rockhound97058
freely admits to licking rocks
Thundereggs - Oregons Official State Rock!
Member since January 2006
Posts: 760
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Post by rockhound97058 on May 14, 2011 22:04:27 GMT -5
Greetings folks - I've been doing the rock thing for years as many of you know. I've always done custom cutting and polishing as well as spheres for customers. It's been years since I've tumbled and I currently have a fellow insist I tumble stone for him. I've never actually sat down and penciled it out for a cost, and was wondering if anyone had any idea's what a fair price to charge for tumbling rock would be for this customer.
Of course I know I have to cover grit, power and a hint of water - I belive he has around 25 pounds of stones to do. For some reason I have a number floating around in my head of $2.00lb for the batch.
Appreciate your input.
Jason
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Post by gr on May 14, 2011 22:13:12 GMT -5
Is that before or after the tumbling? I would assume before. What about .40 a rock? He could turn around and sell them for .50 /.60 a rock. Not unreasonable. Today I was in a rock shop that was selling tumbled ( on a scale of 1 - 10, 7's and 8's for .99 - 1.29 ea)rocks and getting it! just my 2 pennies woRTH
gr
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snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
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Post by snuffy on May 14, 2011 22:16:54 GMT -5
Any idea on how many coarse charges you would have to do? Iknow I use a lb in my 12lber's. So for 25 lbs you would need 2lbs? If you had to do 4or 5 charges that would certainly add up.With all your other grits and polish, I think 2 bucks a lb would be just doing a favor.
snuffy
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,341
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Post by quartz on May 14, 2011 22:47:08 GMT -5
Figured a load a couple months ago, not counting water, $1.5625 per pound of rough. Didn't figure time for cycle changes, did it for a friend. That was for a 50# load of very rough agate and carnelian that had to be run a cycle of 16 grit, then 80 and on down. Our elect. rates here in McMinnville are cheaper than lots of places; .04536/kwh. Used tripoli for polish, w/lots of padding, worked great and not too costly. One thing the owner wanted was a little nature left on the rocks, not all ground to perfection; some did, some didn't. He was happy. That plays into it too. Didn't do any multiple grinding runs.
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rockhound97058
freely admits to licking rocks
Thundereggs - Oregons Official State Rock!
Member since January 2006
Posts: 760
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Post by rockhound97058 on May 14, 2011 22:50:16 GMT -5
Tomorrow I'm supposed to see the stone - I asked if it was beach stone or course grade type finds, he never said - just asked me to look at em. I agree with you Snuffy - I use 1 pound grit per 12 pound stone and then 1 cup polish per 12 pound stone.
Gr - The fellow is wanting me to tumble and polish an entire batch of rough stone for him. I know what you mean on prices! - There's a rock shop between Bend and Redmond, Oregon. Nice shop, but wow he's proud of his rock. He had tumbled stones for sale for $5.00 per stone! Crazy!
Heck I even debated about selling this guy the grit and letting him borrow the my tumbler and let him pay electric LOL.
Jason
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Post by gr on May 14, 2011 23:06:08 GMT -5
Jason, you might be on to something there lol You know what Jason, Dont give it away! This fellow sounds insistant on having you do this for him. Tell him what it's worth to you to do this for him and he will say yea or ney. If he says ney, then its his loss to your skills. Yes?
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meta99
has rocks in the head
Ohio Flint Ridge flint
Member since October 2010
Posts: 540
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Post by meta99 on May 15, 2011 9:39:15 GMT -5
Jason:
How well do you know this customer? And you were thinking of lending him your equipment?! Were you planning on ever using it again? I hate to sound so pessimistic, but my experience is that many times what I get back no longer works.
One time a true friend borrowed something and when it came back broken he helped finance the repair. We split the difference because we couldn't be sure if it was something he did or just a breakdown due to excessive use/age.
