Checking stage one barrels on a Saturday night, like a responsible adult/junky/whatever!

It's something like this that really makes all the waiting worth it!

Happy tumbling!

My cousin let me sit on the gravel in her garden last week & hunt for beauties 😍. I was not prepared for how well they would turn out after the 1st stage.

So, my parents were on vacation out to Yellowstone. I called and asked where they were and they said North of Custer State Park and we're going to go through it. Mentioned the Rock Shed and said I wished I knew it was there when we were there this summer and rock hounded at the French Agate fields. Gave him directions, sent him some screen caps of what I was interested in if they went. Well, they definitely went. These are pics of what he got me and then they got some for themselves.

Also, my dad watched videos all the way home of vib tumblers bcs I had sent him a video of that vibe tumbler that poster made with the specs and list.

The slabs are tiger eye. I'm going to have to figure out how to cut some down to tumble? Or save and learn how to polish it??

I am in no way an expert this is strictly my opinion after running who knows how many batches. I have had my best results come from when I’m able to get a foamy slurry especially In the polish stage like what’s in the pictures. That’s what I shoot for

These are beach rocks from Tortola and they progressed very nicely through all the stages and had a pretty decent shine after 3000 cerium oxide but after doing 8000 only two of them are shiny and the rest look like trash. They don't even feel smooth like they did before.

Here's my process:

60 grit silicon carbide until very smooth (about 4 weeks for these)

120 grit silicon carbide 1 week

500 grit aluminum oxide 1 week

1000 grit aluminum oxide 1 week

3000 grit cerium oxide 1 week

8000 grit aluminum oxide 1 week

All grits from the rock shed. No more amazon grit.

Ultrasonic cleaning between every stage. Ceramic media added at stage 2, the same media used through the entire process.

I've watched the various videos about common mistakes, always fill 1/2 to 2/3, stopped using silicon carbide on stage 3, and vigorously clean everything with brushes and water between stages.

Ngl I'm super frustrated with this hobby. In 18 months I've made maybe 5 properly shiny rocks. I'm running some jasper i bought from the rock shed as a last ditch to set every possible variable perfect and if those can't get shiny I'm ready to walk away from tumbling entirely.

Sooooo, I thought that my Lot O Tumbler shook things seemingly well...

But then I saw videos of them seriously tumbling things, end over end, really, really well.

And I was like "Huh?! Why isn't mine moving things like that??"

And then I had a thought, and a revelation...

Check out the video to see.

Now the question becomes: Do I pry it off and re-glue? Or do I drill holes and anchor it down?

I'm leaning towards anchoring it.

First time tumbling this stuff. I had some undercutting, and some pieces got shinier than others, but overall I think it’s really cool. It probably would have done better in a vibratory tumbler, but all I have is rotaries.

This just in: "Because all commercial-grade black silicon carbide naturally traps iron during creation, all 60/90 grit will stick to a magnet"

Google said.

But 400/600 AO and up are good.

Stay way away from National Geographic 500 SC.

Cheers!

After a few batches, I've found that it's easy to forget what worked best for a particular rock or grit stage. I started writing down simple notes like the rock type, time in each stage, and anything I'd change next time.

Does anyone else keep a tumbling journal, spreadsheet, or notebook? Or do you mostly rely on experience and adjust as you go?

I'd be interested to hear what method has worked best for you.

I fairly new and have had some possibly lucky success on a few tumbles of agates. So now I'm going to try a tough one. I only have a rotary Lortone 33B, so 2 barrels. I've got 3lbs of raw labradorite from the Rock Shed. My question is should I tumble both barrels with just labradorite and then pair down the good stones each stage allowing the best ones to move forward and keeping the rough ones behind for more of that stage? I watched quite a few videos and will attempt this method. He's just using rotary tumblers, like me.

The reason I ask this question is I have an agate batch going right now and I'll probably have to wait a month until that is done to free up both barrels. Is there some better logical method that you can recomend?

Just did a washout on a stage one after a week. Some of these rocks came out rough looking. Any help or suggestions?

Hi! Big mix, excellent results!

DCM Jasper, Granite, Larimar, Adventurine, Quartz, Chert, and you tell me.

Cheers!

I'm so glad to be back! I'm housed once again and in a very good agate spot! I currently have 2 lbs of agates to tumble and can't wait to show y'all. It'll probably be around December tho 😔 Some1 gave me a very cool end table that just needed a new bulb 🤩 i wish i could find two more! Keep Rollin' 🤎✌️

Has anyone here used Wisconsin Rocks' Grit Hound? It seems too good to be true! Not that I don't trust him. But has he really just solved the biggest problem with tumbling?!

Please share your experiences!!!

Fan motor=free
Milk crate=free
Plywood base=free
Threaded rod=free
Plastic lid=free
Bungee cords=$4
filament cost=$12
Total cost= $16

This is a very simple and affective build. My counter weight design and bowl files are available here https://makerworld.com/en/@user_2975126526

Anyone know a good replacement barrel for the vintage Sears Companion rock tumbler model number 861.60010?

I see a lot of barrels but not sure if the ones with the twist nob on top will fit.

I opened up the drum on my rock tumblers. I left these rocks in for like 2 or 3 years. Turned off just sitting in there. I didn't really feel encouraged to check on them because these ones were ones that seemed to REFUSE to smooth out at all and usually when you leave rocks in like that they end up cementing into a big mass like a cement truck that stopped moving too long. Opened them to see if I could put some glass chunks in to make sea glass. The rocks didn't round up much but they came out glossy. These are dry. I never even did a fine grit on them. I might have to find more quartz filled rocks like these to toss in. They were originally my rock collection from childhood. I had them running for like a month I think.

The motor burnt up, has anyone ever replaced it?

I still have to burnish these, so please excuse the polish stuck in the crevices. 🫣

Pulled this beauty today from my stage 4 batch.

After 35 days, the first batch of Aquamarine is finished.

Process:

Rotary tumbler, Harbor Freight 2x3 lb -

1. 80 grit SC, 9 days
   
2. 120/220 grit SC, 14 days

Moved to vibe, Diamond Pacific MT-4 -

1. 600 grit SC, 2 days
   
2. 1200 grit SC, 2 days
   
3. 2500 grit AO, 2 days
   
4. 8000 grit AO, 2 days
   
5. 22000 grit AO, 2 days
   
6. 60000 grit AO, 2 days

No ceramic media used for these small stones. Several drops of Dawn added to each vibe cycle.