Rock Tumbling Tutorial for Rotary Tumblers and Ceramic Media
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- Опубликовано: 26 июл 2024
- Want to learn to polish rocks with a rotary tumbler? In this in depth tutorial, you'll learn to use your rotary tumbler with ceramic media to get a professional shine on your rocks.
I have another similar video that shows how to do the last stages with a vibratory tumbler. This is my favorite method of tumbling. • Tumbling Crazy Lace Ag...
If you want to tumble with a rotary tumbler with plastic pellets, check out this video: • How to Polish Rocks wi...
All measurements are for a three pound barrel. In all stages the water should be just below the top layer of rocks. I use a little less than that in the coarse grinding stage.
Coarse Grinding Stage
Run your rocks for a week at a time coarse grit to get all the imperfections out. This will take much more than a week if you want really good results.
3-4 tablespoons of coarse silicon carbide grit (80, 60/90, 46/70 or similar)
Stage 2
3 tablespoons of 120/220 or 220 silicon carbide grit
Run for one week
Stage 3
3 tablespoons of 500 grit aluminum oxide (you can use silicon carbide, but I prefer aluminum oxide)
Run for ten days
Polish Stage
3 tablespoons of aluminum oxide polish
Run for two weeks or longer
Burnishing
This is optional and can be run between stages and after polish. The idea is to clean out any grit or slurry stuck in holes and cracks. If you don't have holes or cracks, this is not as important. I think the most important time to do this is between the 500 and polish stages.
2 tablespoons of borax
Run for several hours
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- KINGSLEY NORTH -
Kingsley North is a lapidary store in Michigan's U.P. They make a great cab machine and sell many other brands too. They have a huge selection rough rock, tumblers, grit, jewelry supplies etc. at good prices. I buy most of my coarse grit from here in 45 lb. bags. It's the best price I have found. If you buy using the following link, I make a small commission.
bit.ly/3MerxdI
This is the cabbing machine I use:
kingsleynorth.com/kingsley-no...
- THE ROCK SHED -
I buy a lot of lapidary supplies from The Rock Shed. I don't make money from your purchases there, but they have good prices and good service. This is where I buy my finer grits and polish.
rockshed.com
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0:00 Coarse Stage
28:09 How to Shave Off Some Time
37:17 220 Grit Stage
39:30 500 Grit Stage
42:58 Polish Stage
46:20 Finished Rocks
53:41 Slide Show 
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For the longest time I thought you just threw some rocks and grit in your tumbler and 2 or 3 days later you had beautiful shiny treasures. Boy, was I wrong!
I'm a little obsessive about making them perfect, in case you didn't notice. It doesn't have to take this long. I did manage to shine up some rocks in three days though: ruclips.net/video/zgGKE8PzAMg/видео.html
Yeah! That was me too 😬
I just did my first batch. Well in the process.. I only let mine tumble 3 days for the first and second stage as i thought they were getting to small but seemed okay. Then 2 days for 3rd stage and they've been in the polish for 4 days. Hoping for a good outcome. And hope i don't regret polishing them as I enjoy the natural look
I clicked on this video thinking it was hours. I'm 41.
@@DJK6914 I am
First of all , you're hysterical. The mustache bit being performed in such dry performance, was perfect. Second, this was no simple post. You made a straight up , feature length documentary, that shares the erudition of a master-master. Reeeeeespect , clear and well explained insight like this is invaluable. I know a simple thank you doesn't reflect my level of appreciation... but thank you
You’re welcome, Michael. I’m glad you were amused and educated.
Very well said.
So do you use the ceramic media thru all the steps? Thanks and nice job on the videos.
PS: Trying to figure out what kind of tumbling rocks I can find down here in central Illinois? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Honestly I haven't tumbled in awhile. It's very serendipitous though that you messaged me five days ago , with your tumbling inquiry because I just pulled out my double barrel and was giving her some TLC. Oiling up the bearings and prepping her for a tumble with a quart container full of medium to small sapphires I've been piggy banking away when I find them every so often. For almost two years now I've been polishing one large rock a day with a sort of DIY lapidary station. I wish I could share pics on you tube. I think you would appreciate my little set up. It's basically a harbor freight bucket that I cut down the side and cut the thicker top part where the lid would snap onto. I slide my variable speed, polishing, angle grinder into to the custom cut with the angle grinder facing up then take the thick top cut and flip it over so it snugs perfectly around the the top of the bucket , locking in the angle grinder and reinforcing the bucket walls. Just the grinder head lays in the bucket which helps keep a great majority of the throw off from getting into the grinder and the bucket is tall enough that I can comfortably get in there to work with the specimen but all the throw off hits the inside walls. I secure the sides of the angle grinder from tilting with two big pieces of foam ingot at Walmart. It's makes clean up a sinch , absorbs everything and muffles the noise. I screw on a four inch hook and loop backing pad and depending on the specimen I'll start with a 50 grit or a 100 grit resin diamond pad. I use Rubi products for these pads and the backing pad. Just down the street Floor Decor carries them, Wet or Dry pads . I use the wet pads. They start at 50 and double all the way up to 3000 (50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1200, 3000 and then a final buffing pad that Noone can give me a straight answer of n it's grit but I've been told it's 6000. After that I hit the rock/gem with a finishing foam pad using a product made by Chemical Guys for polishing jewelry. It's water soluble and as it drys