Length of time to tumble rocks
 

there was an interesting thread on tumbling rocks several years ago
that gave me some ideas for my 9 yo daughter's rock tumbler, but
didn't answer my basic question. We've been tumbling the rocks for a
week as per the directions in the Thumbler's Tumbler, Model T, with
the coarse grit. The rocks were purchased from Eggers Lapidary in
Golden, and were a mix of various same hardness rocks, some sliced,
some part way toward becoming cabs. We planned to switch to fine grit
from coarse tonight, but some of them seem to need more tumbling- they
have matrix on them and some of the cut pieces haven't smoothed enough
on the random edges to be interesting. My daughter resisted adding
more time, but I talked her into one more day on the coarse. Will it
make much difference for rose quartz hardness rocks? Will fine grit
do much more or just smoothing? I hate to do what my father did when
I was a kid- grind and grind until there were holes in the tumbler and
the rocks were half gone- but I also don't really want to quit now if
a few days will give a much nicer finish.

do you think it's my imagination or does the process become quieter
over the course of a week as the major rough edges get knocked off?
When they're done, will my Dremel make holes for beading or do I have
to rely on cheap findings to glue on?

=====
Kate, http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~kolina/a...f-formula.html
Mom to Ursula (9!), Sage (6.5), Benno (3!!) Things perfected by
nature
are better than those finished by art. ~Cicero

On 8 Jan 2004 19:51:27 -0800, (Kate) wrote:

there was an interesting thread on tumbling rocks several years ago
that gave me some ideas for my 9 yo daughter's rock tumbler, but
didn't answer my basic question. We've been tumbling the rocks for a
week as per the directions in the Thumbler's Tumbler, Model T, with
the coarse grit. The rocks were purchased from Eggers Lapidary in
Golden, and were a mix of various same hardness rocks, some sliced,
some part way toward becoming cabs. We planned to switch to fine grit
from coarse tonight, but some of them seem to need more tumbling- they
have matrix on them and some of the cut pieces haven't smoothed enough
on the random edges to be interesting. My daughter resisted adding
more time, but I talked her into one more day on the coarse. Will it
make much difference for rose quartz hardness rocks? Will fine grit
do much more or just smoothing? I hate to do what my father did when
I was a kid- grind and grind until there were holes in the tumbler and
the rocks were half gone- but I also don't really want to quit now if
a few days will give a much nicer finish.

do you think it's my imagination or does the process become quieter
over the course of a week as the major rough edges get knocked off?
When they're done, will my Dremel make holes for beading or do I have
to rely on cheap findings to glue on?

=====
Kate, http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~kolina/a...f-formula.html
Mom to Ursula (9!), Sage (6.5), Benno (3!!) Things perfected by
nature
are better than those finished by art. ~Cicero

Wowsers... hehehe
Here is a very good place to get your questions answered without me rambling for
a few hours.
http://www.promotega.org/ksu00006/tumbler.htm
Rule of thumb: If you like the way the rock looks after the first grit.. go to the next.
If not... tumble again. Many rocks require 2 weeks in the first grit, (60 - 90). Depending on
hardness. Softer stones will be just fine after 1 week. 7 days pretty much wipes out the grit and
you will have to change to new grit. Be sure there is no old grit mixed with the new.
Be sure ALL grit is removed from ALL the rocks and the barrle is spotless, before placing it in the new grits.
Just 1 piece of a courser grit can destroy the finish on ALL your rocks. That is why it's best to
sort through all your rocks and find any that have cracks or pits and save them for another tumble.
The most important step is the polishing step. It is absolutely MANDATORY that you tumble your rocks
in a CLEAN barrle with soap for at lease 2 hours, BEFORE you tumble them in the polish
If you don't do that step, your rocks will not polish to a glass like shine and you may even have
many deep scratchs in them. So... be SURE to tumble in IVORY soap before the last polishing step.
It is highly recommened that you soap tumble after each step to ensure yourself that all the previous grits
is gone. I rambled a lot here, but nothing to what it would have been. :)
Let me know if you have any other question if you can't find what you are looking for and
I will ramble on and take you through a complete tumble from start to finish.

