Rock Tumbling Champion Shares His Secrets
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ธ.ค. 2024
- Sam Cook won the Worldwide Rock Tumbling Contest and tells us exactly how he did it. If you want to be a champion rock tumbler, you should watch this!
Learn more about the contest here: www.featherriv...
For more rock tumbling tips, check out this playlist: • Rock Tumbling Tips
Thanks to Christina Jelinek for editing the closed captions for this video.
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Highland Park makes some high quality tools at reasonable prices. I have two of their tumblers. They're the most rugged tumblers I have seen. They also make a wide range of other lapidary tools, including saws, sphere machines, cabbers, etc. They also have the best price on grit that I have found.
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Cool Beans Sam, Great job, procrastination is the takeaway tip from this video, I am always learning new things from Rob's videos.
Hey Matt, I noticed that you turned in all light colored rocks. Were you sent mostly light rocks or did you just think those turned out better? How similar was you method? Care to share any of your secrets?
Hey Rob, I do have a couple secrets, secret #1 watch Michigan Rocks TH-cam channel and emulate everything that guy does, he is the foremost authority on rock tumbling. Secret #2 after each stage I run my rocks in an ultrasonic machine for thirty minutes to get any residual grit out of the cracks and crystal pockets.
As to the color of rocks the lighter ones just looked better to me,I will send you a picture of the ones I did not send in.
Matt,
@@Metal-Detecting-Texas That first tip is great! I'll have to look that guy up. He sounds amazing.
I have had people ask me about ultrasonic cleaners, but I have never used one. I have read that they can sometimes break rocks. Has that ever happened to you?
@@MichiganRocks not yet but we have really extra hard rocks down here in Texas.
@@Matt_Johnson I'm guessing that it's not about hardness, but more likely because of cracks that are in the rock before they go in the ultrasonic cleaner.
God bless ppl like this , Willing to Step in , and help the youth in the Area ( