Lizard
off to a rocking start
Newbie
Member since January 2021
Posts: 9
|
Post by Lizard on Jan 15, 2021 7:15:11 GMT -5
Hi everyone! I’m brand new to this forum, as well to rock tumbling. I live near the Jersey Shore, and I am a Special Educator in the South Bronx (NYC). I love hiking and backpacking, and I am super interested in the geology of the places I’ve been!
I had always been interested in rock tumbling since an early age. I loved to collect tumbled stones from the different museums I visited. The interest has always been there, but I was a bit intimidated by the process, so I never tumbled rocks myself. Fast forward to March 2020, the world shut down, and I have been stuck at home Zooming with my students and staff with my school. I figured, well, I’m home, what new hobbies can I explore? For my 40th birthday, I bought myself a basic Lortone rock tumbler, and I’ve been tinkering since.
I am completely new to this and am learning. One of the most exciting parts for me is going out and searching for interesting rocks. Since I’m so close to the beach, I love to gather pretty stones from the beach. Lots of oranges and such. I’m still learning to identify.
I can’t wait to learn more!
|
|
rocket
spending too much on rocks
Quality slabs for quality cabs in 2022
Member since September 2020
Posts: 292
|
Post by rocket on Jan 15, 2021 8:32:42 GMT -5
Welcome from Maryland...this is the forum where I have learned how to improve the results of my rotary tumbles over the past year...I am sure you will experience the same...Rocket
|
|
|
Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 15, 2021 9:10:45 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona!
|
|
|
Post by jasoninsd on Jan 15, 2021 11:16:04 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum from South Dakota! "Tinkering" is just the beginning to the your new obsession...I mean journey!
|
|
|
Post by greig on Jan 15, 2021 11:22:41 GMT -5
Welcome from Ontario, Canada. Polishing self collected rock is very satisfying. I'd love to see pictures of your tumble results. I was wondering where to walk my dog today. After reading your post think I will head down to Lake Ontario to walk the rock beach. It is about the only place nearby that won't be frozen. Might find some sea glass or interesting rock to tumble. I have yet to find an agate there. Maybe today is the day.
|
|
Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,594
|
Post by Tommy on Jan 15, 2021 13:18:07 GMT -5
Welcome from N.CA Lizard! Good to have you here.
|
|
|
Post by rockjunquie on Jan 15, 2021 14:34:44 GMT -5
Welcome from VA.
|
|
Lizard
off to a rocking start
Newbie
Member since January 2021
Posts: 9
|
Post by Lizard on Jan 15, 2021 14:43:37 GMT -5
Welcome from Ontario, Canada. Polishing self collected rock is very satisfying. I'd love to see pictures of your tumble results. I was wondering where to walk my dog today. After reading your post think I will head down to Lake Ontario to walk the rock beach. It is about the only place nearby that won't be frozen. Might find some sea glass or interesting rock to tumble. I have yet to find an agate there. Maybe today is the day. I will work to get some photos of the first batch I did that included some rocks from the beach near us. I am no good at identifying the rocks yet, but i figured with all of the colors I see, they could probably tumble into something nice. I haven't gotten the polishing part down yet, but I'm thinking I need to learn how to burnish. I have to learn more about the geology of this area, but I believe that some of the rocks I find at the beach come down from upstate NY because I'm near Sandy Hook Bay, where the waters of the Hudson and East Rivers kind of travel into.
|
|
|
Post by opalpyrexia on Jan 15, 2021 15:28:09 GMT -5
Welcome from Washington.
|
|
Lizard
off to a rocking start
Newbie
Member since January 2021
Posts: 9
|
Post by Lizard on Jan 15, 2021 17:11:51 GMT -5
These are some of the stones I tumbled from the beach. I have no idea what they are.
|
|
|
Post by Pat on Jan 15, 2021 17:49:20 GMT -5
Welcome from California. I’m not a tumbler, but there are experts here. Good luck !
|
|
|
Post by greig on Jan 15, 2021 17:56:41 GMT -5
Your rocks are nice, especially if that was your first tumble and you were not able to separate the hard rock from the softer. FYI - burnishing is simple. Clean your rock and barrel and run it for 3+ hours with soap. I use Ivory that I "powder" with a cheese grater. I usually let the burnish run overnight. Tumbling is like eating chips. Once you start, you won't stop. ;-)
|
|
|
Post by stephan on Jan 16, 2021 1:21:38 GMT -5
Welcome from NorCal
|
|
Lizard
off to a rocking start
Newbie
Member since January 2021
Posts: 9
|
Post by Lizard on Jan 16, 2021 9:17:08 GMT -5
Your rocks are nice, especially if that was your first tumble and you were not able to separate the hard rock from the softer. FYI - burnishing is simple. Clean your rock and barrel and run it for 3+ hours with soap. I use Ivory that I "powder" with a cheese grater. I usually let the burnish run overnight. Tumbling is like eating chips. Once you start, you won't stop. ;-) Thank you! I can’t wait to tumble more. My favorite is that one that is both orange and white. I’m going to try your burnishing technique, thank you so much for the advice!
|
|
NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
|
Post by NevadaBill on Jan 16, 2021 14:52:52 GMT -5
Welcome from the Desert Southwest!
What a cool story. Shared by a number of other new members over the past year. Not having to drive to work & back every day has opened up hours of possibilities to use the time more freely to folks. My wife has been cooking all kinds of different foods that she never tried out. I started baking Sourdough breads. And it is great to know that others have taken to tumbling.
Your Lortone is a good machine. It should serve you for years without problem.
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,666
|
Post by Fossilman on Jan 18, 2021 11:40:02 GMT -5
Howdy..
|
|
Lizard
off to a rocking start
Newbie
Member since January 2021
Posts: 9
|
Post by Lizard on Feb 25, 2021 10:03:20 GMT -5
Your rocks are nice, especially if that was your first tumble and you were not able to separate the hard rock from the softer. FYI - burnishing is simple. Clean your rock and barrel and run it for 3+ hours with soap. I use Ivory that I "powder" with a cheese grater. I usually let the burnish run overnight. Tumbling is like eating chips. Once you start, you won't stop. ;-) As follow-up...I used your strategy with a batch that I started in January. It was mostly a batch of quartz I found at the beach near me. Holy smokes! The burnishing completely changes the game! I'll send photos when I have a moment! THANK YOU!!!!
|
|
|
Post by greig on Feb 25, 2021 10:49:23 GMT -5
Your rocks are nice, especially if that was your first tumble and you were not able to separate the hard rock from the softer. FYI - burnishing is simple. Clean your rock and barrel and run it for 3+ hours with soap. I use Ivory that I "powder" with a cheese grater. I usually let the burnish run overnight. Tumbling is like eating chips. Once you start, you won't stop. ;-) As follow-up...I used your strategy with a batch that I started in January. It was mostly a batch of quartz I found at the beach near me. Holy smokes! The burnishing completely changes the game! I'll send photos when I have a moment! THANK YOU!!!! Awesome! I look forward to the pic of your results.
|
|
|
Post by TheRock on Mar 1, 2021 13:47:15 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH Forum from S/W Michigan! ~Duke
|
|