texhex
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rocks 10 - TexHex 2
Member since August 2023
Posts: 149
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Post by texhex on Aug 12, 2023 15:57:14 GMT -5
Question.... My first tumble and I just completed stage 2. Can I set aside the rocks that are ready to go to stage 3, so they can wait for other rocks to get to stage 3? I can then have enough rocks to run together in stage 3. AND I can start another tumble in stage 1.
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skmcconnell361
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2023
Posts: 125
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Post by skmcconnell361 on Aug 12, 2023 17:11:54 GMT -5
I am on my first tumble also, Just started stage 4 by Nat Geo instructions. I have taken notes and decided what I could do different. Actually the "Modern Rock Tumbling" guide from RockTumbler.com suggest you set aside rocks ready for the next stage as long as the rocks are about the same hardness then run the next stage when you have enough rocks.
The method I chose to use is to add ceramic media to stage 2 and 3 to make up lost volume. The first thing I am going to do is be a bit more critical for stage 1 and possibly run that 2 or 3 weeks, setting aside stones I feel is ready for the next step. I have also lowered my expectation for stage 4 on this first run and got some Aluminum Oxide Polish from the rock shed for stage 5.
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texhex
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rocks 10 - TexHex 2
Member since August 2023
Posts: 149
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Post by texhex on Aug 12, 2023 17:39:09 GMT -5
Thank you so much for your time. effort, and reply. My rocks have been getting smaller with each stage. I actually ended up running all of my rocks two times through stage 1 after watching several videos from Rob ( Michigan Rocks ) on Youtube. If you have not seen any of his videos, I would suggest watching some. I bought the National Geographic Professional tumbler as well as the Lortone Model 33B / twin 3lb capacity barrel.
I have only used the 1st speed of the National Geographic tumbler. The speed of the tumbler visibly looks 2 times faster than the Lortone tumbler. I am not technically saying it is 2 times faster, I am just saying side by side you can clearly see it is much faster. From what I have seen and read, it is not good for the rocks to go at fast speeds in stage 3 and 4 for sure.... I am going to move my rocks from the National Geographic to the Lortune for stages 3 and 4. I think I am going to use the National Geographic only for rocks in stage 1 and 2.
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Post by Starguy on Aug 12, 2023 18:51:54 GMT -5
texhexGreat question. I run my rocks in coarse until they are ready to be polished. Stages two and three are just intermediate steps to get to polish. Once there is enough ready for polish, they move to stage two. From there, the rocks stay together until they’re finished. I do a really good cleanout between each stage and remove any broken rocks. Other than that, they stay together for a month or so. The rocks should be similar hardness, the barrel should be 2/3-3/4 full. For best results there should be a mix of sizes from small to medium with fewer large rocks. I hope that helps.
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,622
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Post by dillonf on Aug 12, 2023 20:57:48 GMT -5
I agree with Starguy - once you have enough rocks for stage 2 that group of stones stay together for 220 - polish stages. You may need to add some ceramic after the 220 stage to make up for lost mass, but in 500 and polish you generally don't loose enough mass to worry about it.
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texhex
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rocks 10 - TexHex 2
Member since August 2023
Posts: 149
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Post by texhex on Aug 12, 2023 22:32:24 GMT -5
texhexGreat question. I run my rocks in coarse until they are ready to be polished. Stages two and three are just intermediate steps to get to polish. Once there is enough ready for polish, they move to stage two. From there, the rocks stay together until they’re finished. I do a really good cleanout between each stage and remove any broken rocks. Other than that, they stay together for a month or so. The rocks should be similar hardness, the barrel should be 2/3-3/4 full. For best results there should be a mix of sizes from small to medium with fewer large rocks. I hope that helps. Thank you very much for your reply, experienced information, and time. I am finding out that this is more of a process than I imagined, however I am totally enjoying the process. I think that I need to increace my amount of rocks that are waiting to be tumbled. That way I can follow the more "professional" and organined way of doing this hobby.
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texhex
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rocks 10 - TexHex 2
Member since August 2023
Posts: 149
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Post by texhex on Aug 12, 2023 22:33:55 GMT -5
I agree with Starguy - once you have enough rocks for stage 2 that group of stones stay together for 220 - polish stages. You may need to add some ceramic after the 220 stage to make up for lost mass, but in 500 and polish you generally don't loose enough mass to worry about it. Everyones advise is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your post.
