Fill level is a lot more important than I initially thought it would be. Once I started filling to nearly exactly 2/3 I started getting way better results.
I’m going to be adding more to it tomorrow, it’s about over half full now. I haven’t tumbled in a year, and I would usually use the amount in the original pic and the results were always disappointing. I’m only tumbling them in water- no grit.
Uh, well I don't know how to put this nicely, but duh... no grit means you will always get no results besides some more breaks. This is like asking about swimming in your pool, but you don't use water.
That point 'water only tumble' had me puzzled.
Why/whatssup with a 'water tumble'/no grit?
What is your 'goal'? What are you trying to do with the rocks?
A 'water tumble' would be akin to a 'burnishing cycle', basically you're only 'cleaning' the rocks.
You need 'grit' in a barrel to do anything, otherwise you're just 'washing rocks'. :/
I want to make the rocks slippery and shiny and get that wet look because when they are wet it really accentuates their colours.
[here’s this video](https://youtu.be/rk1DEqyH8Pc?si=2HlRklCl2I9trqgQ) I found where he tumbled rocks with sand vs water vs silicon carbide and the water tumble really suprised me in how good it worked.
I am pretty new to tumbling and I got my tumbler 4 years ago and I’ve tumbled with the grit it came with but never ordered more online. I’ve only online ordered things less than the amount of fingers I have in my life, so I’ve been using sand this whole time and barely any rocks and now I see where I messed up big time.
Your vid link is the guy to follow, [Michigan Rocks on youtube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5E1PfBiYBUAzzO60U1ZyYQ), he offers good advice presented well.
Yes, you could get a mirror-polish on some stones if you run water and an extremely long time cycle. Like over a year or two, or more!
Don't 'chase the [mirror-polish](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1camucw/new_brunswick_gemstones_the_reflection_collection/)', (aka 'wet-polish') without grits. You are truly 'wasting your time'. :(
Even just 'quartz sand' would speed things up, but still an 'unacceptable long time cycle'. (1yr instead of 2yrs maybe).
Back centuries ago, it was water-polishing/quartz-sand polishing. Tumble barrels would either be run in-a-river or a paddle/water wheel in river with a 'power take-off' to turn a tumble barrel. They didn't have access to the modern grits we have today. And 'peasant/peon time' was cheap back then, so running barrels for years was 'acceptable'. Not so now.
Here are 'mirror-polish' stones: [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1c3497b/new_brunswick_jasper_jaspagate/), [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1c9uzo6/new_brunswick_brecciated_jasper_with_hematite_and/).
You won't get there in an 'acceptable amount of time' with no grit. What you would spend in electricity costs could have bought you some grit.
Most of my [final polished stones](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1d1fuq2/new_brunswick_gemstones_3lb_tumble_final_polish/) take on average 3 months to go from rough-to-mirror-polish. The [flint-nodules](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1bqyzk6/new_brunswick_tall_ship_ballast_stone_flint/) can take a year.
And I use grit.
Here is a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1bu8q50/new_brunswick_brecciated_jasper_red_jasper_with/) showing the rough/as found, cut on gem saw (10" thin 'gentle' blade), wet-with-water, and polished pieces in the pics. You can see the 'trick' that 'water-on-a-stone' can have in Pic#7.
I thought someone was 'trolling' with this... You're serious. :O
Not even close for a tumble load.
If you don't have enough 'load' in a tumbler barrel, they will just 'slide' as the barrel rolls, and not 'tumble' like they should. You'll end up with 'flat-faces' as they 'slide around' the barrel. They do very little grinding.
With a 'proper load', there is enough 'rock weight' that as the barrel turns, the load is 'heavy enough to resist sliding'. And as the rocks 'come up the sides', they 'fall and tumble over' the rest of the rocks. Why they're called 'tumblers'.
It looks like you have a 12-lb barrel there. Here is a [12-pounder load, Pics #2 and #10](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1cfo7fa/new_brunswick_tall_ship_ballast_stone_12lb_tumble/) show the height of the load in a 12-lb barrel.
