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Post by shivan on Jan 16, 2012 18:48:59 GMT 10
Had them in stage 1 for 4 days and stage 2 for 5 days, the next two stages are polishing and will take anywhere for 4 days plus each. I think i probably should have gone a little longer in stages 1 and 2 and just taken any rocks out that seemed ready before the rest but nevermind hopefully ill learn a thing or two here for next time. This was more or less a tester run the only rock i really care about in this batch is the lil quartz/zircon or whatever it is, this iam hoping comes out nice so i can make something out of it.
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Post by shivan on Jan 30, 2012 11:20:47 GMT 10
Went to check my rocks this morning and to my horror when i opened the tumbler i discovered the barrel had been leaking Previous to this i had been checking every day but have left them for about 3 days now without checking. After cleaning up the motor i checked the barrel for leaks and found none all i can think of is that in the heat of my gararge the barrel had built up pressure some how and had leaked through the lid. Ill keep a better eye on it from now on. I guess i would call my first dabble into this a failure so far. It looks like about 1/2 the rocks have come up nice and the other 1/2 have either broken from what i wanted them looking like or have not come up like the rst of the rocks. But it was only a test run ;D One thing i think i really need to work on is the different stages and to be able to recognise when one stage is finished and when to start the next. I think because all my rocks were allready river rounded it mad the first two stages harder to moniter. I think i also need to look at the size of rocks i use, i had alot of different sizes in this run and that also seemed to be detramental as the smaller rocks seem to be ready alot longer before the larger ones. I also think that some of the larger rocks may have been responsible for the damage to some of the other rocks I will be starting the last stage of polishing today, will be running for at least 4 days like the instructions say but will check to see if they need to be run for longer or not.
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Post by shivan on Feb 1, 2012 18:55:58 GMT 10
Ok time to buy a proper tumbler i have worn the barrel out in this allready and my rocks are not done . Got warned away from this by some members just wish i would have listened and saved the bit extra for something a bit tougher
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Post by jeffu on Feb 1, 2012 19:45:13 GMT 10
That's not good Ian. I would have expected the barrel to last long than that. I gave one of the to my grandson for his birthday, sheeesh, better get around there and see how he is going with it. My tumbler is a little Lortone, has a rubber barrel,and hasn't stopped now for the last 35 days, almost ready to go to the final polish.
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Post by shivan on Feb 1, 2012 20:38:17 GMT 10
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Post by shivan on Mar 8, 2012 13:06:18 GMT 10
Got my birthday pressie a little early the lortone starter kit from aussie saphires ;D So much quieter than the nat geo tumbler and much better instructions. Have started a new batch of rocks and cant wait to see the results....... forgot to take some before photos though
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Post by shivan on Mar 19, 2012 22:23:07 GMT 10
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Post by shivan on Mar 26, 2012 21:42:12 GMT 10
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Post by shivan on Apr 3, 2012 11:06:51 GMT 10
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joedigs
God of the Goldfields
It's like the gold rush again.
Posts: 906
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Post by joedigs on Apr 3, 2012 11:56:26 GMT 10
Good effort Ian, I second Jeff with Aussie Sapphire - very helpful
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Post by markvd on Apr 3, 2012 22:27:41 GMT 10
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Post by shivan on Apr 11, 2012 16:42:04 GMT 10
Well pulled the rocks out of final polish after 8 days. Cleaned them up outside under the garden hose and everything looked beautiful When i got back inside and started carfully drying them i found alot were going back to a matt finish insted of glossy, the jasper seemed mostly affected. But i did get about 1/2 with a real glossy finish dry ;D Out of these there are only a few that i think are done, alot will go back thrugh previous stages to get them more to what i want but iam impressed with my results This is the group that came out nicely polished A bit of a closer look at some This rock i have named "The Bean" and is the one i have been wanting to make my daughter something with. It came out beautiful so now i just got to start practicing my wire wrapping
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Post by jeffu on Apr 11, 2012 17:54:49 GMT 10
Wee done Ian. They look a million % better than mine did. I got absolutely none that were shiny. Still haven't decided whether or not to re-do mine.
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budgie
Super Sluicer
Posts: 281
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Post by budgie on Apr 11, 2012 23:03:33 GMT 10
Absolutely brilliant for a first effort, Ian. I have never tumbled any stones. having lived and worked in the Opal fields, I learned to cut and polish. (Don't ave a cutting plant anymore.) But looking at your stones from a lapidarists view, I can see a few that would look fantastic if tey were fasceted. The "Bean" for instant and the amethyst. Is the fourth stone from left on the top row a smokey quartz? I better stop drooling. Tank you for sharing your experiences with the tumblers. Rock and tumble on. Budgie
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Post by shivan on Apr 12, 2012 0:03:27 GMT 10
Thanks for the replys ;D budgie the bit you were talking about is a bit of smokey quartz all the quartz except the amethyst were allready fairly water worn, the amethyst was a bit of an experiment Jeff nearly all my jasper is still dull but i will put them back it for another polish when i get another batch that far but i have allready started another batch in stage 1 so it wont be long ;D
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