gregw
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2011
Posts: 21
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Post by gregw on Dec 27, 2011 8:17:49 GMT -5
First post from Newbie, hello forum.
I live in Louisville, Kentucky along the Ohio River and there are numerous rounded river rocks all over my area. Some are dull in color but many look very inviting to polish, they look good wet and then dull dry. Will these polish up nicely? How can I tell or do I just have to give it a try?
Thanks in advance
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gregw
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2011
Posts: 21
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Post by gregw on Dec 27, 2011 8:19:42 GMT -5
Oh, and I don't have a tumbler, just considering one because of all the colored rocks I find.
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Post by johnjsgems on Dec 27, 2011 9:45:21 GMT -5
Depends. If broken edges are shiny they will likely polish. The exterior surfaces will be weathered. You can also scratch the rock with a knife. If it scratches it is likely too soft. If it leaves a metallic streak that rubs off it may polish. This is a simple hardness test.
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Post by jakesrocks on Dec 27, 2011 9:51:25 GMT -5
Welcome aboard gregw. Try scratching your rocks with a pocket knife. If they'll scratch, they're probably too soft for a beginner to work with. You should be able to find lots of agate in gravel bars along the river. Watch for the nice Kentucky agates.
PS, my father grew up on a tobacco farm near Louisville. Don
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Post by connrock on Dec 27, 2011 9:53:21 GMT -5
Hi and welcome!! I think that in some point in time we've all picked rocks from a river,creek or at the sea shore or lake side beaches and after they dried out we didn't like them as much but those rocks led a lot us to the point where you are now,,,,thinking about rock tumbling. It's a great hobby in itself ,can lead to other aspects of lapidary and jewelery making and,,,with over 4000 members here you've come to the right place to learn as much as you want to about any part or all of it!
For a beginner in rock tumbling beach rocks can be a friend or a foe but there's a pretty easy way to tell which are "keepers' and which ones to throw back.The ones that are thrown back have been dubbed"leaverites" which simply means,,,leave-er-rite there! ;D
To determine which rocks are good for tumbling you can use a simple "scratch test",and for starters, it can be done by using a piece of quartz,a file or even a "good" pocket knife. Try to scratch the rocks in question with any of the above and if the rocks does not scratch it's a keeper. Sometimes a beginner can be fooled by what a scratch really look like but if you can picture a "true' scratch on a piece of glass,this is what you want to see or in this case,,,not see. Some rocks,when scratched" will give off a white "residue" which often fools a beginner and looks like a scratch but really isn't so beware of this.
I don't want to go too deep into this so as not to confuse you but if you have A N Y questions,,,this IS the place to ask!
Many,many people have started out here just as you have and have become some of the worlds best rock tumblers and beyond!
connrock
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chassroc
Cave Dweller
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
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Post by chassroc on Dec 27, 2011 11:17:24 GMT -5
Greg, Unless I missed it, you did not say how you would polish your river rocks, only that you did not have a tumbler but might consider one. A tumbler is the only way you will be able to do a whole batch of rocks that are not already ready (smooth to 600 grit wheel equivalent) for polish.
If you don't have a buffing wheel or polisher, I assume you might want to try a few by hand first. In my experience the least frustrating method of hand polishing rocks, you can polish (to a soft luster) rocks that already well smoothed. My best attempts have been using 3M polishing paper; they come in six different grits from 400-6000 and can be used wet or dry. This works very well on relatively softer rocks like septarian nodules; I have not attempted verd hard agate and quartz. If you have very hard rocks you might want to start with some wet/dry sandpaper from 300-600 grit before the polishing paper.
charlie
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gregw
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2011
Posts: 21
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Post by gregw on Dec 27, 2011 12:30:44 GMT -5
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blessed
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2010
Posts: 329
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Post by blessed on Dec 27, 2011 13:09:59 GMT -5
Hello and welcome to the forum. I would say, pick up the rocks that catches your eye. As time goes by you will learn what will polish. The double 3# is a good start. The 60/90 grit is important, don't ship it. The river rocks may be round, but they still have imperfections. I live by the Arkansas river and river rocks is all I have ever tumbled. James
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shermlock
has rocks in the head
Member since August 2011
Posts: 612
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Post by shermlock on Dec 27, 2011 13:33:37 GMT -5
I tumble more river rocks than I do anything else. I always run two courses of the first stage to make sure that I get as many deep imperfections smoothed out as possible. Good luck and welcome to the hobby! Scott
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Post by jakesrocks on Dec 27, 2011 14:26:03 GMT -5
Should have mentioned it earlier. A down and dirty way to check rock hardness is the spit test. Just spit on them. The ones that dry quick are too soft to mess with. Rocks that are hard enough to easily polish will take longer to dry.
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Dec 28, 2011 0:06:12 GMT -5
Greg (I assume),
Welcome! Get yourself a 10x hand lens (magnifying glass) and take a close look at the rocks you are contemplating polishing. The actual surface of a stone is quite often not at all like what you thought you saw with the naked eye. For me, a hand lens makes it a lot easier to tell if it's likely to polish or not.
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gregw
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2011
Posts: 21
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Post by gregw on Dec 28, 2011 7:57:27 GMT -5
Danial, what am I looking for with a magnifyer??