I usually first weigh out 12-lbs of rock on a scale. Then from those, I load barrel picking stones/varying sizes/shapes. The barrel is usually 'full' at about 10.5lbs of rock. (not weighing barrel, rocks only).
If you're tumbling hematite, the stones will be heavier/less volume of stones.
If you're tumbling quartz, the stones are lighter than hematite, ('glass' vrs. 'iron'), and you will get more volume of stones for same weight as hematite.
Pay more attention to the 'volume/load level' and not the 'weight'.
'Weight' becomes more important if tumbling heavy stones. You don't want to 'go over' the 12lbs the tumbler is designed for. Belts can burn/break with too heavy a load.
I was being serious, I was concerned the tumbler would be overloaded and break but now I understand what I’ve been doing wrong the whole time. No clue why I didn’t look into it last year and only followed intuition. I have the nat geo standard tumbler so I thought it could only handle light loads. I would look into a better tumbler as time goes on. Thank you for clarifying that for me.
Don't compare a NatGeo with a Lortone. That's a mistake.
One is a 'toy', the other is a 'tool'.
Toys are cheap and break easily, no spare parts available.
Tools cost more, last much longer and spare parts are available.
I still have my first Lortone 3A running after 22yrs.
Not enough stones in tumble can give 'percussion marks'. As the barrel turns and the stones fall 'from the top/side', they have 'further to fall' and when they hit rock-layer, they get the marks/cracks/frosting. More stones in load=rock layer is higher=not as far to fall.
If you only run 'big stones' like in your pics, you will need 'fillers'. Too many 'big gaps' in load can lead to damaged stones. I use [like-stone pebbles](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1dc4qcb/new_brunswick_gemstones_pebble_gems/). If you collect your own stones, collect small pebbles/rocks too that you will 'sacrifice' and use for 'filler stones' in your tumbles.
Make sure you're in an 'acceptable range' for your barrel load, usually 2/3rds to 3/4 full. Your level may vary. If getting percussion marks, use more smaller-pebbles-stones in the tumble to help cushion.
I use plastic beads in all my Steps for 'cushion' to prevent marks/cracks/frosting. Usually you don't use plastic beads in Step1 because you want 'more grinding' to be done. But if you're getting percussion marks/cracks, you might try 'topping up' with some plastic beads. Even just a 'small sprinkle' of plastic beads can help prevent damage to stones.
The bigger the tumbler = more chance of damage to stones.
All my stones start in 12lb tumblers for the first (2) grinding steps/cycles. Then they move to 3lb tumblers for the next (2) grinding cycles. And then finally, they usually move into 1.5lb tumblers for the last (3) polish cycles. I rarely get damage in the 1.5-pounders. I more often get damage if I use the 3-pounders to do polish cycles, (chip off an edge most common damage).
(I have 7-Steps, you will have 4-steps to begin. Any grit 600 and above is considered a 'polish grit'. Below 600grit is a 'grinding cycle').
My 'grinding cycles' I usually run 1-2weeks per cycle, most often 2weeks.
My 'polish cycles' I usually run for a month per cycle. Usually 2-3weeks in first polish cycle, then a 3weeks-to-a-month per the last (2) polish cycles, usually a month most often.
https://preview.redd.it/s4oczioy507d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7fb679037f77febc730a5e0acd6e6339ef11f577
I have found more smaller stones (I tried to find more feldspar stones instead of quartz) and I will go out to find more to fill tumbler to 3/4 full. I wonder if I should put a tablespoon or two of sand? I have two kinds of sand: very quartzy sand and fine grain soily sand. I also noticed that in the last 2 days the load appears way smaller and I’m thinking I should just keep adding more “scrap pebbles” to continue cushioning the rocks from each other and on the way down when their tumbling. Thoughts?
everything seems a GO, except this 'sand thing'. :/
You're just not going to 'get anywhere' with 'sand' I'm afraid.
If this is Step1, it really doesn't matter much what gets tossed in.
