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I saw a huge difference just adding it to the last two stages. It was even better when I started using it in all stages. There are some people who don't see any difference at all though, so results may vary? I hope you let me know how it turns out for you!

I'm glad at least one person likes it! Lol

It's one of my favorites!

For me, it's just because I enjoy the tumbling process. There are a lot of people who only tumble rocks that they have found, but I don't have a good variety where I live, so online is my only option if I want to tumble something other than quartz. And people will grind them into a shape before tumbling, or turn the finished stones into jewelry. I'm not there yet, but looking into learning wire wrapping. I just enjoy the process of turning rough stones into polished stones.

@@LizRocksAndStuff ok that’s what I suspected. It doesn’t appeal to me yet but I could see how once you exhaust your local options you’d want to experience tumbling the cool stuff.

It's something that rock tumbling forums seem to not agree on. I've found that it helps the grit work better and more efficiently. The theory is that it helps the grit stay suspended in the water instead of sinking to the bottom, which helps it make more contact with the rocks. If you already use it for your burnish, then I would recommend trying it with a batch or two and see if you notice a difference.

@@LizRocksAndStuff I will try it with my next batch. Thank you!

That could be the issue. The opal was having issues with using up the grit even before I put in the media. I had reduced the amount of grit I used in this batch, which had worked before I added the media. I don't typically use media in stage 1, so I'll keep an eye out for how much I put in. Thank you for that information!

Welcome! Glad to have you. Are you enjoying rock tumbling so far?

@@LizRocksAndStuff yes I am. I have my first batch coming out of the final rinse. Started using borax based on your advice.

That's great! I hope you'll tell me how they turn out. I love hearing about other people's tumbles.

Thanks!

Thanks for the engagement!

Jaser is a pretty common rock. I'm not sure where these are from.

I've never tried any other soap. From what I understand it is a soap with the least amount of added oils and perfumes. If the castile soap works for you then I would keep using it. I might have to look into that as an alternative myself!

I can't say that I've heard of that. I'm not sure that it would do much, but it's worth a try if you have a batch you don't care about ruining 🤔🤔.

I'll have to try that. I tried it once on flourite with not good results. I may not have smoothed the flourite out enough though.

Glad I can help! It is really hard to wait a week.

That's the perfect name! I'm absolutely changing it to that. I can't believe I didn't think of it myself. Most of mine just get sorted into old take out containers. Some are used for decoration or in planters. A few I've just tossed into my rock beds. I want to learn wire wrapping so I can make pendants from them.

I would do the same thing! My husband jokingly told me that I need to work my way through shining all the rock beds, but that's 6 tons of river rock. I'd never finish it! Instead I shine some and throw them in with the rough.

I completely agree with what you’re saying. I feel like I can’t ask any questions on Facebook groups without being ridiculed. I’m always glad to see you trying things that aren’t the norm. It’s quite educational, especially when they don’t turn out. Love your videos

Thank you for that! I have seen the same thing on FB. Even in beginner groups people are rude about beginner questions. It's like they don't want people to pick up the hobby.

I do generally. It's probably not necessary for rocks that are ready for stage 2, it just keeps any residue from drying on the rocks and being harder to remove. I've seen some people say that it's not ever needed, some people swear that it is always needed. If the rocks are thoroughly cleaned you may not need to keep them wet. I just like to be cautious.

They came from The Rock Shed. I think I got them a few months ago.

Thank you for the information.

Thanks for watching! 👍

I'm sorry. That was a result of how I had to record my videos this week. It shouldn't be an issue again.

That's a good possibility. I'd love to hear how your experiment goes!

@@LizRocksAndStuff So far I've done one bowl (pretty hard ceramic that took a while to get worn to where I wanted it, almost 3 days?), a much softer mug with a nice relief pattern that I almost scoured away because I let it go too long, a very textured glass bowl that still has a little bit of gloss (may run some if the larger pieces some more, haven't decided), and I'm doing a ceramic vase I smashed now that had a crackle glaze -- I wasn't sure how that glaze would do in the tumbler, but it seems fine. All have been run with a combination of the material and grit plus stones, adding or removing rocks as needed to fill the barrel, adding more grit if I don't see the results I want after checking it after a few hours. :D I don't really know what I'm basing any of this on other than what I've picked up from others (like yourself) and educated guesswork. Other than the almost-ruined mug pieces, I'm having some pretty good successes. Thanks again for your insights!

@@w.a.whipple That sounds really cool. I have a highly textured glass bowl that I want to try next. It has a colored coating that I'm sure won't survive, but I'm curious how the texture will go.

For stages 3 and 4 I only do a quick inspection looking for any rocks that have chipped or broken in the previous stage. It doesn't happen very often, but can ruin a batch if it does. So as long as everything still looks smooth and there are no sharp edges I just put them into Stage 2, 3, and 4 for 7 days each with a cleaning cycle in between.

I can do that! I won't be able to get it out until next week when my barrels are ready to be inspected. Until then, I do talk a little bit about it in Episode 41 if you want to check out that video.

Thank you so much! They were really easy to tumble. I prefer more blues and greys, but I didn't dislike them. They just aren't my thing. I'm sure you'll like them, lots of really pretty reds.

I usually try to match hardness, but it's not always easy to do. I think it's fun to just try something to see what happens, even if I don't think it will turn out well. I've been surprised before! I used to use Ivory soap between stages and at the end. I think I prefer it to borax.

That's a good idea! I mostly buy my rocks to tumble because there's mostly granite and quartz where I live. I can try to do some research and put out a video about they types of rocks to look for.

There should be some polished rocks coming out in next week's video, bahia agates and one batch of obsidian. These videos are just weekly updates on what I'm doing to show the progress from rough to polished. What types of rocks do you find locally? There isn't much more than quartz and granite where I live, so not too exciting to tumble.

These were all purchased. Not all identified because I like to buy mixed batches a lot.

I don't. These were all purchased. In the wild I would probably only be able to identify quartz.

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy them! All my batches have had rocks that could have spent more time in stage 1. I like the imperfections in some, but others have been sent back to the beginning. As long as you are having fun, that's all that matters! The only true tumbling channel I watch on YT is @moonriserocks. There's a few I watch on another app. I do have a few rock hounding channels I watch. Michigan Rocks sometimes does tumbling videos.

Thank you! I like the black slurry as well. It's very cool.