bellagirl
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2019
Posts: 4
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Post by bellagirl on Oct 10, 2019 1:10:59 GMT -5
Hello everyone! I’m excited to be in this group and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from y’all! I’m originally from New Orleans where there are no rocks (with the swamp and all) but am living in North Dakota for a couple years. I can’t believe all the beautiful rocks I’ve picked up in Montana and South Dakota as well! I bought my first tumbler and it lasted for about an hour so I guess my first question for everyone is would y’all please recommend a good brand tumbler? No more Harbor Freight brands for me! Thank you in advance for any and all advice you’re willing to share!
Bella
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Post by RocksInNJ on Oct 10, 2019 1:50:27 GMT -5
Welcome aboard Bella. I just started tumbling and am still in the middle of my first stage of running rocks.
You’ll most likely want a Lortone or Thumler tumbler. Best place I found and was told by everyone here to purchase from is therockshed.com. They set me up with everything I needed and were very helpful. I’m loving my new Lortone QT-66.
This is a great place full of very friendly and helpful people. Wish you the best on your tumbling adventures.
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 10, 2019 8:34:37 GMT -5
Welcome from Virginia!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Oct 10, 2019 8:53:53 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona!
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Post by greig on Oct 10, 2019 8:54:50 GMT -5
Welcome from Ontario, Canada. You now live in a collecting paradise. Too bad your first tumbler bit the dust. Was it a rotary tumbler? Did the motor die or something else went wrong? There is no reason for it to pack it in so quickly. Hope you kept your receipt and can return it. All of my rotary tumblers now are Lortone, but that is mostly because they are what is available. Well, there are ones with plastic barrels sold up here, but I would not recommend those. ;-)
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,681
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Post by Fossilman on Oct 10, 2019 9:54:25 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH.... We live in Oregon now, but am a native of North Dakota (35+ years).. Born there in Minot.. Great state, open country, hunting, fishing and a great place to raise a family - But their winters are total hell, hated them! Hahahaha
Yes Lortone is a great brand with tumblers... I have nine of them now and they just keep on rolling!
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Post by Pat on Oct 10, 2019 10:05:02 GMT -5
Welcome from California. Not a tumbler, but we have tumbling experts here.
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Post by MsAli on Oct 10, 2019 17:49:23 GMT -5
Hi Bella and welcome from Mn!
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,652
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Post by Tommy on Oct 11, 2019 2:41:05 GMT -5
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Post by TheRock on Oct 11, 2019 23:57:27 GMT -5
I guess my first question for everyone is would y’all please recommend a good brand tumbler? No more Harbor Freight brands for me! Thank you in advance for any and all advice you’re willing to share! Bella Well Bella to RTH Forum from ~Duke in SW Michigan answer your question there are two types of tumblers I recommend would be The Lortone QT66 for $210 .00 or the Thumler Model B also for $210.00 I have (2) QT66 and (6) Model B's in operation. These are ROTARY tumblers and round the stones in step 1 in 80 grit . Then there are The Vibe Tumblers used to Polish the stones Steps 2 thru 4 Usually 220 grit Step 2, 500 grit Step 3, and finally Polish Step 4. You can do it all in a rotary but plan on 3 months or more. A Vibe reduces the time to under 5 weeks. The Vibe tumblers I would recommend a Lot O for $192.00 that has a 4lb capacity or a Thumler UV-10 for $235.00 that has a 10 lb capacity but only costs $185 for the 4 lb capacity. I have all of them mentioned plus the UV-18 that costs $325.00 that has a 18 lb capacity and they even make a 40 lb model. Most people soon grow out of a 4lb modela the 10-18 lbx are great to work with, again my opinion. therockshed.com is a good place to shop for all yor supplies The owner Shawn Kunnels is a great guy and honest. Have fun and dont be afaid to ask questions. Good Luck!
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jimaz
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2018
Posts: 461
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Post by jimaz on Oct 12, 2019 14:01:21 GMT -5
Welcome from southern Arizona.
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bellagirl
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2019
Posts: 4
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Post by bellagirl on Oct 13, 2019 19:35:32 GMT -5
Thank you all for the warm welcome and knowledgeable advice! Yes, my first tumbler was a rotary, it had MANY issues straight out of the box. It overheated in the first hour, the belt slipped, it made a horrible screeching noise first time I plugged it in. And of course I couldn’t find receipt. So I decided before I got completely discouraged I would toss it in garbage and start again. Now I know what works best so tonight I’ll do some online shopping! Thanks again!
