hsnopi
off to a rocking start
"So, I have a bag of rocks. Now what?"
Member since June 2010
Posts: 18
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Post by hsnopi on Aug 9, 2015 20:01:11 GMT -5
Hello All,
My name is Jeff and I live in Gaithersburg, MD (USA). I'm in my 40's now but remember my brother using a simple rock tumbler when I was a kid. Over the past few years on vacations I find myself collecting rocks for no apparent reason. I know nothing about them and mostly they are water rocks. That is, found near the ocean or in a lake as I swim about. I usually think "oh, that would be nice polished!" but that's as far as I've gotten. I thought I could just drop them in a tumbler and be done but apparently not. There are rotary and vibrating tumblers, hardness tests, some rock don't tumble well, identification stuff. I just see a rock and look at the lines in it and i like them. that's about it.
Anyway, I'm here so I must be one step closer! I just want to make a display of a box of rocks for each vacation I've gone too. I've read horror stories about rocks gone wrong and it seems like a lot of guesswork and hoping.
I'm off to read a rock identification post. thanks!
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Post by snowmom on Aug 10, 2015 8:30:08 GMT -5
welcome! you have found a great source of info and lots of people of like mind. have fun!
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PatRocks
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2015
Posts: 20
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Post by PatRocks on Aug 10, 2015 9:09:41 GMT -5
Welcome! I have found that this site is a wealth of information for beginners.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
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Post by Fossilman on Aug 15, 2015 9:50:26 GMT -5
Welcome Jeff!!!!
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Post by roy on Aug 15, 2015 10:27:25 GMT -5
welcome ! this is how the rock hobby starts first a few small pocket rocks then a few bigger ones for a flower garden then ........ bam!!!! 20 ton of rock ,saws,grinders,polishers ect....! have fun lol
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Post by adam on Aug 15, 2015 10:44:05 GMT -5
Go ahead and post pictures if you can! Welcome to the forum! We will help with anything, most of us will.
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hsnopi
off to a rocking start
"So, I have a bag of rocks. Now what?"
Member since June 2010
Posts: 18
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Post by hsnopi on Aug 31, 2015 20:15:48 GMT -5
adam, I was actually going to ask that. If I wanted to start a log, would I just post one pic with a bunch of rocks, labeled then include info as I discovered it? It'll be a bit before I actually get a tumbler but I'm looking at the lot-o 10. Anyway, I figured I'd learn how to id rocks. I'm doing some scratch tests and stuff. I was also thinking of writing an android app where you could do a before and after and store your discovered informaation. So, just a bunch of pics?
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Post by paulshiroma on Oct 8, 2015 8:10:51 GMT -5
Welcome aboard, Jeff!
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Intheswamp
Cave Dweller
Member since September 2015
Posts: 1,910
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Post by Intheswamp on Oct 8, 2015 8:56:07 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum, Jeff!! I'm a newbie to all of this, too. Be *very* careful...do you have a good therapist or counselor?...you'll need one as this rock-hunting/tumbling is *highly* addictive!!!!! You'll find great help from the folks here, great information to be had!!! Lots of information already in the forum, too! Here's a thought about a tumbler... A vibratory tumbler (like the Lot-O) will do a fantastic job at polishing and do it quickly...but it isn't that good at shaping and forming. In other words, it will not turn a rough edged stone into a smooth, rounded one and it won't get rid of pits, cracks, or other problems but it will put a high polish on them. (Pits and cracks can hide large grit and carry it over to later, finer grit stages thus contaminating those stages.) It is mostly recommended not to use any grit larger than 120/220 grit in them...the smallest "coarse" grade (I think, in my newbie mind) is #80(?). A vibratory tumbler will retain the basic, natural shape of the rock, too. A rotary tumbler is the coarse stage champ...it will round and smooth rocks and grind down past the pits and cracks getting rid of surface imperfections. You can proceed on with finer grit stages and attain a high polish. But...it will take longer in all stages to complete those stages than a vibratory will take...a good bit longer. A wonderful combination is a rotary for coarse stages and a vibratory for finer stages and polishing. The do-it-all tumbler, again, in my opinion, would be a rotary being as it will cover all the way from coarse to polish stages. You might want to get an extra barrel for whichever tumbler you go with and reserve it for polish-only. Oh, and get the biggest barrel size that your budget can handle. Best wishes and whatever you do....HAVE FUN!!!!!!
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Post by jakesrocks on Oct 8, 2015 9:21:05 GMT -5
Welcome aboard Jeff.
What Ed just said with a couple of additions.
First is patience. Don't try to rush through each stage. I've been known to leave a load in rough grind for a month or more. In fact if you start out with 80 grit, you can leave it in that grit right up to the semi polish stage, as long as you don't add fresh grit. The grit will break down into finer grains over time. At about 2 months you can take your rocks out & clean them, and find that they are already at the semi polish stage.
Cleanliness. At the end of each stage, wash your tumbles and barrel real good. Keep your tumbles in a bucket of water & don't let them dry out. After cleaning everything, put your tumbles back in the barrel with water and a little Tide or Boraxo soap and run them for a day. Rinse your rocks and barrel again and proceed on to the next grit stage. Do the wash at the end of each stage.
Machine to buy. Get the best that you can afford. Shy away from cheap Harbor Freight or other cheap brands. You get what you pay for.
Good luck. And please do post pics of your rocks. In the rough we can help to identify them, and advise you about which will tumble & which to avoid.
Don
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Post by Noosh9057 on Oct 8, 2015 9:35:19 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum.
Roger
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Post by Peruano on Oct 10, 2015 17:34:11 GMT -5
I'm a bit of a contrarian here. You've already stated you pick up rocks that appeal to you, probably in part due to shape. You pick up water rocks, many of which are already rounded, somewhat smoothed, and present less of a challenge to a tumbler than would rocks busted out of a rock formation. Hence the vibratory tumbler may be better for you. You may not want to change the shape much, just the surface shine, round the edges a bit, and get on with the enjoyment. All of this is much faster with a vibratory tumbler. One week as opposed to one month or more with the rotary. Less grit needed as well. So I'd suggest you do your reading, consider what you are going to do and what rocks you are going to do it to, and go from there. There are books on tumbling, probably in your local library, or in your friends personal library. I'd try to locate one or more and study a bit. We can help with id's but you are going to be the best one because you can wet it, scratch it, heft it, hold it to the light, and even examine with a hand lens that broken area that gives you a clue as to crystal structure, cleavage, and translucence. Enjoy. Tom
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Intheswamp
Cave Dweller
Member since September 2015
Posts: 1,910
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Post by Intheswamp on Oct 11, 2015 0:59:01 GMT -5
Excellent thoughts on the vibratory tumbler, Tom.
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