Trouthunter
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2004
Posts: 63
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Post by Trouthunter on May 11, 2004 11:19:54 GMT -5
Hi everyone. Newbie alert here. I stumbled across this board when I was looking for info on getting in to the hobby. I expect I'll have a tumbler by the end of the week, and I'm pretty excited to get going.
As the name suggests I spend a LOT of time hiking around in the woods following streams or looking for the perfect lake, and I've always been one of those people who comes home with a pocketful of "interesting rocks". My son (age 5) is exactly the same, so maybe we can enjoy this new hobby together.
Learned a lot here already. Thanks for all the info!
Dan
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on May 11, 2004 12:56:37 GMT -5
Hey, Dan, welcome aboard! We're always happy to welcome a new rockhound! Lots of great folks here and tons of valuable information. If you get as hooked as the rest of us on this rock tumbling, you will be getting another tumbler before your first batch of rocks is even finished.  |
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Trouthunter
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2004
Posts: 63
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Post by Trouthunter on May 11, 2004 13:08:03 GMT -5
lol - I'm already considering it - I've got a Lortone 33b on the way, and I'm considering a 45c for the first stage loads. That way I'll be able to load a thee pound barrel on the 33b with the load from the 45C after taking into account the weight that's lost in the initial grind. The math may not work out quite right, but that's just part of learning anything new. I'll monkey around with it until I get it right.
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Post by cookie3rocks on May 11, 2004 18:47:59 GMT -5
Hi Dan,
Welcome to the boards. We have a lot of fun here along with great tips. I'm pretty new myself but as I understand it, bare minimum 2 tummblers. One for the first 2 stages and one for pre polish-polish. This is to keep coarser grits from contaminating the polish. now this is coming from some one with 1 Raytech Vibe 5, no money for another one and the pactience to clean that barrell with Q-tips for an hour. (Also, my first batch wasn't so hot.)
Good luck and remember to look up occasionaly so you don't run into anything while your'e lookin for rocks ;D
cookie
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Post by rockyraccoon on May 11, 2004 22:57:33 GMT -5
welcome dan! my daughter is 5 and she loves the rocks. i have a big bowl on my coffee table with polished rocks and she loves them. she noticed right away when i added a new batch to it. of course she's not the only one that digs in that bowl. people come to visit and put the whole bowl in their lap and search through it. hope you and your son have lots of fun!
kim
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Trouthunter
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2004
Posts: 63
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Post by Trouthunter on May 12, 2004 0:24:04 GMT -5
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! Well, I can see a second tumbler is in my future, and maybe a spare barrel or two. I'm laughing at cokie's comment right now because I just about caved the top of my skull in a couple minutes ago in the kitchen on the cubboards while I was looking down at the floor (avoiding Matchbox cars, not looking for rocks). You know how it is when you're hopping up and down, holding what's left of your brainpan in place and trying REALLY, REALLY hard not to let the adult language slip out while the little innocent one is looking up at you with big doe eyes and saying, "I was just about to pick those up. I love you, Daddy!" (sure he does - he knows I won't kill him) Yeah, I guess I should look up more often!  |
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Post by sandsman1 on May 12, 2004 1:37:18 GMT -5
hey dan i liked the one where i was sound asleep and my 2 yr old daughter whacks me in the forhead with some kinda plastic toy to wake me up hahaha that was 12 yrs ago but ill never forget it ------welcome man ---seeya ---john
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bschultz
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2004
Posts: 234
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Post by bschultz on May 12, 2004 9:36:36 GMT -5
Welcome to the board Dan. I think you'll find that the baord is as addicting as the hobby. If I go a day without visiting I cant wait to log on to see whats been happening.
Bob
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Post by mrbrett on May 13, 2004 13:33:54 GMT -5
Hey sandman, my son never woke me up by hitting me in the head with a toy but he did wake me up one morning with his butt in my face letting out a stink and laughing his head off. Oh! he thought that was sooo funny.
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Post by mrbrett on May 13, 2004 13:35:51 GMT -5
Oh sorry trouthunter. Welcome aboard! Just last night I bought my trout stamp. We have a man made lake next to where I work that is stocked with trout. So, if I ever get a day off of work im heading over.
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RedwoodRocks
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 762
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Post by RedwoodRocks on May 13, 2004 16:17:34 GMT -5
Howdy Dan,
From a fellow fisherman and rockhead, this board is great for learning from other people's ideas and experiments.
