Rock Tumbling : Rose quartz from start to finish in the lortone and lot-o tumblers.

My tumbling process goes as followed
1. Break or cut rocks into the right shapes and sizes I want for tumbling
2. I always start in my rotary tumbler and I roll them as many weeks as necessary to remove all the flaws. In my three pound barrel I use 3 tablespoons of 46-70 silicon carbide, in my 12lb barrel I use 14 tablespoons. I roll them a week then clean and inspect them. If they need more time I repeat this process. If I have more of the material I will remove any that are ready for the next stage and add new. I normally never use any Filler or media in coarse girt.
3. Once they are shaped and all the flaws are gone I move them to my lot-o vibratory tumbler for 189-220 silicon carbide. On this stage I do 2 one day runs with 1 tablespoons of 180-220 grit. I dump them and wash between the 2 runs. I always add ceramic media when I run in my lot-o and that media stays with that batch until they are done.
4. After the 180-220 stage it done I do a burnish run. For this I dump them and wash them and put them back it the barrel to clean the rocks and the barrel really good before the next stage. For the burnish I use 1 tablespoon of borax and run 1-2 hours.
5. After the burnish we are ready for 400-600 grit silicon carbide. On this stage I use 1/2 teaspoon of 400-600 grit and 1 tablespoon of borax and run for 3 days.
6. After 400-600 grit I run another burnish stage with 1 tablespoon of borax for 1-2 hours.
7. After burnish we are ready to run 1000 grit silicon carbide. This stage is also 1/2 teaspoon of 1000 grit and 1 tablespoon of borax and it runs for 3 days.
8. After 1000 grit I run another burnish with 1 tablespoon of borax for 1-2 hours.
9. Now we are ready for the polish stage. For this stage I run micro-alumina. I run a 1/2 teaspoon of the micro-alumina and 1 tablespoon of borax and it runs for 3 days.
10. After the polish is done I run another burnish stage and the rocks are done.

[@RagnarRocks]

Awesome method, thanks for sharing! I have yet to move over to a vibe but clearly those a have better later stage performance and with less time! I have definitely found that the wider variety of sizes of rocks, the better the polish!

[@amrocktumbling8298]

Thanks Ragnar! I've seen that you have some really nice shine on the rocks coming out of your rotary.

[@RagnarRocks]

@@amrocktumbling8298 the best I can get really, fractures just break my heart

[@kellylucarelle1882]

These are beautiful! Love it!!

[@wilbondcajunrockhound5758]

Good job they came out nice

[@amrocktumbling8298]

Thanks Wil. Looking forward to seeing the studs that come out of your next tumble!!

[@thetruthserum2816]

Where do you keep it such that the noise is not an issue?

[@amrocktumbling8298]

I have all my tumblers in the garage and we can't hear anything in the house.

[@larrymays5413]

do you change
your grit every week?

[@amrocktumbling8298]

In the rotary yes, rinse and change grit every week.