|
Post by Peruano on Mar 14, 2011 11:57:10 GMT -5
I was frustrated in my recent attempt to polish some beach stones, and am looking for guidance on how to resurrect this batch if possible. I'm using a Raytech Tumble Vib - 5, and working with beach stones (agates?) that are already relatively smooth and preformed when I started tumbling. Hence I shortened the initial (100/120 grind) period to 36 hrs. I suspect one of three problems. 1. I did not leave them in the coarse grind 100/120 or 700 F long enough. 2. I did not eliminate the ones with fractures or cracks such that I may introduced coarse grit into the prepolish and polish stages. This was suspected midway through the 24 hrs of Turkish Emery Lolox prepolish so I eliminated any cracked or fractured stones and rinsed the entire batch before recharging the tumbler with fresh Lolox and added a few more stones to replace those eliminated for fractures. or 3. I just did not polish them long enough. Here are some wet and dry comparisons. the stones are beautiful when wet, and lose a great deal of detail as they dry. Any suggestions on how far back in the process I have to go to improve them would be appreciated. The process was a. 36 hrs in 100/120 grit carbide b. 24 hrs of 700 F silicon carbide but did have a problem with the slurry solidifying during an all night run because too dry in final hours of 24 hr period. c. 24 hrs in prepolish Turkish Emery lolox (stones high graded in mid of this to eliminate fractures and potential grit contamination. d. final polish in Hard Stone polish (Raybrite TL). Stones were rinse, individually wiped and run through soap rinses between the various stages. Comments anyone? Thanks in advance. Tom
|
|
|
Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Mar 14, 2011 12:14:28 GMT -5
I would add 2 stages: 220 and 1000. Since they're already rounded and relatively smooth, you could skip the 100/120 altogether. And yes, be sure to keep things damp and moving. Also make sure you have a full load so that the rocks are churning, not bouncing off each other.
Hope that helps, Chuck
|
|
stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
|
Post by stefan on Mar 14, 2011 18:45:45 GMT -5
Not a vibe expert but 120 to 700 is a pretty big jump. From the looks of it the stones have a good shape and all. If you suspect grit contamination then the best bet is to return to the course stage and try again
|
|
|
Post by deb193redux on Mar 14, 2011 21:01:01 GMT -5
those brown ulcerated areas are not going to poish and my aid contamination.
it does not look like agate. possibly jasper. but I would see if a common jasper scratches it. I think it is a softer stone. Maybe a hard chert or quartzite. But maybe quartz vein in a softer rhyolite or something.
if softer, it may not take much better than a matt finish.
|
|
|
Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Mar 15, 2011 3:35:34 GMT -5
Hi A lot depends on the stone hardness harder the stone a better polish
I polish sea shore stones and True they are a good shape But they do need a bit extra grinding to lay a good foundation for a polish
I use Connrocks method starting at 220 for 48 hours some times I run for 24 hours wash up and then do a full 48 hours in 220g again Then 400G 24 hours 600g 24 hours (connrock uses 500g for this stage only I havent 500G )
Then a wash burnish stage of 48 hours,
then 1000 24 to 36 hours tripoli 24 hrs finaly polishing 24 to 48 hours
Keep a journal of your runs and experiment Your way will be the "Best " way in the end as all ours are to us ! ! !
All the very best,
jack Yorkshire uk
|
|
|
Post by 150FromFundy on Mar 15, 2011 6:33:22 GMT -5
It's hard to blame tumbling problems on one thing only. I would suggest you need more time in each cycle, more grit stages, and careful cleaning between stages. I run my cycles for 3 days which is longer than most vibe people do. I burnish between every stage whick is also more than most vibe people do. For me, these extra steps have taken me from "nice" batches to "you could sell every on of those" batches.
Like everything lapidary ... it's about time and patience. Lots of both!
Each cylcle is 3 days SC 120/220 - 3 Cycles Borax burnish - 24 hrs AO 500F with ceramins - 1 Cycle Borax burnish - 24 hours AO 1000F with ceramics - 1 Cycle Borax burnish - 24 hours AO Polish with ceramics - 1 Cycle Borax burnish - 24 hours
Good luck.
Darryl.
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Mar 15, 2011 7:58:02 GMT -5
Thanks for the considerate input. I too has suspected Jasper and really appreciate the idea of trying to scratch the rocks with a known jasper to see. I also agree that I need more time on each step and perhaps more gradual transitions. Is the suggested burnishing really with borax, or borax with ivory, or ?? I've started logging my techniques and working at documenting what happened. Undoubtedly, I'm suffering the noobie problem of not wanting to damage the stones I'm working on at the moment when in fact that may be necessary to learn what I really need to do in the future. Thanks again. Tom
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on Mar 15, 2011 8:05:40 GMT -5
Tom I collected beach rocks on the Central CA coast for many years to tumble. The only ones I had trouble with were these stinking green ones that looked so nice wet. I tried every polish I had with no success. I think they ended up in a batch of concrete.
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Mar 15, 2011 13:18:51 GMT -5
John, I'm not sure whether your response makes me feel good or not, but I do appreciate the possibility that I may be swimming upstream in a sea of ignorance and innocence. I'll give diligence a try. Tom
|
|
|
Post by 150FromFundy on Mar 15, 2011 16:02:53 GMT -5
Swimming upstream in a sea of ignorance and innocence isn't a problem ... so long as your not incontinent.
On the question ... When I burnish, I use only borax. Borax is simply a detergent that doesn't produce suds. Ivory Snow powder is similar. Use one, or the other. I don't think doubling up on the detergent will have any benefit.
Darryl.
|
|
|
Post by Peruano on Mar 15, 2011 19:09:06 GMT -5
Fundy, Thanks for the clarification. I had been using just a bit of Tide Powder for short intervals between stages, but certainly not enough to get many suds, but I'll gladly switch to a longer time with Borax. I'm going back and studying the variety of strategies in the general vibratory instructions and considering the many options relevant to the challenge. Sounds like a lifetime process. Cheers and thanks. Tom
|
|