orangetabbys
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2017
Posts: 7
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Post by orangetabbys on Dec 30, 2017 18:42:02 GMT -5
Hi everyone. I just joined today. I have a large pile of lake rocks i was going to clear coat to make a bathroom border project. Then one day i saw a toy tumbler in a magazine and it got me to thinking about buying one. Set that thought aside for two yr to have my first child and now I'm itching to use those rocks.
After a bunch of website hopping I realize this is a very intense hobby and when I get into something I "zoolander" it as my hubby says. I get everything needed. I feel like a vibe tumbler would be more in my interest as I like the natural form and shape of rocks. I realize theyre a bit pricier and so now my simple purchase will turn into quite a few items to get going (to my liking). I definitely want a second container like ive read about for the latter stages.
Any thoughts or advice? Anyone think its a terrible idea for a noob to start off with a vibe tumbler?
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Post by MsAli on Dec 30, 2017 18:44:05 GMT -5
Welcome from Ca, you've come to the right place for answers
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Post by Pat on Dec 30, 2017 18:51:17 GMT -5
Welcome from California. This is THE place for tumbling help. Some world class tumblers here.
The hobby also includes carving, intarsia, metal smithing, cabbing and probably a few others. You can see/explore the various aspects on the Home page.
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Post by captbob on Dec 30, 2017 18:56:32 GMT -5
A can of "clear coat" is much less expensive than a tumbler. And much quicker too.
Buy a can (maybe some kinda polyurethane?) and try it. See if that produces the results you are looking for.
If not, maybe a tumbler can do what you want.
Welcome to the forum.
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orangetabbys
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2017
Posts: 7
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Post by orangetabbys on Dec 30, 2017 19:06:34 GMT -5
Welcome from California. This is THE place for tumbling help. Some world class tumblers here. The hobby also includes carving, intarsia, metal smithing, cabbing and probably a few others. You can see/explore the various aspects on the Home page. Canada actually! And one hobby at a time lol. |
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Post by captbob on Dec 30, 2017 19:16:57 GMT -5
Thinkin' I'm about to break my New Year's resolution ... orangetabbys that avatar picture taken in Canada? Guess not a recent picture if it was. Gotta be way cold up there! |
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orangetabbys
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2017
Posts: 7
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Post by orangetabbys on Dec 30, 2017 19:20:29 GMT -5
Thinkin' I'm about to break my New Year's resolution ... orangetabbys that avatar picture taken in Canada? Guess not a recent picture if it was. Gotta be way cold up there! No actually hawaii 2 yr ago. We're getting a traditional winter here. Booo. And yes a clear coat would be super easy. But im a person that seems to love a challenge and getting into something new. |
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Post by captbob on Dec 30, 2017 19:32:54 GMT -5
Hope you realize ...
we are gonna need to see some cat pictures!
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toolnut
starting to shine!
Member since December 2017
Posts: 42 
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Post by toolnut on Dec 30, 2017 20:22:23 GMT -5
Hi everyone. I just joined today. I have a large pile of lake rocks i was going to clear coat to make a bathroom border project. Then one day i saw a toy tumbler in a magazine and it got me to thinking about buying one. Set that thought aside for two yr to have my first child and now I'm itching to use those rocks. After a bunch of website hopping I realize this is a very intense hobby and when I get into something I "zoolander" it as my hubby says. I get everything needed. I feel like a vibe tumbler would be more in my interest as I like the natural form and shape of rocks. I realize theyre a bit pricier and so now my simple purchase will turn into quite a few items to get going (to my liking). I definitely want a second container like ive read about for the latter stages. Any thoughts or advice? Anyone think its a terrible idea for a noob to start off with a vibe tumbler? I have changed Hobbies more than some folks change clothes and have always got all the tooling for that hobby, that a professional would have, before I started it. The logic is that if I did not like it, or could not do it, I have no excuse other than me, and can't blame it on the lack or quality of the tooling. The down side problem with that is that you end up with all these tools that you may never use, if you lose interest or change Hobbies again. Trust me. I know. I wanted to get into rock tumbling a few years ago, and got side tracked, but got everything I needed and have not tumbled a rock yet. Get what you can afford and try it, If you like it, invest in more.
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Post by Peruano on Dec 30, 2017 21:58:52 GMT -5
Welcome. You are on the right track with a vibe tumbler. Many lamke rocks come prepolished and shine up as gems with minimal effort and time in the vibe. Instant gratification or close to it. I started with beach rocks from Mexico but soon expanded beyond shining them to shaping, slicing, and reducing mass and sizes. You can spend as much as you want but a Raytech vibe 5 will do lot of rocks for you.
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Post by vegasjames on Dec 30, 2017 23:03:00 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH.
I just saw something the other day where the floor tiles were tumble polished rocks framed by wood to make the tiles. Really cool.