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,652
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Post by Tommy on Oct 14, 2019 1:52:10 GMT -5
Thank you all for the warm welcome and knowledgeable advice! Yes, my first tumbler was a rotary, it had MANY issues straight out of the box. It overheated in the first hour, the belt slipped, it made a horrible screeching noise first time I plugged it in. And of course I couldn’t find receipt. So I decided before I got completely discouraged I would toss it in garbage and start again. Now I know what works best so tonight I’ll do some online shopping! Thanks again! Keep us posted on any new purchases please
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bellagirl
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2019
Posts: 4
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Post by bellagirl on Oct 14, 2019 14:51:05 GMT -5
Hi again! I followed y’all’s advice and ordered a Lortone tumbler last night, should arrive in a few days. I did keep the 2 barrels from the Harbor Freight tumbler since they were brand new. Maybe I’ll be able to use them too. I filled my pockets with rocks just walking to the mailbox today and have probably 1,000 lbs I’ve collected in 2-3 months. I’m sure several won’t be tumble worthy, I read not to use cracked rocks. Can anyone recommend a good reference book so I can figure out what I have? Idk how to post pictures. Thanks again everyone! 😘
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Post by As I in does tries! on Oct 14, 2019 15:54:53 GMT -5
Greetings from Scotland!
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Post by TheRock on Oct 14, 2019 22:07:03 GMT -5
Hi again! I followed y’all’s advice and ordered a Lortone tumbler last night, should arrive in a few days. I did keep the 2 barrels from the Harbor Freight tumbler since they were brand new. Maybe I’ll be able to use them too. I filled my pockets with rocks just walking to the mailbox today and have probably 1,000 lbs I’ve collected in 2-3 months. I’m sure several won’t be tumble worthy, I read not to use cracked rocks. Can anyone recommend a good reference book so I can figure out what I have? Idk how to post pictures. Thanks again everyone! 😘 Hi Bella, I am going to give you a few good links to look at. from rocktumbler.com I have purchased from them but their price is a bit higher from Shawn's at therockshed.com. Rocktumbler.com is a great site to read articles on how to tumble for Example you wanted to Identify Stones you have. <<< Maybe this link will help. A good book on tumbling is by Steve Hart Modern Rock Tumbling I have two copies of this book one in each HEAD (that's restroom) for non Navy personnel I guess that's where the best reading is done, Steve is a good guy I have spent some time talking with him and he has a wealth of information. You may want to go to therocktumbler.com Rock Tumbling Library. You will find a bunch of information here. As I said before, I have priced them and 9 out of 10 times Shawn at the Rock Shed is Usually Cheaper. I have purchased from them if Shawn is out of stock and I need something right away. Anyways Good luck if you have any questions dont be afraid to ask or send a PM. ~Duke
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Post by RocksInNJ on Oct 15, 2019 4:46:20 GMT -5
Congrats on the tumbler purchase. Which Lortone did you get? It was a good idea to keep those other barrels and am hoping to get more myself some day. What you want to do if possible is have a separate barrel for each stage. You can mark them with the stage number or what not. That way you don’t risk any contamination from previous grits and ruin your batch and have to start all over again. Every stage will have its own barrel or at least 1 barrel for stages 1 and 2 and another for 3 and 4 or possibly one for stages 1-3 and another for the last polish stage.
I’m still running my first stage for the third time now and pulling rocks as they’re ready to go onto the next stages and keeping them in water, so if there is any grit still stuck on them after a thorough cleaning it won’t dry up in the rocks. So I’m really hoping that my cleaning skills are up to par when I have to clean out and scrub the barrels for the rocks to go onto the later stages.
Also the smaller barrel will be better for the last polish stage, as the rocks won’t bounce around as much and will have less of a chance of chipping or getting damaged.
I’m still a noob myself, but thought I’d pass along what I’ve learned here and from many, many YouTube videos. There are a ton of knowledgeable people here that know way more than I, so please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong,
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MommaGem
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2019
Posts: 312
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Post by MommaGem on Oct 15, 2019 10:09:30 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum Bella!
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