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Post by Mari-in-IN on Apr 8, 2018 16:57:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2018 17:09:19 GMT
We love rock tumbling! We're rank amateurs, but have fun anyway. I do need to get some good polishing grit, the last batch I bought took me back a step. We've got two tumblers, an old lortone and a really old nameless one. The nameless one is all metal. That sucker is heavy! My DH found it in an old house that was going to be a burn to learn for his fire department and the owner said he could have it. We also have a rock saw we got for $50. It needs a bit of work but not too much. Now I just have to find something big enough to use it with.
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Apr 8, 2018 17:57:50 GMT
I'm definitely an amateur as well @redfish . SOOO much to learn especially if you are dealing with some of the softer stones. I did manage to do pretty good with some fossil rock though... Before I got into this I would lurk on some of the rock tumbling forums and these guys would always get a mention... www.therockshed.com/You may have known about them already... Anyway, I get everything from them. Have usually dealt with Shawn and he has been most helpful. I've also got some trilobites and shark's teeth from them as well - really cool!! I mentioned on the other thread that I have 3 Lortones. I had talked to a couple of different people that had done this for years and Lortone is what they recommended. I sure do hope to find out that there may be more of us doing tumbling here! ~Mari ETA-@redfish, forgot to say that was cool in regards to the free tumbler and the $50.00 rock saw. I've looked at those and they can get pretty salty!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2018 18:25:44 GMT
Yeah, I use the rock shed a lot for stuff. It may be warm enough now that I can get going again. I can only tumble outside in our grain bin/shed so it's a fair weather activity. I'll probably wait a week or two to see if our single digit weather is done.
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Post by feather on Apr 8, 2018 18:55:37 GMT
DH uses a harbor freight rock tumbler with two containers. He uses lemon juice and aquarium pebbles to clean the copper pennies that he pulls out of the ground when he is metal detecting. They clean up really nice after about 4 hours. He uses other safer methods with rare coins, silver, and gold.
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Post by feather on Apr 8, 2018 19:42:44 GMT
Oh my goodness! Metal detecting is another hobby I have always wanted to pursue! We bought a metal detector several years ago and had some fun with it but since then we have forgotten about it. I am so envious of all of you having spouses that do such neat things! Another thing that I have enjoyed doing is Geocaching! DH thinks it’s all a bunch of foolishness. I took my marriage vows seriously but there are many, many days I wish I could have had a DO OVER! . DH has been metal detecting for years with no time because of work. But he is now retired and today he left at 10 am and won't be home until 4 or 5 or if things are going well, then after dark. He has made metal detecting friends, a whole crew of them, and they meet and metal detect with different techniques and equipment. Then he joined a forum and posts his finds once a week with a running total for the year. I told him not to come home without some jewelry. He has found some really nice jewelry. Most common thing he finds besides regular coins, are christian metals, then some rings, beautiful silver bracelets. I'm going to have some of the christian metals attached to my new necklace.
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Post by feather on Apr 8, 2018 20:00:03 GMT
Is he finding these things under the snow? Everything here is still frozen solid! In the fall and in the spring, he tests the ground for digging. It is thawed in sunny areas and still frozen in shaded areas in the spring. It is just the opposite in the fall, thawed in shaded areas and frozen in the open wind areas. Metal detecting is depressing in the winter unless we decide to travel south.
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Apr 8, 2018 20:30:55 GMT
Hey Tallpines , I may not get to all of your questions today - but I will eventually! As far as rocks here in Northern Indiana - I admit I'd have to Google to see what they are - I haven't had much luck polishing them so I purchase all of mine at The Rock Shed. And yeah, I have a very supportive and understanding husband to boot. Oh, he just told me to make sure I do a plug for The Rock Shed. Told him-oh yeah, I have done that indeed! It's kind of humourous when the postal service or FedEx delivers my boxes. They are always like - "Man, these are so heavy!" I just smile and say they are rocks from a company in South Dakota! Then that's when I get the funny look... But I digress... I would think agates would do well. I have polished a lot of the India Green Tree Agate from The Rock Shed and it turns out nice. Oh, and also have done the Mozambique, Blue Lace and Turritella Agates as well. Although I seem to have a harder time with those. I think perhaps I need to run them longer on the initial grind. But, I digress again... My favorites would have to be the Jaspers. Here are just several examples of Fancy Jasper... Will close this one for now... ~Mari
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Apr 8, 2018 22:03:44 GMT
Ok, I've really got to stop goofing around on here and do my chores! I'm such a rock nut - I guess that is becoming quite obvious... Here's a pic of some Desert Jasper rough right out of the bag - the dirt/dust has been rinsed off... Here's a pic of some that I've polished (not from the above photo)... With the camera flash on... Without the flash... Ok, I'm really going out there now to chore!! ~Mari
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Post by Skandi on Apr 9, 2018 12:36:12 GMT
Sigh... Now I want to! We're glacial here so we have a huge mix of stones available in the fields, basically anything that's found in Sothern Norway can be found here. Flint and various granites predominate but lots of other choices. What we do have here or rather can find is amber on the beaches.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2018 13:22:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2018 18:57:31 GMT
Hey, Mari-in-IN, do you use plastic or ceramic pellets or anything when you tumble? I've only ever had rock and grit but was wondering if that would be worth it.
