RiverOtter
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2004
Posts: 339
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Post by RiverOtter on Jun 26, 2004 1:01:50 GMT -5
Well believe it or not it's been almost a month since we posted what we are running. Figured it was time to check in again.
1. Apache tears in polish. Lookin good too. They should be done b4 I leave for vacation.
2. Quartz from the driveway in 600.
3. Rubies and saphs still running in 60/90. I've lost so much volume that I started throwing in some of my "I don't know" driveway rock for filler. I've already ran one load through course and am working on a second. Think I'm going to have to mine the driveway for some more.
4. Citrine in 120/220.
5. Jade in 60/90. I added driveway rock to this load as well to bring it up to full.
Well that's what I'm running currently. Everything will be coming off at the end of next week. I'll give everything a bath and leave it off until I get back. I'm taking NO chances that something bad could happen while I'm gone.
So what are you all running??
Otter
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Pdwight
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 619
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Post by Pdwight on Jun 26, 2004 1:41:20 GMT -5
Rawhide ;D
Telling my age
Dwight P
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Post by docone31 on Jun 26, 2004 1:57:26 GMT -5
Otter, you can probably just shut down the bbls when you go have "fun". They will get settled but back on, they will just get loose an tumble on. I got my first tumbler with two full bbls of "junk" emeralds, rubies, saphires. It had sat for ten years full. I turned it on, not knowing any better and all was well. Food for thought.
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Trouthunter
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2004
Posts: 63
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Post by Trouthunter on Jun 26, 2004 12:50:21 GMT -5
driveway rock - mostly quartz and soem other interesting looking stuff in 120/220 and prepolish (going into polish when I get my lazy butt up later today), and some agates and other stuff we found on the beach in 60/90.
All of it gets cleaned out and restarted today. The coarse grind batch will probably need another week, but the 120/220 might be ready to move on. I'll have to see.
Any thoughts on going straight to prepolish from 120/220? I don't know what the grit rating is on the prepolish. If it's in the 600 range I should just be able to go straight to it, right?
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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 26, 2004 13:56:06 GMT -5
Rollingstone, I know what you mean about having a more critical eye. I took a batch out of polish the other day and on first look, I was pleased with them. On closer inspection, I discovered that I'm not so pleased with about half of them. I am going to take the ones I really like and throw them in with the next batch I start in 60/90 and take them through the whole course again. One of these days I might get around to running to other ones again too, but not in a hurry. Have lots of really neat stuff I want to tumble, so they can wait or I will find something to do with them with the flaws are not so noticable.
I am tumbling a mongrel mix (love that term!) in 60/90 in all my tumblers and have one 6 lb. barrel of mongrels in 120/200.
I never had enough of one kind of rock to fill a 6 lb. barrel, so had to put different kinds of rocks together. Now that I have 2 33B's (and another one I am repairing) and 4 33B barrels that I can use for 60/90, I will be able to do smaller loads of just one kind of rock. That is, whenever I can get enough cut! Have a 5 gallon bucket of rocks at BE's that need to be cut to tumbling size but it just keeps on raining!
llana
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Post by cookie3rocks on Jun 26, 2004 19:12:49 GMT -5
I'm a one bowler myself (that sounds like a personal problem) but I'm doing the first batch that's actually showing some hope. Plume and tree agate in 80 for a month (with too much water for a vibe) pulled out most of the water, 80 for 48 hours Dramatic improvement, switch to 80/220 mix for 48 hours, 220 for 3 days, Now I'm in 600 for 2 days, but I accedently left the vibe unplugged when I checked it this morning so I started over with new 600. We'll see... . cookie
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Post by rockyraccoon on Jun 26, 2004 22:25:11 GMT -5
but it just keeps on raining! it just won't stop here either and i need to recharge barrels, bust rocks, saw rocks...... the weather channel offers no hope - it shows rain for another week solid. kim
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bwalters
has rocks in the head
Member since March 2004
Posts: 557
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Post by bwalters on Jun 26, 2004 23:39:33 GMT -5
Hello All,
Well, I'm depressed! I checked my purple agate (is that really a name for a rock?) today. I've ONLY been running it since April 18. None of them are ready to be moved on, but I stopped them and have decided to trim some of them b-4 starting them in coarse again.
