Got answers for me? Help! :)

If you don't want to run the rocks you have... you can pick up an assortment from therockshed.com for a few bucks.

They also have the pellets, which you won't need until the 2nd or 3rd stages. My local rock shop also has pellets at some crazy cost... so I picked up a bag of 88 cent rubber bands. Cut them into 6ths or 8ths, and used those instead of pellets.

If you use pellets, or rubber bands or some other cushioning material (other than rocks), you'll want to use a new batch of pellets for each stage. (You can reuse pellets from the pre-polish in other prepolish runs, but don't use them in the polish run)

I've tried to run a batch with the barrel less than half full... my results were not spectacular.

You can also pick up the pellets at most arts and craft shops. I saw them in Michaels the other day in two pound bags for I think about $6. They're the same thing that crafters make Beanie Baby type figures out of. In fact, during the summer my wife checks out any stuffed animals she sees at yard sales to see if they have beads in them. The last batch she brought home provided a couple of pounds of pellets from a dollars worth of yard sale stuffed animals. Late in the day, most people practically give that type of thing away. I have found a couple of things that had the wrong kind of beads in them, but most have been right. I have all the pellets I think I will ever need this way.

L.L., the beads from stuffed animals at garage sales, that's freaking brilliant! for other filler, i'm currently using those kinda glass "gems" that people use to hold silk flowers in place. Got a two pound bag at michaels, they are normally 7 bucks i think, but they were on sale this week. Plus I never go there w/o a coupon.

Dewman, sorry i can't give any other advice, i'm pretty new myself, should be getting my first batch done today or tomorrow! click on the search feature, enter the term "vibe" change the settings at the bottom to couple of hundred days instead of 7, and i change the option from post to thread. There you will find many answers to many questions! I've found many answers to my questions and even learned things that i didn't even think about yet.

Alex

*eyes the mountain of stuffed animals in the corner* hmmmmmm

I haven't seen any suggestions about marbles... personally, I'd be worried they'd break. And for my little 1.5 lb tumbler, I think most would be too big.

Dewman...I'm pretty sure there's a thread on tumbling around here. (like how-to....not just tumbling...sheesh.) Maybe another RTH'r can point us in that direction. If not...here's what I'd do.

I think all of us can agree that rollingstone (Don) is the pre-eminent tumbler around these parts. If you REALLY want to learn how to do it well...look for his posts & read, read, read.

There's lots of different ways to tumble and you'll find your path but there are some basics.

* Usually 4 stages
*Best to have 4 different barrels designated for each stage. (not mandatory but most agree, if you can afford them, it really helps.)
*Most use plastic pellets in last 3 stages. (with a rotary tumbler) Should use pellets designated to each stage too.
SIDE NOTE: No...you don't have to use pellets, there are other mediums you can use but once again...if it's good enough for Don...it's good enough for me.
*In between stages always burnish rocks and/or plastic pellets with each load. Most of us use borax. (20 mule team brand in the grocery stores) (another way of saying "wash" but it also helps with the polishing process.)
*I throw bought and found rocks in together, but keep your eye on them cause they may get eaten at different rates.
*Stage 1 is the MOST important part of your tumble. Takes the longest but you will get better results the longer you let them shape.
*Be patient.
*Be patient.
*Oh...and...be patient.

Truthfully...keep reading threads. You'll be amazed at what you'll learn.

Welcome!

Thanks guys!! I'll be back in a bit with more questions. Hahahahaha!

That really sucks about the CE tumbler. I just don't have the money to drop on a really nice one. I'm about to go buy some more belts (they were out last time) and look for some of those pellets. I'll go to the local Hobby Lobby (and Micheal's if I HAVE to). But I was wondering...do you think that the little plastic bbs (used for airsoft guns) would work???

What if you don't know about the hardness of some rocks. I have some rocks that came in a kit so I know what they are and can look up their hardness (such as, quartz, agate, aventurine, tiger eye, and unakite). They're small, and weigh about 5 - 10g a piece. I assume because they were packaged together, that I can tumble them together. (I also have a piece of gold ore...I wonder how that would polish up?)

However, I have some large stones I found. Just smooth "yard" rocks that look neat. They're about 60 - 100g (2.2 - 3.6oz) And also some really cool pieces of quartz I got in Colorado that I don't want to mess up (one is 51g...almost 2 oz...and somewhat translucent).

Tell you what, I'll try to post some pics of my "before" rocks when I get back from the store. (What really sucks...they're aren't any good rock shops around here. There is one that like 40 miles away in a neighboring city.)

THANKS GUYS!!!

in Texas,
~DewMan

Welcome to RTH Dewman. Once you get them little CE's all set up they are pretty good. I've had mine now for 4 years.

4 YEARS? Wow...maybe mine will last too!! Thanks for the welcome!

You can likely tumble all those rocks together. The Unakite, goldstone and tiger eye are a bit softer... but if you keep an eye on them then that'll be fine.

I don't know about the plastic beads you found. But you won't need them for at least 1 week, and very likely 2 weeks, if you want to wait.