spugeddy
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2023
Posts: 13
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Post by spugeddy on Aug 29, 2023 23:42:41 GMT -5
So I did my first tumble and it looks like a total failure to me. Not sure what I did wrong, so I'm looking here for some help.
I'm attaching a video of the results. All the rocks in the video were tumbled at the same time using a (Beginners) Nat Geo Professional Tumbler Kit with 2 lb Barrel.
It was set to 7 days at #2 speed. Step 1 - 60 grit Step 2 - 220 grit Step 3 - 500 grit Silicon Carbide Step 4 - 1200 Aluminum Oxide
I honestly don't know one rock from another. I'm doing this for my 3 granddaughters. Is there any way I can save these rocks and get a nice shiny polished finish? Can I just tumble the rocks that are the same, all by themselves, or should I mix them all in together again? Any help is very appreciated.
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hplcman
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2022
Posts: 460
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Post by hplcman on Aug 30, 2023 0:12:30 GMT -5
I think the issue is the Nat Geo AO polish. From what I have read from others in this forum it’s nearly impossible to get a shiny result with that polish.
Other than advising you to buy some AO polish from the rock shed (which is proven to give good results after 7 days in 500 AO pre-polish) I don’t know what you can quickly do to fix this.
You spent 7 days at each stage, right?
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Post by velodromed on Aug 30, 2023 8:44:16 GMT -5
So I did my first tumble and it looks like a total failure to me. Not sure what I did wrong, so I'm looking here for some help.
I'm attaching a video of the results. All the rocks in the video were tumbled at the same time using a (Beginners) Nat Geo Professional Tumbler Kit with 2 lb Barrel.
It was set to 7 days at #2 speed. Step 1 - 60 grit Step 2 - 220 grit Step 3 - 500 grit Silicon Carbide Step 4 - 1200 Aluminum Oxide
I honestly don't know one rock from another. I'm doing this for my 3 granddaughters. Is there any way I can save these rocks and get a nice shiny polished finish? Can I just tumble the rocks that are the same, all by themselves, or should I mix them all in together again? Any help is very appreciated.
Grand kids are amazing. I love my 9 year old grand daughter. Don’t stress, most everyone has issues with their first tumbles. The NG tumbler turns too fast to get a good polish in most cases. It’s good for stage 1 but not so much for the rest. There’s a simple and cheap method to slow it down. Buy a cheap 7v, 1a power supply and trade it out with the existing 12v, 1a power supply. This one works well on my machine and is just $8. EIKS AC-to-DC 7.5V 1A(Max) Power Supply Switching Adapter 5.5 x 2.5mm / 5.5 x 2.1mm a.co/d/8gAa7clBut you don’t have to wait for it. You can start over now with the rocks. Stage 1- This is a lesson in patience your grand daughters should be really involved with. Run this stage as many times as needed to get the rocks as smooth as they can and/or you want them. You’ll need more grit. 60/90 SiC (silicon carbide) is a good course grit for 3lb tumblers. The Rock Shed and Kingsley North are good sources for grit and rough rock. Most Amazon grits are not great, but this one I’ve had good luck with. I’ll sometimes fall back on it between rock shop orders, where shipping is involved. 5 lbs Rock Tumbler Grit Step 1 Tumbler Media Grit,Rock Polishing Grit Media, Works with Any Rock Tumbler, Rock Polisher, Stone Polisher,COARSE 60/90 Silicon Carbide Grit, Step 1 for Tumbling Stones a.co/d/7exvmG85lbs may seem like a lot, but it’s not lol. I’ll run rocks in the initial course stage for many months, as long as needed literally. At 3 heaping tablespoons per 7-8 day run in a 3lb barrel, it really adds up. Mixing rock types- most likely they sent you a selection of jaspers, agates and maybe some quartz. The quartz should be run separately, but it’s not something to stress about yet. While you’re learning, just tumble them all together. Ideally it’s best to tumble similar hardness rocks together. Jaspers and agates are really good rock types to start off with and take a beautiful shine. But that’s another lesson. For now, buy some 60/90 SiC and get started. Figure on doing at least two, 7 day course runs and keep it on speed 1. Now don’t let this confuse things…but since the machine tumbles so fast with the stock, 12v power supplies, you can actually do 4-5 day course runs. Once you get a new power supply, stick with 7-8 day standard runs. Man, I gotta bolt. More lessons later and I’m sure you’ll get others chiming in. There is a wealth of info on this forum, you came to the right place.