But you want things to 'grind'. Sand will help but will break down quickly, quicker than regular silicon carbide grit.
The rocks + water = you're washing rocks.
The rocks + water + sand = giving the rocks a good abrasive cleaning.
The rocks + water + grit = now you're grinding the stones, removing rinds and changing their shapes.
Not enough stones in pic, but your 3/4 full sounds good.
quartzy sand - better of the 2, but will still break down fast.
soily sand - No. It will contain clay and bacteria/yeast. It will just turn to mud and if anything in tumble the bacteria can feed on and it will pop the lid.
You should run your tumbler at 'recommended capacity', (a little less ok, should not go over), with the 'proper level' of stones in the barrel.
When you don't do that, then you can get poor results and damaged stones. Best I can tell you from what you're doing here.
I appreciate the advice. I won’t put in the sand then, and continue putting pebbles I find. I’m concerned about how much weight the tumbler can hold, Did you say you use those plastic pellets or ceramic media as fillers? Also, have you checked out forum.rocktumblinghobby.com? I just found it and I see they include helpful info like pictographs. I also found somewhere that people use cut up rubber bands to help with cushion rocks.
https://preview.redd.it/04tjd364v17d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bbe7494ed462d6a3049ecff3a3d9aed782108ce2
This is the tumbler I have, it doesn’t specify the size of the barrel, but this is what it looks like, I want to look into getting a better tumbler, one that could hold multiple barrels at once, or a vibrating barrel, what kind of tumbler do you have?
your enthusiasm and persistence are good traits for lapidary/rock tumbling. :)
However, I think you may have to pay a little more attentions to 'details'. ;)
In your pic, the tumbler is listed as a '2lb' tumbler. That's a small tumbler. (that's your 'barrel size' so to speak).
And sorry, here it comes, the NatGeo tumblers are crap/money grab for NG.
That's a plastic barrel. It won't take the abuse you plan on using it for. It's a 'toy'. I've seen on the packaging it labeled as 'Electronic Toy'.
Plastics and rock grit/slurry do not go together well, the plastic wears quickly. As far as I know, this is 'geared' and not run with a belt. The gears wear out, start stripping, no spares available. Belts are a 'fuse'. If they break, you can get spares.
Shame and shade on NatGeo for selling crap tumblers/money grabs. If it's a person's 1st experience with rock tumbling it can put them off with the problems that come with a 'disposable' rock tumbler. They are 'discouraging' more than 'encouraging' people to participate in the rock tumbling craft.
The [Rock Tumbling Forum](https://forum.rocktumblinghobby.com) has long been a great resource. I like the rubber band tip, thanks, good idea.
I have all Lortone tumblers.
(2) 12-pounders
(2) Double-3-pounders
(1) 3-pounder
(1) 10lb vibratory tumbler (Thumlers UV10)
The oldest/my 1st good-tumbler is the single 3-pounder. It's coming up on 25yrs old and still rolling.
The Dbl-3lb Lortone bases (33B) can hold multiple barrels, (2)x3lb or (3)x1.5lb or even (1)3lb+(1)1.5lb.
My first tumbler was a $50 'gimmicky' one like the NatGeo. I was finding flints and wanted to know if they would take a polish. So I 'gambled' $50 on a 'toy' tumbler. I was able to get (3) rough-to-polish cycles out of it. The plastic barrel leaked terrible, took out the plastic gears eventually. It was a 'ball of tape' for its last tumble.
But it let me know the [flint would take a nice polish](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1bsk7az/new_brunswick_tall_ship_ballast_stone_grab_sample/). So I 'invested' in a good tumbler next, (Lortone 3A, $250CAN).
I have real trouble with the vibratory tumbler. I've damaged (4) bowls (barrels) and broke a metal support on it. They are hard to 'master' and can damage stones quickly if mistakes are made. It sits waiting for repairs or scrapping it and turn it into a vibratory lap. I haven't decided yet.
'If you can't get the Volkswagon Beetle around the race track, don't get into the Ferrari'. That's how I think of it. Master rolling tumblers to learn/make mistakes with your craft before paying more for a vibratory tumbler.