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Apr 9, 2018 20:45:06 GMT
Hey, Mari-in-IN , do you use plastic or ceramic pellets or anything when you tumble? I've only ever had rock and grit but was wondering if that would be worth it. First off - like the pic!! The rocks with the lines going through them are intriguing... Especially that flat one to the right of the bigger roundish brownish/reddish one near the middle of your pic. Do you know what kind of rock that is? I use plastic with stuff like tiger eye/amethyst/quartz. I ran some quartz without them and ended up with white edges that didn't polish on the stones... The jaspers and agates-no. They always seem to come out really nice with minimal problems... I've used ceramic media (large and small) in the past to make up the difference when going from stage 1 to stage 2 as far as the amount of rock that is lost on that initial grind. And I guess sometimes later on if I feel that the tumbler is not up to the capacity that it should be. One reason I bought the bigger tumbler was to specifically use that for the first grind so that I would be able to fill a smaller tumbler to capacity with rock alone for the 2nd grind. Not sure what the pros would say about all of this - but it's what I do... Oh, I did purchase some of the 2mm non-abrasive ceramic media to run on the polish stage with fossil rock. It was pretty salty but should last a long time since this is only used on the polish stage... Well, there's my 2 cents - for whatever it is worth!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2018 21:32:27 GMT
Hey, Mari-in-IN , do you use plastic or ceramic pellets or anything when you tumble? I've only ever had rock and grit but was wondering if that would be worth it. First off - like the pic!! The rocks with the lines going through them are intriguing... Especially that flat one to the right of the bigger roundish brownish/reddish one near the middle of your pic. Do you know what kind of rock that is? I have no idea what that rock is. Here's a close up. As you can see, it really had too many soft spots to polish up well but the design/color is sooo cool and unique that I keep it anyway.
I'll have to think more on the tumbling media. I tumble what I find and I have no idea what most of it is so I don't know how hard it is. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have some around. Here's what'll be my next batch. This is stuff from the west coast. There's a lot of serpentine from the Smith River in California and various others picked up at beaches and rivers. There's even one nice beach agate.
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Apr 9, 2018 21:39:53 GMT
Tallpines , As far as vibrating vs. rotary - can't tell you much since I have only rotary... Seems the vibrating ones get it done MUCH quicker... Not sure if there are any other advantages or disadvantages over a rotary - I guess something to research... May want to check these pages out and check out the detailed instructions, etc., on each type... www.therockshed.com/tumbler1.htmlwww.therockshed.com/tumbler4.html
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2018 0:29:19 GMT
@redfish , The one you call beach agate .... would that be the white/yellow one with eyes? (Still learning here) Yes, ma'am.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2018 0:39:06 GMT
Ya know......if I were to take home a boulder size agate from the river and slice it with my saw, I'd have to get a vibratory polisher, right?! Oh, and Tallpines , agates work beautifully in a tumbler! I've seen some pic of Lake Superior agate and it's gorgeous!
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Apr 20, 2018 2:00:25 GMT
My first attempt at tumbling Fossil Rock... It's a softer rock - I followed specific directions for tumbling it and I'm satisfied with the results... Here's some Fossil Rock in the rough - this hasn't been tumbled yet... My first and only batch I've tumbled so far - I do so enjoy looking at these rocks... ~Mari
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2018 2:21:09 GMT
My first attempt at tumbling Fossil Rock... It's a softer rock - I followed specific directions for tumbling it and I'm satisfied with the results... Here's some Fossil Rock in the rough - this hasn't been tumbled yet... My first and only batch I've tumbled so far - I do so enjoy looking at these rocks... ~Mari Beautiful result!!! What glorious patterns, Mari. Well done!
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Apr 20, 2018 2:29:24 GMT
My first attempt at tumbling Fossil Rock... It's a softer rock - I followed specific directions for tumbling it and I'm satisfied with the results... Here's some Fossil Rock in the rough - this hasn't been tumbled yet... My first and only batch I've tumbled so far - I do so enjoy looking at these rocks... ~Mari Beautiful result!!! What glorious patterns, Mari. Well done! Why Thank-You my far away friend!!
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Apr 20, 2018 2:35:53 GMT
I CANNOT wait to see what these beautiful rocks are going to look like once I'm done polishing them... They are just gorgeous - in my opinion - here they are in the rough right before their first "tumble"... Once I get them tumbling again - tomorrow I shall think - 4th stage - they should be finished in 7 days... Serape Jasper...
