rockgirl
noticing nice landscape pebbles
great state of ohio
Member since April 2011
Posts: 99
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Post by rockgirl on Apr 11, 2011 10:11:01 GMT -5
Hi, my name is Karon and I'm still a newbie here in the rock biz...I started and fell in love with all this last summer..i have a barrel tumbler and a vib tumbler...also a wet saw w/diamond blade and dremel w/ diamond bits and disks...now i'm lookig for a grinder/polisher and wanted to get some feedback on what you would get if you could start all over....i am an avid crafter/quilter/hand embroidery/and i love my camera....not afraid to get dirty and would love to live in an area where i could go dig for rocks but ohio doesn't seem to offer much in the way of rock shops or holes to dig in.... also wanted to know what you guys think of stupid questions.....bacause i might have a few ... thank you for any feedback~~Karon
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Apr 11, 2011 10:16:11 GMT -5
The stupider the question the better Makes it easier for us to answer. If I could start all over, I would have purchased a larger tumbler to start off with. I also would have started buying grit in bulk. Other than that I'm pretty happy with the way things have progressed.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,472
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 11, 2011 15:08:48 GMT -5
*L* I didn't now there were stupid questions but the answers, that could be another matter *L*. Grinderwise, I have a Genie now but if I cold start over, I'd go with one of the Kingsley-North rigs with the built in steel trays/base with maybe Diamond Pacific wheels.....Mel
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dbrealityrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2010
Posts: 1,084
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Post by dbrealityrocks on Apr 11, 2011 17:05:01 GMT -5
I agree w/Mel. I would also buy the sintered 80 grit wheel (w/3-3.5 mm of diamond so always more sharp diamond to cut with) which makes shaping much faster as the regular galaxy wheels start grinding slower after 30 or so preforms.
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Apr 11, 2011 22:24:50 GMT -5
Hi Karon,
Sounds like you need to make a trip to Flint Ridge. Plenty of holes to dig rock out of. Check out Nethers Farm, or one of the other places around there.
I probably would not have invested as much time, money, and effort in tumbling if I were to start over. I enjoy cabbing much more. I would have gone straight to diamond on the grinder, rather than working with SiC which is very slow. You can definitely get good results with SiC, it just takes more time.
I've also struggled with a lack of focus (tumbling, geodes, cabbing, would like to polish slabs, etc.) and I've picked up more rock than I'll have time to work.
Rocklady1 is a good source of hard wheels if you don't mind buying Chinese wheels.
Hope that helps, Chuck
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Post by tanyafrench on Apr 12, 2011 7:47:07 GMT -5
There is no stupid question when you are learning about rocks. We all had them and I still ask some that seem stupid to me but everyone is so willing to answer and help. Just enjoy this site and you will learn so very much. I do and I have had the best teachers in the world.
Tanya - Also in Ohio, a rather non-rocking state, with the exception of Flint Ridge Flint. If you haven't been to Nethers, you really must go.
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rockgirl
noticing nice landscape pebbles
great state of ohio
Member since April 2011
Posts: 99
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Post by rockgirl on Apr 13, 2011 9:00:04 GMT -5
thanks everyone......still working on the ultimate stupid question...lol...no really,i am taking notes and soaking it all in. i have heard of flint ridge but where is the nethers?? i am on the ohio river and you would think living beside west virginia(the mountain state) there would be more stuff around me but not a chance karon
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Post by Roller on Apr 13, 2011 9:16:51 GMT -5
3m mask with dual filter instead of the msa mask .... a vibe instead of a rotary ,,, and probably a smaller one than a big expensive 12 to start with ...and not buy all that expensive tumbling rough offline ... because now i have way too much and not enough time !!!
