tarylina
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2004
Posts: 84
|
Post by tarylina on Jun 8, 2004 22:41:46 GMT -5
Duke - I used the sawdust in the pre-polish and polish stages, and it didn't work too well. I have looked EVERYWHERE for plastic pellets and haven't been able to find them.
Heavy sigh. I took my first batch out of polish today (after about 10 days,. and they are still not very shiny. I am going to post them anyway sometime next week so everyone can tell me what I did wrong. I also want to know what kind of rocks I have - most of these came in my tumbling kit.
The first child is always the hardest...
|
|
|
Post by sandsman1 on Jun 8, 2004 22:53:26 GMT -5
hey Taryl the rock shed has a decent deal on the pellets like 5lb for 12.50, couple people have said that they got theres from walmart in the crafts section they said they where addvertized as doll stuffing maybe try them or the rockshed ok seeya--john
|
|
bwalters
has rocks in the head
Member since March 2004
Posts: 557
|
Post by bwalters on Jun 8, 2004 23:12:33 GMT -5
Hi Everyone-Hey Taryl, thanks for the info about the sawdust. I've been thinking about using cedar shavings instead of them dang pesky plastic pellets, but I can't help but wonder if shavings would do any better than sawdust, and if it wouldn't be just as much of a mess (or more) to separate from the rocks and clean up as the pellets.
Anyone have any input here?
BE
|
|
WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
|
Post by WarrenA on Jun 8, 2004 23:32:29 GMT -5
I read somewhere here that they were using walnut shell grit (originally used for cleaning brass ammo cases) in with the final polish. Is there an update of the progress of the polish?
|
|
Banjocreek
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2003
Posts: 1,115
|
Post by Banjocreek on Jun 8, 2004 23:54:09 GMT -5
I have tried shavings ONCE! It all turned into a big barrel of Mush. The grit just masticated it. I don't think it is a good idea, and will not perform that step ever again. Lately I have been cutting down on the amount of plastic beads I use in each step and have had (so far) pretty good success. I have seen porcelin pellets for sale that some might prefer over plastic but I have no problem with the plastic since I rinse the rocks in the barrel and let the pellets float out over the edge into a collender first. Then I set them aside to dry and pour the rocks into a second collender to be rinsed. The thing is, I am begining to believe that the less you add to the mix, the better.
|
|
bwalters
has rocks in the head
Member since March 2004
Posts: 557
|
Post by bwalters on Jun 9, 2004 0:30:33 GMT -5
Even though I haven't tried it, I was sorta imagining the possibility of that 'big barrel of mush' if I used cedar shavings! Thanks for telling us about your experience with that, Banjo. I think that I will just keep on using the pellets with my rocks, and use the shavings for what we bought them for.....the guinea pigs!
BE
|
|
|
Post by puppie96 on Jun 9, 2004 0:54:45 GMT -5
I've noticed recently that the thickness of the polish mix seems to be critical. I've had a couple of batches that were polished, but not comparable to my others that really have a mirror finish, found that too thick polish was the problem; just adding a little water and maybe taking out a few rocks jump started it. Same thing has happened with too little polish. I've been following manufacturer directions, Lortone's instructions are far more than people say they use here on the board, but I'm conservative and generally do as Lortone says. HOWEVER, with cerium oxide it does seem to get too thick when using their amounts. Anyway, since sawdust/shavings etc. would thicken the mix, probably too much, I'd avoid it.