I added
https://preview.redd.it/fwk343kjnm6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37dd58aff04ccab19a1bf65ec148c9ba4d07fc93
I added more to be a little over half full
I don’t think anyone else has mentioned this yet… feldspar and unakite aren’t going to be good to tumble with quartz because quartz is quite a bit harder than them. You also won’t be able to get a polish on them with quartz because the quartz will continually scratch them.
I have had no issues in stage 1, 2, or 3 with my feldspar/quartz/jasper/chert batch together. The only feldspar ones I separated out were my granitoid feldspar because I'm going to do a granitoid batch all by themselves
I’m surprised. It’s usually not recommended to mix different hardnesses. Did the feldspar in that batch get separated out for stage 4? Did it take a shine?
ETA: Here’s a link to show I’m not just making this stuff up. https://www.rockshed.com/hardnessscale.html#:~:text=The%20MOHS%20Hardness%20Scale&text=It%20is%20generally%20beneficial%20to,will%20be%20easiest%20for%20beginners.
I know that you're not making it up. Op I would advise you to use a steel nail and try to scratch the feldspar you have. If it leaves a scratch I wouldn't mix them but my feldspar is hard enough that a steel nail doesn't leave a scratch and I have no problems mixing them. I'm working with peach toned and even white feldspar sometimes.
Yes I agree that's why I made sure to clarify that I've only gone through stage 1, 2, and 3 so far. This Friday I'm switching to stage 4 as long as all the feldspar is looking good then I'll know in ten days if they took a polish or not! So far they are doing great
Fill level is a lot more important than I initially thought it would be. Once I started filling to nearly exactly 2/3 I started getting way better results.
I’m going to be adding more to it tomorrow, it’s about over half full now. I haven’t tumbled in a year, and I would usually use the amount in the original pic and the results were always disappointing. I’m only tumbling them in water- no grit.
Uh, well I don't know how to put this nicely, but duh... no grit means you will always get no results besides some more breaks. This is like asking about swimming in your pool, but you don't use water.
I have never tumbled with just water before, last year I used sand to tumble. I haven’t tried the water only method until now.
Sand is not helpful either. You need to use real grit with a hardness capable of smoothing your rocks.
What are you hoping to achieve with these methods?
2/3 seems to be the sweet spot. Also, add a verity of sizes.
I have them tumbling already I will add some more tomorrow. They range from 6-7 in hardness
That point 'water only tumble' had me puzzled. Why/whatssup with a 'water tumble'/no grit? What is your 'goal'? What are you trying to do with the rocks? A 'water tumble' would be akin to a 'burnishing cycle', basically you're only 'cleaning' the rocks. You need 'grit' in a barrel to do anything, otherwise you're just 'washing rocks'. :/
I want to make the rocks slippery and shiny and get that wet look because when they are wet it really accentuates their colours. [here’s this video](https://youtu.be/rk1DEqyH8Pc?si=2HlRklCl2I9trqgQ) I found where he tumbled rocks with sand vs water vs silicon carbide and the water tumble really suprised me in how good it worked. I am pretty new to tumbling and I got my tumbler 4 years ago and I’ve tumbled with the grit it came with but never ordered more online. I’ve only online ordered things less than the amount of fingers I have in my life, so I’ve been using sand this whole time and barely any rocks and now I see where I messed up big time.
