Rock tumbling and jewelry making (Not RC related)

[Velodromed]

Petrified Wood Mini Slabs updat #1
I’m extremely happy! After eight days in the coarse grit, it looks like all the saw lines are ground off and they are ready to go straight to polishing. Looks like only one broke during tumbling. These are gonna look so nice once they’re polished up. Then I have to figure out exactly what I’m going to do with them.
But for now, I’m going to use my brand new vibratory Tumblr to polish them…

 

[Doom!]

They already look pretty good!

 

[Velodromed]

They already look pretty good!

Thanks!! Much better than I thought they would after only eight days. But I was really careful when I cut them, made sure to clean up the surface with the sawblade if there were any issues. So they came out extremely clean with no marks. What I’m trying to do is shine the face and the back yet leave the ‘rind’, the part that looks kinda like bark. I don’t want to run them in the main tumbler for too long because I don’t want them all smooth and perfect. All the ones I see made into jewelry are sanded so perfectly they look like epoxy or glass or something. I want them to look more…real, like the rocks they were made from.

I keep watching them in the vibratory Tumblr and it’s almost mesmerizing. When it’s working properly, everything moves in a slow circle. I’ve got it set up underneath my workbench and the noise is a little bit controlled but honestly, it’s like a fiddlesticking dump truck that never stops driving around your house. Thank God they only need to be run in hour increments as opposed to days. Those little slabs should be nearly done by tomorrow morning? Maybe?
fortunately we can’t hear the thing inside. I won’t be running it 24/7 either. Only for pre-polishing and final stage polishing and take just a few days or so. It’s a Raytech vibratory tumbler and holds about 4lbs. The little white bits are ceramic media, which is necessary for this kind of tumbling. I need more. I put the order in, but I should’ve thought about that sooner

 

[Velodromed]

Jasper update # (who gives a poop)
Sometimes being patient has its limitation’s. Having ADHD much of my life I was very impatient. Many extremely hard knocks to the skull have helped solve that problem but still…sometimes UGH! I have tumbled this batch of rocks enough. They look good enough after stage 2. We’re on to the pre-polish stage and then to the vibratory tumbler for the 2-3 days of final polishing.

I don’t like doing steady batches of one kind of rock. I like to mix things up, pull some out put in new ones, all that scatterbrain stuff. Anyway, about 10 days left. Dang they look good! Can’t wait to do a side-by-side.

 

[Smilinbri]

Jasper update # (who gives a poop)
Sometimes being patient has its limitation’s. Having ADHD much of my life I was very impatient. Many extremely hard knocks to the skull have helped solve that problem but still…sometimes UGH! I have tumbled this batch of rocks enough. They look good enough after stage 2. We’re on to the pre-polish stage and then to the vibratory tumbler for the 2-3 days of final polishing.

I don’t like doing steady batches of one kind of rock. I like to mix things up, pull some out put in new ones, all that scatterbrain stuff.
Anyway, about 10 days left. Dang they look good! Can’t wait to do a side-by-side.

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Nice!

 

[Velodromed]

Nice!

The goal is to get them to look like that when they’re dry. Yup.

 

[N.Mango]

Jasper update # (who gives a poop)
Sometimes being patient has its limitation’s. Having ADHD much of my life I was very impatient. Many extremely hard knocks to the skull have helped solve that problem but still…sometimes UGH! I have tumbled this batch of rocks enough. They look good enough after stage 2. We’re on to the pre-polish stage and then to the vibratory tumbler for the 2-3 days of final polishing.

I don’t like doing steady batches of one kind of rock. I like to mix things up, pull some out put in new ones, all that scatterbrain stuff. Anyway, about 10 days left. Dang they look good! Can’t wait to do a side-by-side.

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Unreal!

 

[Doom!]

They are lookin' good! Dangit, I don't need another hobby!

 

[RadioHacktive]

Shiny rocks are one thing, but shiny AND smooth rocks are another. All of the color striations are gorgeous.

