weewilly
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2009
Posts: 2 
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Post by weewilly on Apr 14, 2009 20:44:22 GMT -5
Hello, I have a 9 yr old grand-daughter who is interested in rocks and enjoys finding rocks and such. We dont get to see her much. The wife and I have decided to introduce her to rock tumbling. I dont have any experience and would appreciate all help and advice. The equipment will be with us as we will see her maybe every couple months. Thank you in advance.
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MikeS
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2009
Posts: 1,081
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Post by MikeS on Apr 15, 2009 0:54:48 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum! It's a great hobby for kids, my 8 year old son loves every part of it, from collecting the material to helping with the tumbling and assisting me with parts of the lapidary work I do:)
The specific equipment you choose will depend a lot on your budget, but generally, I would recommend you start with a rotory tumbler as your first purchase...a 7lb capacity one is a good starter size. Avoid those cheap plastic ones you see at hobby stores, buy a quality one.
There are two basic types of tumblers, a rotory and a vibratory. Rotory has the advantage of being much better at shaping the rocks than a vibratory tumbler, but they are slower and use more grit. Vibratory tumblers are much faster, but since you will only be seeing her every few months, you have the luxury of time to tumble in a rotory...you can start a batch when she is there, tumble it until it is done with that stage, and then start the material in the next stage when she comes back to visit the next time and so on....
hope this helps as a start...
Mike
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Post by 150FromFundy on Apr 15, 2009 16:41:36 GMT -5
If a 7 lb tumbler proves to be in your budget, you may want to consider a twin-barrel unit. I have a Thumler A-R2 which has two 3 lb barrels. Lorotone makes a competitive twin-barrel model, and there are a few others out there.
Very generally, tumbling is a 4-stage process and the first stage takes (by far) the longest. The other rule of thumb is that you should tumble the same type of rocks together, or minimally rocks of the same hardness.
A twin-barrel model will give you the luxury of "doubling up" on the first stage (running two barrels of the same rock) and ready many rocks for the next three stages. Or, you may run two different stages and progress from Stage 1 to Stage 4.
Hope this helps rather than confuse.
150FromFundy
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ejs
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2008
Posts: 478
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Post by ejs on Apr 15, 2009 21:35:30 GMT -5
Welcome! I tumble with my six year old son, and we have a great time. Your situation (only seeing your grandkids once in a while) actually may prove advantageous as it will allow plenty of time for each stage of tumbling. I would think that a 3 lb. rotary tumbler is the right way to start. I don't think you need a larger capacity or a dual tumbler, since turnover time will not be an issue (translation: no hurry!). I'd recommend the Lortone 3 lb. tumbler (others like the Thumler's, so I am sure they are good as well). Many people on the forum have purchased tumblers from The Rock Shed. You can't go wrong with a starter kit, which will have everything you need. Just add a bag of mixed tumbling rough, and you are all set. Check out: www.therockshed.com/tumbler4.htmlLet them know that you are just starting out and they'll make sure you have everything you need. You could get started for just over $100. Good luck, ask any questions you care to here, and have a great time! |
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Post by Michael John on Apr 16, 2009 1:57:50 GMT -5
A related activity which you may want to consider is rockhounding family outings, to locations where you can collect good rocks which will be more satisfying to tumble. Picking-up rocks along the road is fine, but the general results after tumbling them is pretty anti-climactic. You'll discover that these family rockhounding trips are MUCH more fun than any of you may have bargained-for, supplying happy memories to last a lifetime, for all of you. Also, once your granddaughter sees the tumbling results of nice rocks, she'll be always looking forward to finding more and tumbling them. If you don't know good locations for finding good gemstone within reasonable driving distance, tell us what city and state you live in, and we'll be happy to point you in the right direction.
Welcome to our little rock hut away from home!
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Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Apr 16, 2009 2:14:28 GMT -5
Hi WW, Greetings and a Big welcome from UK I think your Ideas are great as one of the problems with children is that they are impatient and a 2 month break will give you time to do some real work on the rocks It takes me 3 months for a batch to go through agates & jaspers a bit less for slightly softer rocks, 2 months should be ample to get agood system going ( after Granpa roughs them down a bit !! ) See the RTH recepie for the progression from 80 Grit to 220 to 500 then 1000 A wash /burnishing 24 hrs then a 2 week run in CO Polish and you should have a good batch Heres a link to the RTH recepie www.rocktumblinghobby.com/cycle/cycle.htmlBe clinicaly clean after each grit change and wash throughly between these stages Your in for a fantastic time of revelation (whats under the outer crust that is reveled with polishing) Jack Yorkshire UK |
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weewilly
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2009
Posts: 2
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Post by weewilly on Apr 17, 2009 16:51:51 GMT -5
thank you all weewilly
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