Help identify and can it be tumbled?

[artmaker]

Got a bunch of rock pictures, dry on the left, wet on the right should help show color etc.  Please help identify any and all.  Some I know but most not sure.

And well nuts.   I can't just upload from my computer here?? Gotta use some cloud?  Ya NO!  I'll pop these onto my own site and post the page.  Easier.

My page of rock photos

So please have a look, it's just a page of pictures basically.   (I want NOTHING to do with ANY cloud services.... sorry but I have my reasons.)

Also if anything on that page would NOT fair well in a rock tumbler please let me know.

Thanks in advance to all. 

[perkins17]

artmaker, don't tumble any that are porus. They won't accept a good polish. Nice finds!

[hummingbirdstones]

Here's the tutorial to set up a Cloudinary account.  Takes a bit to set it up, but once you do, all you need to do is click the Upload File button on the top right of your screen, navigate to where the picture is on your computer, double-click (or click open) on the file and it will automatically upload.  Takes about 3 seconds.

[Peruano]

Hey, your time is "free"; the rocks are inexpensive and you can do anything you want with them. The way to learn what will tumble and what will not is to do it. Color is only one index of what a stone is. . . all green autos are not Chevy's or reliable. What you are calling septarians may just be quartz veins in base rock. I'd read a lot, pay attention to cleavage, streak, and granular texture and modestly begin to learn the rocks in your area. I wouldn't trust most ids given on the basis of a photo on the web. Just saying.

[artmaker]

Hey thanks everyone, still watching tumblers on ebay. (SO many sellers now simply pass off amazon stuff, I have to contact every one and wait for replies. Royal pain but easier than shipping stuff back.)

Anyway, gonna do more rock hounding today. I have been reading up on rocks and think I have a better idea what to grab and what to leave. Maybe add to my lake fossil collection. (I didn't photograph any of that, kinda doubt those would do well in a tumbler.)

I had an idea for a craft thing but that only needs rocks found as is.

But, little tip here, if you coat found rocks with a light coating of varathane, or any clear coat type thing, they will look wet forever. Not near as nice as a polished stone of course, but at least they can show off the color they would while wet. And that trick works fine with porous rocks too. Trick is not to get bubbles trapped in there, Teeny brush to poke those out works ok.

[treadledad]

One downside to coating them with a film finish is that nearly all of them yellow over time. It can be very difficult to remove the finish once applied, as well.

[rmf]

artmaker Those are mostly Rhyolites (reddish) and basalts (black/greenish) with some quartz thrown in. some rhyolites polish ok and some do not depending on the quartz content. Basalts tend to not polish well at all. Both would require a lot of fines <1/2" for cushioning.
My Opinion: $$ better spent on harder stuff first then try these.

[perkins17]

artmaker, in case you haven't decided on a tumbler, i recommend the Lortone 33b and all Lortone machines. I have the 33b and love it.

[artmaker]

hi all,

Got a tumbler... finally just settled for a two barrel Chicago Electric from harbor freight. Yea I know, it's a cheap thing. Hit or miss on cheap. Sometimes I buy cheap stuff and get a lot of mileage out of it, and sometimes not. It will be good enough for now.

RMF thanks for the rock identification. So let the black ones sit around my pond, polish stuff with more quartz and interesting stuff going on and see how it goes.
I will take before and after shots too.

My favorite rock hounding site has been SO cloudy in the water due to storms that I was limited to beach combing. Problem is, EVERYONE goes there to hunt rocks. Best pickins are IN the lake.... Hoping tomorrow will be clear enough. Summer is winding down.

Know what I really wish I had access to is mexican crazy lace. Had a few bits of that when I got a tumbler as a kid. Amazing stuff. But it seems none to be found in Michigan. For right now I'm sticking to stuff I can pick up.

Thanks for all the input. Appreciated.

[perkins17]

artmaker, congrats on the tumbler! Check ebay for some crazy lace. I have a small amount in a load waiting for the vibe. Super nice. I understand why you like it.

[rewdownunder]

Do a search on the site for harbor freight tumbler. With a little work to line things up and some regular care they will work ok. There are several posts on how to take care of them. We all started somewhere. I hate green rocks , some of the hardest to identify. I have a bucket in my yard called the I don't know bucket which is full of green rocks. I will never give a rock to a child unless I know what it is. Because the first thing they are going to ask is what is it. Many beach rocks are hard to ID unless you can break them open and look at a fresh surface. One thing to go by is to get a rock wet. It is never going to look better than that no matter how you polish it.

[artmaker]

ID of rocks.. yea I think I'm gonna end up with a whole lot of polished granite.
As for them being wet? Well... my technique is easy. Mask, fins, snorkel, float in a foot of water and ALL the rocks are wet. And not all picked over too. I've been aiming for stuff with lots of quartz in it. Even if it's just mostly granite at least it will be pretty.

I LOVE the green rocks. I know I have several kinds and will try polishing each and see. Looking them up, there are several types, including a "rare" one... Chlorestrolite? I probably mangled that.

Anyway, few years ago I bought grit at a gem place up in Traverse City. Got everything EXCEPT step one. So waiting on that. Meanwhile I found all the already smooth stones I had collected, picked out enough to fill both barrels and that is rolling away at step 2 now. Forgot to get a picture first though, oh well.

[artmaker]

HEY, first batch is DONE. Some I'm thrilled with, some not so much. And I do think I have a bit of polished granite in there. Oh well.
Now did I goof with the polish? They ALL looked great while wet but after drying, some got just about as dull as rocks never polished.
So on my rocks page artmakersworlds.com/testing/Rocks.html scroll to the bottom, last image is the finished load.
I know that rock on the top right (that somehow got caught in shadow.) Anyway it's green with black or dark green bits, I think they look cool but yup, heard they don't polish well and that is for sure. But one, black flat one with sort of a peach stripe, I really didn't expect that one to turn out but it did! Happy surprise, perfect shape for a pendant.

Polish I bought a few years ago, perhaps I have the wrong kind?
Mind says Micro Alumina, 2 tbl per 3 lb barrel. I let that run just over a week. I did buy some mixed ceramic bits to use with them. Checked a few rocks three days in and they looked great. (I think I pulled out smaller mostly quartz rocks.) plopped them back in and let it go for several more days.

So thoughts? I love some of the smaller green ones. And some of the yellowish ones look cool too. Let me know.