One of the things that I read the other day is that is tumbling sharper rocks it is best to pre-tumble the rocks in a rotary tumbler first to get rid of sharp edges then tumble in a vibratory tumbler to maintain the rest of the shape. This helps to protect the vibratory tumbler bowl so it lasts longer.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 30, 2017 23:27:15 GMT -5
Welcome to the site, OrangeTabbys. I did an experiment using just a Lot-O vibratory tumbler. I prefer to rough tumble in a rotary and finish in a vibratory tumbler. I tumbled my rocks for three weeks changing grit every day for my experiment. I was attempting to get all the flaws out with just the vibe, but I found that it was just about impossible. It sounds like you would like to keep your rocks a little more natural, so you’d probably tumble them for much less time and not worry about imperfections. You would have to be careful about grit getting trapped in holes and coming out in later tumbling stages, but as long as you’re aware of that as a potential problem, and be careful, you should be ok. The Lot-O tumbler is pretty popular here. Check out The Rock Shed for good prices and service. |
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Post by youp50 on Dec 30, 2017 23:34:02 GMT -5
Get the vibe. Some fine grits and polish. Shine away. After your success, and you will succeed, you will start to compare your gems to the others pictured here. Then you will want a rotary to finish shaping stones. Then you will start to see stones that originated in far away lands. Then you will buy some. Then you will need a bigger rotary. Then you will want a RTH original 'agate eater'. It's a hoot of a hobby, some of us are laid back artists. Some are hyper OCD artists. The vast majority willing to help you succeed.
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Post by gmitch067 on Dec 31, 2017 1:41:00 GMT -5
Welcome to the Forum orangetabbys from Northern California! 'Couple of questions... Where do you plan on putting the vibratory tumbler (or maybe even a rotary tumbler later)? Once you start to process your pile of lake rocks, the vibe will be running continuously for days and weeks... and the little beastie will put out a lot of noise. I do not know about the Lot-O, but the Thumbler UltraVibe UV-10 and UV-18 are VERY loud, and should be placed far from the living spaces. I am not sure how quiet the larger Vibrasonic units are, but the smaller Min-Sonic MT-4 is very quiet and can be used inside the house in a spare room (with the door closed) - it is even quieter than the small Lortone 3A rotary tumbler. How big are the stones you plan to use in your project? The small Lortone 3A and the Mini-Sonic 4 will work best when the rocks are between 3/4" to 1 1/2". If the rocks are larger, you will need a larger rotary or vibratory tumbler... more noise. |
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Post by rmf on Dec 31, 2017 12:52:56 GMT -5
Hi everyone. I just joined today. I have a large pile of lake rocks i was going to clear coat to make a bathroom border project. Then one day i saw a toy tumbler in a magazine and it got me to thinking about buying one. Set that thought aside for two yr to have my first child and now I'm itching to use those rocks. After a bunch of website hopping I realize this is a very intense hobby and when I get into something I "zoolander" it as my hubby says. I get everything needed. I feel like a vibe tumbler would be more in my interest as I like the natural form and shape of rocks. I realize theyre a bit pricier and so now my simple purchase will turn into quite a few items to get going (to my liking). I definitely want a second container like ive read about for the latter stages. Any thoughts or advice? Anyone think its a terrible idea for a noob to start off with a vibe tumbler? From what I see above you have recieved some good advice so hopefully I can add to it. So how newbie are you? First do you know your rocks? Do you know the hardnesses? the reason I am asking is there are a lot of rhyolites and basalts in Lake Superior beach rocks. I am assuming this because Lake MI rocks tend to be more limestone based and not good candidates for tumbling. Not sure about Huron, Erie and Ontario but they are getting more sedimentary as you go east (typically). You will get a matte polish on rhyolites and basalts at best with a tumbler so as captbob suggests, as much as it pains me to ever recommend spraying rocks, that might be your best bet. If on the other hand you know what jasper and agate are and can verify this is what you will be tumbling then we come to what Peruano said. If your rocks are well rounded beach rocks then starting with a vib tumbler is a good thing. (Rotary tumblers tumble sharp cracked rocks better in coarse grit than vib tumblers do). How much rock do you have? use this to determine the size of tumbler you need/want. what are your time constraints. Vib tumblers are faster but they a pickier. If you get too much water they slow down. If they build up too much mud they slow down. All of this is fine you just need to plan for it. If you go to a sporting goods store do not buy a vibrating tumbler for doing bullet brass (like Lyman or RCBS). These tumblers are not up to the challenge of tumbling rocks. However, A rock tumbler tumbles bullet brass and other metals great. If your rocks need a lot of coarse tumbling a rotary for the coarse is the best answer. then move to a vib. Vib tumblers are slightly more forgiving if you have some grit missed from a previous grind. You can still get a good polish. (I once pulled a piece of Grinding wheel out of a batch that came out of polish. I stillhad a good polish and the piece of grinding wheel had some shiny spots.) Hope it helps and welcome to the forum. I guess you will be tumbling next year! |
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orangetabbys
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2017
Posts: 7
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Post by orangetabbys on Dec 31, 2017 13:09:59 GMT -5
Oooh yes these are all very helpful bits of advice. Thank you all so much. Searching for days on google didnt land me this much knowledge and considerstions to take into account. After browsing some pictures on here I'm definitely convinced I want to dive in. Guess i have a personality addictive to new hobbies.