while your working it ( I use the Drexel versa ) it starts to look like when youre working with cerium oxide. Then clean with warm water and a little soap. Lol, this is where the OCD really starts... then I takenit to my bench grinder that I resuited on both sides with the pointy buffing wheel adapters so you can just quickly take off and put on different buffs without having to stop the machine and unscrew all the stuff Yada Yada yada...then it's tripoli compound with your standard stiff yellow buff and really depending on what im working with I'll next use the stainless steel gray compound (lots of discussions as to which should come first tripoli or stainless gray. 50% say tripoli is a harsher cut and 50% say the gray is. I say they're equal so it really comes down to to the applicator being used. And no one can deny the stainless gray is will outshine the tripoli everytime, so that's the OCD , German brain logic and reasoning I've decided on) anyway I'll use gray with either a denim buff or a cotton stitched buff. Then finally I use the chromium green compound with a cotton no-stiched buff. In between each compound I'll either wash gently with Luke warm water and soap, or use my steam gun, or if you don't proper and don't slab on a ton of compound and just kiss the rock it will each step comes off with wiping it with some old cut up jeans or a animal skin sham rag. Both of those are THE BEST thing to use. Denim and a properly oiled animal skin will just make it sparkle so nice. Lol now, on Monday I'm taking things to the next level. I ordered my diamond powders and more cerium oxide ( oh I do like to hit the specimen with a slurry of alumina oxide, using the dremel versa and a "cutting" foam applicator after the 400 grit pad . That alumina just really compliments any of element you're working with, my opinion is , it's what starts the chatiyance effect everyone loves so much. So nothing to report about the diamond powder yet. I've been studying up though preparing. It's almost about "formulation" you need a good carrier to deliver those diamond microns. Last night I prepped my slurry in to squeeze bottles. Today I experiment with some cerium , the way I'll be using the diamond powder from Diamond Tech. It's a 1% concentration. Go by wieghts is going to give you the results and for God's sakes use the metric system. Dumbass imperial system. To many remainders lol. Basicly youbtake 1% of your liquids wieght to figurenout how much xanthanan gum to use, then to find out how much of a distributot to use, its 3parts "distributor to 1part "suspender/binder". We are making a simple emuslifiction, so don't be like me and get pissy at umescarry terminology iber complicateing the cognitive process. For one cup of slurry yeilded... 1 cup water (240ml which also happens to be 240 grams 👏👏👏🫶 yay metric system, nailed it !) You will need 1% of that for your binder (which happens to be 2.40grams of xanthanan which happens to be 1 teaspoon ✋️high five metric system two for ✌. Lol) then you'll need to do tour 3parts to one part of XG. which will be 3 teaspoons of something that must meet a certain atomic criteria. In this case glycol or gliserin will work perfect. I will gladly explain why and the culinary technique to use but I've written so much , I'm lagging lol. And if you already know this, which you probably do because you are a smarter man then I am , I'm sure you have better things to do then get a science lesson from me. But you're awesome, I apologize for not leaving comments but I check your channel weekly. You are a jedi master and it would be foolish to not take advantage of the knowledge you share so openly. Thank you. Now let's see if my phone crashes when I hit send . As a matter of fact I'm selecting all and saving first because I will lose my s*** if e erring I just wrote was for nothing and dispears into under A.I.'s big toenail
No ceramic media in the first step. During the first stage is when the rocks loose the most physical volume. The ceramic media is to fill in the space that is now created by the shrinking stones and also to provide cushion throughout the polishing stages which are every other stage except the first one.
there are so many reasons as to why this video is a 10/10
Glad you liked it!
This is a hobby that teaches you to be reeeeally patient.
These rocks taught it way more than usual. I really wish I would have chosen something different for this video.
you want patientce? try carving those stones before tumbling
Especially from the looks of the beard 😂
Or you can just set a reminder on your phone and "fahgetahbowtit....." 😉
The reward for patience is patience ‘,.)
As someone who is at the VERY beginning stages of rock tumbling (researching, learning, picking up tips) this is the best video I have seen yet. So much information. Thank you so much for posting, I’ve learnt so much! 😊
You’re welcome, Tarni. I have another tumbling video coming out tonight if all goes well.
Showed up for the lesson, stayed for the beard!
I love that Tumbler Cabinet!
I figured the tumbling might get boring. That was my best idea for spicing it up.
Late to the party, but had to do a video double take to rewatch the progression of the beard and removal of said beard. At that point I almost forgot about the rocks and why I was watching in the first place. Better than most movies I've paid for.
Thanks for the sly humor.
I"m glad you enjoyed that more than my wife did. I had done a tumbling video the year before and thought this would be a good way to show the passing of time.
I loved the beard progression and disappearance, especially the halfstache! My father was a rock hound and he tumbled on a small scale. This made me want to get into it again for nostalgia's sake. I adore lace agate and am looking forward to watching some of your other vids!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. My wife didn't enjoy the beard progression nearly as much as she enjoyed its disappearance. I think you should get into tumbling. It has been a very fun hobby for me.
Oh gosh I thought I was losing my mind good someone else also saw a half stash wheeee thanks for the wonderful tutorials!!!!!
