firef1y
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2023
Posts: 8
|
Post by firef1y on Jan 12, 2023 5:41:35 GMT -5
First off Hi from the smallest town in England.
A bit of background. My youngest loves to collect "interesting stones" from places we visit. I'm more in to resin a d have been using some in my resin creations to make unique souvenirs, but the collection was building so I bought him a National Geographic Hobby edition tumbler for Christmas. Before I started him up I did my research (I'm autistic and have to know everything I can about anything I do) and worked out that I should just throw the instruction booklet in the bin and run multiple rough courses, which should be 7(ish) days each.
Only trouble is this particular tumbler rotates fast, like super fast. And by trial and error I've discovered that the grit is all used up within 2 days (tried adding more grit but it's only a 1.5lb barrel and once I got to 3tbsp I gave up adding more and resigned myself to cleaning it out every other day).
Anyhow, I decided to buy a more grown up tumbler. Being in the UK we don't have a huge amount of choice, so I chose a Beach 3lb with 2x1.5lb barrels. This runs much slower than the NG and there is still grit in the mix after 5 days. I then won an Ebay auction for another beach tumbler with a single 3lb barrel. I filled this with a mix of agates last night again seems to be running a lot slower (and quieter than the NG). Managed to persuade my boy to sell his NG tumbler with the proviso that he can use one of my 1.5lb barrels. And i have another 3lb on its way.
So the question.... I bought some sunstone and moonstone rough before thinking about hardness etc. Can i tumble these together???
Oh and does anyone know where I can get petrified wood at a reasonable price in the UK???
Sorry this is so long and tia
|
|
vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
|
Post by vance71975 on Jan 12, 2023 6:30:21 GMT -5
One thing, The grit may SEEM used up at 2 days, but its not, it just broken down to a finer grit. You should still let it go 5 to 7 days. With the Nat Geo, you can work with it, if you use speed 1. Sunstone and Moonstone are roughly the same Mohs hardness so they should be fine to tumble together.
|
|
|
Post by vegasjames on Jan 12, 2023 8:33:34 GMT -5
Welcome from Southern Nevada.
|
|
rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,319
|
Post by rocknewb101 on Jan 12, 2023 9:40:21 GMT -5
Welcome from NEOhio! The Nat Geo was also my first tumbler and I only ever run it on speed 1. 2 and 3 are way too fast IMO. With that being said I also have a Thumlers MP-1 which tumbles slower still than the lowest speed of the Nat Geo. I wouldn't get rid of it (unless you need to to get another) because I've had a lot of great luck with it (just find better grit if you can). It's still a decent tumbler. Good luck in your tumbling journey!
|
|
|
Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 12, 2023 9:44:08 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona!
|
|
firef1y
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2023
Posts: 8
|
Post by firef1y on Jan 12, 2023 10:44:29 GMT -5
Welcome from Southern Nevada. Thanks. Unfortunately there is no speed control on the hobby version of the the Nat Geo, only the one speed, which is turbo charged. The grit is definitely all gone by the end of the 2nd day, putting my hands in the sludge all there is is slippy mud. It feels totally different to the sludge in the Evans tumblers that has a slightly gritty feel even after 6 days.
|
|
|
Post by jasoninsd on Jan 12, 2023 12:50:24 GMT -5
Sorry I can't help with the questions...but I did want to say welcome to the forum from South Dakota, USA!
|
|
rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,319
|
Post by rocknewb101 on Jan 12, 2023 14:03:10 GMT -5
Welcome from Southern Nevada. Thanks. Unfortunately there is no speed control on the hobby version of the the Nat Geo, only the one speed, which is turbo charged. The grit is definitely all gone by the end of the 2nd day, putting my hands in the sludge all there is is slippy mud. It feels totally different to the sludge in the Evans tumblers that has a slightly gritty feel even after 6 days. Curious - is it the nat geo grit you are using? I've heard nothing but bad things about the grit quality from Nat Geo. Not sure if this is the issue or not - could be the speed. Surprised to hear there's no speed adjustment on yours. I guess there are many different models. I have three speeds and I think I've seen others with more than three? I may be wrong though.
|
|
dirtsifter
Cave Dweller
Co to za kamyczek?