Harry
My Ebay Auctions are at http://snipurl.com/3okw

On 8 Jan 2004 19:51:27 -0800, (Kate) wrote:

do you think it's my imagination or does the process become quieter
over the course of a week as the major rough edges get knocked off?
When they're done, will my Dremel make holes for beading or do I have
to rely on cheap findings to glue on?
Sorry... I forgot to answer these. ;(
If the tumbler is filled properly it should get quieter. You may want to add
a filler if your tumbler isn't 3/4 full... I use plastic pellets, use these only in 1 grit
and save them, because they can be used over and over untill they get to
small. I keep mine in zip locks and mark them for which grit you used.

If you have a drill press for your Dremel and a GOOD diamond bit, you
should have no problems drilling holes. Nice thought: Try just drilling half
way and using them as drops. :) But if the rock is to heavy it may cause
some discomfort to someones chest bouncing off it. lol
My Ebay Auctions are at http://snipurl.com/3okw

Thanks for the tips on tumbling. I am always interested in hearing you
success with rocks.
Roxan
"Harry" wrote in message
...
On 8 Jan 2004 19:51:27 -0800, (Kate) wrote:

there was an interesting thread on tumbling rocks several years ago
that gave me some ideas for my 9 yo daughter's rock tumbler, but
didn't answer my basic question. We've been tumbling the rocks for a
week as per the directions in the Thumbler's Tumbler, Model T, with
the coarse grit. The rocks were purchased from Eggers Lapidary in
Golden, and were a mix of various same hardness rocks, some sliced,
some part way toward becoming cabs. We planned to switch to fine grit
from coarse tonight, but some of them seem to need more tumbling- they
have matrix on them and some of the cut pieces haven't smoothed enough
on the random edges to be interesting. My daughter resisted adding
more time, but I talked her into one more day on the coarse. Will it
make much difference for rose quartz hardness rocks? Will fine grit
do much more or just smoothing? I hate to do what my father did when
I was a kid- grind and grind until there were holes in the tumbler and
the rocks were half gone- but I also don't really want to quit now if
a few days will give a much nicer finish.

do you think it's my imagination or does the process become quieter
over the course of a week as the major rough edges get knocked off?
When they're done, will my Dremel make holes for beading or do I have
to rely on cheap findings to glue on?

=====
Kate, http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~kolina/a...f-formula.html
Mom to Ursula (9!), Sage (6.5), Benno (3!!) Things perfected by
nature
are better than those finished by art. ~Cicero

Wowsers... hehehe
Here is a very good place to get your questions answered without me
rambling for
a few hours.
http://www.promotega.org/ksu00006/tumbler.htm
Rule of thumb: If you like the way the rock looks after the first grit..
go to the next.
If not... tumble again. Many rocks require 2 weeks in the first grit,
(60 - 90). Depending on
hardness. Softer stones will be just fine after 1 week. 7 days pretty much
wipes out the grit and
you will have to change to new grit. Be sure there is no old grit mixed
with the new.
Be sure ALL grit is removed from ALL the rocks and the barrle is spotless,
before placing it in the new grits.
Just 1 piece of a courser grit can destroy the finish on ALL your rocks.
That is why it's best to
sort through all your rocks and find any that have cracks or pits and save
them for another tumble.
The most important step is the polishing step. It is absolutely MANDATORY
that you tumble your rocks
in a CLEAN barrle with soap for at lease 2 hours, BEFORE you tumble them
in the polish
If you don't do that step, your rocks will not polish to a glass like
shine and you may even have
many deep scratchs in them. So... be SURE to tumble in IVORY soap before
the last polishing step.
It is highly recommened that you soap tumble after each step to ensure
yourself that all the previous grits
is gone. I rambled a lot here, but nothing to what it would have been. :)
Let me know if you have any other question if you can't find what you are
looking for and
I will ramble on and take you through a complete tumble from start to
finish.

Harry
My Ebay Auctions are at http://snipurl.com/3okw

On Fri, 9 Jan 2004 20:13:41 -0500, "roxan" wrote:

You are very welcome and I do thank you for your kind words of my ramblings. :)
Thank you.

