Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum where we share a love of rocks and a sense of community as enduring as the stones we polish. The RTH Forum of www.RockTumbling.com is an Amazon Associate site and we earn money from qualifying purchases you make after clicking on our links such as this Rock Tumbling Supplies on Amazon link for instance, or any of our various product ads and banners. By clicking our links every time you begin your Amazon shopping experience, you are generating a bit of revenue for the forum which helps us cover our expenses. Thank you for your support!

If you cannot see Amazon ad banners directly below this text, please whitelist this site in your ad blocker(s). The ads below have been hand-selected for relevant content, and your patronage directly benefits this forum community, thanks!

Mixing kinds of rock in one tumble

new

« Prev
1
Next »

ejs
spending too much on rocks

Member since July 2008
Posts: 478

Mixing kinds of rock in one tumble Sept 18, 2008 10:09:58 GMT -5

Quote

Post by ejs on Sept 18, 2008 10:09:58 GMT -5

It is slowly dawning on me that one important quality control lesson is to avoid combining rocks with different tumbling properties into a single batch. I am thus striving to run as many homogenous tumbles as I can all the way through.

Is there a master list somewhere of which kinds of rock are safe to combine with each other? For example, is it safe to combine any kind of jasper - to run, for example, a single tumble barrel that contains ocean jasper, red jasper and dessert jasper mixed together? Are all kinds of agate allright to combine into a single tumble (say, Queensland agate combined with Mexican crazy lace agate in the same barrel)? Can PetWood be safely combined with either/both of these?

It would be cool to have a list of groups of rocks that are all safe to combine. For example, if I am going to tumble some quartz, it would be nice to know what else I can safely put in there (citrine?). Of course there will be minor variations (i.e. some variation in the hardness of different jaspers) but it would be nice to have a general formula. Any help?

As always, I am most grateful for the shared wisdom of everyone here!

lynskyn1970
noticing nice landscape pebbles

Member since August 2008
Posts: 93

Mixing kinds of rock in one tumble Sept 18, 2008 15:12:49 GMT -5

Quote

Post by lynskyn1970 on Sept 18, 2008 15:12:49 GMT -5

well i usually follow a general rule to just mix rocks of or about the same hardness together. i'm not sure if there is a master list of sorts but from my experience from tumbling many, many batches of stone i just make sure that the hardness is about the same. i have tumbled assorted agate and jaspers in the same batch with great success. i have even tumbled a mixture of assorted stuff including obsidian, jaspers, agates, pet wood with great results. so my thought would be just make sure the hardess of the stones are aproximate to each other. i see no reason why you cannot combine different types of jaspers and agates together in one batch even the quartz. i have had no problems in doing so.

Lynne Cromwell

ejs spending too much on rocks Member since July 2008 Posts: 478	Mixing kinds of rock in one tumble Sept 18, 2008 15:52:49 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by ejs on Sept 18, 2008 15:52:49 GMT -5 How do you tell the hardness of the material? Do you test it, or just rely on a typical hardness table like this one: www.csgnetwork.com/gemchar.html

akansan
still telling self it's just a hobby

Member since January 2006
Posts: 4,075

Mixing kinds of rock in one tumble Sept 18, 2008 16:20:04 GMT -5

Quote

Post by akansan on Sept 18, 2008 16:20:04 GMT -5

For the most part, anything 7 and above can tumble well together. So if it can't be scratched with a quartz point, you should be safe throwing it in the barrel together. There are, of course, some qualifications. Some stones are more apt to fracture (there's a reason some people here call amethyst the devil rock) than others and require more babying.

You also have to be careful of the name - just because it's named jasper doesn't mean it's actually a hard jasper. Leopardskin Jasper - a rhyolite. Picasso Jasper - so not a jasper! I don't think there's a master list of tumble-buddies.

stefan
Cave Dweller

Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113

Mixing kinds of rock in one tumble Sept 19, 2008 12:50:49 GMT -5

Quote

Post by stefan on Sept 19, 2008 12:50:49 GMT -5

I rough grind everything together- that really plays out the softer or unsuitable rocks- if it survives the rough grind (and trust me- many don't) then I'm usually good to go- I will occasionally take a venture with softer material (sodalite, linestone, fedspars, obsidians ect.) but I usually stick to the Quartz based (Chert, Jasper, Flint, Agate, chalcodony) material as this can be run together with miniumum worries.