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Post by Woodpecker on Apr 20, 2018 13:41:28 GMT
They are gorgeous Mari...I love the patterns on the Jasper's! They're just plain beautiful!
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Apr 22, 2018 2:52:53 GMT
ROCK SHOW !Today was my first rock show EVER!
I was almost giddy being with so many people that feel it is perfectly NORMAL to enjoy looking at beautiful rocks!
Many, many vendors. One room specifically set up for rocks that GLOW IN THE DARK!
Aurthor Bob Lynch, writer of several different “rock” books was there. Everyone there was so friendly and there were so many beautiful rocks and gems to see!
It was a good day! Oh wow dear lady... I must say I envy you just a bit! Ok, more than just a bit!!! Oh gee, I dare think I would have been in "rock heaven"...
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Post by Ken on Apr 23, 2018 14:51:58 GMT
You should lay out the rocks in a pattern for a before pic and then lay them out if the same pattern for an after pic so we can see how the tumbling affected them.
They look really neat!
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Apr 23, 2018 17:36:42 GMT
You should lay out the rocks in a pattern for a before pic and then lay them out if the same pattern for an after pic so we can see how the tumbling affected them. They look really neat! I’ve not done any tumbling yet .... bit I would suspect some of those rocks could no longer be recognized .... Yeah, you are right Tallpines. BUT, I will take pics and let ya'll figure it out! Thanks for the compliment Ken... It is so addictive and it is so much fun looking at them... I need to figure out what I want to load my bigger tumbler up with for the initial grind. I will indeed take pics this time at each stage and post.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2018 1:33:23 GMT
Here is a photo of MY VERY FIRST AGATE found on a lake shore .... rather than purchased from another person ..... Remember I said it was a TINY LITTLE THING .... Here is a second photo to give you a better idea of its size. Great find Tallpines - it's beautiful. Reminds me a wee bit of a real life heart shape. I can understand why it's special.
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Jun 20, 2018 18:52:46 GMT
I CANNOT wait to see what these beautiful rocks are going to look like once I'm done polishing them... They are just gorgeous - in my opinion - here they are in the rough right before their first "tumble"... Once I get them tumbling again - tomorrow I shall think - 4th stage - they should be finished in 7 days... Serape Jasper... Life kinda got in the way so I just opened the barrel that held some of the above that had finished going through the polishing stage. I am more than happy with these and have a bunch more going in today for the initial grind... Here are some finished Leopard Stone... ~Mari ETA - Pics don't quite do them justice - probably should have used a flash - oh well... Maybe if I get REALLY bored sometime soon will redo...
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Post by hobbitlady on Mar 29, 2019 7:06:45 GMT
Well. That took awhile to "like" every single post!!! Mari-in-IN , you did/do a fabulous job. Are you still at it? Goodness our tumbler has sat empty since we moved here....10 years???Gasp! We moved a literal ton of our collected "finds" here with us....I think it was actually two tons,lol. I've done other things with my rocks here....mostly decorate the gardens;but I must go dig out that tumbler after this inspiration. DH even asked about it just a week or two ago. Ours has a liner and I needed a new one. But I was busy on the "picture" you'll see right before or after you read This. I've collected rocks since the 1970s. I've been to many shows,wandering around drooling. HarHar. There is even one 40 miles from here each year and a nice big rockshop too. OK. It's midnight so I'm off for now. Seeing this thread made my day. I gotta take a picture of DH's colorful sorted piles outside. (he's neater than me and makes a nice show....mine are all over!)
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Post by tenbusybees on Mar 29, 2019 13:27:10 GMT
This thread brings back wonderful, wonderful childhood memories of summers with my grandparents. My grandpa started tumbling rocks in his retirement. We had more fun walking along train tracks and creeks picking up stones to tumble. They all turned out so beautiful and so unique. This led to going to rock and gem shows and playing with geods. Oh, those gorgeous, sparkly insides! From there he went into faceting stones. Yes, he did buy stones to cut but we always ended up going for walks along train tracks and through fields picking up beer bottles, Vicks jars, etc. When he got done with them they looked like rare jewels. Then he started making jewelry. Grandma had so much fun getting ohhs and ahhs over her jewelry knowing that it was nothing more than an old 7Up bottle.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2019 15:16:11 GMT
So many pretty rocks. Very nice. I got interested in rocks from a science class project in 8th grade. We made rock collections in picture frames. Mine was/is 2'x3' and has 40 rocks. We had to identify them. I pick up a few rocks on our travels. And sea shells too. I just dump them right next to our front door. This last year when we stayed 2 times at a campground near Yachats Oregon, I would go down and walk on the beach, I found quite a few agates, so smooth but they feel waxy to me. I have also picked up rocks at Wallowa Lake right near where the "river" comes out from the mountains into the lake. I have 2 rocks that have perfectly flat bottoms but are triangular, 3'wide and 3" tall, the bottom is granite and tops are white quartz, they look like mountain peaks with snow on top....James
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