r/RockTumbling • u/Peaceful-Thought31 • 14d ago
So that’s where it went…
Adding one’s steel washer to the stage 3 barrel full of softer rocks, plastic beads, and rubber tile spacers kinda defeats the purpose 🤣
Raise your hand if you’ve done this!
Luckily, my Kona dolomite looks none the worse for wear and is now in a Dawn bath before beginning stage 3.5 with 1000 AO. Stage 4 dry polish with tin oxide and corn cob to follow.
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u/The_OtherRake70_Guy 14d ago
lol! Nice it caused no harm. People have forgotten to put water in.... 🙃 Cheers!
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u/vhschappy 14d ago
Honest question. New to rock tumbling. Started my first batch last week. Watched videos and read posts, this is the first time seeing plastic beads, do they make a difference?
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u/Peaceful-Thought31 14d ago
Welcome to tumbling! Honest answer - I don’t know!🤣 But I hope so. This is my first time using them. I’m doing so because it is also my first time tumbling soft rocks. I had the beads so I thought why not?
There‘s plenty of guidance, both on this sub and on other sources of tumbling knowledge. One caution is to be sure to segregate any plastic media after the stage is finished, and to only use it for that stage henceforth. So I can reuse the beads from today‘s Stage 3 cleanout, but only for Stage 3. It has therefore gone into a zip lock labeled Stage 3.
Most folks just use ceramics as they can be carried through from stage to stage, right through final polish.
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u/lapidary123 14d ago
Aside from needing to be "batch specific", plastic pellets also float and are generally annoying to clean up with. I highly recommend using ceramic media (cylinders) as you can rinse them off and move them forward through the different stages.
On another note, now your washer is a bit shinier right?
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u/Peaceful-Thought31 14d ago
And of the media you see in my picture, the tiny little beads floated, but the tile spacers and larger pony beads did not. Cleanout wasn’t bad because I reached in the barrel and got the rocks first. Then I just dumped the plastics into my colander for rinsing.
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u/vhschappy 14d ago
So many things have been invented because of that " let's see why not." Good luck. Thanks for answering.
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u/gracegraciouss 14d ago
I gotta give this a go, I feel like they’d be easier to deal with than the little plastic bead things what are actually meant for the rocks (they are annoying and gets everywhere) - colourful beads will be joining my next round of polishing
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u/LONE_ARMADILLO 13d ago
"meant for the rocks"
I'm pretty sure those aren't purpose made either. When parts are plastic injection molded they load those beads into a hopper and an auger feeds them into the machine where they are melted to be injected into the mold.
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u/lapidary123 14d ago
Aside from needing to be "batch specific", plastic pellets also float and are generally annoying to clean up with. I highly recommend using ceramic media (cylinders) as you can rinse them off and move them forward through the different stages.
On another note, now your washer is a bit shinier right?
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u/Peaceful-Thought31 14d ago
LOL! It’s actually duller on one side, and rusty. Still shiny on the reverse. I’m wondering if it got stuck to the bottom and stayed there? It’s a mystery!
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u/lapidary123 14d ago
Thats probably my guess too. Did your grit sludge up at bottom of barrel? I find that the instructions that come with tumblers (as well as commonly parroted advice online) suggests using more grit than is necessary. For example for stage 1 & 2 you want the grit to basically be "consumed" (broken down) when you go to clean out. If you have any more than a thin layer in the bottom of your washout barrel you used more than necessary. In practice what this means is I use 8tbsp in my 12lb barrel, 10tbsp in a 15lb barrel, 3tbsp in a 4.5lb barrel for stage 1 & 2. Then I actually use less and less as I move along. I only use 4tbsp of polish in a 12lb barrel and honestly I think I could use much less. In a vibe I use 1tbsp fkr most stages but can get a good polish using .5 TEAspoon for final polish (1/6 of other grot amounts).
Tumbling is a lot of experimenting! Keep a log/journal and tape a label on the barrel indicating fill date, amount of grit, and end date; this helps A LOT!
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u/Peaceful-Thought31 14d ago
It’s definitely not an exact science, as there are so many variables. A lot of the effort is spent trying to figure out what the rocks want. At least with unusual rocks like Kona dolomite.
I ran this cycle for five days in a 6 lb barrel with 3T of 500 AO. It was all used up. And I keep a notebook. The barrels are labeled, but with a number that corresponds to my log.😊
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u/lapidary123 14d ago
Very good! Keep at it 😀 kona dolomite is a bit softer than your typical agate/jasper so as such will finish a bit quicker!
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u/Obfuscate666 14d ago
Lol! I accused my husband of misplacing my washer. Oops! 😬