bearkodiak
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2021
Posts: 1
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Post by bearkodiak on Jan 17, 2021 13:55:09 GMT -5
Hello List i am just new o this forum and very new to tumbling. i had gotten a tumbler from harbor freight for Christmas and thought I would try it out with some obsidian. Well I went through all the stages ( 2 weeks coarse, 1 wk fine, 1 wk prepolish, and finally 1 wk of polish. i was using the Thumbler brand of grits. After all this time my stones still are very hazy with no shine at all. Can anyone tell me what I’m doing wrong ? Thank you for any help....Jim
kodiak54@verizon.net
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Post by manofglass on Jan 17, 2021 16:15:49 GMT -5
Welcome from Michigan
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jan 17, 2021 17:43:15 GMT -5
Obsidian is not a great starter batch. Tumbling obsidian (glass) is a completely different process then tumbling rocks and getting a good polish on it in a rotary tumbler is not for the faint at heart. For starters there are a lot of filler materials used in the process. Like 50% of the barrel from stage 2 and on should be small ceramic filler or possibly plastic beads. The barrel needs to be filled a bit more then with rocks to avoid the obsidian bruising. You mentioned your steps but not the mesh numbers to go with them. If you are using a 3 pound barrel I recommend the following steps:
stage one- 60/90 silicon carbide for 7 days repeating as many times as necessary until all flaws are removed stage two- 120/220 silicon carbide for 10 days stage three 500 or 600 in silicon carbide or aluminum oxide for 10 days stage four 1000 aluminum oxide for 10 days stage five either sub-micron (.3 micron) aluminum oxide polish or a cerium oxide polish for 10-14 days stage six burnish overnight
Chuck
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rocket
spending too much on rocks
Quality slabs for quality cabs in 2022
Member since September 2020
Posts: 292
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Post by rocket on Jan 17, 2021 18:50:36 GMT -5
Welcome from Maryland...try some jasper or agate...obsidian is tough for a beginner...Rocket
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 17, 2021 19:42:34 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona!
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