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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 30, 2020 19:42:27 GMT -5
20 Mule Team is one brand Is $22 a good price for 65 oz? Oh, hell no!
It's usually around $5 for a 65 oz box. Where did you see that price? Your local Home Depot or Lowes will have it, too.
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Post by knave on Mar 30, 2020 19:44:50 GMT -5
20 Mule Team is one brand Is $22 a good price for 65 oz? Absolutely not! I believe I got mine at a grocery store for about $5-6?
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mirdonamy
starting to shine!
Don't step on the momeraths!
Member since March 2020
Posts: 31
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Post by mirdonamy on Mar 31, 2020 1:04:42 GMT -5
My local store doesn't have any, and amazon is selling it for $22. Damn, I should just drive up to Boron and mine my own! Ha
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Post by rockpickerforever on Mar 31, 2020 1:24:31 GMT -5
Try Target or Walmart, in the laundry products section. Less than $5. Smart and Final sells it too, usually about a buck more.
I do use it as a laundry booster.
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lancemountain
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2017
Posts: 214
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Post by lancemountain on Mar 31, 2020 8:26:54 GMT -5
I have a squirt bottle next to my vibe. I squirt a little in there every so often to keep this from happening
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 31, 2020 8:45:42 GMT -5
My local store doesn't have any, and amazon is selling it for $22. Damn, I should just drive up to Boron and mine my own! Ha Like rockpickerforever said, Target and Walmart will have it. Any grocery store usually has it as well has Lowes, Home Depot or any hardware store. If you have a Dollar store near you, try there.
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Post by manofglass on May 3, 2020 20:30:50 GMT -5
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inbtb
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2016
Posts: 351
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Post by inbtb on May 3, 2020 20:52:31 GMT -5
Could run a lot of rocks with 4 boxes.
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Post by HankRocks on May 3, 2020 20:57:34 GMT -5
20 Mule Team is one brand Is $22 a good price for 65 oz? I have seen it in most grocery stores around here(Houston area, just not sure about now). 1 box lasts me a couple of years so I do not remember the price, $4 to $5 maybe for a 65 oz box. I only use it during the Soap run and during polish. It decreases the surface tension in water making detergent more effective. I also put a bit in my Polish run to increase the Polishing, that's the theory anyway. Don't need much, in the Soap run in the UV-18, maybe a tablespoon. One word of warning, it will kill plants so be careful where you pour off any water. I usually dump any Borax water in my Rock Garden as it keeps the weeds from growing. Since I only use it in Polishing and Burnishing and I save all my Polish for re-use the only water I need to dispose of is the soap water from the Burnish run. Henry
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gatorflash1
spending too much on rocks
Active in Delaware Mineralogical Society, Cabchon Grinding and Polishing, 2 Thumlers B's and a UV-18
Member since October 2018
Posts: 375
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Post by gatorflash1 on May 4, 2020 8:08:58 GMT -5
Hi Bird - Concrete in a Vib usually means you were not paying attention to your tumbling. Vibs need babysitting as they are beasts and create a lot of slurry very fast. Like others on this post I check my TT UV-18 at least two to three times a day or more when it is running and add water frequently. Vibs don't need as much grit/polish as rotaries and it is easy to make a mistake in this area which creates a big mess. Here is some good info about Vibs and I would recommend you buy and follow the Modern Rock Tumbling book, link below, which describes Vibs in detail and with their use with various types of rocks, grit/polish, etc. I have a couple of rotaries that do the heavy lifting in Stage 1 and 2. Once the rocks are nicely rounded and ready for polishing it is off to my Vib which has two barrels, one for stage 3 and one for stage 4 and burnishing. I do a super wash between every stage, washing both rocks and barrels. Good luck with your Vib. rocktumbler.com/vibratory.shtmlrocktumbler.com/book.shtmlA video about using a Vib tumbler. rocktumbler.com/blog/operating-the-thumlers-uv-10-rock-tumbler/
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mirdonamy
starting to shine!
Don't step on the momeraths!
