1st and 2nd Rock Tumble Pics

[EricTheCat]

Tumble 2011, my first tumble.

Before


After






Some before and after pics








Now working on tumble #2

Before


A few of them after 2 weeks (wet). One casualty in the top of the photo.



Happy hunting,
Eric

 

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[old digger]

The transformation is kind of magical isn't it. Good Job!

 

[austin]

Purdy rocks mister...

 

[StoneWhisper]

Amazing shine on those stones.

 

[Mojo618]

Wow! I think you just inspired me to invest in a Tumbler!! Lol! That's an amazing transformation!! You could probably sell those on eBay now! Lol!! Great pics!

 

[Eu_citzen]

Looks like you got a nice polish on those - well done!

 

[EricTheCat]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments.

If you do decide to tumble just remember it takes a lot of patience. On this tumble I ran the coarse grit stage for almost 4 months. This was partly because a few of the rocks were particularly rough and in the end I was only holding out for a few of them. Also I ran the tumbler with less weight than I could have which may have slowed things down. I'm definitely still learning. My 2nd/current tumble has a little more weight to it and also generally the stones are more tumble friendly in shape. I am hoping for quicker results this time.

That said, tumbling is very rewarding. You get to find details you never knew where there. The pictures did not do these justice. The agate in the 4th row is a shadow agate and has a vivid fading effect across the entire face that changes as you view it from different angles and kind of messes with your eyes. This effect was not noticeable before the tumble. The one on the third row did not show the eyes or much of the color it has now. Old digger is right, it is kind of magical.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Very nice outcomes! I have a lortone I use for cleaning MD finds. I would love to try tumbling rocks some time, but we don't have the right types where I live.

 

[StoneWhisper]

I've been a tumbler for many years and have found that I've never been able to get that type of shine on my stones.. Thou I'm pleased with my results, I've stoped tumbling for almost two years..seeing how I've run out of three types of grit and the electic usage is tight..
I'm at a point where I'm willing to sell my tumblers if anyone is interested.. PM for more details.. (will include a few rocks as well)

 

[mamabear]

Eric nice job. it does take forever doesn't it, but well worth the wait.
Jason, I think if you just go pick up pretty much any rock from a creek bed it will tumble well. I have tumled ones I never thought would work, & they turned out nice. give it a try

 

[Jason in Enid]

The only rock in my area is shale

 

[EricTheCat]

Jason,

Only shale in your area? I find that very interesting. I've always found it intriguing how different areas have different geological properties. Here in southern MN I am up on top of the Des Moines glacial lobe which contains a lot of granite, shale and limestone (of all sizes). The Des Moines lobe lies on top of the Superior lobe which contains a lot of basalt, quartz and of course the Superior lobe contains Lake Superior agates. The best places here to look for rocks are around creeks and rivers where erosion has exposed the Superior lobe. I hope you can at least find some fossils there in the shale.



OurJeepLife, it's too bad if you did not get as good of a shine. I understand if electricity is tight, though I would encourage you to try again if you can. What kind of rocks did you tumble?

mamabear, yes it certainly does take forever and yes tumbling is well worth it. This Sunday I will be checking on tumble #2 and will determine if it's time for the next stage or not. I doubt it's ready though it is still fun to look at the rocks and see how they have changed.

 

[EricTheCat]

Tumble #2 week 3. Still more time needed on coarse grit. I noticed that the barrel I use for coarse grit is starting to wear around the seal so I am hoping to move this to the next stage before the barrel completely wears out.

Here are what they look like after 3 weeks on coarse grit. The first one is mostly dry. The rest are all wet.



















I can't wait.

 

[StoneWhisper]

As I informed Mamabear.. I forgot to check with my wife first on attemtping to sell my tumblers.. and In doing so, She (my wife) told me I'm not getting rid of the tumblers.. True I did follow the stages to get a nice shine on the stones.. your's just look way better then I've even seen at any other forums I've particupated in.. I've even heard of one user, Painting on Nail polish to get this type of shine, thats why I was so skeptical..and yes.. I'll hold onto the tumblers for a bit longer, though I can't say I'll be using them any time soon.

 

[EricTheCat]

Wizard, I just noticed that I had the wrong name in my reply to you. Sorry about that. I was surprised how much shine I got on my first tumble. I did try very hard to do everything right. I use separate barrels for each stage. In between each stage I wash the rocks and barrel with soap and water and then ran the tumbler a day with borax soap and water. I ran the first stage for a very long time and the next 3 stages each ran for at least 2 weeks. Also in the last stage, the polish stage, I included some borax with the tumble (recommended by a tutorial I read which stated that it will reduce the surface tension and increase the polish). All of this plus some luck might have contributed.



Oh I see, you changed your username. I thought I was losing my mind for a minute there.

 

[StoneWhisper]

Well Thxs to TreasureNet for allowing for the rename.. I have a few firends that are interested in my psot here as well as other sites.. and they simply know me as wizard anyway..

True I have two barrelks per tumbler.. and I rough tumble them first.. I'd like to get into cutting and shaping the stones before just throwing them int he tumbler.. For the tiem I've been here (off & On) I've pushed for new ideas and or comments dealing with rocks and minerals in general.. Thou this might not be the right area to psot tumbling technequecs.. I feel your doing a great job with yoiur method.