We bought a rock tumbler for "the kids."

[Faery-Wings]

he he he!

One of the best things about having kids is you get to play with their toys LOL! :D
It looks neat. My hubby had one when he was a kid too. You can send away for crystals and the hardware to make earrings and necklaces. There is even a little letter opener that I might make as an athame. I don't really feel the need to have a one, but this would make a nice decorative one and if I do feel the need, than it will fit in perfectly. :)

Has anyone ever tumbled stones?

Chris

[Socharis]

whats a stone tumbler?

[Lavender]

Yes! My son got one from his grandparents a few years ago. We would go for walks & pick up neat looking stones. At the end of summer, when we have enough, we would tumble them. It's really neat seeing the transformation as the grit & sand wears away the rough edges. It does take a while - the whole process - but we love it! My son would use these nicely polished rocks & make them into presents for people. Lots of fun & a great way to learn about different rocks & such.

A rock tumbler is a little electric machine with a barrel. You gather up little stones & rocks & put them inside the barrel with a bit of water & sand or grit. The machine will turn the barrel over & over & the sand and rocks tumble around inside, polishing the rocks. You need to change the grit to a finer grit as you go along until the rocks are polished nice & smooth - like you would find in a store.

[Socharis]

Cool i want one :D

[Faery-Wings]

We have some rocks in there already I'll let you know how this batch comes out :)

Wildchild, any hints when finding your own stones? Is there a better shape or size or type to look for that tumbles better?

Thanks!

Chris

[Lavender]

Well, the woman at the rock & gem place said that you should tumble stones that are similar in hardness. Some are considered soft stones & should not be tumbled with hard stones. We couldn't figure it out. Have to learn more about that.

The stones with deep grooves are harder & takes longer to tumble. But then, we like them...they look like they have character. :D

[Myst]

I remember desperately wanting one of those as a child too :)

[Socharis]

So are they expensive? how do they work?

[Faery-Wings]

We got our's at AC Moore, a craft store for $25, i think. I know Michaels's and Rag Shop carries it too for $30 but usually you can find a 40% off coupon at those stores. My hubby didn't want to wait for the coupon, stubborn man that he is :)

You put the rocks and water and grit into the barrell, plug it in and let it spin for a few days. After a few days on the coarse grit, you wash it out and put in med. grit and let it spin for 12-14 days. After that, you go to polishing grit. I don't know how long that takes- we are no where near that point:p

They include some jewelry fixings for earrings or a keychain. And you can order all different kinds of stuff. Search on Amazon.com, I am sure they will have it there.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000ISUU/qid%3D995025194/103-0409430-6455806

Here ya go!

Chris

[Socharis]

cheers, does it move itself? what does it do to the rocks?

[Faery-Wings]

Yeah, it spins by itself. And you have to put it somewhere that you won't have to listen to it. Ours is in the basement and we can hear it upstairs. White noise but it would be annoying iif it were up here with me all day and night :)

It will smooth and polish the stones. We just put ours in the second cycle, and the rocks were rounded and smoothing out. Hopefully by the end, they will be nice and smooth and shiny. :D

Take care!

Chris

[Socharis]

Originally posted by chryssi1
Yeah, it spins by itself. And you have to put it somewhere that you won't have to listen to it. Ours is in the basement and we can hear it upstairs. White noise but it would be annoying iif it were up here with me all day and night :)

It will smooth and polish the stones. We just put ours in the second cycle, and the rocks were rounded and smoothing out. Hopefully by the end, they will be nice and smooth and shiny. :D

Take care!

Chris

Thank you :D

[EasternPriest]

Originally posted by Wildchild
Well, the woman at the rock & gem place said that you should tumble stones that are similar in hardness. Some are considered soft stones & should not be tumbled with hard stones. We couldn't figure it out. Have to learn more about that.



The harder stones will grind down the softer stones in the tumbler. All stones are rated 1-10 on the Moh's scale of harness.
Sandstone is a 1, diamond is a 10.

Any higher number stone can scratch or damage a lower number stone.

[Lavender]

That makes sense. How can you tell what hardness your stones are?

[Faery-Wings]

Originally posted by Wildchild
That makes sense. How can you tell what hardness your stones are?

Good question!

My kids keep finding stones at the beach or in our yard they want to tumble, but I have no clue as to what kind they are or there hardness.

Chris

[Socharis]

their is probbably a scale on the internet somewhere.

[Faery-Wings]

Originally posted by Socharis
their is probbably a scale on the internet somewhere.

Thanks, I'll have to search for one.
:D

(ick, I hate searching....)


Chris

[Socharis]

Originally posted by chryssi1


Thanks, I'll have to search for one.
:D

(ick, I hate searching....)


Chris

LOL :D

[bloodstone20]

rubbing them together. They ones that get scrached are lower.

[Lavender]

Oohh! Good point! Thanks!

[Socharis]

i was going to say that :D lol