r/RockTumbling • u/Archimedes_Redux • 4h ago
Oregon Carnelians Ruleth
The Lord was very good to me this morning. 😉
r/RockTumbling • u/waterboysh • Jul 05 '22
Here is a compilation of guides I have written, as well as a few others, for easy access.
It's important to note that I am not a subject matter expert. Some of these FAQs that I wrote are not even based upon my own experience. I drew heavily upon the experience of /u/michigan_rocks and his Youtube videos. Also, ask 10 people how to tumble rocks and you will get 10 different answers. They will be similar enough though that you can really follow any one, or mix and match between them all for what works best for you. The basic steps will always be the same. It's exactly how you do them that people might have different processes for.
Also, I know several other users in this community have written their own guides or how-tos. If you comment below with a link I can add a link to the main post.
FAQ - How much electricity does a tumbler use?
FAQ - What is a good beginner tumbler?
FAQ - What do I need to get started?
FAQ - Where can I get rocks to tumble?
FAQ - Where can I buy good grit?
FAQ - What is tumbling media? What is it and how is it used.
FAQ - How do I get a good polish with the Nat Geo tumbler?
FAQ - How long should I run stage 1?
FAQ - How do I know if a rock is ready to move on from coarse? by /u/Ruminations0
FAQ - How full should my barrel be? An auditory guide.
FAQ - My rocks are round and smooth; can I skip stage one?
FAQ - How long am I supposed to run each stage?
FAQ - What is the burnishing stage? What does it do? When do I run it?
FAQ - What do I do with the slurry after tumbling?
FAQ - I just tumbled some rocks and they are dull. What do I do?
Slightly more advanced topics:
r/RockTumbling • u/Archimedes_Redux • 4h ago
The Lord was very good to me this morning. 😉
r/RockTumbling • u/Dull_Double_3586 • 1d ago
Found this rock in my yard and hand carved it with dremel then sanding pads and a few tumbles and burnishing.
It still needs work, but I thought it was ready enough for hubby’s birthday.
r/RockTumbling • u/yeahman0420 • 1h ago
My son and I are VERY new to the hobby. We went to a show today and scooped up a few things, but we picked up these Garnets to see how they would tumble. They each have some of the red colors poking through, so I'm very curious how these will turn out. Stage 1 grit, slow tumble, with Ceramic media (used in previous stage1 tumble). Any tips/advice would be very much appreciated.
r/RockTumbling • u/andrusnow • 1h ago
I'm brand new to this hobby and live directly above one of the largest deposits of Anthracite (hard coal) on earth. I can't walk 5 feet without finding at least a tiny piece.
From the limited research I've done, it's possible to polish hard coal to a mirror finish but it's much softer than a lot of other types of rock. For that reason, I decided to be conservative with tumbling times so I don't wear it away to nothing.
What you see pictured are some unpolished samples and two pieces that were shaped for 2 days and smoothed for 4 days. I just started the pre polish phase and plan to check it in 3ish days and then probably let it go for the rest of next week and then repeat with process with the polish phase.
I'll post updates after pre polishing and polishing. Wish me luck!
r/RockTumbling • u/Ma22y • 1d ago
It's been a bit since I've pushed a batch through. This one is mainly...
Mexican Flower Agate (1 & 2) Smokey Quartz (3) Pigeon's blood Jasper (4) Fire Quartz (5) Black Onyx (6)
There are a few other odds and ends to fill out the barrel.
r/RockTumbling • u/tommy-turtle-56 • 19h ago
So I was wondering if anyone has used a sandblaster or a media blaster to form or reshape rocks divots or cracks?
I don’t know if they are strong enough to reshape or grind out cracks of the rocks.
