LazerFlash
Cave Dweller
The more they over-think the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the toilet.
Member since September 2021
Posts: 550
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Post by LazerFlash on Sept 25, 2021 15:01:46 GMT -5
Hi, all! My wife and I are new to this fascinating hobby. On a lark last year, we bought three (3) on-sale 3-pound tumblers from Harbor Freight to give as gifts to a couple of our grand-children, keeping one for ourselves. Initially, we tumbled some semi-precious stuff to see how to do it. Our first two tumbles had some mixed results - some good (red jasper is a marvelous first stone to tumble), some not-so-good (green opal doesn't polish well).
Since then, we have become enthralled with this hobby having done several tumbles, again with mixed success. (Each tumble is certainly a learning experience.) I did multiple tumbles using pounds of river rock from our garden for a specific project that my wife has in mind. (A rock-based back-splash for our kitchen sink.) My 'problem' is that I'm stuck doing only one tumble at a time, having only a one-barrel tumbler. I'm now experimenting with a polish tumble using aluminum oxide polish, which I've read can be a very long tumble. My wife thinks that I've gone a bit over the edge, since I've commented that I'm thinking about buying (at least) another tumbler, so that I can have multiple projects going at one time.
So, my question to this group is: At what point did you realize that you were so hooked that you went out and bought your second, third, fourth, etc tumbler?
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Uriah
starting to shine!
Member since August 2021
Posts: 38
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Post by Uriah on Sept 25, 2021 15:31:08 GMT -5
2 weeks. I exchanged my single 3lb barrel for one that had two 3lb barrels. It's still not enough to be honest.
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lparsons
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2020
Posts: 276
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Post by lparsons on Sept 25, 2021 15:38:59 GMT -5
Hi, all! My wife and I are new to this fascinating hobby. On a lark last year, we bought three (3) on-sale 3-pound tumblers from Harbor Freight to give as gifts to a couple of our grand-children, keeping one for ourselves. Initially, we tumbled some semi-precious stuff to see how to do it. Our first two tumbles had some mixed results - some good (red jasper is a marvelous first stone to tumble), some not-so-good (green opal doesn't polish well).
Since then, we have become enthralled with this hobby having done several tumbles, again with mixed success. (Each tumble is certainly a learning experience.) I did multiple tumbles using pounds of river rock from our garden for a specific project that my wife has in mind. (A rock-based back-splash for our kitchen sink.) My 'problem' is that I'm stuck doing only one tumble at a time, having only a one-barrel tumbler. I'm now experimenting with a polish tumble using aluminum oxide polish, which I've read can be a very long tumble. My wife thinks that I've gone a bit over the edge, since I've commented that I'm thinking about buying (at least) another tumbler, so that I can have multiple projects going at one time.
So, my question to this group is: At what point did you realize that you were so hooked that you went out and bought your second, third, fourth, etc tumbler? Well I started out with a 2 barrel tumbler from harbor freight and it messed up within a couple weeks, But almost immediately upon beginning my first tumble I knew I wanted to tumble large quantities, so my next tumbler was a Thumlers AR-12 tumbler. It has a 12 pound capacity rubber barrel and is awesome. It has been in operation almost continuously since.🤣That was about 18 months ago and if anything my rock addiction has increased. 🤣
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Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
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Post by Chris Sikk on Sept 25, 2021 17:34:19 GMT -5
I knew I was in trouble today, actually. This month I purchased a new Lortone 33B with 2 barrels because my Thumler has needed TLC constantly. Since I still have the Thumler, I have been tweaking it and finally got it to stay moving for more than a few days. Now, I have 3 barrels and my rockhounding finds are almost all, but gone. Truthfully, they are all at some stage between 2-3 of tumbling.
Today I thought, "I should log on and see where people get their stones from when they order them to specifically to tumble."
Please send help!
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Post by jasoninsd on Sept 25, 2021 19:07:39 GMT -5
LazerFlash - Welcome to the forum from South Dakota! I know me...so I knew I might as well get two right from the start. I got a Thumler Model B rotary and a UV-18 vibe right off the bat! LOL! I will say if you're already pondering it, it'll haunt you until you get it! Chris Sikk - Chris, a lot of people will recommend rough from The Rock Shed...they have a good reputation for having decent rough at decent prices. Also, I think they're the lowest price on tumblers on the web...or thereabouts.