 

[Velodromed]

Shiny rocks are one thing, but shiny AND smooth rocks are another. All of the color striations are gorgeous.

Yes, I love looking into the translucent agate mix ones, the banded ones are so cool and my fav petrified wood is amazing. I’m running them through a 2 day polish again. They are incredibly smooth but still more of a satiny finish. I should have run them through a pre-polish stage first. May still have to have to, I’ll know in a couple of days. Same with the Jasper. It’s just days away from being done.I’m going to break out the saw this weekend again also.

 

[Velodromed]

Mini slab update #2
I’m having a little bit of trouble learning how to use the vibratory tumbler correct. There is a fine between the polish and water amounts to get it to properly work. Ended up putting some marks and scratches on some of these little slabs and I’m going to have to redo a good bit of them. But screwing up is part of learning.

I’ll tell you one thing though, the shine that the vibratory tumbler puts on these things is amazing. Some of them tumble, high gloss, and some in a satin sheen, depending upon the type of rock. The few pieces that didn’t get scratched and marked up are beautiful. I have all of the Jasper rocks in it now, trying to get the hang of it.

I have another batch of the mini slabs in a rotary tumbler on course stage that should be done soon. This time, instead of putting them straight into the vibratory tumbler polish stage, I’m going run them through medium and pre-polish stages (I’ll throw the other damaged slabs in at this point also). Then I will try again to polish them in the vibratory tumbler.

 

[Smilinbri]

Mini slab update #2
I’m having a little bit of trouble learning how to use the vibratory tumbler correct. There is a fine between the polish and water amounts to get it to properly work. Ended up putting some marks and scratches on some of these little slabs and I’m going to have to redo a good bit of them. But screwing up is part of learning.

I’ll tell you one thing though, the shine that the vibratory tumbler puts on these things is amazing. Some of them tumble, high gloss, and some in a satin sheen, depending upon the type of rock. The few pieces that didn’t get scratched and marked up are beautiful. I have all of the Jasper rocks in it now, trying to get the hang of it.

I have another batch of the mini slabs in a rotary tumbler on course stage that should be done soon. This time, instead of putting them straight into the vibratory tumbler polish stage, I’m going run them through medium and pre-polish stages (I’ll throw the other damaged slabs in at this point also). Then I will try again to polish them in the vibratory tumbler.

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They look awesome bud!!!

 

[Doom!]

@Velodromed Dang you! I caught myself browsing rock tumblers on Amazon last night, I didn't mean to, it just happened. I made myself stop.

 

[Velodromed]

@Velodromed Dang you! I caught myself browsing rock tumblers on Amazon last night, I didn't mean to, it just happened. I made myself stop.

Here I’ll help…this beauty is what I wished I’d gotten right off the bat. It’s the ‘Arrma’ of rock tumblers lol. They last forever and are very well built.
Tru-square Metal Products Model A-R2 Kit Rock Tumbler https://a.co/d/4qniD51

 

[Doom!]

Now wait a minute! You stop that. of course I'm going to check it out.

 

[Velodromed]

Now wait a minute! You stop that. of course I'm going to check it out.

My DREAM tumbler! Has a 17 freaking pound barrel! Sealed bearings, powerful as hell motor…
GenericNMSLB Rebel 17 Rock Tumbler (R17LS) https://a.co/d/hNbdIHx

 

[Doom!]

I saw this one when I was browsing the other night.

My DREAM tumbler! Has a 17 freaking pound barrel! Sealed bearings, powerful as hell motor…
GenericNMSLB Rebel 17 Rock Tumbler (R17LS) https://a.co/d/hNbdIHx

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[Smilinbri]

I saw this one when I was browsing the other night.

And you ordered it for Velo's bday, huh?

 

[Doom!]

So far I have resisted temptation!

And you ordered it for Velo's bday, huh?

 

[Velodromed]

And you ordered it for Velo's bday, huh?

Well it is coming up. On Earth day to be precise