I can't tell if thats some Gneiss Schist, or that Schist is Gneiss. All I know is don't take it for Granite

« Prev
1
Next »

Chat Box v.2

This space is for temporary chat only and all posts drop off automatically and are not saved.
Members with real questions or comments that need an actual response, please post on the main forum - not here!
Casual PG-13 posts only, no politics or religion please!

Wooferhound: I make my Sandwiches without the Bread Nov 14, 2024 12:56:46 GMT -5

amygdule: I like my meat warmed to Body Temp^oF... Then wrapped with a slice of Cheese

Nov 14, 2024 18:17:57 GMT -5 *

RickB:

Nov 14, 2024 21:28:27 GMT -5

amygdule:

Nov 14, 2024 23:45:10 GMT -5

amygdule:

Nov 15, 2024 1:46:48 GMT -5

RickB:

Nov 15, 2024 7:10:24 GMT -5

rocknrob: Holey Moooley Nov 15, 2024 11:53:09 GMT -5

vegasjames: Must be a Swiss cow. You know, these are only cows you can get Swiss cheese from. (laugh)

Nov 15, 2024 17:44:51 GMT -5

RickB:

Nov 15, 2024 18:09:19 GMT -5

parfive: The Scooter knows. Nov 16, 2024 0:36:53 GMT -5

RickB: In theme with things - today is National Bread Day Nov 17, 2024 6:53:42 GMT -5

dshanpnw: The slice of life. Nov 17, 2024 9:35:37 GMT -5 *

parfive: The greatest thing in its day. Nov 18, 2024 13:57:33 GMT -5

amygdule:

Nov 19, 2024 12:31:50 GMT -5

RickB: Stop loafing and take your buns to Agate Beach after the storm Nov 20, 2024 11:57:52 GMT -5 *

amygdule: The Ocean is still tumbling with 20 foot waves...11/20/2024

Nov 20, 2024 20:08:47 GMT -5

rocknrob:

Nov 20, 2024 21:54:31 GMT -5

rocknrob: That was one heck of a windstorm that thankfully missed me. I guess Seatac almost hit 60mph gusts. I bet those were some fun landings Nov 20, 2024 21:55:16 GMT -5

rocknrob: I'll always love my pet rock, he's such a geode boy. Nov 22, 2024 9:27:33 GMT -5

RickB:

Nov 24, 2024 6:28:13 GMT -5 *

Cloudinary Upload Settings

Fill in the next two fields by clicking here to make a cloudinary account

Cloudinary Cloud Name This is given to you at the time of registering a cloudinary account. You can also see it by going to your management console. Click the link to the left.

This is given to you at the time of registering a cloudinary account. You can also see it by going to your management console. Click the link to the left.

Cloudinary Upload Preset Esnure that the upload preset allows unsigned uploads. Click the link to the left

Choose which sources to upload from

Local Search Upload a file from your local device. Adds the My Files tab.

URL

Upload a file from a remote location. Adds the Web Address tab.

Camera $Upload an image file via the device\'s camera. Adds the Camera tab. Note: Desktop/laptop only - a mobile device\'s camera is accessed through the \'local\' tab.$ Facebook Upload an image from a Facebook account. Adds the Facebook tab.

Upload an image from a Facebook account. Adds the Facebook tab.

Google photos Upload images or videos from a Google Photos account. Adds the Google Photos tab.

Instagram

Choose a theme for the widget from Cloudinary's premade themes

File uploads still not working? Contact the author for one-on-one help! Save Cloudinary Settings

Mixing kinds of rock in one tumble

Post by ejs on Sept 18, 2008 10:09:58 GMT -5

Post by lynskyn1970 on Sept 18, 2008 15:12:49 GMT -5

Post by ejs on Sept 18, 2008 15:52:49 GMT -5

Post by akansan on Sept 18, 2008 16:20:04 GMT -5

Post by stefan on Sept 19, 2008 12:50:49 GMT -5

Chat Box v.2