gagepapa
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2021
Posts: 1
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Post by gagepapa on Jan 21, 2021 11:34:28 GMT -5
Hello everyone. I am a newbie. My two sons are HUGE into collecting rocks. S I know nothing. I bought an old thumbler’s tumbler years ago in an estate sale and have never used it. I bought grit to polish some rocks for them and now realized I am in over my head as it takes too long for them to be interested using that method. I am guessing from my limited research I can get a vibratory machine and be a little quicker? I would like to run them both and let the boys see the difference. I also realized the rocks they have collected may not be the best to polish. We may be better off purchasing some that we know tha hardness of to get us started? Anyway long ramble to say...I could use Some advise. Thanks in advance.
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Post by manofglass on Jan 21, 2021 12:07:19 GMT -5
Welcome from Michigan
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,506
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Post by Brian on Jan 21, 2021 12:52:10 GMT -5
Welcome!
I also gave my kids (ages 6 and 8) a rock tumbler recently and agree that it may be challenging keeping their interest in it due to the patience required to get good results.
To keep them interested, I have done a few things.
First, I am letting them make all of the decisions. I want them to be in control of their rocks. The only thing I told them is that we will check them once a week and the order we will need to do the grit. I also told them the longer they let them go in the rough grit, the smoother the rocks will be. It’s been fun seeing them think about each rock and decide what is good enough for them. I’m impressed with a lot of the decisions they are making and I can see they are struggling with the desire to speed everything up.
Second, even though they have been collecting their own rocks for years, I bought several different kinds of rough for them based on what I knew they liked. For them, that meant a lot of variety (a general tumbling mix with lots of color), clear rocks (quartz), and lots of patterns (some Mexican lace). I have purchased rocks from the forum, the Rock Shed, and Gems by Mail and have been pleased so far for my needs.
Third, I’ve been trying to keep their interest up between clean outs by giving them some geodes to crack and some books to look through. The books are general rock and mineral identification guides with lots of pictures. Last weekend, I had them go through some other rocks I had purchased and try to identify them. They loved it and felt so proud of themselves when they identified the rocks correctly.
Finally, as you suggested, I also bought a vibe tumbler last week. I know how hard it is for them to stay focused when they will spend many weeks in the rough grit alone, so I went ahead and bought the vibe to speed up the other stages. We haven’t even set that up yet because I want them to see the rotary process first so they appreciate the difference with the vibe.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 21, 2021 23:31:44 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum from South Dakota! Brian has some great tips for you...and there's a ton of great information to be found on this forum. I really think it's fantastic that you and your sons have something to do together! A wise man once said, "One shouldn't feel like they're in over their head, if they haven't even dipped a toe in the pool." (I'm just kidding about the wise man...I just made that up! LOL)
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Post by stephan on Jan 22, 2021 0:56:18 GMT -5
Welcome from NorCal.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 22, 2021 9:41:27 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona!
Not a tumbler myself, but we have plenty of awesome ones here and I'm sure they'll pop in to give you their pearls of wisdom.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,666
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Post by Fossilman on Jan 22, 2021 11:16:42 GMT -5
Welcome
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Post by TheRock on Mar 1, 2021 14:29:52 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH Forum from S/W Michigan! ~Duke
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Post by rockhoundingwithkids on Mar 1, 2021 14:43:44 GMT -5
Welcome! I agree keeping a kids attention with a tumbler might be daunting... (I was one of those kids...despite my dad being a chemist and a huge science nerd... I didn't get really into rocks until about a year ago and I'm nearly 40! My appreciation was in fossils. It also helps finding things other than granite and noncrystalline quartz.) I have an almost 4 and almost 2 year old... they've been stuck rock hounding with mom and dad and fortunately they love "helping" and putting the rocks in and measuring the powders. My hubs has 2 tumbler along with a thumlers and Lot-O so theres always something that needs to be done. Not to mention sorting into bins, buckets and cases. I don't know what ages you have but maybe they'd like a hands on approach? The dremel is slow but works well. Maybe one likes to do one part and the other something else.. set up an assembly line. Good Luck and good job trying to get them interested in the first place!
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