kckrockhound
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2013
Posts: 2
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Post by kckrockhound on Sept 24, 2013 11:25:59 GMT -5
Got back from Montana with some rounded river rock. Bought a tumbler. Would like to know what kind of grit to buy to make them shiny. Any help would be highly appreciated.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Sept 24, 2013 12:05:46 GMT -5
Welcome! You might want to include what size tumbler you have for more detailed instruction. Lot's of us get our grits from this site and I highly recommend it www.therockshed.com/grit.htmlYou could start with some of the typed out instructions from the main site this forum is from. www.rocktumblinghobby.com/cycle/cycle.htmlHere's my condensed version of my process Basically start with your barrel 75% full of rough rock (try to put in a variety of sizes) and add 60/90 silicon carbide grit ( 1 tablespoon per pound of rough rock) and run for 7 days. After 7 days rinse your rocks off and inspect them to see if there are any in there that you think are to you liking and if so set those aside. All the remaining rock will go back in the barrel along with any new rough rock to bring your barrel back to 75% full. You will keep doing this every week till you have enough good rock set aside to fill your barrel to 75% to move on to the next stage. At this point you will now switch to 120/220 grit and run for 7 days. rinse/scrub rocks to be sure no grit gets moved to the next stage. At this point you will now switch to 500 or 600 grit and run for 7 days. rinse/scrub rocks to be sure no grit gets moved to the next stage. (optional) At this point you will now switch to 1000 grit and run for 7 days. rinse/scrub rocks to be sure no grit gets moved to the next stage. At this point you will now switch to A/O polish and run for 7 days. rinse/scrub rocks. If you wish to at the very end you can do a burnish step which is a 12-24 hr run with either borax or ivory soap flakes to achieve the best shine. So best case scenario would be you start with semi smooth beach/river worn rocks and you might have polished rocks after 4 weeks. On the other hand if you start with rough hammer broken agates it could take 12-16 weeks to get them perfectly smooth/pit free and shiny. Its fun to see the progress each week and even sweeter when you get some shiny gems in your hand. *** when rinsing rocks after tumbling NEVER put that water down your sink. It will mess up your plumbing ***Please post some pictures! chuck
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kckrockhound
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2013
Posts: 2
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Post by kckrockhound on Sept 25, 2013 1:10:21 GMT -5
Thank you for the info. Getting a four stage grit kit this weekend to start out with. And I use to spend summers on Drummond Island as a kid. I miss the water, trees, and most of all the petosky stones. I will have to shrink my files, they are too big to post.
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Post by roy on Sept 25, 2013 9:19:36 GMT -5
welcome ! most of the members here use photobucket to post pictures it's easy and free
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bsky4463
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2013
Posts: 1,696
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Post by bsky4463 on Sept 26, 2013 16:53:13 GMT -5
So that's where all our cools rocks went! Just kidding looking forward to your photos...
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,711
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Post by Fossilman on Oct 27, 2013 18:29:56 GMT -5
Welcome.......Love rockhounding Montana! Can't wait for your photos..
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kaldorlon
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2013
Posts: 413
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Post by kaldorlon on Oct 28, 2013 13:01:51 GMT -5
Welcome to the fun...
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