Last night I pulled out the fist batch of finished rocks from the tumbler. Overall I am quite happy with the results. There were a few little problems along the way but they all were fixable and provided a great learning experience.

Please read more to see my notes on this tumble.

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This last week end was a busy one for me. It started Friday evening as I was loading the car for the next day’s trip to Rome, Oregon. As I loaded up my Equipment I also worked on my tumbling project. This was the time I need to change from the 220-grit to 400-grit. The rocks are looking really good now except for one problem; I am starting to get some chipping in the rocks. I am guessing that this is due to the fact that the rocks have worn down quite a bit and now the tumbling motion is much rougher. To resolve this I combined the two three-pound barrels in one barrel. I have read about using plastic filler pieces to resolve this issue so I will look into purchasing the filler if the combining does not resolve the problem. I also started another tumbling batch of petrified wood using 90-grit. When I checked the barrels Sunday evening both barrels looked very promising.

Saturday started early as the alarm went off at 5:30. I had to be at the ION truck stop at the highway 78 and highway 95 junction by 7:00 to meet up with the group going to Rome, Oregon. I was worried that I would not make it in time but managed to get there with plenty of time to spare. Shortly after arriving Walter Barnett, the leader of this field trip, informed me that I would not be able to make it to the collecting site in my car. I made arrangement to ride with a guy named Carl once we left the pavement because I wanted to take my car so I could explore some other areas on my way home.

At around 9:30 we had arrived at the dirt road leading to the collecting area. I grabbed my gear and jumped in Carl’s truck. Right away I could see that I would not have been going anywhere in my car. As we road along Carl told me about his experiences collecting in this area. We decided to stop at a location the he had collected at before; we figured we could catch up to the group later. At first we weren’t finding anything but soon we were finding small pieces on a hill a little ways from where we parked.

After working the hill for a few minutes I found a piece that I thought was petrified wood. When I showed it to Carl he said that it might be a petrified bone. This gave me an uneasy feeling because it is unlawful to take bone from public lands. As we looked at it again later Carl changed his mind about what it was and thought that it was just an odd piece of the snake skin agate that we were there to collect. I polished the end of this piece Sunday and now I am back to thinking it is petrified wood due to the pattern that can now be seen. I also found a very nice chunk of the snake skin agate that had no chips and some nice orange-red colors.

We then joined the group and found some more snake skin agate. These pieces were small and will make good tumbling material. We also explored another ridge before leaving and found a few more pieces but nothing as good as the pieces found on that hill side we explored earlier.

I didn’t explore any other locations on the way home but instead followed the group to Hooker’s creek to collect petrified wood. Hooker’s creek is located north of Jordan Valley, Oregon. I drove my car into this place but found it a bit rougher than when I had drove in there a year earlier. I collected about a half a bucket of wood before leaving. As I drove out I accidently hit something in the road. Whatever it was I could not see it coming or going. My guess is it was an animal hole. Luckily there was no damage to my car.

When I got home all I could think about was dinner and a shower. Unloading the rocks and gear from the car would just have to wait until morning.

Sunday I unloaded the car and then spent most of the day cutting and polishing rocks. I first cleaned up and polished the two nicer pieces collected in the Rome area the day before. Then I started cutting more of the Jasper from the trip with John and Jason a few weeks ago. I ended up making a small free form cabochon with some very nice material that was found at the collecting area that is literally at the Idaho-Oregon border on the East side of highway 95. I ended the day and weekend activities by checking the tumbler and passing out rocks to the neighborhood kids that often come by to see what I am up to.

One of the most tedious parts of rock hounding is cleaning the rocks. It’s not bad when they clean up quickly but sometimes getting the dirt, mud, lichens, moss and stains off the rocks can take what seems to be forever. Below is the process I go thru to clean my rocks.

The first thing I do when I get my rocks home is try to rinse them off with the garden hose. This generally gets the loose dirt of them but sometimes I have to use a nylon brush to get the stubborn dirt of them. Some people use a brass brush at this point. I have not tried to use a brass brush but it does seem to be a very good tool for the job. A brass brush can be purchased at most hardware or paint supply stores. This first step allows me to get an idea of which rocks I want to work with right away.

After using the garden hose I split the rocks into three piles. The first pile is the rocks that are already clean enough to start cutting and polishing. The second pile consists of the rocks I want to work right away but need further cleaning. The remaining rocks get tossed on the rock pile for future cleaning and cutting.

Those rocks that I want to work but need further cleaning then go to a soaking bucket or sometimes the kitchen sink. I soak them in warm water with dish soap, just like I am going to wash dishes. After about thirty minutes of soaking the rocks are once again scrubbed with a nylon brush and rinsed off. If the nylon brush does not remove hard dirt or can’t reach the dirt I use an awl to pick away the dirt. Some people use dental picks to do this. The rocks that still need cleaned are then left soaking and scrubbed time to time until they are clean. Sometimes the soaking will last for a couple of days.

If soaking does not remove the dirt or if rust stains remain on the rocks you can use muriatic acid. Muriatic acid also known as Hydrochloric acid can be found in most hardware stores. When working with acid do it outside in a well ventilated area. Precautions must be taken because using muriatic acid it is dangerous. Always wear gloves and eye protection. Do not inhale the fumes or get it on your skin or in your eyes. Be sure to read all warnings and handling direction on the bottle.

The first thing I do when setting up is to dilute the acid. In a five gallon bucket I add 1 part acid to 20 parts water. Always add the acid to the water, not water to the acid. Remember to leave room in the bucket for the rock. I try to only mix enough acid solution to cover the rock. The acid can be reused and will get dark in color over time. If the acid is to dark to see the rock it should be deposed of. The acid can be neutralized using lime or baking soda. Many communities have programs where toxic chemicals can be dropped off; this is the best way to get rid of the used acid.

Next I gently place a test rock in the acid solution. Be very careful at this point because it is easy to cause the solution to splash. If the test rock is not damaged after fifteen minutes I put the rock I want to clean in the solution. I leave the rock in the bucket for fifteen minutes to a couple of days depending on how well the dirt or stains come off.

Once the rock is finished soaking in the acid solution it needs to be soaked in water and baking soda to neutralize the acid. Leave the rock in the soda water for three times the amount of time soaked in the acid solution. Changing the soda water often can make the neutralization process more effective.

After the rock is finished soaking in the soda water I once again clean the rock with water and dish soap before cutting and polishing.

There are other ways to clean rocks than the way I do it. If you have a technique that works well for you please share it with me via the form on the contact page. I will be glad to update this writing with your information. Credit for submitting the information will also be listed.