Do it.
The pyrite looks like the best kind of Carmel candy
I’m a 74 year old California Gma. I’m still new to rock tumbling and I’m not picky (yet 😉) but I love each and every one of them. Like my large family- no one is perfect but we’re all loved ❤. You’re doing a great job.
Thanks, Bethanie. I hope you're turning out some great rocks for those grandkids!
Its really cool that you kept this a "beginner level" tutorial. You could of easily used your equipment that 90% will probably never obtain or own. Super interesting. I have numerous buckets of cool rocks me & my daughters have picked up out of our creek over the past 10-12yrs. Will definitely be getting a tumbler in the near future. Thank you for all the time & effort this took. Much respect 👍
I'm glad you found the video helpful, Andy. I started with just a tumbler and had lots of fun with it. Of course as you get into this hobby a little more, there's the temptation to buy more equipment and try new things.
Thats cool iv recently been tumbeling agated and a currently a emerald in my tumbler its a lower quality emerald so thats why im not to worried about tumbeling it
A
17 weeks in he says “I’m a patient person...”. You can say that again!
It gets easier the more you tumble. It also helps to have a lot of barrels running so there's always something getting done. When I first started tumbling, my 12 year old son was every bit as patient as I was. I have also taught my 16 year old neighbor to tumble and he's super patient too.
No wonder I have trouble, mine says 4 days for each stage.
My Daughter got a cheap starter National Geographic tumbler for Christmas and we absolutely love it! Your videos have taught us how to use it more effectively and she can't wait to try out another batch with some better grit and new techniques. Thank you for these videos.
I'm glad I could help, Gilbert!
OMG !!! I’ll never look at another polished rock in the store again with judgmental eyes😲, this takes an AMAZING effort, time and PATIENCE ♥️ Thank you so much for sharing !!!🤩 I want them ALL !!!
I really enjoy the process, not just the finished product, so I don't mind how long it takes.
Beyond all the great "how to tumble" advice, one thing that really made a difference to my setup was "use a magnifier". I got a $10 usb magnifier light and I could see the flaws even in rocks that had a decent polish - they've got back in a 400 barrel. Thanks for all your tips.
I have a $10 opti-visor clone that I wear when I check my rocks. I think it was out for one of the weekly checks in the video, but I for got to mention it. My eyes aren’t good enough anymore to check them without that.
Great idea!
Very informative, my father was a rockhound and had all of these saws and tumblers running all the time. He has since passed a number of years ago, but some of my favorite memories with him was when we would go to the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota to go rock hunting for Lakers. Wish I had grasped his talent for making rock jewelry.
It's not too late. I never dreamt of making rock jewelry and I have learned almost everything from the Internet. The Rock Tumbling Hobby forums are a great spot to learn. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com
LOL! Week 17 "I've reached my limit..." :)
Everyone has their limits.
I received a tumbler for Christmas and have been too intimidated and overwhelmed with info to start! Thank you so much for making this video…it’s so informative and thoughtful and explains everything so well! Getting started tonight!
There's nothing to be worried about, Annie. Even if your first batch doesn't turn out, you can always redo them. There's nothing too bad that could happen. The trick is to just dive in and start. Mistakes are just learning opportunities.
Im about to tumble for the first time. I seen this video was an hour-long and I knew it was the one I needed to watch. Definitely ready to give it a full send.. Thank you a bunch
Sometimes I worry that my videos are too long, but I'd prefer a longer, more in depth video myself, so that's what I make. I'm glad you like the longer ones.
I've watched (most of) this twice, along with many of your other videos. I'm from Michigan, and had never heard of a pudding stone before! Went to the river rocks around my mailbox and realized they are all through that area of my home. for the in-depth video. It is going to help a lot. Got a tumbler for Christmas!
Congrats on the new tumbler. Hopefully my video will help you have some success. Good luck!
The finished product is absolutely incredible. I collected some fire agates here in Arizona and I borrowed a small rotary tumbler just like yours to process them. I've never done this, I had NO IDEA the process could take this long!!
The end result looks so worth it though, I'm excited to get started!
I really enjoy the process, so I don't mind spending the time. My wife kept asking when I was going to shave my beard though, so that was putting pressure on me to get this video finished.
Hilarious beard progression and disappearance.
Ps, you look more youthful without it.
Yes, I look a lot younger without it. More importantly, my wife loves me more.
@@MichiganRocks She is a very smart woman. Beards are SCRATCHY.
@@KatyDidRocks and mine was really gray. My one gray sideburn should have clued me in to what was lurking below.
Yeah, haha, I think it was hilarious too :D:D:D.
LOLOL I had to rewatch because i noticed it about partway thru!!! brilliant :)
I just got my first tumbler a few hours ago and this helped so much more then the instruction packet! Tysm!
You're welcome. The instructions pretty much always make it sound like you can get them done much quicker than you actually can. That's if you want really nice rocks. I like them as perfect as possible.
i appreciate the last scene of all the shiny rocks together. Simply beautiful🌻🌻
Have you seen my Rocks in a Box series? I show a lot of finished rocks there and there's usually a group shot at the very end (although not always). Here's a playlist: ruclips.net/p/PLqNINgwEkm-LN2s_fqo0Aa67HDDIaHWcC
Not only did I enjoy watching the rocks change. I enjoyed watching your beard grow! Both turned out beautiful!
