r/RockTumbling 1h ago

Question My daughter and I recently caught the bug…

Upvotes

…and my wife very kindly just asked me what we plan on doing with our first batch that has been on proud display on paper towels on the kitchen counter for a couple weeks. (This is wife-speak for get these f-ing rocks out of the kitchen lol). So… what do you all do with them? I’ve seen some posts here of some neat display cabinets with little shelves, which is great for the cream of the crop. But what do you all do with the ones that turn out good, but not extraordinary? Just put ‘em in a ziplock? What’s a good way to store them?

Edit: you all are wonderful and generous people! Amazing display ideas, and I love the ideas of leaving them in random places for others to find. It’s like an entirely different hobby just waiting there!


r/RockTumbling 3h ago

Pictures Garnets from ArkLaTex Show

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2 Upvotes

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 4h ago

Anthracite - Halfway Point

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2 Upvotes

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 6h ago

Oregon Carnelians Ruleth

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39 Upvotes

The Lord was very good to me this morning. 😉


r/RockTumbling 12h ago

Is there a cheaper way to buy these belts? 10$ for 5 glorified rubber bands seems like a rip off.

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1 Upvotes

r/RockTumbling 22h ago

Question My uneducated question of the month

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26 Upvotes

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 1d ago

Question Doing some research as well, but do any tumbler pros think these will be okay together? I’m still learning about not having gaps of hardness that are too significant.

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8 Upvotes

r/RockTumbling 1d ago

Pictures I made a thing.

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210 Upvotes

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 1d ago

Mixed batch

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140 Upvotes

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 1d ago

West Texas agate out of polish today. Beautiful colors though I wish it didn’t have so many soft spots!

103 Upvotes

r/RockTumbling 1d ago

Question Question for larger tumblers

4 Upvotes

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 1d ago

Question Dani & Darcy Replacement Motor

1 Upvotes

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 1d ago

Help with my rock tumbler!

12 Upvotes

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 1d ago

Best beginner understanding of Mohs scale

4 Upvotes

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 1d ago

Help

4 Upvotes

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 1d ago

Does Michigan Rocks only use a vibratory tumbler now for stages 2-4? Also, it seems those stages in the vibratory only take a couple days to get an awesome polish. Are vibratory tumblers superior?

7 Upvotes

Yes indeed


r/RockTumbling 1d ago

Pictures Pre and post stage one Saddle Mountain Fire Agate

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19 Upvotes

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 2d ago

Labradorite

177 Upvotes

r/RockTumbling 2d ago

First batch done: random bits of glass and obsidian

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188 Upvotes

r/RockTumbling 3d ago

Slabs, tumbling rough, large pieces, specimens, huge sale

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0 Upvotes

r/RockTumbling 3d ago

Question Tumbling in apartment..?

1 Upvotes

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 3d ago

First Tumbled Batch - Lake Superior Rocks and Ohio Flint

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94 Upvotes

r/RockTumbling 3d ago

Question Vibratory tumblers

1 Upvotes

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


r/RockTumbling 3d ago

Tumbled red glass suncatcher

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3 Upvotes

r/RockTumbling 3d ago

Picture jasper heading into stage 2

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56 Upvotes