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Post by perkins17 on Sept 25, 2021 20:04:55 GMT -5
Hi, all! My wife and I are new to this fascinating hobby. On a lark last year, we bought three (3) on-sale 3-pound tumblers from Harbor Freight to give as gifts to a couple of our grand-children, keeping one for ourselves. Initially, we tumbled some semi-precious stuff to see how to do it. Our first two tumbles had some mixed results - some good (red jasper is a marvelous first stone to tumble), some not-so-good (green opal doesn't polish well).
Since then, we have become enthralled with this hobby having done several tumbles, again with mixed success. (Each tumble is certainly a learning experience.) I did multiple tumbles using pounds of river rock from our garden for a specific project that my wife has in mind. (A rock-based back-splash for our kitchen sink.) My 'problem' is that I'm stuck doing only one tumble at a time, having only a one-barrel tumbler. I'm now experimenting with a polish tumble using aluminum oxide polish, which I've read can be a very long tumble. My wife thinks that I've gone a bit over the edge, since I've commented that I'm thinking about buying (at least) another tumbler, so that I can have multiple projects going at one time.
So, my question to this group is: At what point did you realize that you were so hooked that you went out and bought your second, third, fourth, etc tumbler? Welcome to the club... I'm totally stuck. I keep seeing thing that I "need" for rocks. I then realize they are a couple hundred out of my budget and I don't have the space.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 25, 2021 20:10:56 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona! Down the rabbit hole you go.
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Post by Starguy on Sept 25, 2021 20:25:42 GMT -5
LazerFlash. I’ve been tumbling rocks off and on for 30+ years. I’ve worn out two Lortone 3A tumblers (although I think I can fix the latest one). Recently I run a 12 lb Lortone and a Lortone 33B. The 12 pounder runs stage 1 (60/90 exclusively). It seems to keep up with one three pounder, meaning that it gets enough ready for stage two while the three pounder is running stage 2 through polish. Now that I have a 33B I may need to get another 12 pounder. My biggest problem is time. The 12 pounder takes a while to clean out. I always feel obligated to clean out a tumbler after seven days. There are times when I’ve gone 3 times that long on coarse. Those times the rocks came out semi-polished. My recommendation is to go slow and decide what fits your budget and time constraints. For me a12 pounder and a 3 pounder seem about ideal. I can’t wait to see some photos of your work. Showing off is an important part of this hobby. chriss Sikk. I agree with jasoninsd. I recently spent a week in South Dakota. I think I visited all of the rock shops near Rapid City. I only visited one of them twice. It was The Rock Shed. Great rocks and very competitive prices. I go on eBay sometimes too but you never know what you will get. Good luck, Brent.
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Post by Starguy on Sept 25, 2021 20:27:36 GMT -5
LazerFlash. I’ve been tumbling rocks off and on for 30+ years. I’ve worn out two Lortone 3A tumblers (although I think I can fix the latest one). Recently I run a 12 lb Lortone and a Lortone 33B. The 12 pounder runs stage 1 (60/90 exclusively). It seems to keep up with one three pounder, meaning that it gets enough ready for stage two while the three pounder is running stage 2 through polish. Now that I have a 33B I may need to get another 12 pounder. My biggest problem is time. The 12 pounder takes a while to clean out. I always feel obligated to clean out a tumbler after seven days. There are times when I’ve gone 3 times that long on coarse. Those times the rocks came out semi-polished. My recommendation is to go slow and decide what fits your budget and time constraints. For me a12 pounder and a 3 pounder seem about ideal. I can’t wait to see some photos of your work. Showing off is an important part of this hobby. chriss Sikk. I agree with jasoninsd. I recently spent a week in South Dakota. I think I visited all of the rock shops near Rapid City. I only visited one of them twice. It was The Rock Shed. Great rocks and very competitive prices. I go on eBay sometimes too but you never know what you will get. Good luck, Brent.
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LazerFlash
Cave Dweller
The more they over-think the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the toilet.
Member since September 2021
Posts: 550
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Post by LazerFlash on Sept 26, 2021 13:53:27 GMT -5
Thanks for all the great responses!