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hypodactylus
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2021
Posts: 467
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Post by hypodactylus on Aug 30, 2023 10:00:07 GMT -5
spugeddy I would recommend watching this video from Michigan Rocks (a member on this forum) on YouTube, as it covers this very topic:
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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 30, 2023 10:05:23 GMT -5
I had Mixed results from my National Geographic Hobby Tumbler, I did the first batch that came packaged in the Barrel according to the instructions. Two things I noted are that the instructions were really vague on determining if more time is needed in step 1 and that they only give you enough grit to run each step once. So I feel Nat Geo supplies set you up for failure to begin with. My first Nat Geo tumbler gave up the magic and quit 2 days into step four. They did replace it and I am using the replacement on the second batch.
For the first batch, I moved the barrel over to the Harbor Freight Tumbler I had just bought while waiting for the replacement to arrive. the first thing I noticed was the barrel was turning at about half the speed of National Tumblers. I think that is why I got a good shine on three of my rocks, which I believe are Petrified Wood and an Agate of some sort. The Greenstone (Aventine) and Dalmatian stone do have a bit of shine but are not nearly as good as the other three. The rest of the rocks look about the same as they did when they came out of step 3.
So Here are my conclusions so far,(I may revise these later down the road). 1. Step one needs to last two or three weeks at least for best results, inspect the rocks every 5 to 7 days, and add grit each time. 2. The speed of the Nat Geo tumblers may be okay for the first two or three steps. but do not expect good results from step 4. I believe that is because 1200 grit SC is not a very good polish. or at least you will not get consistent results. I got some AO polish from the rockshed and will use that for step 5 using the Nat Geo Tumbler. I have learned a lot by reading this forum and by watching Michigan Rocks YouTube videos.
My second batch is currently in the second week of tumbling step one. I think a few stones will be ready to move on but I suspect that most will need a third week at step 1. I will add the ones from the first batch that did not turn out so well when this batch reaches step 4. The Two that only came out ok will go in at step 5.
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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 30, 2023 10:06:25 GMT -5
spugeddy I would recommend watching this video from Michigan Rocks (a member on this forum) on YouTube, as it covers this very topic:
yes that is the one to watch.
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michiganpebbler
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2023
Posts: 344
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Post by michiganpebbler on Aug 30, 2023 10:07:59 GMT -5
So I did my first tumble and it looks like a total failure to me. Not sure what I did wrong, so I'm looking here for some help.
I'm attaching a video of the results. All the rocks in the video were tumbled at the same time using a (Beginners) Nat Geo Professional Tumbler Kit with 2 lb Barrel.
It was set to 7 days at #2 speed. Step 1 - 60 grit Step 2 - 220 grit Step 3 - 500 grit Silicon Carbide Step 4 - 1200 Aluminum Oxide
I honestly don't know one rock from another. I'm doing this for my 3 granddaughters. Is there any way I can save these rocks and get a nice shiny polished finish? Can I just tumble the rocks that are the same, all by themselves, or should I mix them all in together again? Any help is very appreciated.
