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Post by bbrett on Feb 13, 2004 17:03:12 GMT -5
Hello everyone this is Brett(still have no password!). How long do most of you tumble the first stage? I know it has to do with what look you are looking for but what are most people looking for in the complete first stage? Also, still dont don't have password! Andy help!
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thewiz
has rocks in the head
"What good is money if you don't spend it"
Member since January 2004
Posts: 735
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Post by thewiz on Feb 13, 2004 17:24:04 GMT -5
my first load went for over two weeks i look for no pits or ridges if they still have them i put them aside for the next load
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Feb 13, 2004 18:09:37 GMT -5
I am not going to move to the next stage until they are absolutely smooth - no ridges, pits, cracks, etc.
I figure it's best to keep them in the coarse grit as long as it takes get them as smooth and free of flaws as possible than to have to go back and redo them.
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WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
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Post by WarrenA on Feb 13, 2004 18:50:44 GMT -5
Tumble them until you are satisified with how they look
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Post by MichiganRocks on Feb 14, 2004 8:01:27 GMT -5
Generally, a little extra time in the rough grind makes the rest of the process go a lot smoother.
Ron
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RedwoodRocks
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 762
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Post by RedwoodRocks on Feb 17, 2004 16:48:39 GMT -5
I have been letting the rocks go three-four weeks in the rough grit stage (60-90). I like rock to be more rounded. I guess it is all a matter of taste.
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Justme
starting to shine!
Member since March 2003
Posts: 38
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Post by Justme on Feb 19, 2004 23:35:00 GMT -5
What if you have been tumbling agates for 40+ days and still have pits and other flaws. What do you do then? I do not think agates are the best choice for the First Load. They take too long to see much progress, especially for a beginner like I am.
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WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
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Post by WilliamC on Feb 20, 2004 10:36:39 GMT -5
Greetings All,
Hey Brett, what I've found is that different rocks can take very different amounts of time to get through the first stage, kinda obvious but as someone else pointed out very hard rocks like agates can take weeks while softer rocks like obsidian can be smoothed out in as little as 1 week. To me there is a trade-off between wanting to get as much grind out of the grit as possible and being impatient and wanting to see the results. So if you want to take down a batch after one week and have enough of the same grit to start the load afresh, there's nothing wrong with that, it will give you a much better idea of how the rocks are shaping than just letting them go and go and go. If you have enough rough for multiple 1st stage runs you can sort out those rocks that are ready for the next stage and simply run the rest again. But for me, what with work and life and the shorter days of winter I haven't been able to wash/sort as often as I would like so I've been going for longer runs rather than shorter. Fortunately, the rocks really don't care and so long as you are discriminating when you sort between stages you will get good results in the end.
So just keep tumbling and you can't go wrong ;D
WilliamC
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