Washed my pet. wood that has been running since May 23 today. During the wash 'cycle' and also during the rinse, my Model B leaked some. The barrel liner still looks really good and so does the lid liner. I don't know why it was leaking. I also had NOT A SINGLE STONE in that load that was ready to move on. But they're starting to show a spectacular amount of color and pattern.
I also got my malachite/azurite out of prepolish today and started them in tin oxide in my new to me/used vibe. Guess I'll just have to let you all know how that goes!
Somebody, please, give me some encouragement! I've been messing with my rocks almost all day with not alot of success to report!
Thanks for listening to me whine!
BE
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WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
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Post by WarrenA on Jun 26, 2004 23:51:14 GMT -5
the rocks have been here longer than any of us they will be here long after we are gone back to dust. tumbling should teach us patience, we should learn from the rock they have been here forever so we shouldn't expect them to change in a hurry
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Post by cookie3rocks on Jun 26, 2004 23:55:07 GMT -5
Hey BE, I know it's alot different in a vibe than a rotorey (boy, do I know) but the key to faster grinding for me was the reduction in water. I've also discovered that the grind stage goes Faster in the vibe when the water is reduced. You just want a wet paste one the stones. They roll around like a washing machine rolls clothes. After my agate was in 80 for 5 weeks, I switched to 2 teas. water with the same amount of grit and in 48 hours they were ready for 220/80. Then 220 for 3 days, and now I'm in 600. The vibe really does move faster, you just have to get used to using such a small amout of water. Hope that helps,
cookie
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bwalters
has rocks in the head
Member since March 2004
Posts: 557
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Post by bwalters on Jun 27, 2004 0:17:25 GMT -5
Thanks Warren and Cookie!
I was starting to suffer a 'meltdown'. Wish my rocks would do the same! I can see some progress in almost all of them, but not as much as I would expect to see after this much time.
Too late tonight, but I'm gonna start my pet. wood in coarse again tomorrow. Maybe they will do better this time!
BE
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Post by puppie96 on Jun 27, 2004 1:22:36 GMT -5
So glad to hear that others are re-running and re-running stuff. I've been doing that for a while, too. Many many reruns. What I've got going now...
1-1/2 lb. barrel rubies/sapphires going about 3 weeks
3 lb. barrel rubies/sapphires washed out today. Experiment that has been going since April 28. Time frame was 3 months. Sadly, results suck.
3 lb. barrel topazes in 100/120
1-1/2 lb. barrel in cerium oxide: "Virgin Islands" rock that I picked up on a beach or 2 on a cruise. Mostly it's green, maybe moss agate, some has purple lines through it, it's cool stuff. Can't wait to get finished batch to post pictures. I've got a couple of other completed batches of this stuff, waiting for all the rest of it to get done. I ran a lot of it back after polish.
3 lb. barrel of Virgin Islands rock in 60/90. The last of it.
1-1/2 lb. barrel of emeralds in 1000. These are all reruns of previously polished emeralds. (Yes, I am not a well person.)
Vibe: More of the ever-fascinating backyard rock running in 100/120. Removing smooth, replacing with more, until I get enough to move on. This stuff seems to have agate, jasper, and maybe some pet wood. Along with a lot of stuff I'm clueless about.