Welcome from lower Michigan! I’m a beginner tumbler too. Don’t get discouraged, the Nat Geo grits that came with your tumbler didn’t set you up for success at all. The Rock Shed has great grit, are a small family owned business and take great care of their customers. Get some good grit and put any rocks you’d like a little more ‘perfect’ right back in Stage 1 and start your process over. My first tumbler was the Nat Geo Pro tumbler. Because it runs so fast, it can easily bruise/chip your rocks, which is the opposite of what we’re trying to do. I only use mine on speed one, and I only use it for Stage 1 (coarse). I run 3 days on Speed 1, 46/70 grit and then do a clean out. Anything that doesn’t look exactly how I want it to after the FINAL polish, ie smoothness, roundness, flaws removed, etc. goes back in for another 3 days. I have rocks that I’ve been tumbling in coarse grit for several months to get them just right. Also, be sure to load your barrel a good 3/4 full with a selection of different size rocks, none too big. I’ve found proper loading cuts down on the bruising a lot. Check out Rob @ Michigan Rocks on YouTube. His videos were invaluable to me when I was starting, and he has a video that deals exclusively with the Nat Geo tumbler and how to get good results. There is also a wealth of info on this forum and the members here are super knowledgeable, friendly and very helpful. velodromed ’s suggestion of replacing the power supply to reduce the tumbler speed is a good one and one I plan to do myself. Can’t wait to see your progress! Shelly
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spugeddy
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2023
Posts: 13
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Post by spugeddy on Aug 30, 2023 12:51:29 GMT -5
Some great info so far guys and I appreciate it.
I should have said that I am NOT using the Nat Geo included grit(s) I did buy a 4 step kit that is 'Unbranded' from Amazon (Link below) The Amazon page says that it is sold by EMC2World
www.amazon.com/dp/B0BC1VZY5N?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
velodromed, I love the idea of using a lower voltage power supply for the tumbler. Believe it or not, I've done that in the past with other devices to get a faster speed out of them.
So, as it is now, the rocks only fill the barrel approx 3/8 to 1/2. The grit package did include plastic pellets for fill. Should I used them in my next attempt? Put the rock in, fill to 3/4 with the pellets, then 3 TBSP of 60 grit?
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Post by velodromed on Aug 30, 2023 13:38:35 GMT -5
Some great info so far guys and I appreciate it.
I should have said that I am NOT using the Nat Geo included grit(s) I did buy a 4 step kit that is 'Unbranded' from Amazon (Link below) The Amazon page says that it is sold by EMC2World
www.amazon.com/dp/B0BC1VZY5N?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
velodromed , I love the idea of using a lower voltage power supply for the tumbler. Believe it or not, I've done that in the past with other devices to get a faster speed out of them.
So, as it is now, the rocks only fill the barrel approx 3/8 to 1/2. The grit package did include plastic pellets for fill. Should I used them in my next attempt? Put the rock in, fill to 3/4 with the pellets, then 3 TBSP of 60 grit?
I’ve used that grit package before and it wasn’t bad. No sense in wasting what it came with though, so go ahead and dump the 1-3 stages in with the other grit on each stage. Or dump them all in the next stage 1 course tumble. Use the polish it came with as a pre-polish perhaps. As for the plastic pellets, they are best used in the polish stage as a buffer for the rocks I believe. You want the barrel 70-75% full each time you load it. So step outside and find some 1-2” rocks to include. As they tumble you will lose mass, so each time you do a clean out, go ahead and add new rock to keep it 70-75% full. You can also get a cheap bag of aquarium agate to add as you go. Since you don’t know one rock from the other, gather a bunch and post a quick video with close up shots. Also mention what state you’re in.
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spugeddy
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2023
Posts: 13
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Post by spugeddy on Aug 30, 2023 20:37:39 GMT -5
Thank you again velodromed . Funny enough, today I went to the Marina to do some work on our Winnebago. While there I noticed some different looking rocks on the lot. I grabbed about 8 of those and also found one other (rather large) rock that was redish in color. The reason I grabbed them was to do exactly what you just suggested. My last post stated that the barrel was now only about 3/8 to 1/2 full and that was wrong. It turned out to be more like 1/4 full since the rocks are smaller from tumbling for 5 weeks. Right now I have them in for 8 days at #1 speed. I'm leaving for another vacation tomorrow (Thurs) and won't be back until late Monday night. I'll check it then to see if there is any grit left to the slurry. If not, then I'll just rinse, clean, and refill with more 60 grit and run for a few more days.
