Jeffery
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2021
Posts: 4
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Post by Jeffery on Jul 21, 2021 2:29:16 GMT -5
Hello all, it’s nice to be here.
My 8 year old twin girls recently got a neat little National Geographic tumbler for their birthday. They were, and still are, very excited about making their own jewelry. I might be just as excited as they are, as I had a tumbler as a kid maybe 35 years ago. I have an uncle who’s a geological engineer and really got me interested in rocks and minerals. I have quite the collection spanning 4 decades now.
we are currently tumbling the rocks that came with the tumbler as well as some jade that I had kicking around and the results are spectacular in the kids eyes, which is what counts.
I hope the girls stay as interested as I still am, and I hope to chat with other forum members as the hobby progresses.
Have a great week and we’ll chat soon, I hope!
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Post by Peruano on Jul 21, 2021 7:13:18 GMT -5
Welcome, we like enthusiasm and rocks.
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Post by manofglass on Jul 21, 2021 7:34:48 GMT -5
Welcome from Michigan
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 21, 2021 7:39:48 GMT -5
Welcome from AZ
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jul 21, 2021 8:33:08 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona!
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catskillrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2008
Posts: 1,270
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Post by catskillrocks on Jul 21, 2021 9:36:33 GMT -5
Welcome from western New York! We also like photos. Would love to see how your polished rocks turn out, maybe even some of your collection!
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 21, 2021 9:53:28 GMT -5
Welcome from Virginia!
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felrock
starting to shine!
Done with the agates, now onto some Quartz!?!?
Member since July 2021
Posts: 39
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Post by felrock on Jul 21, 2021 10:45:01 GMT -5
Welcome from Québec, Canada!
Since you've already tumbled rocks as a kid, I'm sure you won't have any doubts about tumbling. Although the Nat Geo is unlike other tumblers and it goes fast.
In my experience, I recommend to absolutely not follow what the Nat Geo instructions say lol. Happy tumbling!!
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Post by perkins17 on Jul 21, 2021 11:30:08 GMT -5
Welcome!
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Jeffery
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2021
Posts: 4
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Post by Jeffery on Jul 21, 2021 14:18:16 GMT -5
Welcome from Québec, Canada! Since you've already tumbled rocks as a kid, I'm sure you won't have any doubts about tumbling. Although the Nat Geo is unlike other tumblers and it goes fast. In my experience, I recommend to absolutely not follow what the Nat Geo instructions say lol. Happy tumbling!! Yeah, this unit spins like crazy. My jade after step one was half the size it was originally. The kids and I are going by the recommended times for the first tumble and then we’ll make adjustments. If you’ve used this unit, could you give me a heads up on days and speeds you typically use as a baseline?
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 21, 2021 14:33:17 GMT -5
Jeffery, Rob, one of our members did 3 videos about the National Geo you might want to see.
this is about the speed
and lastly,
Hope these help.
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Post by Pat on Jul 21, 2021 14:44:43 GMT -5
Welcome from California. Not a tumbler, but appreciate the tumblers and their shiny rocks.
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Jeffery
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2021
Posts: 4
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Post by Jeffery on Jul 21, 2021 16:23:55 GMT -5
These Nat Geo tumbler videos are fantastic! He mentioned that he has links to the Amazon store where he gets polish and ceramic media… anyone know how to find these links? I don’t use YouTube more than once or twice every few months. I’m not a big social media or online person… lol
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 21, 2021 17:07:25 GMT -5
These Nat Geo tumbler videos are fantastic! He mentioned that he has links to the Amazon store where he gets polish and ceramic media… anyone know how to find these links? I don’t use YouTube more than once or twice every few months. I’m not a big social media or online person… lol Most folks here shop at the Rock Shed. Rob links to it in his videos, too.
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felrock
starting to shine!
Done with the agates, now onto some Quartz!?!?
Member since July 2021
Posts: 39
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Post by felrock on Jul 21, 2021 17:15:43 GMT -5
These Nat Geo tumbler videos are fantastic! He mentioned that he has links to the Amazon store where he gets polish and ceramic media… anyone know how to find these links? I don’t use YouTube more than once or twice every few months. I’m not a big social media or online person… lol The rockshed.com is a good place for it and here's a link to the post that helped me to choose my types of grit. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1166661/thread
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Post by jasoninsd on Jul 21, 2021 18:54:49 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum from South Dakota! (Just down the road from The Rock Shed! )
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Jeffery
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2021
Posts: 4
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Post by Jeffery on Jul 21, 2021 21:38:43 GMT -5
These Nat Geo tumbler videos are fantastic! He mentioned that he has links to the Amazon store where he gets polish and ceramic media… anyone know how to find these links? I don’t use YouTube more than once or twice every few months. I’m not a big social media or online person… lol The rockshed.com is a good place for it and here's a link to the post that helped me to choose my types of grit. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1166661/threadThank you so much. From what I’ve read so far, the first few stages of grit with the NatGeo kit are pretty decent, but the final polish needs to be a much higher grit… and possibly with some ceramic media in the barrel as well. Sound about right so far?
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felrock
starting to shine!
Done with the agates, now onto some Quartz!?!?
Member since July 2021
Posts: 39
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Post by felrock on Jul 21, 2021 22:52:55 GMT -5
Thank you so much. From what I’ve read so far, the first few stages of grit with the NatGeo kit are pretty decent, but the final polish needs to be a much higher grit… and possibly with some ceramic media in the barrel as well. Sound about right so far? Exact! Using ceramics will help a lot with the Nat Geo tumbler. And the SiC (Silicon Carbide) grit is infact good for the first two stages and can also be considered in the third stage if you don't have anything else. Although for the fourth stage, I've personally bought myself some AlO (aluminum oxide) polish for better results. I did my first tumble in this tumbler with the SiC all the way. Following Nat Geo's instructions. And it was a huge failure and it made me very disappointed. Upon researching, I learned soon enough that SiC isn't a very good polish. So I'm now trying to make a better run with ceramics as well and rocks that have the same mohs rating just to make my life easier 😂.
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