Silicon Carbide 60 Grit

Silicon carbide 60 grit is a coarse grit that works great in rotary tumblers.

Silicon carbide is a man-made abrasive that is sold in granules of the proper size for shaping, smoothing and polishing rocks in a tumbler. It has three important characteristics that make it the preferred grit for rock tumbling:

Hard, Angular Particles and Inexpensive

Silicon carbide, sometimes called SiC or silicon carbide ceramic, is a tough material that is one of the hardest known abrasives, with a Mohs hardness that is only exceeded by diamond and boron carbide. It is used in a wide range of industrial applications, including grinding, lapping, abrasive blasting and tumbling.

The primary advantage of using this grit is that it is very inexpensive, selling for about a few dollars a pound as a screened and packaged product. This makes it a popular choice for many hobbyists and professionals who want to do a wide variety of work without breaking the bank.

Another reason that people prefer this grit is that it can be purchased in a number of different grit sizes and particle sizes. Some are "graded" and have a very narrow range of particle sizes, while others are called “ungraded” and have a wider range of particle sizes. The difference is that a graded grit must be crushed and screened to ensure that all of the particles are about the same size, whereas a ungraded grit can be made with a much larger range of particle sizes.

Graded grits are typically more expensive than ungraded grits, but they do require more processing to ensure that all of the particles are about a certain size. This is why it is important to read the description carefully before purchasing a graded grit.

This grit is a great choice for making beach sea glass, and also for grinding away the rough edges of a mirror blank to form the desired curve. It also works well to clean up any stray spec of grit that is left behind after the last stage of tumbling in your rotary tumbler.

How to use it

Unlike most other abrasives, silicon carbide has a wide range of particle sizes in different grit sizes. Its particle size can vary from tiny (250 microns) to huge (177 microns). This allows it to be used in a wide range of tumbling applications and cleaning processes.

It is also useful for rough grinding in a mirror grinder, where it can grind away a lot of glass quickly. This allows the mirror grinder to get started quickly on a project and finish it up in a short amount of time.

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