That was the plan. If you got bored with the rocks, you could always watch me age.
You just reminded me of how my dad would grow his beard for winter and the shave it in batches to make his kids laugh. So thank for that.
Oh and by the way I never get board of you showing off rocks.
I am thrilled to death to have found you. I recently got into Rock tumbling, in fact I am doing my first tumble on my third week and because of learning from you, I am still on first stage. I learned from you it can't be rushed and you mustn't rush through the stages. Thank you for that. I do believe my first stage may be mostly done by Sat. I have binge watched alot of your videos. You're a great teacher and I appreciate all I am learning because of it. I will also be ordering the suggested grits. I am so excited for this new hobby. Thank you Rob.
You're welcome! It's comments like yours that keep me going. I love that you've found my videos helpful.
OMG... I began my day grouchy, dropping everything, spilled my coffee. Sat down to stare at something and landed on this video. First, I enjoy your content and thank you for your hard work. Second:. Your editing on that facial hair had me in stitches! I was yiping out loud "trim that beard... I can't concentrate on the tumbler rocks!"
Then noticed you must have heard me. Lol
Thank you for making my bad day turnaround into a much better one!
Glad I could help, Bev. I don't know if I could hear you yelling at me over my wife yelling the same thing. Everything is better now. No one's yelling.
I’ve gone down the rock tumbling rabbit hole this week and this video was PERFECTION. The end result was so worth the time it took to fully watch this tutorial. Thanks for all the the hard work! They were all so beautiful at the end…mesmerizing.
Thanks. I know it was long, but I prioritized being thorough over brevity.
3 years late. How to SHAVE OFF time??? I cackled. A lot. Love the combo of education and a little bit of humour!
I don't think this content gets stale.
This is a great video! I had a rock tumbler as a kid, and I loved tumbling rocks! I have found a good assortment of agates over the past several years and I would like to shine them up! Thanks again for making this awesome video! :)
Whoa, SO many comments that I will read through, but I wanted to say thank you for your wonderful rock tumbling videos. I am working with beach stones in New England, so not nearly so hard as what you were doing and I don't want a high gloss, but I definitely need to do more tumbling than I thought I needed to do. Thank you!!
Softer rocks tumble faster, but it's also more difficult to get them to shine. I tumble a lot of beach rocks and most of them do pretty well though. If you search through my videos a bit, you'll find some "Rocks in a Box" videos showing some of my tumbled beach rocks.
I love how your hair slowly got shaved off. It was awesome. Thanks for the video, I've been struggling with tumbling rocks and this will definitely help
It turned out way too long, but I hope it's helpful for people who actually want to learn to tumble. Glad you found it useful.
the case of the reappearing disappearing facial hair was awesome...I thought i was going crazy for a bit...but the last scene finally gave it away....awesome!
I’m glad you were amused. My wife didn’t kiss me for four months.
35:35 What is happening with your facial hair? Making sure we're all paying attention? Well it definitely made me feel even more stoned. And this video gives a whole new light to tumbled gemstones! So much work, beautiful outcome.
Sammmeee!!! I thought I was tripping 🥴
He was "shaving" off time😂
Even more stoned 🤣 Also, yes I wondered if I’d smoked myself off the deep end for a minute there
@@MiniHarborStudio 😂🤣😂
Thank you Rob for an excellent video tutorial. I am nearing stage 4 of my first run, and this helps a boat-load!
Good, I'm glad it's helpful. That was the point after all.
I'm glad I came across your channel! My expectations were far higher than the instruction manuals time table. I'm excited to see what my rocks look like after their second week of polishing. Luckily this is the test batch that came with my machine!
Those mixed batches that come with tumblers aren’t always the best rocks to be tumbled together, so don’t be discouraged if they don’t turn out great. Try to get some agate or jasper of the same hardness for your next batch.
Thank you for the time put into making this video. Beautiful finished product. Been a rock hound all my life, and want to get into tumbling, learned a lot. Look forward to watching more videos.
I'm glad you learned something. My hope was that people starting would learn what to do without having to learn by messing up a few batches and that people who were having trouble could possibly figure out their problem before they got frustrated and quit.
Really enjoy watching you share your skills. Thanks I'm gonna give it a go!! I've collected rocks from all over the lower 48 in my Trucking career. 4.5 million miles, can't wait!
You should definitely do that. I've really enjoyed this hobby. You should have a pretty diverse collection after all those miles and years.
Wow what a cool rock hound and just love your videos as they mean so much to all who watch, Thank You Very Much !!! Really enjoy your channel and love the great outdoors in Michigan !!!!
It's nice to know people are enjoying these. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
now i wish i saw this before i got into this hobby. idid not repeat stages as this video shows. ive since completed 4 batches and they look so much better. thanks so much this helped alot
Better to find it late than never, I guess.
That machine on top of the cabinet, my grandfather had one and used to polish rocks and make bolo ties. I remember as a child he used to let me help him. I so miss those times. After I graduated from HS he sold all of his rock cutting and polishing equipment. I wish he would have taught me more and kept all of it. Thank you for your videos!!!
