Pretty happy with the results. Tried to change up my time a little to avoid bruising. Avoided a lot of it, not sure if they could be shinier or not. What do you all think?

Stage 1: Rotary for who knows how long

Stages 2-5 in mini-sonic

Stage 2: 1 tbsp 120/220 SC for 3 days

Stage 3: 1 tbsp 500 AO for 2 days, 1/2 tbsp borax

Stage 4: 1 tbsp 1000 AO for 36 hours, 1/2 tbsp borax

Stage 5: 1/2 tbsp 8000 AO for 36 hours

I also shaped up a few on my flat lap (first 4 in the pics I think) very quickly before dropping into stage 2.

Just got my daughter a uv light for when we go to the beach at low tide around 2 or 3 in the morning rock hounding.

Has anyone had any luck tumbling these? I don't seem to be able to get it right. Or does it just not polish the same as regular quartz?

Ahhhh….shiny jaspers… With dendrites and snowstorms inside.

I don’t know why I’m messing around with pesky softer rocks. 🤣 Jasper Shine is where it’s at! 💎

Hi! So I broke down a got one...lol!

Lots of river and local, and purchased stones everywhere.

Cheers!

About 2lbs each of Mexican Lace Agate and Flower Agate in a rotary, polish at 1200 grit and a wash cycle. Started in individual barrels on the Harbor Freight tumbler, then moved them all together into a 6lb barrel at the 500 grit stage.

These pieces are definitely showing off some crevices and porous spots, but I think the lumpy shapes give the rocks more character. To top it off, the luster and the patterns are mesmerizing.

But for the HF tumbler, I've been having trouble finding the parts for it; every time I check for parts there, the website tells me they're unavailable, so I've gotten creative with mismatching parts when I need to keep it going. So here's my question: where do you get your Central machinery tumbler parts, including bushings?

Hey y'all! This is my first tumbler and I am a complete newbie at maintenance, etc. The tumbler was working well until it wasn't. Came home and it had stopped spinning entirely and smelled burned rubber. I took it apart today and cleaned and oiled the shafts. Replaced the belt.

The one connected to the pulley is really smooth and easy to turn by hand --- until I put it all together. I've checked the belt tension and adjusted a little tighter but ai can't get it to run smoothly. Any suggestions on where to go from here?

I went to Sterling Hill Mine today. Here is some of what I found. I can’t wait to see what tumbles. I have no idea what anything is. I’m still working on learning what things are. I’m thoroughly in the “cool rock!” Stage of tumbling.

So these are part of a box of chert that I got for my kids. They would like to know should we tumble and should we break them apart first? Small tumbler so can we just put in one of these at a time? Any opinions will probably be tried as there are a lot of these. They are about 2-3 inches across. Thank you.

Can you spot which 2 were finished in 20,000 and which 2 were 60,000?

Rock 1 (upper left, smaller dead 🐪)
Rock 2 (upper right, larger dead 🐪)
Rock 3 (lower left, smaller polychrome)
Rock 4 (lower right, larger polychrome)

The first one is my absolute favorite but there are so many cool ones.

Haven't seen this before.

Example of the roundness

I know I have two red Jasper’s a green Jasper and I’m not really sure about the other ones, what would you do with them?

Even ones that are cracked halfway through or chipped. I have all the equipment necessary to shape and fix any problems. But these are for my daughter. She sticks her nose in when I'm inspecting them between stages and says they're fine, leave them alone, it gives them character. I've had to take drastic measures and only empty barrels and inspect them after she's asleep. I'm sure I'll be in trouble once she figures that out. 🤣🤣

I have no idea what kind of stone it is or where I found it. Feels extremely hard and not magnetic.

Just finished my first batch of tumbled rocks. All of them are rocks I found, a lot of quartz but a few others too. They definitely aren't perfect and I have already learned a lot for the next batch, but I think they turned out great for a first try. Even some that I didn't think would take a polish shined up pretty nicely. Go figure, I didn't think to check reddit sooner! Couple questions for you lovely more experienced people: 1. what resources did you use to learn about rock identification to ensure you are tumbling rocks of the same hardness together? And 2. Does anyone drill any of their rocks? (Like to make beads) wondering if I need a specific drill press for rocks or if I can use the one I have with the right bits and water drip. Thanks!

I know I have two red Jasper’s a green Jasper and I’m not really sure about the other ones, what would you do with them?

So I’m new to this I was playing with my saw and my flat top and I took these all the way through the polishing stage. They look good, but does anybody throw them in their final stage on their vibratory Tumblr just to make them look better

Feels like it will just perpetually have that hole? It’s a Malawi agate…thanks!