slowblade
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2021
Posts: 7
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Post by slowblade on Jun 23, 2021 6:04:50 GMT -5
Hello, I hope everyone is doing okay. Im new to this hobby and should be getting my first tumbler later today (Nat Geo Pro) and have probably stupid question. Most of the rocks i want to tumble i acquired from the beach so have already been shaped and reasonably smoothed down. Would you reccomend skipping step 1 with these kind of rocks? Im not sure if theyll just get eroded and dissolve into nothing, because some are already small. Thank you in advance
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stonemon
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2017
Posts: 1,024
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Post by stonemon on Jun 23, 2021 8:08:32 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum!
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Post by Starguy on Jun 23, 2021 11:24:04 GMT -5
slowblade If you have beach agates, they won’t grind away to nothing in stage 1. They will get considerably smoother though. Welcome to RTH. You will find lots of good advice here.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jun 23, 2021 12:35:26 GMT -5
slowblade If you have beach agates, they won’t grind away to nothing in stage 1. They will get considerably smoother though. Welcome to RTH. You will find lots of good advice here. Welcome to the forum from South Dakota! I'll second what Brent said. If you can identify the rocks, or post some pictures of your pre-tumble rocks, someone would probably be able to give you a little more precise advice. Welcome to the rabbit hole!
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Post by greig on Jun 24, 2021 17:15:33 GMT -5
My two cents. Stage 1 is coarse rounding. If you are already happy with their shape and there are no major imperfections to remove, I would start them in stage 2. Take a peek at about 5 days to see how they are doing. They might be done, especially if soft or might need more time. If they need more time, then you will probably know when to check them again. And feel the grit in the slurry to see if perhaps you should add more. If they aren't done after 10 or so days, then consider going back to stage 1, but I doubt this will be necessary.
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Post by Starguy on Jun 24, 2021 18:30:12 GMT -5
It would be nice to see a photo or two.
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Post by rmf on Jun 25, 2021 9:13:17 GMT -5
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scaboorocks
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 34
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Post by scaboorocks on Jun 25, 2021 11:54:08 GMT -5
I have a bunch of beach and river rocks that I have collected. I am planning on putting them through stage 1 for at least a week. While many have a nice shape, I see a lot of bruising on the quartz type rocks. I think a week in stage 1 should remove that. Another reason is to remove the weather rind.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,688
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Post by Fossilman on Jun 25, 2021 12:17:06 GMT -5
I rarely skip any stages on tumbling material..... Your call though... That's how we learn, trial and error... Good luck!
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allyegrl
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2020
Posts: 5
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Post by allyegrl on Jul 4, 2021 11:43:45 GMT -5
Before I bought my Lot-O I always put rocks like this through stage 1. Sometimes it was a quicker stage but otherwise I found they needed to be in stage 2 longer. I didn't put them in stage 1 for shaping purposes, some of them just felt rougher than others. If they are somewhat smooth, or don't feel real course, I don't have any problems starting mine in stage 2.
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gatorflash1
spending too much on rocks
Active in Delaware Mineralogical Society, Cabchon Grinding and Polishing, 2 Thumlers B's and a UV-18
Member since October 2018
Posts: 375
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Post by gatorflash1 on Jul 8, 2021 16:50:49 GMT -5
Hi Slow - from Delaware Have you done a Mohs test on the beach rocks? If not, please do. You don't want to tumble rocks as a beginner unless they are Moh 7+ or you will be frustrated that they didn't get the shine you thought they should. Here is a good book I highly recommend for any beginning tumbler. rocktumbler.com/book.shtml
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Post by pauls on Jul 8, 2021 18:53:10 GMT -5
I wouldn't skip any stages, they look round but are also bashed around in the surf, you need to remove the chips and dings from the surface of the rocks to get a good result
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Post by Peruano on Jul 8, 2021 20:44:43 GMT -5
You may be able to shorten stage one processing, but smart money says don't eliminate it completely. Even rocks that appear to be smoothed by nature are rarely as smooth and blem free as we aspire to in our tumbling. As evidence of this, I learned in a pottery class which I was taking that smooth instruments could be used to burnish the soft clay of the outer surface of a pot during the finishing process (commonly potters use a silver teaspoon which can produce a velvet like surface on fresh clay). Trying to innovate, I grabbed some of the smoothest river stones that I had lying about in my workshop for the burnishing process. And not surprisingly the natural river stones although smooth to the touch did not perform as well as tumbled stones or for that matter the silver spoon. All of this is a long justification for some of stage one and then go on as you see fit. Cheers.
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gatorflash1
spending too much on rocks
Active in Delaware Mineralogical Society, Cabchon Grinding and Polishing, 2 Thumlers B's and a UV-18
Member since October 2018
Posts: 375
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Post by gatorflash1 on Jul 10, 2021 6:18:24 GMT -5
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