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Post by velodromed on Aug 13, 2023 8:43:27 GMT -5
Much good advice here. One more thing, I like to keep my rocks in jars of water between tumbles. That way any grit that may be trapped in pockets or cracks doesn’t harden into concrete. You’ll also notice that the level of rocks will reduce as they grind away and you remove one’s that are ready, so go ahead and put new rocks in there to keep the level between 2/3 and 3/4 full. If you don’t have any more rocks, just pick some up outside. The most fun part about this hobby for us is tumbling rocks that we find. It’s like opening Christmas presents, just takes a long time. I know technically you’re supposed to keep some more hardness together, but I found that that really only matters with super soft rocks like fluorite. Also quartz. Even though quartz is hard, it fractures easy. Regarding stage one tumbles, I let mine go as long as it takes to get them into the shape that I want. I have rocks that I’ve been telling for several months in stage one. So that stage one grit always is what’s gone through the most, so it’s good idea to buy a bulk. Stay away from Amazon grits, they are not the best quality (I tried quite a few of them). I’ve found the rock shed and Kingsley North are better quality and prices.
I was recently given an excellent idea by someone over on another post I did (I think it’s the one where I take apart and fix a beginner Tumbler), regarding how to slow down these fast, three speed beginner tumblers like the NatGeo , Dan and Dani and others. He replaced the 12 V, 1a power supply with a 7.2 V, 1a power supply and it dropped the first speed down to normal tumbling speed. I tried it on one of mine with a 6 V, 1a power supply and it works perfect. I can now use that little 1lb tumbler for polishing small, delicate rocks, so I’m pretty happy. Good luck with your tumbling adventures!
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texhex
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rocks 10 - TexHex 2
Member since August 2023
Posts: 149
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Post by texhex on Aug 13, 2023 12:03:51 GMT -5
Much good advice here. One more thing, I like to keep my rocks in jars of water between tumbles. That way any grit that may be trapped in pockets or cracks doesn’t harden into concrete. You’ll also notice that the level of rocks will reduce as they grind away and you remove one’s that are ready, so go ahead and put new rocks in there to keep the level between 2/3 and 3/4 full. If you don’t have any more rocks, just pick some up outside. The most fun part about this hobby for us is tumbling rocks that we find. It’s like opening Christmas presents, just takes a long time. I know technically you’re supposed to keep some more hardness together, but I found that that really only matters with super soft rocks like fluorite. Also quartz. Even though quartz is hard, it fractures easy. Regarding stage one tumbles, I let mine go as long as it takes to get them into the shape that I want. I have rocks that I’ve been telling for several months in stage one. So that stage one grit always is what’s gone through the most, so it’s good idea to buy a bulk. Stay away from Amazon grits, they are not the best quality (I tried quite a few of them). I’ve found the rock shed and Kingsley North are better quality and prices. I was recently given an excellent idea by someone over on another post I did (I think it’s the one where I take apart and fix a beginner Tumbler), regarding how to slow down these fast, three speed beginner tumblers like the NatGeo , Dan and Dani and others. He replaced the 12 V, 1a power supply with a 7.2 V, 1a power supply and it dropped the first speed down to normal tumbling speed. I tried it on one of mine with a 6 V, 1a power supply and it works perfect. I can now use that little 1lb tumbler for polishing small, delicate rocks, so I’m pretty happy. Good luck with your tumbling adventures! WOW, this is an amazing post with a TON of valuable information. I never thought about storing rocks in water to keep the grit from turning into concrete. That is an amazing tip. I might eventually have someone who is technically gifted to change the motor of my National Geographic tumbler. I am still looking for legal places to go rock hunting. There are 2 properties I am able to hunt, but eventually I will need to find others. Thank you for your time and effort sharing this valuable information. I am on my way to let my rocks go swimming for a while.... Hahahaha
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Post by velodromed on Aug 13, 2023 12:23:58 GMT -5
Much good advice here. One more thing, I like to keep my rocks in jars of water between tumbles. That way any grit that may be trapped in pockets or cracks doesn’t harden into concrete. You’ll also notice that the level of rocks will reduce as they grind away and you remove one’s that are ready, so go ahead and put new rocks in there to keep the level between 2/3 and 3/4 full. If you don’t have any more rocks, just pick some up outside. The most fun part about this hobby for us is tumbling rocks that we find. It’s like opening Christmas presents, just takes a long time. I know technically you’re supposed to keep some more hardness together, but I found that that really only matters with super soft rocks like fluorite. Also quartz. Even though quartz is hard, it fractures easy. Regarding stage one tumbles, I let mine go as long as it takes to get them into the shape that I want. I have rocks that I’ve been telling for several months in stage one. So that stage one grit always is what’s gone through the most, so it’s good