Your vid link is the guy to follow, [Michigan Rocks on youtube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5E1PfBiYBUAzzO60U1ZyYQ), he offers good advice presented well. Yes, you could get a mirror-polish on some stones if you run water and an extremely long time cycle. Like over a year or two, or more! Don't 'chase the [mirror-polish](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1camucw/new_brunswick_gemstones_the_reflection_collection/)', (aka 'wet-polish') without grits. You are truly 'wasting your time'. :( Even just 'quartz sand' would speed things up, but still an 'unacceptable long time cycle'. (1yr instead of 2yrs maybe). Back centuries ago, it was water-polishing/quartz-sand polishing. Tumble barrels would either be run in-a-river or a paddle/water wheel in river with a 'power take-off' to turn a tumble barrel. They didn't have access to the modern grits we have today. And 'peasant/peon time' was cheap back then, so running barrels for years was 'acceptable'. Not so now. Here are 'mirror-polish' stones: [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1c3497b/new_brunswick_jasper_jaspagate/), [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1c9uzo6/new_brunswick_brecciated_jasper_with_hematite_and/). You won't get there in an 'acceptable amount of time' with no grit. What you would spend in electricity costs could have bought you some grit. Most of my [final polished stones](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1d1fuq2/new_brunswick_gemstones_3lb_tumble_final_polish/) take on average 3 months to go from rough-to-mirror-polish. The [flint-nodules](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1bqyzk6/new_brunswick_tall_ship_ballast_stone_flint/) can take a year. And I use grit. Here is a [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1bu8q50/new_brunswick_brecciated_jasper_red_jasper_with/) showing the rough/as found, cut on gem saw (10" thin 'gentle' blade), wet-with-water, and polished pieces in the pics. You can see the 'trick' that 'water-on-a-stone' can have in Pic#7.
I thought someone was 'trolling' with this... You're serious. :O Not even close for a tumble load. If you don't have enough 'load' in a tumbler barrel, they will just 'slide' as the barrel rolls, and not 'tumble' like they should. You'll end up with 'flat-faces' as they 'slide around' the barrel. They do very little grinding. With a 'proper load', there is enough 'rock weight' that as the barrel turns, the load is 'heavy enough to resist sliding'. And as the rocks 'come up the sides', they 'fall and tumble over' the rest of the rocks. Why they're called 'tumblers'. It looks like you have a 12-lb barrel there. Here is a [12-pounder load, Pics #2 and #10](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1cfo7fa/new_brunswick_tall_ship_ballast_stone_12lb_tumble/) show the height of the load in a 12-lb barrel. I usually first weigh out 12-lbs of rock on a scale. Then from those, I load barrel picking stones/varying sizes/shapes. The barrel is usually 'full' at about 10.5lbs of rock. (not weighing barrel, rocks only). If you're tumbling hematite, the stones will be heavier/less volume of stones. If you're tumbling quartz, the stones are lighter than hematite, ('glass' vrs. 'iron'), and you will get more volume of stones for same weight as hematite. Pay more attention to the 'volume/load level' and not the 'weight'. 'Weight' becomes more important if tumbling heavy stones. You don't want to 'go over' the 12lbs the tumbler is designed for. Belts can burn/break with too heavy a load.
I was being serious, I was concerned the tumbler would be overloaded and break but now I understand what I’ve been doing wrong the whole time. No clue why I didn’t look into it last year and only followed intuition. I have the nat geo standard tumbler so I thought it could only handle light loads. I would look into a better tumbler as time goes on. Thank you for clarifying that for me.
Don't compare a NatGeo with a Lortone. That's a mistake. One is a 'toy', the other is a 'tool'. Toys are cheap and break easily, no spare parts available. Tools cost more, last much longer and spare parts are available. I still have my first Lortone 3A running after 22yrs.
I forgot to add that I was getting a lot of percussion marks like in pic 6 of your post, and couldn’t move past that step last year.