The rocks are pretty much pre-rounded from the lake. I do have a ton of rocks but time is of no concern for me. And I'm a super noob. I can pick up figuring out the hardness, that seems easy enough. Identifying the rocks will be a learning curve. The rocks have come from lake Huron. I would be putting the tumbler in my basement in the laundry room. I will take a picture of some of the rocks here in a short while just to see what you all think. Maybe they wont be worth it.
Thank you all again for your time and advice. It is invaluable!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 31, 2017 13:24:25 GMT -5
Hi everyone. I just joined today. I have a large pile of lake rocks i was going to clear coat to make a bathroom border project. Then one day i saw a toy tumbler in a magazine and it got me to thinking about buying one. Set that thought aside for two yr to have my first child and now I'm itching to use those rocks. After a bunch of website hopping I realize this is a very intense hobby and when I get into something I "zoolander" it as my hubby says. I get everything needed. I feel like a vibe tumbler would be more in my interest as I like the natural form and shape of rocks. I realize theyre a bit pricier and so now my simple purchase will turn into quite a few items to get going (to my liking). I definitely want a second container like ive read about for the latter stages. Any thoughts or advice? Anyone think its a terrible idea for a noob to start off with a vibe tumbler? From what I see above you have recieved some good advice so hopefully I can add to it. So how newbie are you? First do you know your rocks? Do you know the hardnesses? the reason I am asking is there are a lot of rhyolites and basalts in Lake Superior beach rocks. I am assuming this because Lake MI rocks tend to be more limestone based and not good candidates for tumbling. Not sure about Huron, Erie and Ontario but they are getting more sedimentary as you go east (typically). You will get a matte polish on rhyolites and basalts at best with a tumbler so as captbob suggests, as much as it pains me to ever recommend spraying rocks, that might be your best bet. If on the other hand you know what jasper and agate are and can verify this is what you will be tumbling then we come to what Peruano said. If your rocks are well rounded beach rocks then starting with a vib tumbler is a good thing. (Rotary tumblers tumble sharp cracked rocks better in coarse grit than vib tumblers do). How much rock do you have? use this to determine the size of tumbler you need/want. what are your time constraints. Vib tumblers are faster but they a pickier. If you get too much water they slow down. If they build up too much mud they slow down. All of this is fine you just need to plan for it. If you go to a sporting goods store do not buy a vibrating tumbler for doing bullet brass (like Lyman or RCBS). These tumblers are not up to the challenge of tumbling rocks. However, A rock tumbler tumbles bullet brass and other metals great. If your rocks need a lot of coarse tumbling a rotary for the coarse is the best answer. then move to a vib. Vib tumblers are slightly more forgiving if you have some grit missed from a previous grind. You can still get a good polish. (I once pulled a piece of Grinding wheel out of a batch that came out of polish. I stillhad a good polish and the piece of grinding wheel had some shiny spots.) Hope it helps and welcome to the forum. I guess you will be tumbling next year! I have do disagree with you about Lake Superior rocks, at least from the southern shore. Although there are many rocks that won’t polish, there are also many that polish really well, including at least some ryholite. I’ve done many batches of Lake Superior rocks, and most come out good or great. I particularly like tumbling unakite from Superior. I’ve also had some success with Petoskey stones (calcite) in a Lot-O with dry corn cob, although that’s much trickier to get right. I’m also surprised every time someone says that vibe tumblers are harder to use. They do require a little more watching, but I consistently get shiny rocks from my Lot-O, but I find that finishing in a rotary tumbler less consistently produces shiny rocks.I have do disagree with you about Lake Superior rocks, at least from the southern shore. Although there are many rocks that won’t polish, there are also many that polish really well, including at least some ryholite. I’ve done many batches of Lake Superior rocks, and most come out good or great. I particularly like tumbling unakite from Superior. I’ve also had some success with Petoskey stones (calcite) in a Lot-O with dry corn cob, although that’s much trickier to get right. I'm not trying to start an argument, and I agree with a lot of what you say, it's just that my experience does not match some of what you wrote. Lake Superior Batches:     Superior Rhyolite:  Superior Unakite:  Huron/Superior Batches:    Pudding stone beads from Lake Huron:   Tumbled Petoskey stones from Huron:  |
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Post by Peruano on Dec 31, 2017 15:38:52 GMT -5
I suspect all points are welcome within our individual experiences. I've had good results with rhyolite in a vibe, but not as are created equal. Some rhyolite will only take a matt finish
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orangetabbys
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2017
Posts: 7
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Post by orangetabbys on Dec 31, 2017 18:41:21 GMT -5
Just curious with the lot o tumbler would it be wise to buy an extra bowl or barrel (for the latter stages ive read) that holds the rocks?
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 31, 2017 18:42:12 GMT -5
Just curious with the lot o tumbler would it be wise to buy an extra bowl or barrel (for the latter stages ive read) that holds the rocks? I have one extra barrel that I use for polish only. |
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