Member since March 2020
Posts: 31
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Post by mirdonamy on May 20, 2020 13:51:29 GMT -5
Hi Bird - Concrete in a Vib usually means you were not paying attention to your tumbling. Vibs need babysitting as they are beasts and create a lot of slurry very fast. Like others on this post I check my TT UV-18 at least two to three times a day or more when it is running and add water frequently. Vibs don't need as much grit/polish as rotaries and it is easy to make a mistake in this area which creates a big mess. Here is some good info about Vibs and I would recommend you buy and follow the Modern Rock Tumbling book, link below, which describes Vibs in detail and with their use with various types of rocks, grit/polish, etc. I have a couple of rotaries that do the heavy lifting in Stage 1 and 2. Once the rocks are nicely rounded and ready for polishing it is off to my Vib which has two barrels, one for stage 3 and one for stage 4 and burnishing. I do a super wash between every stage, washing both rocks and barrels. Good luck with your Vib. rocktumbler.com/vibratory.shtmlrocktumbler.com/book.shtmlA video about using a Vib tumbler. rocktumbler.com/blog/operating-the-thumlers-uv-10-rock-tumbler/I have read the Rock Tumbling book (thoroughly at first, but then scanned through the recipe recommendations since I don't have a tumbler yet, and this area didn't make sense to me to dive deep into without product in hand to try out). I am still trying to decide WHICH vibe to get. What is the reason you have two barrels for your vibe, esp since you thoroughly wash them out?
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Prov
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2020
Posts: 116
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Post by Prov on May 20, 2020 16:18:28 GMT -5
I can answer this one.
It's to prevent grit contamination between your smoothing and polishing batches. Today I was washing out my Lot-O barrel after running the 220 load in it, and despite my very thorough, time consuming process it still appeared to have tiny flecks of grit in it at the bottom.
If you only use polish in your second barrel, the only cross contamination will be whatever your rocks bring in from your previous load. And I'd say it's a damn sight easier to wash your rocks between loads, than it is to fully verify there's no contaminating grit in the barrel.
It just means you have to judge your rocks carefully and wash them carefully between loads.
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Post by knave on May 20, 2020 16:44:34 GMT -5
By the time a stage is finished, there should be no particulate larger than the next stage grit. JMO. Using a good amount of ceramic filler with softer material, helps to break the grit down. S
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gatorflash1
spending too much on rocks
Active in Delaware Mineralogical Society, Cabchon Grinding and Polishing, 2 Thumlers B's and a UV-18
Member since October 2018
Posts: 375
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Post by gatorflash1 on May 22, 2020 11:37:32 GMT -5
Hi Bird - Concrete in a Vib usually means you were not paying attention to your tumbling. Vibs need babysitting as they are beasts and create a lot of slurry very fast. Like others on this post I check my TT UV-18 at least two to three times a day or more when it is running and add water frequently. Vibs don't need as much grit/polish as rotaries and it is easy to make a mistake in this area which creates a big mess. Here is some good info about Vibs and I would recommend you buy and follow the Modern Rock Tumbling book, link below, which describes Vibs in detail and with their use with various types of rocks, grit/polish, etc. I have a couple of rotaries that do the heavy lifting in Stage 1 and 2. Once the rocks are nicely rounded and ready for polishing it is off to my Vib which has two barrels, one for stage 3 and one for stage 4 and burnishing. I do a super wash between every stage, washing both rocks and barrels. Good luck with your Vib. rocktumbler.com/vibratory.shtmlrocktumbler.com/book.shtmlA video about using a Vib tumbler. rocktumbler.com/blog/operating-the-thumlers-uv-10-rock-tumbler/I have read the Rock Tumbling book (thoroughly at first, but then scanned through the recipe recommendations since I don't have a tumbler yet, and this area didn't make sense to me to dive deep into without product in hand to try out). I am still trying to decide WHICH vibe to get. What is the reason you have two barrels for your vibe, esp since you thoroughly wash them out? I'm probably paranoid about scratching my tumbles with old grit from a prior step. The fear of a prior stage grit ruining the polishing step is the reason I have two barrels for my vib tumbler. The first is for prepolishing, the second in for polishing and burnishing. That said I'm still a big fan of a super wash between the polishing steps. Sometimes grit becomes stuck in a crack or small pit and if released during the polishing phase it can set you back as far as step 2 in the tumbling process. Like I said I'm parranoid. I like polished rocks and the cost of an extra barrel seemed worth it to me considering the amount of time spent to get the rocks to this final stage.
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