rockrockrock
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2016
Posts: 86
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Post by rockrockrock on Apr 12, 2021 21:58:36 GMT -5
Hi, Everyone: Last time I posted here you folks were immensely helpful. This time I have a few queries about dry tumbling with corn cob. I make a product from a plastic that is similar to Delrin or Acrylic. It is very beautiful when polished properly. I started using Diamond Pacific's Vibra-Dry products about three years ago, with some success. Over time I started knocking off their formula and making my own, for pennies on the dollar. Recently I discovered that it works a lot better than I had originally thought.
If I sand my product to 800 grit, I can then switch to Vibra-Dry and run 1700 > 3000 > 8000 > 14,000 etc. up to 100 K. I'm using basic Raytech tumbling machines which work perfectly for this appliclation.
Here's my very simple question. Approximately what cycle times should I be running per grit before I move to the next finer grit? Would two to three hours be enough? I'm concerned if I run too long, especially at the lower grit ratings, I might score or wear a slight pattern into the material. Bear in mind that my materials are plastic, not rock.
Sorry for this long-winded post.
Thank You, RRR
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,170
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Post by RWA3006 on Apr 13, 2021 7:04:11 GMT -5
I think trial and error will be your best guide and I suggest you make a chart with each media listed and start with a conservative guess, then pull out some samples and check with a magnifying glass to see where it's at. I'll bet you'll find that different times will be optimal for each grit.
I'd write down the results and tweek the times as needed. Before long you should have a good base line to go from.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Apr 13, 2021 10:20:48 GMT -5
What RWA3006 said. Since you're tumbling a plastic, I would definitely start out on the conservative side and check after an hour, and then depending on the result, every half hour or 15 minutes until you get the result you want from that grit. Keep a detailed chart. You may have to do the test a few times to dial in the exact lengths of time necessary for each grit to get your desired results.
Good luck!
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