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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 27, 2004 5:34:02 GMT -5
Indeed , patience is the keyword here and lots of it. Having so many stones on beaches may have it's advantage , but one gets too many lying about as I find Never mind , those that did not make the grade past the first second or third stage will all get a rerun eventualy. Even some of the polsihed once I am not happy about will have to suffer the same fate . But last wednesday I did have a batch of beachstones finished which did come up good . see foto.... I had another great afternoon fossicking at the beach. at the moment I am having Hydrogrossular garnet in polish...mixed bag of softer rocks in 600 and a load of garnets in 220 grit I need bigger tumblers, 6lbs just isn't enough anymore HELP enjoy Jack
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Lordwolf
off to a rocking start
rock and roll hehe
Member since June 2004
Posts: 10
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Post by Lordwolf on Jun 27, 2004 13:16:50 GMT -5
Cant wait to get my monster tumbler built. So i can run more than one batch : Am only running one batch in my little tumbler. Mostly this black non translucent glassy stuff i found by a waterfall. It sure is hard stuff. Keep rotating in some regular rock for my kid. Still only have one barrel, so I've been running lots of batches of 60\90 and just stockpiling rocks ready to go to the next step. Just ordered some adventurine and bloodstone from minerungems.
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Post by krazydiamond on Jun 27, 2004 15:31:18 GMT -5
i "borrowed" my mothers' 3# tumbler as she was to busy gallavanting to be bothered to use it.....well, i am doing very well "double barreling" now!
the first batch i've had in the 60/90 for almost two weeks now, that is a mongrel mix of bloodstone, blue agate, a few ornery pieces of moss agate, a few local granite pieces and some sodalite, oh yeah and what i think is some green quartz, but not sure.
i got a "mystery mix" from mamasminerals the other day so i started that in the new unit, i am guessing some of it is petrified wood, smoothing already only after a few days in 60/90, the rest of what is in there i have no clue. we all can play guess-that-rock in a few weeks time.....
good luck to everyone on their respective treasures, KD
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RiverOtter
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2004
Posts: 339
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Post by RiverOtter on Jun 27, 2004 16:25:09 GMT -5
Doc, I remember you telling us about the 10-year old batch left in your first tumbler. And that is an option. I ended up checking all my barrels on the 22nd (I usually try to space them out) and as it turns out most of them will probably be ready to move into the next step by the end of next week anyway. As I always do a borax wash between each grit stage I figured it would work out well. I could just leave them then. The only thing that wont be ready (of course) is the ruby/sapphs. Since we have had some we think are ready to move on, we have been pulling them from the load. But the only way to tell is to put them through a wash first. The slurry seems to stick to these real bad and a rinse doesn't clean them up well enough to see what we have. These are a guessing game anyway. We may discover later that none of them were ready and put them back into 60/90. But time will tell!!
Otter
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aquababie19
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since June 2004
Posts: 97
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Post by aquababie19 on Jun 29, 2004 13:45:38 GMT -5
well in my 1 1/2 lb i am polishing up what i got from the rockshed. it's the mixed rock consisting of rose quartz, green aventurine and the petrified pieces and some of small mixed. i also have some tiger eye in there. maybe i'll have pics soon.
i just stated some of the mixed rock in the 3 lb on the 60-90
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Post by creativeminded on Jun 29, 2004 14:02:27 GMT -5
I had two rocks that I really wanted to tumble a long time, so inorder to get enough rocks for the second stage I put the two larger rocks that I want to grind down a little more into a second batch of rose quarts, aventuring and sodalite, with a few other menatury of stones that I had broken up. I will be checking today, when I checked them on Friday before I went to Wichita they weren't quite ready for stage two. Tami
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Pdwight
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 619
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Post by Pdwight on Jun 29, 2004 14:02:59 GMT -5
Re: Rollin, rollin, rollin
"Rawhide"
Dwight P
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bwalters
has rocks in the head
Member since March 2004
Posts: 557
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Post by bwalters on Jun 29, 2004 16:10:29 GMT -5
I got it, Dwight. ;D That was the first thing I thought of when I read the title. Maybe no one else here is old enough to remember Rawhide. How SAD is that? BE
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