Also, I wanted to mention that I have two, 5 gallon buckets of Black River Rock that we got for our new patio. We ended up NOT using them and going with a different design. These river rocks are pretty large (about egg size). Can I break these up into smaller pieces and throw them in to take up space? I really don't remember 100% what they were, but I think I remember them saying they were "Large Polished Mexican Beach Pebbles"
And to answer your question, I am in New Jersey. South Jersey right between Philadelphia, PA and Atlantic City, NJ
Here are the rocks I recently found.
drive.google.com/file/d/1j9ZQOqPy_Rziod2r4tUn9UTkorjm9KgR/view?usp=sharing
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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 30, 2023 21:03:46 GMT -5
Thank you again velodromed . Funny enough, today I went to the Marina to do some work on our Winnebago. While there I noticed some different looking rocks on the lot. I grabbed about 8 of those and also found one other (rather large) rock that was redish in color. The reason I grabbed them was to do exactly what you just suggested. My last post stated that the barrel was now only about 3/8 to 1/2 full and that was wrong. It turned out to be more like 1/4 full since the rocks are smaller from tumbling for 5 weeks. Right now I have them in for 8 days at #1 speed. I'm leaving for another vacation tomorrow (Thurs) and won't be back until late Monday night. I'll check it then to see if there is any grit left to the slurry. If not, then I'll just rinse, clean, and refill with more 60 grit and run for a few more days.
Also, I wanted to mention that I have two, 5 gallon buckets of Black River Rock that we got for our new patio. We ended up NOT using them and going with a different design. These river rocks are pretty large (about egg size). Can I break these up into smaller pieces and throw them in to take up space? I really don't remember 100% what they were, but I think I remember them saying they were "Large Polished Mexican Beach Pebbles"
And to answer your question, I am in New Jersey. South Jersey right between Philadelphia, PA and Atlantic City, NJ
I agree with what everyone said above! Follow their advice and watch Michigan Rock's video and you should have much improved results! That said don't get discouraged. You have several types of rocks in the mix they gave you that are challenging to tumble - notably the tiger's eye, amethyst, quartz, amazonite (which bruises when tumbled with harder stones). After you do this batch buy 5lbs of unakite or red jasper and try tumbling that. They are durable beautiful stones that take a great polish in the rotary! Definitely use rock shed polish! Oh, and welcome to the forum!!
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Post by velodromed on Aug 30, 2023 21:13:40 GMT -5
Thank you again velodromed . Funny enough, today I went to the Marina to do some work on our Winnebago. While there I noticed some different looking rocks on the lot. I grabbed about 8 of those and also found one other (rather large) rock that was redish in color. The reason I grabbed them was to do exactly what you just suggested. My last post stated that the barrel was now only about 3/8 to 1/2 full and that was wrong. It turned out to be more like 1/4 full since the rocks are smaller from tumbling for 5 weeks. Right now I have them in for 8 days at #1 speed. I'm leaving for another vacation tomorrow (Thurs) and won't be back until late Monday night. I'll check it then to see if there is any grit left to the slurry. If not, then I'll just rinse, clean, and refill with more 60 grit and run for a few more days.