idea to buy a bulk. Stay away from Amazon grits, they are not the best quality (I tried quite a few of them). I’ve found the rock shed and Kingsley North are better quality and prices. I was recently given an excellent idea by someone over on another post I did (I think it’s the one where I take apart and fix a beginner Tumbler), regarding how to slow down these fast, three speed beginner tumblers like the NatGeo , Dan and Dani and others. He replaced the 12 V, 1a power supply with a 7.2 V, 1a power supply and it dropped the first speed down to normal tumbling speed. I tried it on one of mine with a 6 V, 1a power supply and it works perfect. I can now use that little 1lb tumbler for polishing small, delicate rocks, so I’m pretty happy. Good luck with your tumbling adventures! WOW, this is an amazing post with a TON of valuable information. I never thought about storing rocks in water to keep the grit from turning into concrete. That is an amazing tip. I might eventually have someone who is technically gifted to change the motor of my National Geographic tumbler. I am still looking for legal places to go rock hunting. There are 2 properties I am able to hunt, but eventually I will need to find others. Thank you for your time and effort sharing this valuable information. I am on my way to let my rocks go swimming for a while.... Hahahaha Are you in Texas as your name implies? If so, there are plenty of places to look for rocks, even if it’s just along the roadside, at construction digs, rock yards etc... We find most of our rocks here and around San Antonio and Austin. There’s tons of petrified wood, fossils, jaspers, Texas agates , ‘jasp-agates’ and so forth. I tend to show what we find in the running thread ‘Texas rocks’, under Rock Tumbling Photos. It is absolutely amazing what we find in our own backyard. You don’t have to be technically gifted to learn about small motors. If you took your tumbler apart, all you would find is a few wires leading from the power supply plug to a circuit board then a small brushed motor. I took one apart for the first time the other day, figured out how to rewired it, added a cooling fan and it’s working great now. But you don’t need to replace the motor to slow it down on yours. The control board on mine had burnt out so I had to bypass it by rewiring straight to the power supply. All you need to do is replace the power supply to slow yours down, which is easy as going on amazon.
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texhex
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rocks 10 - TexHex 2
Member since August 2023
Posts: 149
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Post by texhex on Aug 13, 2023 18:03:12 GMT -5
WOW, this is an amazing post with a TON of valuable information. I never thought about storing rocks in water to keep the grit from turning into concrete. That is an amazing tip. I might eventually have someone who is technically gifted to change the motor of my National Geographic tumbler. I am still looking for legal places to go rock hunting. There are 2 properties I am able to hunt, but eventually I will need to find others. Thank you for your time and effort sharing this valuable information. I am on my way to let my rocks go swimming for a while.... Hahahaha Are you in Texas as your name implies? If so, there are plenty of places to look for rocks, even if it’s just along the roadside, at construction digs, rock yards etc... We find most of our rocks here and around San Antonio and Austin. There’s tons of petrified wood, fossils, jaspers, Texas agates , ‘jasp-agates’ and so forth. I tend to show what we find in the running thread ‘Texas rocks’, under Rock Tumbling Photos. It is absolutely amazing what we find in our own backyard. You don’t have to be technically gifted to learn about small motors. If you took your tumbler apart, all you would find is a few wires leading from the power supply plug to a circuit board then a small brushed motor. I took one apart for the first time the other day, figured out how to rewired it, added a cooling fan and it’s working great now. But you don’t need to replace the motor to slow it down on yours. The control board on mine had burnt out so I had to bypass it by rewiring straight to the power supply. All you need to do is replace the power supply to slow yours down, which is easy as going on amazon. I will definitely look on Amazon and figure it out as soon as I get established in the hobby. I went around today and mainly found quarts around the small town I visited. Yes, I live in central Texas.... Yes I have lots and lots of Petrified. I want to find enough Agate to run a few barrels.
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iamchris
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2023
Posts: 722
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Post by iamchris on Aug 14, 2023 10:25:05 GMT -5
I know technically you’re supposed to keep some more hardness together, but I found that that really only matters with super soft rocks like fluorite. I'm a bit surprised and saddened by this. I was under the impression that some of my recent tumbles came out less than ideal because I had a batch of mixed hardness. If what you're saying is true, then I stink for other reasons. I'll have to do a better job of documenting what I do and taking pictures between stages so I can seek feedback as well. I might eventually have someone who is technically gifted to change the motor of my National Geographic tumbler. It's super easy - it's as simple as purchasing a $10 power supply like [url=[blocked Amazon short link]45cDmKb]this one[/url] and plugging it into your tumbler in place of the one it came with.
