stonemon
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2017
Posts: 1,024
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Post by stonemon on Oct 27, 2021 15:24:13 GMT -5
jamesp may have taken a break but I have been out of the tumble thing since I was 18. The wife and I are building a house so I have been too busy to get in front of the cabber.
Anyway, 6 weeks ago I pulled my 50 yo Lortone 12 lb, a QT66 I got several years ago when I bought the remainders of a rock shop, and 2 MT 4's that have shown up over the years and started rolling some scrap and rough that was cluttering up my shop. Tomorrow my first small batch will come out of the MT 4. My 7 yo granddaughter is going to be here to see the cleanup and I know she is going to be blissed out as there is quite a bit of Holley Blue and it is her favorite. I have no idea how I did. A bit rusty to say the least but I pulled a piece at lunch today and it was pretty and shiny! I will try to get some pics when I get it cleaned up.
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Post by miket on Oct 27, 2021 16:06:29 GMT -5
Very cool, can't wait to see the pics! And that's so awesome to share it with your granddaughter.
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Post by Rockindad on Oct 27, 2021 17:49:03 GMT -5
............"and the record goes to stonemon". sounds like both you and your granddaughter will be excited!
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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 27, 2021 21:08:36 GMT -5
First thing that came to mind: I totally look forward to seeing pics of the finished batch!
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quartzilla
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2020
Posts: 1,216
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Post by quartzilla on Oct 27, 2021 23:57:58 GMT -5
Pics or it never happenedđŸ˜‰
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,155
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Post by jamesp on Oct 28, 2021 4:26:03 GMT -5
Good luck getting your tumbling groove stoneman. "Old tumblers never die, they just forget their recipes"
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Oct 28, 2021 9:20:44 GMT -5
I'll be watching for the pictures! Your granddaughter has good taste in rocks.
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stonemon
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2017
Posts: 1,024
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Post by stonemon on Oct 28, 2021 17:27:29 GMT -5
So I took them out today and was happy with the results. Here are a few pics I got while there was still some light.
Holley Blue from the scrap pile... May have to do something with a few of these
Tahoma Frogskin
Stinkingwater Plume,
There are a few nice pet wood and some other misc pieces. My grand daughter has already picked out her favorites and will be going home with some new bling.
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Post by Rockindad on Oct 28, 2021 17:58:55 GMT -5
Nice, what a pretty color that Holley Blue has!
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Post by Son Of Beach on Oct 28, 2021 18:06:14 GMT -5
That Frogskin is so cool and a fitting name!
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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 28, 2021 18:07:11 GMT -5
Wow...I really like the results on that Tahoma Frogskin!
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Post by miket on Oct 28, 2021 19:29:01 GMT -5
Beautiful, sir!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Oct 28, 2021 20:09:03 GMT -5
Nice! Doesn't appear that your tumbling skills have diminished at all.
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stonemon
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2017
Posts: 1,024
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Post by stonemon on Oct 28, 2021 21:26:56 GMT -5
I have always used the 12 lb tumbler to clean up rough after a day in the field digging. When I was a teen I did not have the patience to tumble finished batches. Maybe completed 3 or 4 so there was not much tumbling prowess to lose. I really enjoyed seeing this batch through even though most of it was scrap or crap. I have another 12 lbs rolling right now with some cool stuff in it. Next batch goes in the vibe on Sunday..
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Post by Bob on Nov 3, 2021 17:55:29 GMT -5
jamesp may have taken a break but I have been out of the tumble thing since I was 18. Why did you stop then?
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stonemon
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2017
Posts: 1,024
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Post by stonemon on Nov 3, 2021 18:31:23 GMT -5
As a teenager, I was a serious rock junkie. I would take my '64 Comet up to the Holley agate beds on the weekend in high school and camp out to dig rock.I fed my gas budget and more collecting rock all over Oregon When nearing graduation, my dad sat me down and told me to store my lapidary gear and go get a real job. I used to be compliant so I did just that. 8 years ago, after a long and brutal work life in the trades, My body was so arthritic and diminished I had to let my license go and semi-retire. First thing I did was pull my equipment out of storage and buy a new 8" Cabking. When I opened my 12 lb Lortone it was full of Holley from my last dig. A pleasant find. I have enjoyed getting back into the hobby and have sold enough cabs to support my addiction. If I had to do it over, I might have taken a different path.
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Post by Bob on Nov 4, 2021 14:05:28 GMT -5
Neat story stonemon. Amazing that after decades you not only had rocks in the barrel, but even had the equipment at all!
I started in 2014 during a terrible divorce and am in my 60s. When I was a child in the mid-1960s, living in Tulsa, I remember three things my father was doing at the same time. He took up rock tumbling, raising chinchillas in cages in the living room, and brewing his own beer. Not until reading a little bit about history a few years ago did I come to learn these were sort of fads that didn't last long and happened all over the US in the 1960s. Selling the chinchillas for their expensive fur didn't work out for reasons I don't know. The beer bottles exploded one summer afternoon and we all dove for cover thinking someone was firing rifles at our house.
The tumbler is very hard to remember, but I remember the barrel was loud and red. There were little brown miniature grocery sacks full of grit here and there leaking. It was a mess.
When I started this for myself, it gave me some gratification to pick up a hobby that I know my father (now deceased) had tried to start, but a divorce got him all off track.
Oh, and he also also started tanning his own deer hides from hunting, some with and some without fur. I'll never forget the slimy messes in those barrels. However, it worked and worked well.
Sounds like you paid the price on your body. Truly I hope you can relax now and enjoy this hobby. I'll be doing to Eugene in a few weeks. If you are by any chance near there we could share a cold one or some stories.
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