Also, I wanted to mention that I have two, 5 gallon buckets of Black River Rock that we got for our new patio. We ended up NOT using them and going with a different design. These river rocks are pretty large (about egg size). Can I break these up into smaller pieces and throw them in to take up space? I really don't remember 100% what they were, but I think I remember them saying they were "Large Polished Mexican Beach Pebbles"
And to answer your question, I am in New Jersey. South Jersey right between Philadelphia, PA and Atlantic City, NJ
I looked up Mexican beach pebbles. Are the ones you have shiny or flat? Are they smooth surface or very rough? I’m just wondering if they are basalt, like the black beach pebbles we find on Washington state beach when we visit. They’re fine to break up throw in a tumbler. But if they’re basalt, don’t expect them to get shiny. But they will serve a purpose and take up room. Actually, the first ones you break up, I’d be curious to see a picture of. May be able to tell what it is, or perhaps what it’s not, by looking at the pictures. Also, describe if where they break is shiny or flat and if you can see grains in the rock or if it’s just smooth. But yeah, break them up and throw them in. It’s a shame to tumble something that may not get shiny though. Take a look at natural mixed landscaping river rock people put in their yards or in nearby parks. I’ve found some of our favorite rocks in landscape rock. My 10 year old step-daughter and I even go to local rock yards, where they tend to have big piles of rock labeled by location, and ask if they’ll sell us buckets of rocks for five or 10 bucks. Because of health reasons we haven’t been able to travel much in the last few years, so this is our way of finding rocks we normally wouldn’t. You can also buy rock. Kingsley north, the rock shed and the classifieds here are good sources I’ve found. There’s someone in the classifieds selling extremely good mixed Jasper/agate tumbling rough for four bucks a pound, plus shipping in a cheap flat rate box. I think it’s on the second page of classifieds, I’m tired and can’t remember who right now. It’s an older at though so keep scrolling through. I confirmed today that he does have plenty. May I have an It’s an older post though so keep scrolling through. I confirmed today that he does have plenty. Man, I have a bad memory (what is his name? Ugh) Amazon can also be good if you only want to get a pound, just understand you’ll pay double or triple going that route. Rock stores typically charge shipping. So it’s best to combine orders of grit and all the rock you think you want into one order. Jaspers and agate are really great for beginning tumbling. Good luck, man and keep asking questions!
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Post by velodromed on Aug 30, 2023 21:24:12 GMT -5
Ok, let’s see if this works. I’ve never tried to link a thread. Vegasjames is the guy that has the tumbling rough for sale. I can’t believe I forgot that name... I guess what happens in Vegas really does stay there. Hopefully this works forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1278334/thread
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spugeddy
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2023
Posts: 13
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Post by spugeddy on Aug 30, 2023 22:25:35 GMT -5
It DID work and damn, that's some nice looking rock. I think I'll be buying some when we get home from vacation.
Thanks for the link.
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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 31, 2023 6:18:40 GMT -5
Ok, let’s see if this works. I’ve never tried to link a thread. Vegasjames is the guy that has the tumbling rough for sale. I can’t believe I forgot that name... I guess what happens in Vegas really does stay there. Hopefully this works forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1278334/threadI just ordered some from him, Sounds like we may keep him busy for a bit.
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Post by velodromed on Aug 31, 2023 6:52:26 GMT -5
Ok, let’s see if this works. I’ve never tried to link a thread. Vegasjames is the guy that has the tumbling rough for sale. I can’t believe I forgot that name... I guess what happens in Vegas really does stay there. Hopefully this works forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1278334/threadI just ordered some from him, Sounds like we may keep him busy for a bit. Nice! His wife will be happy lol. I’ll be doing the same when I have some extra funds soon. I kinda blew 6 months rock funds ordering from Richardson ranch and the rock shed lol. Down the line, if you ever get to the point that you’re buying mass quantities of rocks, check out Richardson ranch. They have a 5 pound minimum for each rock and the prices are amazing, as well as the rocks that they carry. There are also numerous others that sell rocks here on the forum. Oh, did I mention that this hobby is addictive? I went from a 1 pound, Dan and Darcy tumbler to a 17 pound rebel, a dual 3 pounder, or four pounder and raytech 5 vibratory tumbler within six months.
