About two weeks ago I started finishing many batches of rocks that I have been tumbling for about two months.  These batches have been going so long that I lost track of how long each batch spent in each stage.  As I worked with these batches I had to go by look and feel to decide when to move them to the next stage.  This worked out very well because some of the rocks would be ready for the next stage while other still needed more time at the current stage.  By the time some of the rocks were being finished all the batches were well mixed up.  I am now starting each batch in six pound drums and moving the rocks to three pound drums for the later stages.  I have one three pound drum of these older batches left to finish.

Recent Rock Tumbling

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Saturday I purchased a used tumbler from a local dealer.  The price of this tumbler was $50.00; a much better price that the $195.00 that it would cost to purchase a similar new tumbler.  The problem with this used tumbler was that the bushings had worn out and were no longer available from Lortone.  It seams that somebody in the past had tried to fix it but the repair was now worn out.

My New Used Tumbler

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Today I finished my third batch of rock tumbling.  I followed the same basic pattern as I used with my first two batches but did have some difficulties this time.  The first problem was with the first stage (60-90 grit).  These rocks which are mainly jasper did not round off as quick so I ran them for three weeks in stage one instead of one week.  The next problem came in stage four.  This is where my tumbler broke down.  It took me a little over a week to get the tumbler back in shape and during this time the rocks sat in the pre-polish.  After running the rocks for another week in the pre-polish I found that my rocks and the marbles I used as filler material had a very dull matte finish that I could not wash off.  To resolve this problem I ran the batch in laundry soup for two days.  I normally do this as step five to help get a better finish but this was the first time it was absolutely necessary. I finished this batch by running them in polish for a week.

Rock Tumbling Batch 3

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Tonight I finished my second batch of tumbling. I did not keep as good of records as I had with the first batch but I basically followed the same steps. On some of the steps I had to run the process a bit longer to get the results I wanted. I also added a burnishing step before running the final polish as suggested by Jack Yorkshire. When the batch was ready for the third stage I added the material that I had pulled out from my first batch of tumbling and added some cabochons.

This first photo is of the cabochons that I added at the third stage. The top two are made of Owyhee Picture Jasper. The bottom right piece is Willow Creek Jasper. The bottom left piece is made with an unknown agate, this photo does not do this piece justice.

This picture shows the complete batch. I originally started with just petrified wood and jasper then added the quartz at the third stage.

This photo shows a close up look of the jasper and some of the petrified wood. The jasper was found on the Idaho-Oregon border along highway 95. I didn’t think much of it when I found it but these pieces along with some I cut and polished turned out to be really nice.

The petrified wood in this last photo came from many different locations. The photo does not do justice to these pieces.

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. (more…)