|
|
tarylina
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2004
Posts: 84
|
Post by tarylina on Jun 9, 2004 7:58:04 GMT -5
"Thicken the mix" is an understatement! I opened my barrel yesterday and the stuff was like oatmeal, so I went ahead and pulled my (not very shiny) rocks out, washed my barrel, and am going start over with a whole new batch - only this time I am going to try the small rocks in the first stage, and plastic pellets in the polish. I may go ahead and try to re-polish my first batch with my second, can I do that? I noticed that my first batch wasn't all that smooth (probably from tumbling different hardnesses together - another bad idea) and some of the pits had white stuff in them, so now they are soaking in olive oil to loosen everything up. Thats what I use to clean my old coins and it works really well. I like to experiment, can you tell? Then I am going to tumble them clean and see what I've got. I should be posting my pics Monday or Tuesday and I want honest feedback. Thanks for the Wal-Mart info. I'll look during my semi-annual shopping trip on Friday. ;D
|
|
|
Post by krazydiamond on Jun 9, 2004 14:33:43 GMT -5
i was able to procure plastic pellets at www.mamasminerals.combut they were probably more expensive that what Sandsman quoted above. looking forward to seeing your latest pics. KD
|
|
|
Post by puppie96 on Jun 10, 2004 1:04:48 GMT -5
Hi Taryl, Sure, you can always repolish them with another batch, as long as they are clean. Tumbling them in soap and water for a while would probably get out most of the white stuff, it's polish getting into the cracks. If it looks that pitted, maybe a good idea to return to earlier stage. I keep redoing rocks that have a beautiful finish but they have pits or other flaws that I'm sorry I hadn't ground out. At the moment I'm kind of trying to see if I can get even better-than-good results. I have never put anything oily on rocks for tumbling. Oil isn't good for rubber, would be the main reason, and it might even make the debris stick to it more. Let us know how it works, clean them well before you put them back in a rubber barrel!
|
|
tarylina
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2004
Posts: 84
|
Post by tarylina on Jun 12, 2004 1:08:54 GMT -5
Tomorrow I am going to wrap them very well in cheesecloth and pantyhose and run them in the dishwasher. That ought to take off all the oil. We'll see!! I'll let you know.
|
|
|
Post by creativeminded on Jun 12, 2004 10:21:19 GMT -5
Are you sure you want to put the grit of the rock and that oil through your dishwasher? Personally I don't think that is a good idea. Tami
|
|
tarylina
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2004
Posts: 84
|
Post by tarylina on Jun 12, 2004 19:09:56 GMT -5
Thanks, Tami but I think it will be okay. The oil loosened up the grit, and I'm going to soak them in soapy water for a day to get most of the oil off, then scrub them individually with an old toothbrush to remove any leftovers. Then on to the dishwasher. As for the oil, well, we have an AWESOME dishwasher and you should see some of the stuff that goes in there and comes out clean Just like the commercials... I know it sounds like a lot of work but I just want to see how it turns out. I have a really small first batch; the sawdust filler didn't work out at all; and I can't find any plastic pellets anywhere (Wal-Mart no longer carries them) so I'll have to order some online this weekend, but it will take a while to get here and I'm ready to move on to my next batch. I don't want to wash them in my tumbler with no filler and have them get broken at the very end, so I thought I would try this. We'll see.
|
|
WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
|
Post by WarrenA on Jun 12, 2004 22:31:36 GMT -5
look at craft stores. I found some at a Michaels store but they were twice as high as Wal-Mart used to be. I have seen some for sale on ebay also.
|
|
tarylina
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2004
Posts: 84
|
Post by tarylina on Jun 12, 2004 23:01:47 GMT -5
Michaels is a good idea - forgot about them. I went to Hobby Lobby, Garden Ridge, Hancock Fabrics, Wal-Mart, hobby stores in the area, you name it. Except Michaels, and now that I think about it that's the closest. Shows you how much I shop.
|
|
|
Post by puppie96 on Jun 12, 2004 23:54:02 GMT -5
Michael's is where I found them.
|
|
bwalters
has rocks in the head
Member since March 2004
Posts: 557
|
Post by bwalters on Jun 13, 2004 0:39:23 GMT -5
Hi All. eBay has several listings for pellets. One is for sale by none4, described as '5 Pounds Rock tumbling pellets - 1 gallon'. The starting bid is $3.99, and they have a 'Buy it Now' price of $4.99. If I hadn't bought more pellets the last time Llana and I went to the rock shop, I would buy these myself! You might want to check it out, Tarylina.
BE
|
|
tarylina
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2004
Posts: 84
|
Post by tarylina on Jun 13, 2004 1:14:59 GMT -5
Thanks, BE! Just put in a bid; probably should have gone for "Buy It Now" but I'm cheap. Not easy, but cheap "God is the color of water..."
|
|
tarylina
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2004
Posts: 84
|
Post by tarylina on Jun 13, 2004 1:18:17 GMT -5
oops, trying something, not working.
|
|