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Post by velodromed on Aug 14, 2023 12:00:54 GMT -5
I know technically you’re supposed to keep some more hardness together, but I found that that really only matters with super soft rocks like fluorite. I'm a bit surprised and saddened by this. I was under the impression that some of my recent tumbles came out less than ideal because I had a batch of mixed hardness. If what you're saying is true, then I stink for other reasons. I'll have to do a better job of documenting what I do and taking pictures between stages so I can seek feedback as well. I might eventually have someone who is technically gifted to change the motor of my National Geographic tumbler. It's super easy - it's as simple as purchasing a $10 power supply like [a href="[blocked Amazon short link]45cDmKb"]this one [/a] and plugging it into your tumbler in place of the one it came with. not saying tumble drastically different hardness rocks together, I’m just saying that the slight differences are not going make that big of a deal. Mohs hardness does not mean toughness by the way. Quartz and agate are both around 7-7.5 on the Mohs, but quartz is not very durable while agate is. I would not tumble quartz with agate at the same time because the agates would beat the hell out of the quartz. Just keep tumbling rocks, experimenting, researching and it’ll come together. Took me almost a year of trial and error before I finally got the mirror polish down. Oh, the biggest improvement I found was when I started using quality grits and polishes from the Rock Shed and Kingsley North. That made a tremendous difference in quality of shine.
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texhex
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rocks 10 - TexHex 2
Member since August 2023
Posts: 149
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Post by texhex on Aug 14, 2023 18:22:13 GMT -5
I know technically you’re supposed to keep some more hardness together, but I found that that really only matters with super soft rocks like fluorite. I'm a bit surprised and saddened by this. I was under the impression that some of my recent tumbles came out less than ideal because I had a batch of mixed hardness. If what you're saying is true, then I stink for other reasons. I'll have to do a better job of documenting what I do and taking pictures between stages so I can seek feedback as well. I might eventually have someone who is technically gifted to change the motor of my National Geographic tumbler. It's super easy - it's as simple as purchasing a $10 power supply like [url href="[blocked Amazon short link]45cDmKb"]this one [/url] and plugging it into your tumbler in place of the one it came with. First off, sorry that you are having issues with obtaining good results with the rock polishing process. Wish you the best. Secondly, I watched your video. That is crazy easy. WOW. I am not an electricity man, so I was thinking it would be tougher. My degree is in socialogy, and I get paid for understanding people, communicating, and solving problems socially. Hahahahaha.
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skmcconnell361
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2023
Posts: 125
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Post by skmcconnell361 on Aug 14, 2023 20:01:24 GMT -5
One potential got yah, I did not see in this video is to make sure the polarity of the tip (the part that plugs into the base) is the same on both power supplies. you should see a symbol with + and - signs make sure that that symbol matches on the new replacement P/S I ordered this power supply to slow down my National Geographic Hobby tumbler. www.amazon.com/dp/B08YN66YW8?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 I suspect that about 9 volts should do the trick. I was an Aviation Electronics technician in the Navy
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Post by Mel on Aug 14, 2023 22:55:37 GMT -5
Question.... My first tumble and I just completed stage 2. Can I set aside the rocks that are ready to go to stage 3, so they can wait for other rocks to get to stage 3? I can then have enough rocks to run together in stage 3. AND I can start another tumble in stage 1. I have buckets in my shop of rocks at every stage so yes, you definitely can. Just make sure the hardness of stones match up pretty well and go wild. If I waited for every rock in a batch to reach each stage I'd be there a month of Sundays. Instead I just run all my tumblers all the time, and refill them from the appropriate bucket as needed. The only time I keep rocks from a batch all together is if it's from a very specific place (rare) or a specific type of rock (obsidian, amethyst, crap I don't care about).
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Post by Mel on Aug 14, 2023 22:58:35 GMT -5
I'm a bit surprised and saddened by this. I was under the impression that some of my recent tumbles came out less than ideal because I had a batch of mixed hardness. If what you're saying is true, then I stink for other reasons. I'll have to do a better job of documenting what I do and taking pictures between stages so I can seek feedback as well. Cushioning is probably the #1 reason for failure I see, and I used to see it a LOT when people would ask me why their rocks sucked. Also in the "my rocks suck" reasons list are poor quality polish (National Geographic is famous for this), not enough cleaning when moving to the next stage, picking rocks that don't polish well in the first place, not enough time in the previous stage, or rocks with specific tumbling needs (soft rocks like Chrysocolla or delicate stuff like tourmaline & fluorite). Some rocks also don't polish well in a rotary tumbler but do well in a vibe.
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