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Post by Bikerrandy on Apr 15, 2011 19:43:56 GMT -5
You've started with everything that I started with (except for an upside-down circular saw with a turbo-blade and the trigger taped full speed) ....... long story. Anyhow, great time to start making shapes. All you need is a wet saw and a vibe, which you already have. If you haven't done so yet, cut out some various shapes (I like triangles) and vibe tumble them. All you need afterwards is to glue bell caps on the shapes and hang them from a 2mm wax cord, instant necklace! Even though I now have a cabbing machine, I still do the vibe tumbled pendants. People buy these up at the craft shows, $5 each or 3 for $10. You can make enough cash to purchase a new Genie this summer if you enter every craft show you can find. I have the UV-10, it'll tumble more than 600 pendants at a time. It takes a week or two to cut that many but the rewards are well worth the effort. We basically have two types of rock here in Virginia Beach, asphalt and concrete. All of my rough comes from several sources, the biggest being my friends, some of whom I've never even met in person. I also make trips to a local rock shop, and surf ebay (and other various rock dealing websites). Also, some of the pet stores actually carry some good rough that is sold as aquarium rocks. Our local pet store sells red jasper, petrified wood, slag glass, zebra stone, spotted sodalite, green quartz and dugway geodes. Also frequently check the buy/sell section of this forum. With a bit of resourcefulness, I now have more than 2 tons of rough in my garage. I've only been in this hobby for about 6 years. Everything that I know I have learned right here. Good luck!!
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Post by rockrookie on Apr 15, 2011 21:18:32 GMT -5
i wish i would have started several years earlier . and also , stayed away from mine run gems. example cheap, expensive & impossible to polish emeralds. rubies , saphire , turquoise . --paul
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rockgirl
noticing nice landscape pebbles
great state of ohio
Member since April 2011
Posts: 99
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Post by rockgirl on Apr 15, 2011 21:47:33 GMT -5
thanks for all the info everyone...randy, i will be checking out my local pet stores....never thought of them....today i went to a local river.....muskinghum off the ohio river and found some coal along a sandy piece of beach.....not much in the way of nice rocks around here....going to a rock and mineral show tomorrow in columbus,ohio .....sooo excited . this will be the first time i have ever seen anyone else work a rock....can't wait to see the demo's
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Post by Bikerrandy on Apr 17, 2011 8:58:55 GMT -5
I've been doing wire-wrapping demos at the Treasures of the Earth show since Friday morning. Gonna be there again in about an hour for the rest of the day. Demos are fun to watch, you'll be doing them before long!
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Post by MyNewHobby on Apr 17, 2011 20:35:48 GMT -5
No such thing as a stupid question!!!!! I love them all!!!! Ask away!!!!!!!!!! Always ask .... I always learn when someone else does ask!!!
Welcome to the coolest bunch of people you will ever meet!!!
You sound like one that loves to create and I for one will be watching to see your goodies.
Your set up sounds a lot like mine and I have been remiss in using them all at all times like I want to.
Happy Rocking!!!! Glad you are here!!!
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Apr 20, 2011 1:54:07 GMT -5
I'm getting a bit off-topic but I hope that's OK as the thread seems to be slowing down. I do tumbling only, well I haven't tumbled anything for the past couple years, but before that I did a steady 4 years of 24/7 non-stop tumbling with a multiple 6 lb tumblers, mostly with rough that I chisel-cracked myself.
If I were to start all over again, I would tumble smaller stones. I was taken at the time with how I could tumble bigger stones than standard commercial stones, and I've got jars and jars of stones to prove it. But while they do look good in jars, they have limited other uses. No-one wants to wear a heavy stone pendant, and they have limited uses in craft projects. Really big specimen stones can look great, but other than that I think it is better to go smaller than larger. Even if they end up in jars just looking pretty, small stones in jars look as good or better than large stones in jars. And small stones tumble quicker and don't crash around as much in a barrel.
Size does matter, and for tumbling stones, smaller is better.
Don
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rockgirl
noticing nice landscape pebbles
great state of ohio
Member since April 2011
Posts: 99
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Post by rockgirl on Apr 20, 2011 13:55:21 GMT -5
i can understand where you are coming from Don....i have a couple that it's like.....ok, now what do i do with them...these are ones that i have bought ....most of what i tumble or vibe are small enough to wrap but some are soo misshaped i don't know what to do with them.....but i'm learning to shape them some before i work them in a machine.....i'm getting there, i have a nice plastic bowl full of ones i want to take to the grinder (when i get it)) and redo them
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