Member since September 2022
Posts: 402
|
Post by dirtsifter on Jan 13, 2023 0:20:50 GMT -5
I can't help you with your questions but Hello from north central New York. Smallest town, eh? I lived in Hasketon in East Anglia for a year, had one pub, and in Syresham N'Hants for two years. had a post office, a butcher, a COE school, and one pub. Good memories. I miss my P reg Cortina.
|
|
firef1y
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2023
Posts: 8
|
Post by firef1y on Jan 13, 2023 7:52:45 GMT -5
Thanks. Unfortunately there is no speed control on the hobby version of the the Nat Geo, only the one speed, which is turbo charged. The grit is definitely all gone by the end of the 2nd day, putting my hands in the sludge all there is is slippy mud. It feels totally different to the sludge in the Evans tumblers that has a slightly gritty feel even after 6 days. Curious - is it the nat geo grit you are using? I've heard nothing but bad things about the grit quality from Nat Geo. Not sure if this is the issue or not - could be the speed. Surprised to hear there's no speed adjustment on yours. I guess there are many different models. I have three speeds and I think I've seen others with more than three? I may be wrong though. I used the first stage grit that came with it, that obviously didn't last long, then my 2x1.5lb tumbler came with a much better pack (with enough for several loads at each stage). Since then I've bought as large a pack of coarse as I could afford plus a better polish for when I get go that stage. I'm only at the fine grit stage in one barrel and that has another 5 days to run, I'm then considering using the so-called Nat Geo polish as a pre-polish. Just scrubbed out the Nat Geo and it's so noticeable how much quieter my little corner of the kitchen is with it gone. In a way I'm going to miss how fast it was with the first stage and how I could pull one or two rocks out every day. But I'm not going to miss the noise level. My new 3lb machine is arriving at some point today. But ATM I have one 3lb barrel on day 3 with various agates (and a bit of jasper), one 1.5lb with some almost ready oddments combined from that barrel and the Nat Geo (with rest of the loads well washed and stored in a bucket of water ready to replace stones as they become ready). The other 1.5lb barrel is in fine grit (F400), I'll be checking on that on Wednesday next week and deciding on whether to add in the Nat Geo polish stage before using actual polish (in a dedicated barrel). The new 3lb barrel will be loaded with sun and moon stones (and very much babied as I get further in to the process. I'm hoping that as the months go on, I'll always have something ready to move on to the next stage. Yeah there are different Nat Geo models and I think only the pro has speed control here in the UK.
|
|
firef1y
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2023
Posts: 8
|
Post by firef1y on Jan 13, 2023 8:00:08 GMT -5
I can't help you with your questions but Hello from north central New York. Smallest town, eh? I lived in Hasketon in East Anglia for a year, had one pub, and in Syresham N'Hants for two years. had a post office, a butcher, a COE school, and one pub. Good memories. I miss my P reg Cortina. Hey there, I actually live in East Anglia, well on the Essex/Suffolk border, that border is literally less than 2 miles from my house. The town I live in is famous for being the home of The Witchfinder General (as well as being England's smallest town), well actually i live in a village bordering the town, but we always say we live in Manningtree. We're really lucky, we have the River Stour on our doorstep and several stony estuary beaches close that we'll be exploring when the weather improves. Plus we have a reservoir where there are reputed to be arrow heads and Clacton/Harwich which are both on the North Sea and stony within a 20min drive.
|
|
dirtsifter
Cave Dweller
Co to za kamyczek?