I got most of my equipment used and learned how to use it on the Rock Tumbling Hobby forums. It's not too late to learn. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/
Now I feel confident in buying a tumbler and trying this. Thank you Rob! Very informative video. I think I try the vibratory tumbler even if it's more expensive.
If you buy just a vibratory tumbler, your rocks won't look like this. You've probably seen it, but if not, watch my video on tumbling Lake Superior agates. That will give you a good idea of what to expect from just vibratory tumbling. I prefer starting with a rotary tumbler and finishing in my Lot-O.
"Want some nice rock jewelry babe? Let me just go into the Tupperware and that baking drawer really quick..."
LOL! I had a rock tumbler when I was a kid in the late 60's- early 70's. We had it running in my Dad's wood shop (which was right under my bedroom! You could hear it at night time churning the rocks!
I can hear my tumblers upstairs too, but they're not too loud. I kind of like the sound because I know that they're grinding out some pretty rocks. f
I am LOVING your channel. Just recently started getting into rock tumbling and crafting after moving to the Pacific Northwest and your videos have been great learning tools!
That was the point, so I'm glad they're working as planned. Thanks for the nice comment.
I am calling this the Magical Beard episode.
Ok, that's fine with me.
Yes! I was hoping you would do this! Your rocks always look so glossy ! Love em. Thanks for this.
Have you seen my other tumbling video? ruclips.net/video/ksrmpPZrAuU/видео.html
@micheganrocks I’m about too 😂 👍🏽
Your facial hair growth while waiting for the tumbled rocks was pretty funny, followed up by the mid- section of the video, How To Shave Off Some Time. I really had no idea rock tumbling could take so long. Thanks for this video and showing your steps and methods. I’ll be checking out some more of your videos.
My wife was not as amused as you were with my facial hair. There weren't many kisses during that time.
I would not have guessed that all those rocks were so beautiful! A few looked yummy but after all that work each of them were beautiful! Thank you, you show us the things we wish we could do!
Tumbling doesn't take too much effort, just a lot of time.
Thank you so much for taking the time to make these videos. I just started my first batch of rocks. I keep referring to this video to make sure I don't mess up.
I hope it helps!
Hi Rob thanks for this as it is a great resource for my tumbling journey. I hope I don't screw up the analytics too much by jumping around to various points as I have watched this in full at least once and come back several times and jump to the parts I want answers to like an encyclopaedia or wiki article. Please keep up the excellent work.
If you're rewatching, that can't be anything but good for the analytics. I wouldn't worry about it either way. Just use it as you need.
We went to Tennessee last week for vacation. I was given a double tumbler for my birthday. I've begun my tumbler, will begin my grandson's tumbler with him on Friday. Much patience needed for this hobby, but an excellent lesson for a 7 year old. Thank you so much for your dedication in filming. Not an easy hobby, but the end result is so beautiful.
My son was about 12 when we started tumbling together. I was surprised at how patient he was. He was even pickier than I was about throwing them back into the first stage. I'm sure I was more impatient waiting for that first batch to finish. He never complained about it taking too long.
Thank you for the tips, I just finished my first tumble, and was disappointed with about half of the rocks. I've learned heaps from this.
From a kiwi gravel enthusiast.
That was what I was hoping for. I'm glad I succeeded.
Thank you so much, your advice is clear and so detailed. I have my first batch tumbling away and your videos have been such a big help. Thanks again 😊
You're welcome. It's nice to get messages like yours. It makes the effort that goes into my videos worthwhile. Good luck!
They all turned out so well, really beautiful, great job.
Thanks Robert.
Thank you for the videos, stumbled across them a week ago. My 3yr old daughter loves when I bring her “pretty rocks” from work. I deliver concrete and the aggregate we use is 57’s round river rock from a quarry along the Ohio river and if I see a colorful one I bring it home. After watching this video I ordered a 3lb lortone tumbler and the assorted grits. Now we wait to make her pretty rocks shiny and pretty. Thanks again from Ky
I think you and your daughter will have a lot of fun with that machine. It makes those rocks that you bring home even more exciting to think what they'll look like all polished up.
Thank you for the high quality tutorial video. I had a tumbler as a kid but didn't have the right expectations nor patience for it. Now I know this can take months for a batch to finish and am mentally prepared for the wait.
I live in South Texas, so we have limestone bursting from the ground all over the place. I went to a public trail and took the less-improved route and picked up many pounds of flint / chert. I also bought two 1 inch round rough garnets from a local jewelry store and threw those in. So now have two 3lb barrels going and an order of grit + named minerals coming from Rock Shed.
The chert should tumble well. I have never tumbled garnets, but they are very hard and I have heard of people having trouble tumbling the garnets that the Rock Shed sells. It might depend on the type or source of the garnet though. I'm curious how those will go. Good luck with your tumble.
Hi Rob, I just came across your channel in my exploration of a new hobby and I want you to know how much i appreciate your passion and time spent on this. I just ordered my first tumbler and I am so so excited to begin exploring Michigan's beaches. I'll give you a wave if I see you out there!
Hi Steven. I’m glad you liked it. I have had a lot of fun with rock tumbling. It makes rock hunting that much more fun, when you think about how they’re going to look after being tumbled.