Harry

Thanks for the tips on tumbling. I am always interested in hearing you
success with rocks.
Roxan
"Harry" wrote in message
.. .
On 8 Jan 2004 19:51:27 -0800, (Kate) wrote:

there was an interesting thread on tumbling rocks several years ago
that gave me some ideas for my 9 yo daughter's rock tumbler, but
didn't answer my basic question. We've been tumbling the rocks for a
week as per the directions in the Thumbler's Tumbler, Model T, with
the coarse grit. The rocks were purchased from Eggers Lapidary in
Golden, and were a mix of various same hardness rocks, some sliced,
some part way toward becoming cabs. We planned to switch to fine grit
from coarse tonight, but some of them seem to need more tumbling- they
have matrix on them and some of the cut pieces haven't smoothed enough
on the random edges to be interesting. My daughter resisted adding
more time, but I talked her into one more day on the coarse. Will it
make much difference for rose quartz hardness rocks? Will fine grit
do much more or just smoothing? I hate to do what my father did when
I was a kid- grind and grind until there were holes in the tumbler and
the rocks were half gone- but I also don't really want to quit now if
a few days will give a much nicer finish.

do you think it's my imagination or does the process become quieter
over the course of a week as the major rough edges get knocked off?
When they're done, will my Dremel make holes for beading or do I have
to rely on cheap findings to glue on?

=====
Kate, http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~kolina/a...f-formula.html
Mom to Ursula (9!), Sage (6.5), Benno (3!!) Things perfected by
nature
are better than those finished by art. ~Cicero

Wowsers... hehehe
Here is a very good place to get your questions answered without me
rambling for
a few hours.
http://www.promotega.org/ksu00006/tumbler.htm
Rule of thumb: If you like the way the rock looks after the first grit..
go to the next.
If not... tumble again. Many rocks require 2 weeks in the first grit,
(60 - 90). Depending on
hardness. Softer stones will be just fine after 1 week. 7 days pretty much
wipes out the grit and
you will have to change to new grit. Be sure there is no old grit mixed
with the new.
Be sure ALL grit is removed from ALL the rocks and the barrle is spotless,
before placing it in the new grits.
Just 1 piece of a courser grit can destroy the finish on ALL your rocks.
That is why it's best to
sort through all your rocks and find any that have cracks or pits and save
them for another tumble.
The most important step is the polishing step. It is absolutely MANDATORY
that you tumble your rocks
in a CLEAN barrle with soap for at lease 2 hours, BEFORE you tumble them
in the polish
If you don't do that step, your rocks will not polish to a glass like
shine and you may even have
many deep scratchs in them. So... be SURE to tumble in IVORY soap before
the last polishing step.
It is highly recommened that you soap tumble after each step to ensure
yourself that all the previous grits
is gone. I rambled a lot here, but nothing to what it would have been. :)
Let me know if you have any other question if you can't find what you are
looking for and
I will ramble on and take you through a complete tumble from start to
finish.

Harry
My Ebay Auctions are at http://snipurl.com/3okw

My Ebay Auctions are at http://snipurl.com/3okw

ramble on Harry.
Roxan

"Harry" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 9 Jan 2004 20:13:41 -0500, "roxan"
wrote:

You are very welcome and I do thank you for your kind words of my
ramblings. :)
Thank you.

Harry

Thanks for the tips on tumbling. I am always interested in hearing you
success with rocks.
Roxan
"Harry" wrote in message
.. .
On 8 Jan 2004 19:51:27 -0800, (Kate) wrote:

there was an interesting thread on tumbling rocks several years ago
that gave me some ideas for my 9 yo daughter's rock tumbler, but
didn't answer my basic question. We've been tumbling the rocks for a
week as per the directions in the Thumbler's Tumbler, Model T, with
the coarse grit. The rocks were purchased from Eggers Lapidary in
Golden, and were a mix of various same hardness rocks, some sliced,
some part way toward becoming cabs. We planned to switch to fine grit
from coarse tonight, but some of them seem to need more tumbling- they
have matrix on them and some of the cut pieces haven't smoothed enough
on the random edges to be interesting. My daughter resisted adding
more time, but I talked her into one more day on the coarse. Will it
make much difference for rose quartz hardness rocks? Will fine grit
do much more or just smoothing? I hate to do what my father did when
I was a kid- grind and grind until there were holes in the tumbler and
the rocks were half gone- but I also don't really want to quit now if
a few days will give a much nicer finish.

do you think it's my imagination or does the process become quieter
over the course of a week as the major rough edges get knocked off?
When they're done, will my Dremel make holes for beading or do I have
to rely on cheap findings to glue on?