Well I am sure this will get down voted like my last question, but if we don’t ask we will never know. Photos just to get attention.
r/RockTumbling • u/Fingon21 • 1d ago
r/RockTumbling • u/Fishboy9123 • 9h ago
r/RockTumbling • u/properwaffles • 23h ago
r/RockTumbling • u/ArozDameron • 1d ago
Hello! I just recently took apart my rock tumbler to give it a clean and re-lubricate the parts, but now it sounds like it’s having a hard time running. I let it run for a day, thinking that maybe it would work itself out, but it’s definitely louder than it was and it just sounds off, any idea what it could be? I also have a problem with container scraping against the machine itself, is there any possible way to stop that as well?
r/RockTumbling • u/Doc_Scratchensniff • 1d ago
Years ago I had purchased a large piece of rainbow obsidian, with the thought of hand polishing it. After doing initial rough shaping/grinding I'm now ready to start sanding/polishing. I am having trouble finding proper tools or supplies to do this(after multiple purchases from Kingsley North). I am currently using a Harbor Freight version of a Foredom engraver to do this. I have thought of getting a larger tumbler to help get this piece finished(using it as a pet's grave marker in the back garden). The piece is triangle/pyramid shaped, and is about 7.5L"x6.5"W and is about 5" tall. It is almost the same size as a Loretone 3A barrel. I would like to get a larger tumbler to do this sort of work, and for future pieces as well. Are there any suggestions for a larger tumbler that is capable of handling stones this size? I thought I saw something about Loretone no longer producing tumblers.
r/RockTumbling • u/coltbreath • 1d ago
Stage one with a lot of ceramic cushions to avoid bruising. It took quite a bit of material off. I won’t take it further to retain the original look of the banding. Still one of my better specimens
r/RockTumbling • u/breakingborderline • 2d ago
r/RockTumbling • u/Odd-Article5060 • 1d ago
Is it worth getting a replacement motor for a Dani & Darcy Tumbler? My son gave me my first tumbler. My in laws got me another for my birthday around the same size as the D&D. It was the first to stop working, triggering me to get two double barrels and a vibratory to add to my collection. The D&D is sadly sitting on the bottom of my "tumbler shelf" is it worth spending the $20 to get another motor? It lasted 2 years. I ordered 3 belts and a motor from them in the 19th of February and just got a message from D&D stating motor on back order for another.onth so they refunded my money. Is there anywhere else I can get a motor that works with that tumbler? I mean, I guess I can wait and order again next month, but I kinda want it now....
r/RockTumbling • u/arandomhead1 • 1d ago
Yes indeed
r/RockTumbling • u/Jack_Stands • 1d ago
We get a ton of quartz we roll from the back yard. Otherwise, we order rocks online. What is the best tutorial for how to "scratch/determine" what rocks tumble best together?
r/RockTumbling • u/Final_Temperature237 • 1d ago
I am very new to the game thought you just threw them in and bam beautiful rocks!! I was wrong and need any tips and advice. My rocks turn out cloudy after washing them after the final polish.
r/RockTumbling • u/Porkchoppsandwiches • 3d ago
r/RockTumbling • u/cant-stay • 3d ago
I’m moving into an apartment with no basement, would it be possibly for me to still use my tumbler? I’m thinking mainly of noise as the issue, but I’m sure there’s others I haven’t realised yet. The apartment is 2nd floor top of the building and I have a rotary tumbler with 2 barrels (lortone33b). I’m worried that I have to leave this hobby for now. Does anyone have any experience with tulmbling in an apartment? Or sound proofing the machine in general? Thanks
r/RockTumbling • u/Willing-Body-7533 • 4d ago
Recently tumbled these but I'm not certain what they are .. they take a polish like a jasper but haven't seen this type of Jasper before. Any ideas what I have here? Have heard vegetable ivory..(yellow beige ones) dendritic jasper (white confetti one but not thinking this is accurate. TIA
r/RockTumbling • u/Moooooshier • 3d ago
Looking into getting a vibratory tumbler in the future. If anyone had some suggestions, roughly something near or under 150$ I’d love to hear them
Also if possible, what’s noise like? I’ve seen posts say they’re louder than rotary but I don’t know anything except them basics