This leads me to another, related, question which I've moved to its own thread:
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Post by perkins17 on Sept 26, 2021 14:55:59 GMT -5
LazerFlash. I’ve been tumbling rocks off and on for 30+ years. I’ve worn out two Lortone 3A tumblers (although I think I can fix the latest one). Recently I run a 12 lb Lortone and a Lortone 33B. The 12 pounder runs stage 1 (60/90 exclusively). It seems to keep up with one three pounder, meaning that it gets enough ready for stage two while the three pounder is running stage 2 through polish. Now that I have a 33B I may need to get another 12 pounder. My biggest problem is time. The 12 pounder takes a while to clean out. I always feel obligated to clean out a tumbler after seven days. There are times when I’ve gone 3 times that long on coarse. Those times the rocks came out semi-polished. My recommendation is to go slow and decide what fits your budget and time constraints. For me a12 pounder and a 3 pounder seem about ideal. I can’t wait to see some photos of your work. Showing off is an important part of this hobby. chriss Sikk. I agree with jasoninsd. I recently spent a week in South Dakota. I think I visited all of the rock shops near Rapid City. I only visited one of them twice. It was The Rock Shed. Great rocks and very competitive prices. I go on eBay sometimes too but you never know what you will get. Good luck, Brent. I did the same thing with the shops in San Diego. Visited almost all of the Google earth results for rock shops! 😂 My poor family...
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Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
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Post by Chris Sikk on Sept 26, 2021 19:01:59 GMT -5
Thanks jasoninsd and Starguy for the suggestion. When I asked for help it was to stop me, not encourage me. HAHA.
I haven't looked too much at The Rock Shed before because I am in Canada. Shipping is so ridiculous and then you have to add customs, it is a pain. Pre-pandemic if I was desperate I would send something to my sister or mother in the US and then pick it up and put it in my suitcase when I visited. Of course, travel is suspect now, so I haven't done that in a while.
I think my next purchase will be in electroforming to do something with the rocks that I eventually finish that are too small for my worry stone project. Though, you all really have me wanting a vibe.
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Post by Rockindad on Sept 26, 2021 19:08:34 GMT -5
Thanks jasoninsd and Starguy for the suggestion. When I asked for help it was to stop me, not encourage me. HAHA.
I haven't looked too much at The Rock Shed before because I am in Canada. Shipping is so ridiculous and then you have to add customs, it is a pain. Pre-pandemic if I was desperate I would send something to my sister or mother in the US and then pick it up and put it in my suitcase when I visited. Of course, travel is suspect now, so I haven't done that in a while.
I think my next purchase will be in electroforming to do something with the rocks that I eventually finish that are too small for my worry stone project. Though, you all really have me wanting a vibe. You're in the wrong place Chris.
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Post by jasoninsd on Sept 26, 2021 19:10:37 GMT -5
Thanks jasoninsd and Starguy for the suggestion. When I asked for help it was to stop me, not encourage me. HAHA.
I haven't looked too much at The Rock Shed before because I am in Canada. Shipping is so ridiculous and then you have to add customs, it is a pain. Pre-pandemic if I was desperate I would send something to my sister or mother in the US and then pick it up and put it in my suitcase when I visited. Of course, travel is suspect now, so I haven't done that in a while.
I think my next purchase will be in electroforming to do something with the rocks that I eventually finish that are too small for my worry stone project. Though, you all really have me wanting a vibe. You're in the wrong place Chris. You beat me to it! LOL
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Post by Rockindad on Sept 26, 2021 19:14:02 GMT -5
You're in the wrong place Chris. You beat me to it! LOL I was counting on you for the GIF, something along the lines of "Welcome to the Dark Side" or similar.
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Post by jasoninsd on Sept 26, 2021 19:20:34 GMT -5
I was counting on you for the GIF, something along the lines of "Welcome to the Dark Side" or similar. How about this one?
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Post by Rockindad on Sept 26, 2021 19:26:07 GMT -5
I was counting on you for the GIF, something along the lines of "Welcome to the Dark Side" or similar. How about this one? Like it! Kudos for not using the obvious Darth Vader.
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Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
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Post by Chris Sikk on Sept 27, 2021 18:53:41 GMT -5
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RedWingTumbler
having dreams about rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 65
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Post by RedWingTumbler on Sept 28, 2021 11:49:00 GMT -5
I could tell after a couple weeks that I would need multiple barrels to keep from going crazy while waiting for each cycle to finish. My first tumbler was a National Geographic 3-lb (the one with the blue base). I added a Thumler's AR2 soon after (I would have bought a Lortone 2-barrel tumbler, but we were into the Covid shutdown & all of the Lortone tumblers seemed to be out of stock at the time). A couple months later, I added a second NG 3-lb tumber, because I love how fast it is in stage 1. My next acquisition will probably be a vibratory tumbler (maybe in the spring).
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afterburnt
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2021
Posts: 152
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Post by afterburnt on Sept 28, 2021 13:03:26 GMT -5
I went from zero to six in three months.
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