=====
Kate, http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~kolina/a...f-formula.html
Mom to Ursula (9!), Sage (6.5), Benno (3!!) Things perfected by
nature
are better than those finished by art. ~Cicero

Wowsers... hehehe
Here is a very good place to get your questions answered without me
rambling for
a few hours.
http://www.promotega.org/ksu00006/tumbler.htm
Rule of thumb: If you like the way the rock looks after the first
grit..
go to the next.
If not... tumble again. Many rocks require 2 weeks in the first grit,
(60 - 90). Depending on
hardness. Softer stones will be just fine after 1 week. 7 days pretty
much
wipes out the grit and
you will have to change to new grit. Be sure there is no old grit mixed
with the new.
Be sure ALL grit is removed from ALL the rocks and the barrle is
spotless,
before placing it in the new grits.
Just 1 piece of a courser grit can destroy the finish on ALL your
rocks.
That is why it's best to
sort through all your rocks and find any that have cracks or pits and
save
them for another tumble.
The most important step is the polishing step. It is absolutely
MANDATORY
that you tumble your rocks
in a CLEAN barrle with soap for at lease 2 hours, BEFORE you tumble
them
in the polish
If you don't do that step, your rocks will not polish to a glass like
shine and you may even have
many deep scratchs in them. So... be SURE to tumble in IVORY soap
before
the last polishing step.
It is highly recommened that you soap tumble after each step to ensure
yourself that all the previous grits
is gone. I rambled a lot here, but nothing to what it would have been.
:)
Let me know if you have any other question if you can't find what you
are
looking for and
I will ramble on and take you through a complete tumble from start to
finish.

Harry
My Ebay Auctions are at http://snipurl.com/3okw

My Ebay Auctions are at http://snipurl.com/3okw

Hi Harry,
Can rocks be polished in a sonic vibrating machine? I would like something
that can do silver polishing with steel shot and polish very small amounts
of rock like opal. My regular tumbler is a piece of crap that squeaks all
the time; I can tell the lid wont last long. I haven't been able to fine
any real specific details on rock polishing with vibratory or sonic
machines.
Thanks
--
Connie Ryman
Cryman Studio
www.eclecticbeadery.com
"roxan" wrote in message
...
ramble on Harry.
Roxan

"Harry" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 9 Jan 2004 20:13:41 -0500, "roxan"
wrote:

You are very welcome and I do thank you for your kind words of my
ramblings. :)
Thank you.

Harry

Thanks for the tips on tumbling. I am always interested in hearing you
success with rocks.
Roxan
"Harry" wrote in message
.. .
On 8 Jan 2004 19:51:27 -0800, (Kate) wrote:

there was an interesting thread on tumbling rocks several years ago
that gave me some ideas for my 9 yo daughter's rock tumbler, but
didn't answer my basic question. We've been tumbling the rocks for
a
week as per the directions in the Thumbler's Tumbler, Model T, with
the coarse grit. The rocks were purchased from Eggers Lapidary in
Golden, and were a mix of various same hardness rocks, some sliced,
some part way toward becoming cabs. We planned to switch to fine
grit
from coarse tonight, but some of them seem to need more tumbling-
they
have matrix on them and some of the cut pieces haven't smoothed
enough
on the random edges to be interesting. My daughter resisted adding
more time, but I talked her into one more day on the coarse. Will
it
make much difference for rose quartz hardness rocks? Will fine grit
do much more or just smoothing? I hate to do what my father did
when
I was a kid- grind and grind until there were holes in the tumbler
and
the rocks were half gone- but I also don't really want to quit now
if
a few days will give a much nicer finish.

do you think it's my imagination or does the process become quieter
over the course of a week as the major rough edges get knocked off?
When they're done, will my Dremel make holes for beading or do I
have
to rely on cheap findings to glue on?