Member since September 2022
Posts: 402
|
Post by dirtsifter on Jan 13, 2023 9:21:02 GMT -5
I can't help you with your questions but Hello from north central New York. Smallest town, eh? I lived in Hasketon in East Anglia for a year, had one pub, and in Syresham N'Hants for two years. had a post office, a butcher, a COE school, and one pub. Good memories. I miss my P reg Cortina. Hey there, I actually live in East Anglia, well on the Essex/Suffolk border, that border is literally less than 2 miles from my house. The town I live in is famous for being the home of The Witchfinder General (as well as being England's smallest town), well actually i live in a village bordering the town, but we always say we live in Manningtree. We're really lucky, we have the River Stour on our doorstep and several stony estuary beaches close that we'll be exploring when the weather improves. Plus we have a reservoir where there are reputed to be arrow heads and Clacton/Harwich which are both on the North Sea and stony within a 20min drive. I was adopted at 21, by an elder Irishman who took me beach fishing on the North Sea near Orwell I think it was on the shingle beach. Alas I wasn't picking up rocks then but could get lots of tumble material from those stone beaches. Didn't catch a lot but have good memories with Paddy McDermit. What a flashback. That was over 40 years ago....just sank in. Cheers
|
|
firef1y
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2023
Posts: 8
|
Post by firef1y on Jan 13, 2023 9:26:55 GMT -5
Hey there, I actually live in East Anglia, well on the Essex/Suffolk border, that border is literally less than 2 miles from my house. The town I live in is famous for being the home of The Witchfinder General (as well as being England's smallest town), well actually i live in a village bordering the town, but we always say we live in Manningtree. We're really lucky, we have the River Stour on our doorstep and several stony estuary beaches close that we'll be exploring when the weather improves. Plus we have a reservoir where there are reputed to be arrow heads and Clacton/Harwich which are both on the North Sea and stony within a 20min drive. I was adopted at 21, by an elder Irishman who took me beach fishing on the North Sea near Orwell I think it was on the shingle beach. Alas I wasn't picking up rocks then but could get lots of tumble material from those stone beaches. Didn't catch a lot but have good memories with Paddy McDermit. What a flashback. That was over 40 years ago....just sank in. Cheers I've run under the Orwell bridge when I did a Half Marathon before covid. But never explored it more than that (apart from a magical mystery tour I did in the car while waiting for my favourite running spots carpark to open). Being so close to the North Sea, most of our beaches are more pebble than sand. Think my only problem will be trying to limit the amount of stones my boys want to bring home 🤣🤣
|
|
electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 331
|
Post by electrocutus on Jan 13, 2023 10:09:19 GMT -5
What's the smallest town in England? Welcome from Toronto, Canada
|
|
firef1y
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2023
Posts: 8
|
Post by firef1y on Jan 13, 2023 10:14:20 GMT -5
What's the smallest town in England? Welcome from Toronto, Canada Manningtree, also home to Matthew Hopkins the Witchfinder General. In Essex but about as far away from the stereotype you'd see on TV as is possible as it's rural and on the Essex/Suffolk border. Around 6miles from Colchester, which was the Roman capital of Brittania, and until given city status this year was Britain's oldest recorded town.
|
|
stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
|
Post by stefan on Jan 13, 2023 18:05:23 GMT -5
Welcome! Moon/sunstone can tumble together. It is softer material so you want to be very careful with the course as it will eat up that stone pretty quick. Honestly I would start it off in Medium grit and go from there. Do be careful as this hobby tends to drain your pocket book. I have added another tumbler since I took this picture a couple weeks ago lol
|
|
firef1y
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2023
Posts: 8
|
Post by firef1y on Jan 14, 2023 5:23:57 GMT -5
Welcome! Moon/sunstone can tumble together. It is softer material so you want to be very careful with the course as it will eat up that stone pretty quick. Honestly I would start it off in Medium grit and go from there. Do be careful as this hobby tends to drain your pocket book. I have added another tumbler since I took this picture a couple weeks ago lol Thanks. I've got them in course right now. I'm still at the stage when I need to have a daily peek at them, so I'll take a couple out every other day, rinse and have a proper look at them, ive also got them well cushioned with pea gravel (I use the gravel instead of ceramic media because i have use for the tiny stones in my resin art). These do seem to be a bit gassy though, opened it up this morning and there were big bubbles. I've got used to there being a tight foam on top for the first couple of days, but these were big bubbles. Sadly I've run out of room in my little corner of the kitchen for anymore tumblers. Ideally I'd like 2 more (1 double, 1 single) so I could have something to properly check every day, but it's been hard enough persuading my other half to let me go this far.
|
|