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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 31, 2023 9:09:17 GMT -5
I just ordered some from him, Sounds like we may keep him busy for a bit. Nice! His wife will be happy lol. I’ll be doing the same when I have some extra funds soon. I kinda blew 6 months rock funds ordering from Richardson ranch and the rock shed lol. Down the line, if you ever get to the point that you’re buying mass quantities of rocks, check out Richardson ranch. They have a 5 pound minimum for each rock and the prices are amazing, as well as the rocks that they carry. There are also numerous others that sell rocks here on the forum. Oh, did I mention that this hobby is addictive? I went from a 1 pound, Dan and Darcy tumbler to a 17 pound rebel, a dual 3 pounder, or four pounder and raytech 5 vibratory tumbler within six months. Nope no one warned me about this being addictive. I bought the National Geographic Hobby Tumbler on a Amazon impulse buy, and three weeks later bought the Harbor Freight Duel 3 pound Barrel tumbler at the grand opening of new store close to me. I also bought a cheap tile saw to cut up some Mozarkite I ordered but I only got one rock I can cut the other rock is way too big to cut on the tile saw. I also got 2 each of the Nat Geo refill kits waiting to be done. I think I just blew the budget for the year.
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Post by velodromed on Aug 31, 2023 10:15:23 GMT -5
Nice! His wife will be happy lol. I’ll be doing the same when I have some extra funds soon. I kinda blew 6 months rock funds ordering from Richardson ranch and the rock shed lol. Down the line, if you ever get to the point that you’re buying mass quantities of rocks, check out Richardson ranch. They have a 5 pound minimum for each rock and the prices are amazing, as well as the rocks that they carry. There are also numerous others that sell rocks here on the forum. Oh, did I mention that this hobby is addictive? I went from a 1 pound, Dan and Darcy tumbler to a 17 pound rebel, a dual 3 pounder, or four pounder and raytech 5 vibratory tumbler within six months. Nope no one warned me about this being addictive. I bought the National Geographic Hobby Tumbler on a Amazon impulse buy, and three weeks later bought the Harbor Freight Duel 3 pound Barrel tumbler at the grand opening of new store close to me. I also bought a cheap tile saw to cut up some Mozarkite I ordered but I only got one rock I can cut the other rock is way too big to cut on the tile saw. I also got 2 each of the Nat Geo refill kits waiting to be done. I think I just blew the budget for the year. Yep, that’s how it goes. Those cheap little Amazon tumblers are basically a gateway drug. It’s a good, healthy hobby though. Quite affordable compared to cycling and hobby grade RC cars (my other hobbies). Gets ya outside, and aside from a few cuts and bruises, I haven’t hurt myself doing it. Yet. My wife and her 10 year old daughter love the hobby also, so it’s a family thing.
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hplcman
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2022
Posts: 460
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Post by hplcman on Aug 31, 2023 12:30:04 GMT -5
I just ordered some from him, Sounds like we may keep him busy for a bit. Nice! His wife will be happy lol. I’ll be doing the same when I have some extra funds soon. I kinda blew 6 months rock funds ordering from Richardson ranch and the rock shed lol. Down the line, if you ever get to the point that you’re buying mass quantities of rocks, check out Richardson ranch. They have a 5 pound minimum for each rock and the prices are amazing, as well as the rocks that they carry. There are also numerous others that sell rocks here on the forum. Oh, did I mention that this hobby is addictive? I went from a 1 pound, Dan and Darcy tumbler to a 17 pound rebel, a dual 3 pounder, or four pounder and raytech 5 vibratory tumbler within six months. How are the rocks from Richardson Ranch? Those prices seem almost too good to be true!!
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Post by velodromed on Aug 31, 2023 12:42:19 GMT -5
Nice! His wife will be happy lol. I’ll be doing the same when I have some extra funds soon. I kinda blew 6 months rock funds ordering from Richardson ranch and the rock shed lol. Down the line, if you ever get to the point that you’re buying mass quantities of rocks, check out Richardson ranch. They have a 5 pound minimum for each rock and the prices are amazing, as well as the rocks that they carry. There are also numerous others that sell rocks here on the forum. Oh, did I mention that this hobby is addictive? I went from a 1 pound, Dan and Darcy tumbler to a 17 pound rebel, a dual 3 pounder, or four pounder and raytech 5 vibratory tumbler within six months. How are the rocks from Richardson Ranch? Those prices seem almost too good to be true!! Amazing!! I am very happy with them. I posted photos in a thread… ‘waiting for that box to arrive…’ in either rock tumbling or rock tumbling photos
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