I won't mention to watch out for those folks with multiple tumblers. I have tumbler envy with only one 33B, I like your idea to get the 45 model as the first stage takes away alot of grit.
My next project is to build a tumbler.
Cal
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Trouthunter
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2004
Posts: 63
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Post by Trouthunter on May 13, 2004 17:43:49 GMT -5
lol Brett - he did that to my wife once. She was sleeping on the couch and I told him to, so I was sort of to blame. I laughed so hard I actually fell out of my chair onto the ground. If she didn't divorce me for that, I guess this new rock addiction won't hurt the relationship too much.
I picked up a 45C last night on eBay for 29.99. The seller spelled it Lortore in the title instead of Lortone and nobody else saw it, so mine was the only bid. It looks like it's in pretty good shape, so I should be set up for now...
Good to see some other fishermen here. The two pasttimes should go well together. Rivers are full of rocks and fishing vests are full of pockets. Like peanut butter and chocolate.
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RiverOtter
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2004
Posts: 339
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Post by RiverOtter on May 13, 2004 22:59:12 GMT -5
Yup, rockhounding and fishing, they go hand in hand. I have been fishing every day for the last 5 days (which is rare for me) and each day I have resisted filling my pockets full of river rocks. I guess its a good thing though because I'm not sure I could carry very many rocks AND my daily bag limit of silver bass!!
Otter
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Post by sandsman1 on May 13, 2004 23:10:51 GMT -5
i havent even put my little boat in yet i usually have it in by now think flounder opens real soon i gotta get down there and try and paint the bottom that will be a site to see with my back i usta doit in about 20 mins prob take me two days now hahahaha all this fishing talk is gettin me in the mood i havent had a fresh flounder dinner since last summer yummmmie hahaha
oh yea dont forget the NJ. blue claw crabs
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Post by cookie3rocks on May 13, 2004 23:18:17 GMT -5
Blue crabs, AAGGHHH, (drool drool)  cookie |
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bschultz
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2004
Posts: 234
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Post by bschultz on May 14, 2004 9:21:09 GMT -5
Is it just me or does sitting in a little boat in the middle of the lake with a vest full of rocks seem a little dangerous to anybody else.
Bob
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Post by sandsman1 on May 14, 2004 9:58:13 GMT -5
naaaaaaaaaa thats just ballast to get ya down to where the good rocks are hahahaha
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tarylina
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2004
Posts: 84
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Post by tarylina on May 14, 2004 16:14:12 GMT -5
Hi, Trouthunter, welcome! I'm a newbie too, and I also got my tumbler off ebay. God, I love ebay!! I'm still running my first batch (2nd week for some) but am going to move on this weekend just to see how it all turns out in the end. I only have one 3lb (stop laughing everyone!) tumbler and can't really afford another one right now so I may have to go buy another barrel. But this is my first time EVER doing this so I want to see if I'll like it first. I've tried so many hobbies it's not even funny.
I like your kid stories. Unfortunately, mine are grown and half-grown - 20, 16 and 14 - think they know it all but overall really good kids. But I remember those days when they were little and did hilarious things...
Good luck with your tumbling! Keep us posted how things go!
tarylina
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Trouthunter
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2004
Posts: 63
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Post by Trouthunter on May 15, 2004 10:43:16 GMT -5
You're a couple weeks ahead of me, then. My 33b showed up yesterday and I'm waiting on the 45C and some grit I ordered. I've been looking around the driveway for my first load. I figure why screw up nice rock my first time out. I actually found a nice little agate in a pile of rocks that was off to the side of the drive. The rest are just chunks of quartz and interesting looking rocks that I can't ID.
Even if they turn out ugly, I'm looking forward to getting them going.
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bwalters
has rocks in the head
Member since March 2004
Posts: 557
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Post by bwalters on May 15, 2004 19:38:16 GMT -5
Welcome, Dan! I think you are going to enjoy your new hobby, and I'm pretty sure that you are going to enjoy this forum. I do! I think tumbled rocks (like new babies) CAN'T be ugly. They may not turn out as 'knock your socks off gorgeous' as you would hope, but they won't be ugly! Agate and quartz in your driveway? You (and the rest of you out there that have successfully tumbled driveway gravel) must have alot more interesting driveways than I do. There ain't nothin' in my driveway that I want to tumble!  Hope we hear from you often, Dan! Barbara |
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