Wow!! Thank you so much for documenting and sharing this looong process!! I love the beard touch from both a time passage standpoint and because of the funny way you shaved it off! Thanks for being so thorough with your explanations and sharing all the intricate workings of the process. You seem so warm and passionate about this stuff! I'm so glad I stumbled across your gem of a channel!
Ha! Gem of a channel, that's a good one! I'm glad you liked the beard thing. It looks like it served both purposes I intended.
@Michigan Rocks Wait, I think Jess meant to say, "tumbled across your gem of a channel!" Ha ha!!
@@enjoylifesteve3925 Ha ha!
I bought a simple tumbler , followed the directions (4-5 days for each of 3 grits) and not much change. I was disappointed. Now I understand what really needs to be done. Thank you!
The directions that come with tumblers are notoriously bad. I guess they don't want to admit how long it takes and discourage people. Too bad that they are still discouraged after wasting three or four weeks doing it wrong. Hopefully you have better luck after watching my video.
Another thing to look out for is poor quality grit, especially the polish. I buy my grit from The Rock Shed. There's a link in the description to The Rock Shed and I also put their grits and polish in my Amazon storefront if that's better for you.
@@MichiganRocks there was only three grits. I just ordered new grit and am looking forward to re-tumbling the original group of stones!
Thank you for sharing the how to do it on the rock tumbler. I now know that if I get into rock polishing I don't have the patience to use a tumbler. Have a great rest of the week.
This batch took much longer than usual, but a couple months is not unusual. Di you see my recent video about tumbling Lake Superior agates in a vibratory tumbler? You might have the patience for that. Nine days total to shiny rocks.
I have another similar video that shows how to do the last stages with a vibratory tumbler. This is my favorite method of tumbling. ruclips.net/video/ksrmpPZrAuU/видео.html
If you want to tumble with a rotary tumbler with plastic pellets, check out this video: ruclips.net/video/EnNvywwztr8/видео.html
Michigan Rocks
Seen it 👍
Would you consider doing a start to finish with the vibratory tumbler? I'm just getting started bought a cheap harbor freight tumbler and am really having fun with it but would like to see a good video on the vibratory before I decide which tumbler to invest in from the beginning
Go find my recent video on tumbling Lake Superior Agates from start to finish in a vibratory tumbler. That will at least give you an idea of what to expect from a completely vibratory tumble. I think I put the steps I did in the description.
I appreciate your willingness to teach!
I'm looking at starting to tumble rocks. I've always loved rocks. I can't believe how affordable a hobby this could be on a small scale. It's slow, and kinda meditative. Neat.
Yes, it's really pretty inexpensive. If you buy your grit in bulk, especially the coarse grit, it really helps. Check out Kingsley North and the Rock Shed (links in description) when you decide to buy something. Both places have excellent service, good products (not all grit is the same) and good prices too.
Thanks for another outstanding tutorial !!! I watched the one on finishing in the Loto earlier this week. I have toyed with the idea of buying a second double barrel tumbler and just using that for prepolish and polish. Thanks for all your help, Rob.
I'm glad you've found it helpful.
The beard changes were hilarious! Great addition to already really good content. Thanks
I figured it might get a little boring, so I decided to do something to make it a little more interesting. Glad you liked it.
Fantastic tutorial! It's now clear what my problems were in my first batch which was a disappointment. My only suggestion is to identify the stage number you're in so my feeble brain can keep them straight. Many thanks for your dedication to teaching beginners.
Check the description of this video. I wrote out all the steps.
I don't usually comment on videos, but I give it to you man. You have a lot of patience and I can tell you are a very determined man with a hobby you are great at! Good job man, I learned a lot...and I grew a beard waiting for those rocks to finish!
Thanks for making an exception for me, Kevin. I appreciate it.
This was great really informative, I have a lot of rough stones. I can’t wait to start tumbling them. I hope they are as beautiful as what you ended up with. Thank You so much for explaining everything.
If you follow what I did, you'll likely get pretty good results. Of course, that assumes that the rough rocks you're starting with are of decent quality for tumbling.
They turned out so nice worth the wait!
I sure was happy with the results.
Some beautiful rocks there😍
Super well made vid and speaking from personal experience tumbling my local Mojave Desert / Cady Mountains agates and jaspers, totally realistic as to how long a small barrel, hard rock combo tumble can take to get “perfect” results. My patience ran out years ago! Now it’s all about lot’s pre-tumbling rock inspection, zero crushing if possible (less cracks), more small, ready to tumble size specific collecting trips or days, chucking if needed if the gremlins are just too much (some rocks just wanna be ugly), big barrels, tough grit (46 combo), forever tumbling,classification, removing and adding as the rocks achieve that “perfect” look, tirelessly spraying out those vugs in have to keep special rocks that can hold old grit and blow your entire down the road polish load, crack splitting, cutting or grinding some rocks that are keepers and finally, polishing in a vibratory machine.
Tumbling exceptional pieces is NOT for the impatient or faint hearted rock hound. And you can get good results and pretty rocks if you tumble softer material or are okay with the natural imperfections showing through. It’s all in the eye of the beholder and I must say the difference between a perfect set of tumbled rocks and the meh, tumbled according to the manufacturers instructions, is massive. No comparison. A well tumbled lot will take your breath away. My two cents.
