beadsforthee
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2010
Posts: 24
|
Post by beadsforthee on Dec 19, 2010 8:45:58 GMT -5
Just got my first tumbler (Lortone 33B) and fired it up last week. Everything I'm reading says it takes at the very least a week before moving on to stage 2, sometimes longer. I'm tumbling an assortment, with like hardnesses, 60/90 grit, checking everyday (still getting gas bubbles) and adding a bit more grit everyday. This morning when I looked in, it did look like some are ready to go on to the next stage, but I don't want to go on if I'm not positive. Is it possible to go too long on the first stage?
|
|
|
Post by tanyafrench on Dec 19, 2010 9:06:49 GMT -5
You want the shape in the stones to be nice and rounded. The rough should smooth out all the edges and remove any pits in your stones. The next steps will be pretty much just 1 week in each step all getting the stones smoother and smoother to give a great shine in the polish. Some stones I have tumbled up to six weeks in coarse prior to moving on. Others like obsidian take much less. Generally it is about 4 weeks in course, 1 week in each succeeding step except polish, I go at least 10 days and frequently 2 weeks in polish. Have fun with it, Tanya
|
|
|
Post by Toad on Dec 19, 2010 9:41:00 GMT -5
It's all what yuo want. Some people do just one or two weeks in rough. Other people do eight weeks or more. If you don't mind pits and blemishes, you can move on earlier. If you want 'perfection', leave them in longer and pull them out as they reach the stage you're happy with. Will never be the whole batch. Maybe will get a few stones out, then the rest go back in for more grinding - you can add more new stones to make up the volume.
I prefer getting out all imperfections. I believe the final polish is better. Other people rush them through more quickly and still seem to get a good polish. So it ends up being preference.
|
|
|
Post by tntmom on Dec 20, 2010 2:36:32 GMT -5
I have two Lortones, love them! I've learned that 60/90 is the most important stage. When you rinse them set aside two bowls. The ones that are smooth and have no pits, cracks and are the shape you want, put into bowl #1 (the finished product will look exactly like the stone that comes out of 60/90... the other stages just perfect what you have done with the first stage!). The ones that aren't smooth, or still have pits, not rounded or just look ugly, put into bowl #2. When you get all of them separated, put the ones from bowl #2 back into 60/90 with fresh rough or ceramics to fill the bowl back up to about 2/3 full. The others, you can either wait until you get more finished, or... if you are impatient, put bowl #1 into the 120/220 with new ceramics to 2/3 full. I prefer ceramics because you can rinse and move them along in each stage with your rocks. You can not do that with pellets. Plastic pellets have to be dedicated to each grit stage (removed every time you rinse and move to the next stage). Other people here have awesome knowledge about other types of filler, I just have experience with ceramics and pellets.
|
|
beadsforthee
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2010
Posts: 24
|
Post by beadsforthee on Dec 21, 2010 12:06:58 GMT -5
Thanks for the responses! I've decided to throw them through another week of rough, going by what tntmom says 'the finished product will look exactly like the stone that comes out of 60/90... the other stages just perfect what you have done with the first stage!'
I was also wondering, I haven't done research on using ceramics, would you be able to give me some info on using them?
|
|
|
Post by tntmom on Dec 21, 2010 12:37:34 GMT -5
I get mine from The Rock Shed. I mix both the small and large and have really good results with them.
|
|
|
Post by susand24224 on Dec 22, 2010 14:47:36 GMT -5
I am a ceramics convert. They serve a number of functions for me:
1. When I am tumbling something soft (fluorite) or really prone to fractures (apache tears) I will use up to 50% as a cushion.
2. When I am tumbling slabs or large stones, I will add ceramics as "grit carriers".
3. When I don't have enough of a particular stone to make a "full barrel" I add ceramics to make up the difference.
I also use mixed sizes, but I purchase them mixed from the Little Red Store. They are a tad more expensive than the Rockshed, but the mixture has four or five shapes/sizes.
I rarely use plastic pellets now--they are stuck on the top shelf. Ceramics has taken over all their previous usages, as well as added a few advantages of their own.
Susan
|
|