Neo
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2022
Posts: 14
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Post by Neo on Aug 6, 2022 20:25:13 GMT -5
photos.app.goo.gl/G8kC1MsTGPrZnhDS6This probably isn’t going to work the way I want, but I have three images from before I started along with a bunch of the rocks I grabbed while on vacation. Then four photos of the final results. I have no idea what any of these rocks are, and some turned out better than others. I’m learning as I go, and will look into a vibratory tumbler in the future. These rocks came from the beach on Bainbridge island in Washington.
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 766
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Post by lordsorril on Aug 7, 2022 8:54:49 GMT -5
You did better than me! My first batch of tumbled stones was from my backyard, and 75% of them dissolved in the first week. You have quite the assortment of stones there! Some of them are (like the quartz veined basalt) look pretty cool, but, are extremely difficult to get a polish on in a rotary, and in a vibe as well. I'm still working on some myself, I lose about 15% mass/week until I having nothing left and then I get some from the seaside and try again lol.... It is good to figure out what will/will not take tumble well, but, when you are starting out it can get discouraging. It is cliche, and a bit dull, but, I recommend starting with agates/jaspers and once you know you are confident in your method start adjusting for more challenging materials...(or not) as long as you are having fun!
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Neo
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2022
Posts: 14
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Post by Neo on Aug 7, 2022 9:26:56 GMT -5
I spent my entire vacation filling my pockets with rocks, my wife wasn’t too happy about it lol. In the one picture, I was trying to separate everything into what I believed was similar hardness rocks. There’s still a bag of just about as many that I didn’t lay out in that picture. If I were to compare the before and after, I’m fairly sure a few just desolved to nothing as well, and their mass is also probably quite a bit smaller than what I started with.
I’ve learned a bit from the first batch, and as I go through the pile for my second batch I’ll focus on ones that did ok. I think I’m going to run multiple stage 1 this next go around and really try and get all of the pits and valleys out. I was thinking about getting a dremmel tool with a sander and doing a pass on some of them in just the really bad spots. Not sure if that’s a thing, but seemed like a logical idea.
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dshanpnw
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2020
Posts: 891
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Post by dshanpnw on Aug 14, 2022 18:34:08 GMT -5
Hey neo, welcome to the forum. I live near Olympia, WA. I heard from books that there are some nice rocks to be found on Bainbridge island, petrified wood and some agates. Beach rocks can be tumbled and polished, but they have their problems. Several weeks in stage one with a weekly recharge of grit will help immensely. Yep, using a dremel to work out some of the bad spots, pits, cracks, and holes is a thing, I do it a lot.
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Post by jasoninsd on Aug 14, 2022 18:39:14 GMT -5
Neo - Shane, sorry I didn't make a comment before now. Thanks for posting pics of your finds! You gotta love the learning curve as to which stones are likely going to take a polish and which ones...well...may end up being garden filler! LOL - I had to chuckle about your wife's "disdain" for your rock hunting on vacation! LOL
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