble process in a rotary tumbler... 60/90 until shaped, with weekly cleanings and recharges, 120/220 for 7 or 8 days, usually adding plastic pellets starting at this stage, 500 F silicon carbide for 10 days, then CPP polish (pretty much the same as aluminum oxide I think) for 2-3 weeks (15 days for these particular stones). I think it is the polish stage that makes or breaks it... if you don't polish long enough, or if you use too many pellets (slows down the action), or crowd the barrel (again slows down the action), then the results may be disappointing. Alternatively, with too much action in the barrel things will chip and crack and also be disappointing. It takes a bit of experimenting, but once you find the right balance, then just stick with that and run things for up to 3 weeks in polish. Well, I think the polish stage is the critical stage, but other people correctly note that if you haven't got the previous stages right, then all the polishing in the world isn't going to make things right. Hmm.. is that helpful, or just confusing?
Liz, Dremelling is a slow process, so you don't want to remove any more rock than you really need to. I usually run the stones for one or two rounds in coarse grind, then identify the really bad blemishes that the tumbler isn't going to be able to smooth out over the next 4 go-arounds or so in coarse grind. I Dremel out the pit or rough spot, and very roughly shape it into the rest of the stone. Then I put those stones back into coarse grind for several more go-arounds, and the tumbler smooths the residual rough area into the general shape of the rock, leaving no trace or divot. All in all, it's kind of a tedious process, but it does work.
-Don
KD, darn, you figured out my urethane trick!!! (j/k) I dunno... yours seem to have the same kind of shine... you must be a urethane user too! ;D
Adrian and Shannon - no problem, no secret recipe. I use a 4 stage tumble process in a rotary tumbler... 60/90 until shaped, with weekly cleanings and recharges, 120/220 for 7 or 8 days, usually adding plastic pellets starting at this stage, 500 F silicon carbide for 10 days, then CPP polish (pretty much the same as aluminum oxide I think) for 2-3 weeks (15 days for these particular stones). I think it is the polish stage that makes or breaks it... if you don't polish long enough, or if you use too many pellets (slows down the action), or crowd the barrel (again slows down the action), then the results may be disappointing. Alternatively, with too much action in the barrel things will chip and crack and also be disappointing. It takes a bit of experimenting, but once you find the right balance, then just stick with that and run things for up to 3 weeks in polish. Well, I think the polish stage is the critical stage, but other people correctly note that if you haven't got the previous stages right, then all the polishing in the world isn't going to make things right. Hmm.. is that helpful, or just confusing?
Liz, Dremelling is a slow process, so you don't want to remove any more rock than you really need to. I usually run the stones for one or two rounds in coarse grind, then identify the really bad blemishes that the tumbler isn't going to be able to smooth out over the next 4 go-arounds or so in coarse grind. I Dremel out the pit or rough spot, and very roughly shape it into the rest of the stone. Then I put those stones back into coarse grind for several more go-arounds, and the tumbler smooths the residual rough area into the general shape of the rock, leaving no trace or divot. All in all, it's kind of a tedious process, but it does work.
-Don