rockinpackgoat
having dreams about rocks
One of our hiking buddies
Member since July 2009
Posts: 59
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Post by rockinpackgoat on Jul 17, 2009 0:28:44 GMT -5
Hi all, We picked these up today and would love to throw them in the vibe, but don't want to waste the energy, grit, etc if they aren't going to shine up... now you how how little we know about rocks LOL  Thanks for looking-- and maybe I should clarify: I'm not so concerned that these turn out to be valuable; just hoping to come up with something pretty and shiny that the kids can find easily and shine up well. Sorry the picture didn't come out so great-- the other one was even worse, as I forgot to squirt them... Carrie |
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lparker
fully equipped rock polisher
Still doing too much for being retired!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 1,202
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Post by lparker on Jul 17, 2009 6:22:27 GMT -5
As a general rule of thumb, if the rocks stay shiney for a few seconds after you wet them, they will probably shine up nice.
Lee
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chassroc
Cave Dweller 
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
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Post by chassroc on Jul 17, 2009 8:09:45 GMT -5
They look like great tumbling rough...upon a closer examination with my glaases on...only some of them look tumbleable...and others look like common garbage...look for smooth rocks and you will be successful
csroc
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Post by johnjsgems on Jul 17, 2009 10:51:16 GMT -5
They don't look very promising by the picture. If the river comes down from the hills you may have some agate, jasper, or jasp agates. There is also a lot of colorful rhyolite up there and common opal. There are some mined out precious opal mines there as well. You could try picking out the more colorful pieces and see what happens.
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Post by frane on Jul 17, 2009 14:50:43 GMT -5
If you do the water test and they stay wet for more than a couple of seconds, you will probably get a shine. Also, do they make a tink sound or a thud? Tink generally means you have a good hard rock that will do well.
Fran
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rockinpackgoat
having dreams about rocks
One of our hiking buddies
Member since July 2009
Posts: 59
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Post by rockinpackgoat on Jul 17, 2009 16:19:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the tips all-- we'll go through the pile a little more carefully instead of throwing them all in.
Carrie & kids (dh not into it yet)
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Post by connrock on Jul 18, 2009 6:25:31 GMT -5
There's another test you can make to see if your rocks will shine.
Try to scratch them with the edge of a piece of quartz,agate or jasper.If the do scratch then they "may" polish but will be difficult for a newbie.
If they don't scratch,,,,,,,,,have at it.
scratch= a REAL scratch and not just a white line.
connrock
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ksk
having dreams about rocks
Member since October 2008
Posts: 69 
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Post by ksk on Jul 18, 2009 10:47:52 GMT -5
Just put them in and let 'er rip! No better way to learn than to experiment. It's only a few cents worth of grit. I cannot recommend this tip more: use about +\- 50% (by weight) ceramic filler of mixed size (3/8" x 5/8" AND 5/32" x 5/16") in your vibe. I cuts down on the yield, but you get great results. I don't recall others mentioning this, but get yourself a nice scale to help with the proportions. It's also fun to weigh your rocks pre and post tumble to see how much rock is tumbled away. I bought this one: www.oldwillknottscales.com/my-weigh-kd7000.aspxYou don't say which vibe you have but this tip has worked well for me in my Lot-O. The rocks that are too soft will not shine well, but you'll know what to look for next time. Good Luck! |
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