newatthis
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2011
Posts: 2
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Post by newatthis on Nov 26, 2011 17:38:42 GMT -5
Hi, everybody. It's good to meet you. I want to tell you about my entry into rock tumbling and ask a question about tumblers.
So I feel like I'm stepping into a hornet's nest as I write this...
As a kid, for years and years, I'd look at the Sears Christmas catalog and see a rock tumbler. I always wanted it and never got it. Now I'm 35, and I found the NSI Rolling Stones Rock Tumbler for $4.99 at a thrift store. (I just heard you sigh, or was that a cringe?). Yes, I can see why people call it a toy, but it was 5 bucks! Certainly enough for me to tumble a batch of rocks and see if the hobby interests me.
It came with some grit and a bag of miscellaneous rocks, nothing fancy, apparently from somebody's yard. Good enough for a first try, so I dumped them in. Then my boss gave me a small green and white rock, so I put that in, too. I tumbled for about a week in stage 1 grit, and then I pulled out several stones that looked good enough, and the rest are still tumbling in the course grit. So far, so good.
Ok, back to the toy tumbler. What's wrong with a toy tumbler? It seems to be rounding off the sharp edges and smoothing out the cracks in the rocks. That's my goal, right? What's my incentive to buy a more expensive model? Anything more than just increased capacity?
Thank you!
Steve.
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unclesoska
freely admits to licking rocks
All those jade boulders tossed in search of gold!
Member since February 2011
Posts: 934
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Post by unclesoska on Nov 26, 2011 17:57:24 GMT -5
Durability!
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grayfingers
Cave Dweller
Member since November 2007
Posts: 4,575
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Post by grayfingers on Nov 26, 2011 18:01:51 GMT -5
Hiya Steve, Welcome to the forum! In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with that tumbler given the fact that you are using it to see if you will like rock tumbling. With any fortune whatsoever it should last long enough to get a load run. I hope the rocks you have are of the type that are able to take a polish. If they are not agate jasper etc, you will not get a shine on them.
I have heard that when (not if) the barrel starts leaking on those, Vaseline will help to seal it for a time. If you end up deciding that rock tumbling is for you then you can decide if you want one that will last longer. Good luck, and happy tumblin'!
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Post by catmandewe on Nov 26, 2011 18:08:02 GMT -5
The rolling stones tumbler is only built to last for one or two batches, sometimes 3. It is a cheap alternative to see if the interest is there. If your kid likes it and wants to continue, then you buy him the expensive one that will last him for years. Most of those rolling stones tumblers only finish one batch and then get put in the closet for a few years or decades, then someone takes it down to the salvation army and they get 5-10 bucks out of them.
Good luck with the tumbling.
Tony
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newatthis
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2011
Posts: 2
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Post by newatthis on Nov 26, 2011 18:17:45 GMT -5
Thank you everybody!
Grayfingers, nice name. Yes, the instructions suggest applying Vaseline to the inner edge of the lid to begin with and then a drop of vegetable oil each time the lid is removed and replaced. This is apparently to prevent leaking. No problem so far. I have no idea what sorts of rocks I've got in there. Some of them have some nice striping. Others seem to be just plain brown rocks, some of which I removed. I plan to finish the first batch. If they don't polish well, at least I know it's because of the type of rocks.
Tony, the tumbler is for me, not my kid! :-)
This thing looks pretty well-used already, and there were some hand-written notes in the box indicating that several batches have already been run it it, so maybe it's running on borrowed time. Regardless, it's running like a champ now, just tumbling away at 60 rpm.
If I like it, I suppose I'll run with the Rolling Stones tumbler as long as it will let me. When it breaks, I'll consider my options.
Thank you again for your advice! I'm sure I'll be coming here for more.
Steve.
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