Ok, I need to include the first step. So should I buy 2 additional drums so that I have 4 dedicated units, one for each grit size or can they be cleaned out well enough.
Should I use those plastic beads or not. Maybe just in the final polish.
Can I reuse grit? If yes, how do I do that?
There are no local rock shops here, so I will need to buy on-line, what are you favorite sources?
Thanks again for the help!
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gregw
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2011
Posts: 21
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Post by gregw on Dec 28, 2011 8:24:54 GMT -5
Under a lens, most of the rocks look like they are made of a conglomeration of 3 or 4 different particles combined. Reds, white, black and clear, each about the size of large sand grains. They have a shiny quartz like finish that appears faceted. What does that tell me?
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keystonecops
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2010
Posts: 957
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Post by keystonecops on Dec 28, 2011 8:38:36 GMT -5
Thumlers is a good tumbler. I have one and two Lortones. To me the Lortone has a better seal and is easier to put together. Thumlers ya hafta put it togethr like mountn a tire. Either one will do. Just be patient and let the tumbler do its thing. I also have a notebook and keep track of how much grit/polish I use, how long theyve been runnin and just general stuff. If ya get hooked youll wind up with more than one tumbler. Enjoy. Later Clyde
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Post by connrock on Dec 28, 2011 11:22:23 GMT -5
The tumbler you're looking at in Cabela's is $114.95 at the Rockshed,,,, therockshed.com/tumbler2.htmlQuite a savings that could be used for other equipment/supplies? Although some people do use separate barrels for each grit stage I don't really find that necessary.Why? Because if the barrel is loaded properly with the grit/water/rocks ratio correctly,,the grit will break down in 1/2 it's original size in 7-10 days which means a load with 200 grit will end up being 400 grit in 7-10 days sot eh chances of a "cross contamination" of grit is not very likely. Cross contamination in the grit stage is not as critical as it is in the polish stage where a single piece of rough grit can ruin you shine. In my opinion,,,,,most cross contamination comes from rocks that are not fully roughed and have pits,cracks and other flaws in them which can and WILL hold grit in them. There are many times these problem rocks are some of our favorites and we still want to polish them. There are a few ways to do it and one is called a "wash"in the tumbler.This is done by cleaning and rinsing the rocks,barrel and lid very good and then putting them into the barrel with a powdered laundry soap like Dreft and also using plastic pellets as a cushion.You can let this run over night or longer and then wash and rinse the rocks VERY good inspecting the flaws to ensure there is no grit in them.Sometimes a small tooth brush/soap can get the grit/sluury out as well. ,,,,,I should have said that this is only done after the roughing stage is finished.You don't care if grit is in the flaws during roughing. I didn't really want to get into the actual tumbling process but when you asked about having separate barrels for each stage it seemed necessary. To give you an idea of what a problem rock can be and that it too can be polished if handled correctly,,,,, I did a series of photos from start to finish on a load of rocks for a tumbling competition a few of us (here) entered a few years ago,,,,, Pay particular attention to the "test rock" as it is flawed yet I did get a fair shine on it,,,,, imageevent.com/tcknkk/comprocks2009?n=0&z=9&c=3&x=1&m=24&w=0&p=0Using plastic pellets is not normally done in the rough and 2nd stages unless the rocks you're tumbling are very soft and or will fracture/crack easily. If your rocks have past the scratch/spit test,,,in most cases,,, you don't need pellets until the 3rd and following stages. Although some people do re-use grit I find it a waste of time separating it from the rock slurry.I did a lot of experimenting using a home made elutriator to separate the grit/slurry and it was just way too much work and time for me to bother with it. Others may help you with their ideas/opinions about this here. Favorite sources can be: therockshed.com/tumbler1.htmlwww.kingsleynorth.com/www.jsgemslapidary.com/You can also find some VERY good deals at the rocktumblinghobby section,,,, forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/index.cgi?board=buysellMany,many more out there too,,,,,do a search for lapidary supplies and equipment and compare prices,,,,, The rocks you describe sound like some sort of quartz form,,,,maybe quartzite?Hard to tell without seeing it. Good Luck,,,, connrock
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Post by pghram on Dec 28, 2011 12:52:51 GMT -5
I don't reuse grit but I do capture the polish, I use tin oxide, by rinsing the barrel, rocks & pellets into a container. I let the polish settle out & then pour off most of the water, into a bucket, then outside.
When it’s time to use it again, I swirl it around to get the polish suspended in the water, pour in to the proper level & then scoop 3 table spoons of the goop from the bottom into the 3 lb barrel.
Once in a while, I’ll add a fresh spoon of polish to the barrel but not too often. Works great & saves a lot of money.
Most important is to be patient & have fun.
Peace, Rich
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Dec 29, 2011 0:32:55 GMT -5
From your description it sounds like you might have granite: the red color being feldspar, the white and clear quartz and the black mica. Or maybe the white is a different feldspar. What you see are different minerals that will each polish a little differently too. As you go from one stage to the next look at the rocks and see how the surface changes. I can't say for sure what you'll see, but I can just about guarantee that it will help you understand tumbling better.
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