melody
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2008
Posts: 1
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Post by melody on Sept 28, 2008 11:51:03 GMT -5
Hi, I'm Melody. I am brand new to this forum. My b/f has been a member for about 2 months. We are both new to rock tumbling. Every time we discuss how long a batch should stay in the course stage we disagree. He claims he knows more because he has read more on this site and I haven't. He believes the rocks should stay in rough longer than I do. My theory is that if you leave it in too long it will alter the uniqueness of each stone.
Here are the questions: What are the desired results of the tumbling process? What are the benefits of the endless course stages? And, if you tumble for too long won't all the rocks look the same when you are done???
I believe I may be a bit uninformed here but bare with me.
Thanks for your responses in advance.
Melody
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Post by akansan on Sept 28, 2008 13:07:30 GMT -5
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ejs
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2008
Posts: 478
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Post by ejs on Sept 28, 2008 13:44:03 GMT -5
Excellent question, melody! I think that the longer you leave them in coarse, the more the rocks approach a generic "roundish" shape, with fewer peaks and valleys. This will make for a highly shined, glossy final rock. The photos that akansan linked are prime examples of those and they are very beautiful and must feel great in the hand!
But those rocks will have less "character" than one that spent less time in coarse and so are more oddly shaped. I think that is what you are getting at when you refer to the "uniqueness of each stone."
This is all a matter of personal preference. Every time I finish a coarse batch, I very carefully examine and feel the rocks that come out. If there is a crack, or a rough/sharp edge, or a pit that I think can be smooted out, I will generally run it through again. I'm sure that many on here will encourage you to experiment, see how they come out, and find what you like. Remember that it is never too late to put a rock back into coarse. If you pull one out early, run it through the polish, and don't like the results, you can always send it back to the beginning.
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Post by cpdad on Sept 28, 2008 14:41:26 GMT -5
hi melody....good question....and i have my little own theory here....and its just that a theory ;D.
rollingstones tumbles are far better than most....and that isnt meant to down play any ones tumbles here at all.....his shine is just incredible on his tumbles....sparkles tumbles also ;D.
now for my little theory....once the rocks are tumbled in coarse grit long enough to obtain a well rounded shape....the rounded edges and so forth allows the grit in following stages to flow around the rock in a way to allow much more even contact on the stones.
if a tumble is moved out of coarse and has angles and such on the rocks....it just seems that the grit in the finer stages just wont get to where it needs to get to....at least not in a way to get that killer shine....it will have a nice shine in most cases....just not to the point of the batches akansan posted..
i hope the stuff above makes a little sense ;D....just my little theory.....the pros will be along to help you more....kev.
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Post by Condor on Sept 28, 2008 15:39:10 GMT -5
Welcome to this site Melody. It's a great place to see beautiful stones and gain rock knowledge from. As has been mentioned, it's truly a matter of preferance and what your desired results are. As has been said, the longer you leave them in the first stage the more rounded they will become. I like that a lot, but it also takes great patience to let them go that long. That's just the first stage mind you. As EJS said, the going longer with the first stage, you will also smooth out pits and cracks. Perhaps not completely, but much better that if you didn't leave them in the first stage for too long. You can also leave them in first stage for five or more weeks, skip second and go straight to 3rd then final polish. Works quite well.
Condor
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Post by deb193redux on Sept 28, 2008 17:03:43 GMT -5
too much of that "character" includes not just the unique, but the pitted, flawed, and the ugly too.
It might be best to just clean unique stones and put them on a shelf, or - if larger - put one polished face on them.
I think tumbling is not just visual but also tactile. Of course it is important to choose stone that has some pattern and color, and does not have to rely solely on its shape.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,494
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 28, 2008 19:04:23 GMT -5
Wow great question indeed! As a general rule, a long run in coarse grind will give a smooth shape that is easier to polish to a mirror finish and perhaps more usable in jewelry and such. That being said though, some materials do lose character when over tumbled. I'm thinking of slabettes or preforms which you prefer only gently rounded on the edge and things like petrified wood where the exterior bark designs often lend great interest to the wood but would disappear if tun too long in coarse. I guess, all in all, it's just very subjective and depends on what you desire in the final product more than anything else.....Mel
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Post by Bikerrandy on Sept 28, 2008 21:05:12 GMT -5
If you want to smooth a rock down without changing the natural shape, this can be done in a vibratory tumbler. Also, vibratory tumblers take a fraction of the time that it takes rotary tumblers to do everything from start to finish. The stages are much shorter, and there's only three stages- Coarse, fine, and polish. All three can be done in a week to ten days.
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buckwheat69
noticing nice landscape pebbles
How do we get out of here ??
Member since July 2008
Posts: 96
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Post by buckwheat69 on Sept 28, 2008 21:24:21 GMT -5
I think it's up to the rock. ask it, it will tell you what shape he or she wants to be. LOL  no really i look at each rock depending on what it is and the size shape, color. this helps me decided which way to go. is it plain or one color or kinda boring then round and super smooth it is. or if it's full of colors or plumes ect. then i want it as full shaped as possible. But hey what do I know I'm new around here(don't worry you'll be talking to your rocks soon too). And always remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder. oh and Welcome this place has all the answers. |
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Sept 29, 2008 14:49:04 GMT -5
Welcome Melody, very interesting question. And Akansan, I'm flattered that you used some of my tumbles to demonstrate what to aim for!
Of course it's a matter of preference how rounded to make your stones, but here's my take on it... most rocks we put in a tumbler have been made tumbling size by running them through a rock crusher or busting them up with a hammer or hammer and chisel. So I'd argue that there isn't much natural there that's worth preserving. The true character of the rock, at least to me, comes from it's patterns, colours and how they interact, and in a tumbled rock those are best seen on a well-rounded stone that is free of pits and blemishes. Not to mention, as Cpdad and Mel pointed out above, a well-rounded rock will get the best shine, at least in a rotary tumbler. I agree with Deb193redux that if you really like the shape of a rock, don't tumble it at all, just clean it and put it on a shelf for display, perhaps cutting and polishing one face to show the interior patterns.
Some people might argue that beach rocks have a natural character that is worth preserving, but that rounded beach-rock shape is just the result of the ocean or river doing some of the coarse grind rock tumbling for you, so you might as well use a tumbler to finish the job. :-)
Some agate nodules have an interesting natural shape that shows the shape of the gas bubble in the lava where they formed, but in order to show the banding you have to break open the agate, so there goes the natural shape. The one big exception what I'm saying is petrifed wood (Mel mentioned this too). Petrified wood often breaks along cleavage patterns so that it really does look like fresh wood, and that is lost in the tumbler. I forget who it was, but someone ran a batch of petrified wood in a vibratory tumbler about a year ago, so that it entirely maintained the rough "wood" look, but came out with a glass shine. It was a very impressive batch, if someone remembers who did it, please post a link here!!
-Don
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Post by cina on Sept 29, 2008 15:06:41 GMT -5
All I want to add is this is YOUR hobby do it how you like a time will come when you find just the right way to make rocks look and fell the way you want them too. Best wishes and have fun, Steph  |
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