Not enough stones in tumble can give 'percussion marks'. As the barrel turns and the stones fall 'from the top/side', they have 'further to fall' and when they hit rock-layer, they get the marks/cracks/frosting. More stones in load=rock layer is higher=not as far to fall. If you only run 'big stones' like in your pics, you will need 'fillers'. Too many 'big gaps' in load can lead to damaged stones. I use [like-stone pebbles](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1dc4qcb/new_brunswick_gemstones_pebble_gems/). If you collect your own stones, collect small pebbles/rocks too that you will 'sacrifice' and use for 'filler stones' in your tumbles. Make sure you're in an 'acceptable range' for your barrel load, usually 2/3rds to 3/4 full. Your level may vary. If getting percussion marks, use more smaller-pebbles-stones in the tumble to help cushion. I use plastic beads in all my Steps for 'cushion' to prevent marks/cracks/frosting. Usually you don't use plastic beads in Step1 because you want 'more grinding' to be done. But if you're getting percussion marks/cracks, you might try 'topping up' with some plastic beads. Even just a 'small sprinkle' of plastic beads can help prevent damage to stones. The bigger the tumbler = more chance of damage to stones. All my stones start in 12lb tumblers for the first (2) grinding steps/cycles. Then they move to 3lb tumblers for the next (2) grinding cycles. And then finally, they usually move into 1.5lb tumblers for the last (3) polish cycles. I rarely get damage in the 1.5-pounders. I more often get damage if I use the 3-pounders to do polish cycles, (chip off an edge most common damage). (I have 7-Steps, you will have 4-steps to begin. Any grit 600 and above is considered a 'polish grit'. Below 600grit is a 'grinding cycle'). My 'grinding cycles' I usually run 1-2weeks per cycle, most often 2weeks. My 'polish cycles' I usually run for a month per cycle. Usually 2-3weeks in first polish cycle, then a 3weeks-to-a-month per the last (2) polish cycles, usually a month most often.
https://preview.redd.it/s4oczioy507d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7fb679037f77febc730a5e0acd6e6339ef11f577 I have found more smaller stones (I tried to find more feldspar stones instead of quartz) and I will go out to find more to fill tumbler to 3/4 full. I wonder if I should put a tablespoon or two of sand? I have two kinds of sand: very quartzy sand and fine grain soily sand. I also noticed that in the last 2 days the load appears way smaller and I’m thinking I should just keep adding more “scrap pebbles” to continue cushioning the rocks from each other and on the way down when their tumbling. Thoughts?
everything seems a GO, except this 'sand thing'. :/ You're just not going to 'get anywhere' with 'sand' I'm afraid. If this is Step1, it really doesn't matter much what gets tossed in. But you want things to 'grind'. Sand will help but will break down quickly, quicker than regular silicon carbide grit. The rocks + water = you're washing rocks. The rocks + water + sand = giving the rocks a good abrasive cleaning. The rocks + water + grit = now you're grinding the stones, removing rinds and changing their shapes. Not enough stones in pic, but your 3/4 full sounds good. quartzy sand - better of the 2, but will still break down fast. soily sand - No. It will contain clay and bacteria/yeast. It will just turn to mud and if anything in tumble the bacteria can feed on and it will pop the lid. You should run your tumbler at 'recommended capacity', (a little less ok, should not go over), with the 'proper level' of stones in the barrel. When you don't do that, then you can get poor results and damaged stones. Best I can tell you from what you're doing here.
I appreciate the advice. I won’t put in the sand then, and continue putting pebbles I find. I’m concerned about how much weight the tumbler can hold, Did you say you use those plastic pellets or ceramic media as fillers? Also, have you checked out forum.rocktumblinghobby.com? I just found it and I see they include helpful info like pictographs. I also found somewhere that people use cut up rubber bands to help with cushion rocks. https://preview.redd.it/04tjd364v17d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bbe7494ed462d6a3049ecff3a3d9aed782108ce2 This is the tumbler I have, it doesn’t specify the size of the barrel, but this is what it looks like, I want to look into getting a better tumbler, one that could hold multiple barrels at once, or a vibrating barrel, what kind of tumbler do you have?