Thanks again for a great vid. By far the best I’ve watched on this subject. ✌🏻
Wow, thanks for the nice comment. You obviously have a lot of experience and I agree with what you said. I tumble a lot of beach rocks and they often shape up much quicker. I also have larger barrels, coarser grit, and a Lot-O vibratory tumbler to speed up the process. I get some criticism for being to picky from some people, but those perfect rocks are what I'm after, so I'm okay with a little criticism. I'm with you, really well done rocks just don't compare to the less refined tumbles.
LOL @ 35:30 I immediately noticed you taking half your moustache off- brilliant idea while discussing how to shave some time off
I thought the video needed something to spice it up.
Learning takes time, thank you for your dedication to teach. As always, the rocks are stunning.
PS, funny face hair trick.
I had fun with that. Wish I would have noticed the sun shining in the window. I was too distracted by revealing my face.
Love the effort you put into this, learned a lot even with all the tumbling I have done!! Thanks
That's great if I can show someone with experience something. Thanks for recognizing the effort that went into it.
I quit drinking and bought a rock tumbler. Im only 134 days sober, but iv already got some beautiful rocks. I really enjoy your video's. I'm in awe of your amazing collection 💖 thank you for all your help can't wait to see the future. 😊
Congratulations on 134 days sober! That seems like a really long time to me. I'm glad to be able to help you fill your time with a hobby to help keep your mind on other things.
This is epic. Wish I would have thought of this when I stopped! 😂
You are our go-to-guy for rocks and now tumbling. We have learned so much from you and are getting more into our rocks by the day. I got the rock tumbler on my birthday early May. My daughter got a complete rockhounding kit from her husband who also bought one for himself on her birthday in June. We went to our first rock/minerals show just on Sunday. We have also found a cliff wall in our state where we could find some mini garnets. We are hooked. I am now seeking a vibratory tumbler and have watched all you shared about them. What I don't like about yours is the small opening. I know I would prefer a larger opening so that's what I am going for. I'm also big into stained glass and have tumbled my first tumbler. Love it, love you for sharing your wealth of knowledge. Thanks so much!
Take a look at the Thumber's Ultra Vibes. I hear good things about them. They come in a variety of size and have huge openings on the top. Just make sure you get the model designed for rocks and not for tumbling brass. The ones for tumbling metal won't hold up to rocks.
@@MichiganRocks So appreciate your well-timed advice. I didn't realize the distinction between tumblers for rocks and then brass. We've been surfing though and my daughter knew - we are deciding and will now take a real close look at the Ultra Vibes. I thank you again. You have already shared so much with us and we are busy learning all we can - we are hooked!
Informative and hilarious!
O.O You have a magic beard!
Yup. He does. My dad used to grow a beard every winter. And when he was ready to shave it. He did it in batches. Lol
That's the most fun part.
They look really amazing and so beautiful! I like the one with the vug!! I love the sound they make after they have been burnished! You did an awesome job with such a hard rock.
Hard rocks are actually easier to get a good shine on, but they take longer too.
I didnt know so much time and effort was needed for this!!! I learned alot from this!! Beautiful rocks! 😊
I spend more time than most. I like to get every little imperfection out. Not everyone is as picky as I am.
Easy little trick you can do for removing pointy pieces on rocks, get pliers! Since you are putting in the force instead of kinetic energy, you will find you get no cracks. This works best for stuff like labradorite or ammolite, potch opal, moss agate, carnelian especially, also green opal, and this can work for quartz too, if you are having extra trouble, use two pliers, MAKE SURE YOU PUT A CLOTH OVER BOTH OF YOUR HANDS AND THE STONE WHEN DOING THIS, since your applying pressure, the shards will shoot hard at you if there’s no cloth over your rock your working on.
Hey, thanks for the great tip. I never thought of that.
One of the things I do to speed up the process is to double-stack the coarse grit, i.e. run the initial load for four days, then add another load of grit and run it for another three days. My observations are that the slurry is smooth after four days, which means it's no longer cutting as aggressively as I would like. Rather than doing a cleanout, I just add more grit and keep the slurry working properly.
I know a lot of people do that. I guess I'm just too lazy. Once a week is enough messing around with them for me. I don't think it's a bad idea.
You might enjoy reading this thread at Rock Tumbling Hobby. It's not exactly the same as what you do, but similar. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/68043/cleanout-recharge-experiment-final-results
@@MichiganRocks On my first try, I used the same slurry. I would rinse the rocks separately and examine, and if not done to my liking back into the slurry they went. I have done some reading further and I have noticed the use of ceramic media. SO for current batches and restart, I added some small and large media at each stage. For the gemstone mix, this has vastly improved them at each stage. My rivers are coming on nicely too. Due to the excessive heat and humidity, been hitting the one more day button and as soon as the weather DOES cooperate, will be having a look see....
@@SamsonsamSim I wouldn't use the ceramics in the first stage because it will wear them out really quickly. If you need some small pieces for the first stage, try to find some small, but hard gravel.
You can put the rocks back into the same slurry, but if the slurry has been used for a week, or even five days, you'll need to add some more grit in (at least in the first stage).
