tarylina
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2004
Posts: 84
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Post by tarylina on Jun 23, 2004 18:47:07 GMT -5
Hi again all!
How often do y'all with a rotary tumbler check your loads? My second load has been running for three days now, and even though I check every day to make sure it is going okay (and I turn my barrel - I'm not smart enough to figure out whether or not that does any good, but I do it anyway) but I don't check them every day. As long as they sound like they are moving well, I leave it alone. Should I be inspecting the rocks every day? Has anyone had less than a week in the rough grind with a rotary?
If I ruin this second load I will be SO frustrated!
Taryl
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Post by krazydiamond on Jun 23, 2004 19:06:06 GMT -5
during the first grind i check my rocks every 24 hours just to release the gas (rock farts?)....this was in my tumbler manual, tho i have gone 48 without mishap. in the higher steps i usually let it go for 48 hours and in the final polish and burnish, i let it ride for up to three days without actually opening the barrel. i do keep an "ear to the barrel" and make sure things are still rolling, belts are turning and stuff like that.
as far as time goes, it's up to you whether you are pleased with the results to go to the next phase. i did a strict 7 day cycle the first time and the second, but after finding more tips in here i have just recharged my barrel with more coarse grit for another 7 days stint.....
good luck, Taryl! KD
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tarylina
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2004
Posts: 84
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Post by tarylina on Jun 23, 2004 19:56:10 GMT -5
Thanks, KD! I went ahead and checked my barrel, and good thing I did. There was foam built up and when I went to "burp" it, it vomited a little So I rinsed my rocks and added a bit more grit. There was still some left in the barrel, but I added some anyway, maybe a tsp. more. How do you know when to add more grit? It didn't seem like as much was there as when I started, but it wasn't completely gone, either. Taryl
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Jun 23, 2004 20:09:51 GMT -5
When I first started tumbling, I checked them every couple of days. Now, I rarely open the barrel until they have run for at least 7 days. I check the barrels every day to make sure they are not expanding. If there's no expansion, I don't mess with them. If the bottom of the barrel is rubbing against the tumbler, I know that I have expansion and will check it.
llana
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Post by rockyraccoon on Jun 23, 2004 22:45:21 GMT -5
depending on my schedule i've had them run 2 wks or more with no checking. if i was running something known to build up gas i wouldn't chance that. i've only had a few stones build up gas and i just burp them.
kim
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Jun 24, 2004 2:30:26 GMT -5
I also seal 'em and leave 'em, so typically a barrel runs 10 days before being opened. Opening a barrel is such a pain...you can get bits of grit up by the rim that prevent a good re-seal of the barrel, and this grit can be really stubborn to clean out.
I listen to the tumbler fairly frequently, just to make sure that the barrel is rolling and the rocks are tumbling. The only time I've ever noticed a problem was once when the slurry thickened up so the rocks couldn't roll inside the barrel. But this was only once, and it was very obvious just by listening.
I also take a look at the barrel every few days just to watch for expansion. Supposedly some rocks can be gassy, but I've never noticed any gas buildup at all, even after 10 or 14 days.
As for grit recharging....I tried something different on my last barrel. I ran a 6 lb barrel with 10 Tbsp of 60/90 grit for 5 days, then opened the barrel and added 5 Tbsp more 60/90 grit (nothing emptied out or cleaned out). Then I ran it another 5 days, and opened it up. (Normally I would have just added 10 Tbsp grit and left it to run for the full 10 days, with no recharge). Anyway, I removed the rocks and slurry from the barrel, and found that there was just under one Tbsp of grit remaining. I'm guessing that pretty much all of the first 10 Tbsp of grit was consumed, and that the one Tbsp of grit remaining was from what I added when I recharged it after 5 days. This says to me that 60/90 grit probably lasts 6 or 7 days and then is gone, or at least turned into fine grit rather than coarse grit.
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Post by creativeminded on Jun 24, 2004 10:05:05 GMT -5
If I am in the first grit I usually let it run 4 or 5 days before I check it. From then on I let it run a week solid or more before I check it and I usually just go on to the next stage of grit.
Tami
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deepsouth
fully equipped rock polisher
He who rocks last rocks best
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,256
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Post by deepsouth on Jun 24, 2004 18:37:22 GMT -5
Hi Taryl, I used to check them very often too , but I am more relaxed now and leave them for a week . I have had only one batch that went foamy and no disaster happened That batch with foam was more dirty than the usual beachstones I get. Opening more often may lead to contamination by grit everywhere. The other day I checked the coarse grit a day earlier as my son Henry came home from his holiday. I had a lot of his found garnets in there. There was still a little bit of grit left so I closed up and next day the grit was all gone. Good luck, you will get it right !! Jack
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duke
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2004
Posts: 77
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Post by duke on Jun 26, 2004 13:11:16 GMT -5
hey tarylina...usually, I just check 24 hrs after they go into each phase, mainly as KD says, to check for gas or other surprises, then I wait for the 6-7 days when I change to the next phase..but I see posts on here where some people check every day..so looks like it's 'dealers choice'...
duke
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