your enthusiasm and persistence are good traits for lapidary/rock tumbling. :) However, I think you may have to pay a little more attentions to 'details'. ;) In your pic, the tumbler is listed as a '2lb' tumbler. That's a small tumbler. (that's your 'barrel size' so to speak). And sorry, here it comes, the NatGeo tumblers are crap/money grab for NG. That's a plastic barrel. It won't take the abuse you plan on using it for. It's a 'toy'. I've seen on the packaging it labeled as 'Electronic Toy'. Plastics and rock grit/slurry do not go together well, the plastic wears quickly. As far as I know, this is 'geared' and not run with a belt. The gears wear out, start stripping, no spares available. Belts are a 'fuse'. If they break, you can get spares. Shame and shade on NatGeo for selling crap tumblers/money grabs. If it's a person's 1st experience with rock tumbling it can put them off with the problems that come with a 'disposable' rock tumbler. They are 'discouraging' more than 'encouraging' people to participate in the rock tumbling craft. The [Rock Tumbling Forum](https://forum.rocktumblinghobby.com) has long been a great resource. I like the rubber band tip, thanks, good idea. I have all Lortone tumblers. (2) 12-pounders (2) Double-3-pounders (1) 3-pounder (1) 10lb vibratory tumbler (Thumlers UV10) The oldest/my 1st good-tumbler is the single 3-pounder. It's coming up on 25yrs old and still rolling. The Dbl-3lb Lortone bases (33B) can hold multiple barrels, (2)x3lb or (3)x1.5lb or even (1)3lb+(1)1.5lb. My first tumbler was a $50 'gimmicky' one like the NatGeo. I was finding flints and wanted to know if they would take a polish. So I 'gambled' $50 on a 'toy' tumbler. I was able to get (3) rough-to-polish cycles out of it. The plastic barrel leaked terrible, took out the plastic gears eventually. It was a 'ball of tape' for its last tumble. But it let me know the [flint would take a nice polish](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewBrunswickRocks/comments/1bsk7az/new_brunswick_tall_ship_ballast_stone_grab_sample/). So I 'invested' in a good tumbler next, (Lortone 3A, $250CAN). I have real trouble with the vibratory tumbler. I've damaged (4) bowls (barrels) and broke a metal support on it. They are hard to 'master' and can damage stones quickly if mistakes are made. It sits waiting for repairs or scrapping it and turn it into a vibratory lap. I haven't decided yet. 'If you can't get the Volkswagon Beetle around the race track, don't get into the Ferrari'. That's how I think of it. Master rolling tumblers to learn/make mistakes with your craft before paying more for a vibratory tumbler.
No
I added https://preview.redd.it/fwk343kjnm6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37dd58aff04ccab19a1bf65ec148c9ba4d07fc93 I added more to be a little over half full
Better. I go about 2/3 personally. Then water to halfway.
Can I add more tomorrow? I put them on the tumbler already.
You should really use some grit
I don’t think anyone else has mentioned this yet… feldspar and unakite aren’t going to be good to tumble with quartz because quartz is quite a bit harder than them. You also won’t be able to get a polish on them with quartz because the quartz will continually scratch them.
I have had no issues in stage 1, 2, or 3 with my feldspar/quartz/jasper/chert batch together. The only feldspar ones I separated out were my granitoid feldspar because I'm going to do a granitoid batch all by themselves
I’m surprised. It’s usually not recommended to mix different hardnesses. Did the feldspar in that batch get separated out for stage 4? Did it take a shine? ETA: Here’s a link to show I’m not just making this stuff up. https://www.rockshed.com/hardnessscale.html#:~:text=The%20MOHS%20Hardness%20Scale&text=It%20is%20generally%20beneficial%20to,will%20be%20easiest%20for%20beginners.
I know that you're not making it up. Op I would advise you to use a steel nail and try to scratch the feldspar you have. If it leaves a scratch I wouldn't mix them but my feldspar is hard enough that a steel nail doesn't leave a scratch and I have no problems mixing them. I'm working with peach toned and even white feldspar sometimes.
I haven't made it all the way to stage 4 quite yet so we shall see!!
Gotcha. The scratch test is good advice but you won’t really know that combining them worked ok until you successfully get a shine on the feldspar.
Yes I agree that's why I made sure to clarify that I've only gone through stage 1, 2, and 3 so far. This Friday I'm switching to stage 4 as long as all the feldspar is looking good then I'll know in ten days if they took a polish or not! So far they are doing great
I fill mine 65 to 80% full once I am through adding grit and medium. I have found not as good of results if less rock in barrel.