=====
Kate, http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~kolina/a...f-formula.html
Mom to Ursula (9!), Sage (6.5), Benno (3!!) Things perfected by
nature
are better than those finished by art. ~Cicero

Wowsers... hehehe
Here is a very good place to get your questions answered without me
rambling for
a few hours.
http://www.promotega.org/ksu00006/tumbler.htm
Rule of thumb: If you like the way the rock looks after the first
grit..
go to the next.
If not... tumble again. Many rocks require 2 weeks in the first grit,
(60 - 90). Depending on
hardness. Softer stones will be just fine after 1 week. 7 days pretty
much
wipes out the grit and
you will have to change to new grit. Be sure there is no old grit
mixed
with the new.
Be sure ALL grit is removed from ALL the rocks and the barrle is
spotless,
before placing it in the new grits.
Just 1 piece of a courser grit can destroy the finish on ALL your
rocks.
That is why it's best to
sort through all your rocks and find any that have cracks or pits and
save
them for another tumble.
The most important step is the polishing step. It is absolutely
MANDATORY
that you tumble your rocks
in a CLEAN barrle with soap for at lease 2 hours, BEFORE you tumble
them
in the polish
If you don't do that step, your rocks will not polish to a glass like
shine and you may even have
many deep scratchs in them. So... be SURE to tumble in IVORY soap
before
the last polishing step.
It is highly recommened that you soap tumble after each step to
ensure
yourself that all the previous grits
is gone. I rambled a lot here, but nothing to what it would have
been.
:)
Let me know if you have any other question if you can't find what you
are
looking for and
I will ramble on and take you through a complete tumble from start to
finish.

Harry
My Ebay Auctions are at http://snipurl.com/3okw

My Ebay Auctions are at http://snipurl.com/3okw

On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 14:35:53 GMT, "C Ryman" wrote:

Hi Harry,
Can rocks be polished in a sonic vibrating machine? I would like something
that can do silver polishing with steel shot and polish very small amounts
of rock like opal. My regular tumbler is a piece of crap that squeaks all
the time; I can tell the lid wont last long. I haven't been able to fine
any real specific details on rock polishing with vibratory or sonic
machines.
Thanks

First and formost... oil that squeaky guy... he will love you for it!
Yes... you can polish rocks and or anything else in a vibatory tumbler. If you put a square rock into a tumbler it will
come out round. If you put a square rock into a vibratory tumbler it will come out square, just smooth.
There are several Advantages and Disadvantages of both tumbling and vibratory. If money allows
I would recommend purchasing both. NO... I do not have a vibratory tumbler, but you can
bet as soon as I can afford one there will be one in my house. :) Word of caution!!! They are VERY noisy!
Why? Because they "shake" and not turn. So they tend to create a lot of vibrations.. hench the name. lol
Here is an excellent webpage to expolore your options and to also determine what size tumbler will fit your
needs and as in my case... your wallet. :) or purse. :)
http://www.pearsons-uslj.com/tumblers.htm
Another note to remember: Different tumblers require different grits... as also... diferent rocks will also require
different grits as well as different polishes. As you explore the world of tumbling you will find out just how much fun
and how fasinating it is. As you progress throught the stages and see the transformations, you will be amazed.
The glory and the wide-eyed stare comes from the end of the polishing stage. When you open that tumbler and pour the
contents out and while you are running water over the items and you see that glow... the only thing I have come close to
the words to describe what you will see is what I have imagined many a pirate has saw... Pure Beautiful Treasure! :))

My most recent and treasured item I have bought is my 12 pound Lorton BEHEMOTH tumbler and I got it he
http://www.kingsleynorth.com/tumblersr.html
You can place a 3 pound coffee can inside of the barrel! I was totally amazed at the size of this monster!

Here is a good source to check for purchase of a vibratory tumbler, as I get ALL my supplies and tumblers
from here now. Excellent service and very quick shipping and the prices can't be beat.
http://www.kingsleynorth.com/tumblersv.html

Hot dog can that man ramble or what? lol I do hope I answered your question as I tend to wonder of into my own little
world and forget why I went there. heheheh
My Ebay Auctions are at http://snipurl.com/3okw

On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 09:10:42 -0500, "roxan" wrote:

ramble on Harry.
Roxan

"Harry" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 9 Jan 2004 20:13:41 -0500, "roxan"
I thank you again... as I have just finish another rambling. lol

Harry

My Ebay Auctions are at http://snipurl.com/3okw

On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 12:06:57 -0500, "roxan" wrote:

Harry,
Look for a vibrating tumbler for shot gun shells they are a little cheaper
and I got mine from Cableas in there bargain barn for $75.00, works great.
Roxan

Oh wow... thank you so much. I have been searching for an inexpensive one
to just try one. When I get the funds I will mostly likely check them out. :) If I don't
like it I can always put it on Ebay. lol
Thans.

Harry

My Ebay Auctions are at http://snipurl.com/3okw