Good luck and let us know how it works out. Sue
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unclestu
Cave Dweller
WINNER OF THE FIRST RTH KILLER CAB CONTEST UNCLESTU'S AGUA NUEVA AGATE
Member since April 2011
Posts: 2,298
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Post by unclestu on May 15, 2011 9:44:44 GMT -5
Hey GR, Thanks for the info. I have always wondered what do people eventually end up doing with their tumbled stone when they finally reach a point when they have produced more tumbled stones than they and their friends and family can ever use and enjoy. DUH they sell it. I didn't realize that a tumbled stone would sell for as much as $0.50 -$0.60 a piece. What size and variety are those stones which are being sold? This was what was holding me back from taking the plunge into the old tumbling barrel. When I started adding up the cost of the 15lb model B and the 10lb Ultra Vibe along with the other associated grits, polishes, ceramic and plastic chips and so on I started to get second thoughts. As I started to think of tumbling as being an endeavor with a limited life expectancy. Maybe I should revisit the idea of tumbling with the thought of being able to sell a few stones here and there. Maybe enough to cover the cost of operating the machines at a break even level or close to it. This way it would be almost like getting to play with only a small operating expense. What do you think? Do you think that could be doable? I hope so. I would love to be able make some of those beautiful tumbled stone. Thanks GR
Stu
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on May 17, 2011 8:44:00 GMT -5
I sat down a few years ago and figured it all out. Taking the amount of rock from a load, the amount of grit for each cycle, estimated water and power usage, I came up with a figure of $.29 per stone to tumble it. Now the variables are often difficult to account for (electrical usage, wear and tear on a barrel, water usage for both the tumbler and the clean up, lube for the machine, lighting to see what I'm doing- well you get the idea) I would say the $2.00/ lb is a very consevrative estimate. THere is a guy online who ofers tumbling services- I believe he charges $10/ Lb.
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playin4funami
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since March 2011
Posts: 87
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Post by playin4funami on May 17, 2011 22:20:14 GMT -5
to me the price would depend alot on if you actually want to do this job for him, first look and see what the material is, it may be something not even polishable in a tumbler. then if you want to do him a favor tell him to pay for it when he picks it up if he's good for the dough and you can add up your cost and add a little for yourself and machine wear and tear. if you don't want to do the job then 10 bucks a lb sounds about right, or meet somewhere in the middle, make sure your gear is in good working order before agreeing to do the job, don't want to have to make repairs first.
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on May 20, 2011 18:58:01 GMT -5
As someone else said, you could charge $10 a pound. However, I will no longer tumble anyone else's material for them unless they put a significant deposit down first. I'm getting a bad vibe from what you describe -- this fellow "insists." Why is he insisting? Why can't he spend the money and time and tumble it himself? I'm thinking it's because he has unrealistic expectations and/or he is looking for someone who bows to pressure. The problem here is that when the rocks are tumbled to perfection, they will weigh SIGNIFICANTLY less than what he brought in. Then he accuses you of stealing material and wants the job for free. I know someone this happened to. What will you do? You will end up giving him the job for nothing to make him go away.
Save time and money, and let him go away before you've done all that work.
Unless it's a dear, close, well-known family friend, I would not take the job unless the person puts down a significant deposit. This "fellow," as you call him, is asking you to invest significant time to tumble HIS stones, and he is "insisting" that someone who doesn't normally do this, take the job, instead of going with someone who does this as a business.
I smell a HUGE problem about to blow up in your face. I have learned that when one someone INSISTS that I do something that I don't normally do, someone is trying to take advantage of me.
Get a nonrefundable deposit or, better yet, simply say NO, thanks.
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Post by connrock on May 24, 2011 6:11:52 GMT -5
I think it's pretty difficult to predetermine a price unless you've actually done the same or very similar material before and even then you can run into trouble. Although I've never charged anyone for tumbling I would HAVE to see and weigh the material before even giving a ball park figure for the work. Then you have to consider what quality of tumbled rocks your customer wants. If he/she wants something that just has a shine to it that's one thing but if he/she wants perfect tumbled rocks it's another. If the material is soft it can be a real problem to get a good shine on it.If it's very hard it can also give you problems as it will have to go through as many rough cycles as it takes to get all the flaws out of it and I have roughed Brazillian Agate and Montana Agate for up to 6 months to get them perfect with grit changes every 7-10 days!
connrock
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Post by krazydiamond on May 27, 2011 19:11:09 GMT -5
i have seen perfectly tumbled rocks (1/2 to 3/4") of high quailty go for up to $2.00 to $3.00 each in specialty stores. as we all know, you don't get many "perfect" ones in each batch. so it really is all relative as stated in the above comments. KD
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Post by deb193redux on Jun 1, 2011 10:03:50 GMT -5
KD has a good point. The nice eggs w/o pits or fracture are the ones gong for $2+ per stone. I also see bags of polished stones sold on ebay for kids party favors for $6/lb.
Some people start with really clean rough and keep in rough until ready. Others get a few smooth spots and move on with pits and crevice and fractures and it ends up on some clubs silent auction table or kids game prize.
Why not tell him it is actual cost of grit plus a flat fee for your service? Get a deposit based on estimated reloads and the service fee. Ask the guy how perfect he wants the surfaces.
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