I absolutely love your videos. I have learned a lot. I have always loved collecting rocks and wanted to learn to tumble them. I do wish I could meet with someone, like yourself, that could help guide me in the right direction. Maybe someday I will. Thank you for your videos.
That's the purpose of these videos, to teach you to tumble. I answer a lot of questions about tumbling here too. So if you have questions, just ask. The first step would be to buy a decent tumbler. I really like Lortone tumblers. The Rock Shed usually has the best prices. I order a lot of stuff from them. I just got a package from yesterday as a matter of fact. therockshed.com
Super informative! I really appreciate the time you took to put this together. Bonus beard and mustache humor. Loved that for sure. Thank you!
I'm glad you were amused, Lynelle. My wife wasn't so amused by my beard. I gave up a lot of kisses to make this video.
"Shave off some time"!!! hahahahaha Thank you! I was amused.
I wonder how many people caught my corny pun?
@@MichiganRocks A few I think, if they were paying attention.
Wow my dear!
Great video my friend...💜
Thank you.
Thanks for the reality check. Most of the info I have researched implies a week or two for the first stage. Your video was an eye opener. Started my first tumble yesterday and now I feel more confident in knowing what to look for before proceeding to the next step.
Those darn instructions that come with tumblers mislead a lot of people. You can get shiny rocks that way, but they're not going to look great. There's also a lot of potential to transfer grit from one stage to the next if you don't clean the rocks very carefully. I prefer taking my time and ending up with rocks that I'm really happy with in the end.
@@MichiganRocks I am going to follow the advice of the guy who has, from what I have seen, the best looking rocks on RUclips. Thanks for taking the time to make this tutorial and thus saving me a lot of wasted time and aggravation by providing a step by step process to achieve good results on my first attempt.
I’m brand new to tumbling. I have a tumbler and that’s it! I ended up just staying to watch the beard progress. Thanks 😊
My wife was happiest the day it came off.
cant i do this in my moms front loading washing machine?
I could put BIG rocks in that!
im gonna try!
Let me know how it goes.
OMG this is hysterical! Try it! Comeon!! DO IT DO IT
omg did you try it?
Haha, love the beard humor!
I was hoping if the rocks got boring, I could entertain you in some other way.
Thank you so much for this excellent tutorial. I am grateful you did not play music in the background while teaching. I've done rock tumbling in the past but never had any training. I just got a 6 lb. rotary tumbler and your tutorial will help me greatly.
Good, I'm glad it's helpful. That's what I was going for.
This video blew my mind! And I feel smarter now that I've learned how my rocks came to that smooth and shine surface ❣️ I love rocks, I love this video and your beard cracked me up 🤣 thank you!!
I'm glad that you were amused and learned something, Stephanie.
Thanks for the great video, very instructional, I learned a lot! A couple of questions:
1) How do you dispose of the slurry once you're rinsed off your rocks? I've heard that pouring it down the drain is not a good idea as you'll be building up a nice concrete dam in your pipes.
2) What do you do with all the rocks that you tumble?
I'm so glad you asked those questions. So glad that I made a couple videos to answer them.
How I Dispose of Rock Tumbler Slurry ruclips.net/video/j-356YqFox8/видео.html
What do you do with all those tumbled rocks? ruclips.net/video/jZ9Dns9ioX8/видео.html
Glad I read thru these comments as I was about to ask the same thing👍🏻
First! (Kinda). :D Marking this for future reference. Thanks, Rob!
You're welcome, Kate!
Just received a tumbler for my mid life cris- er birthday and new rockhounding obsession! I finished the video and now my goal is to identify my bounty as to MOHS hardness and develop a gauge for when something appears finished. Thank you for this. Super helpful. I found you from a recommendation from a woman in a crystal shop in Kirkland, WA!
I didn’t know rock shops were recommending me. That’s fun!
Oh man. You are a champion. As much as this might have seemed like a failure to you, it gave me so much hope that rocks don't just magically get done in 7 days in stage one (like the machine brochures tell you). Thanks for this.
I don't think it was a failure at all. I just didn't want to discourage people. These rocks took way longer than most. I would never tumble this type of rock again. On the other hand, I didn't mind doing it. My biggest frustration was that I knew I was annoying my wife with my beard stunt. I don't really like to do things to make her unhappy.
Love the beard/stache edit! Had to rewind the video because I was listening in the other room and cam back to half stache! 🤣 great video! Answered so many of the questions I had about tumbling!
I'm glad I could help you with your tumbling!
I have never done any rock tumbling, but it is a hobby that I want to take up. This video was very informative, to the point, and interesting.
Thanks, Elaine. I have some other videos that might answer other questions if you decide to start tumbling.
Thanks Rob! It was a hoot to see the changes in your facial hair configurations as the weeks went on!
I figured if you got bored with the tumbling talk, I'd try to entertain you in another way.
Besides the beautiful rocks, you have tons of patience. Thanks for the tutorial. I definitely learned lots. I have yet to use my little tumbler. I like the natural shape of the rocks and have a fear of losing too much of the rock. I also like little rocks. They turned out beautiful.
I have a video about tumbling Lake Superior agates using just a vibratory tumbler. You don't lose the natural shape or much of the size. It also only takes a little over a week. That might be a tumbling method that would be better for you.
@@MichiganRocks I'll definitely take a look at that video. Thank you.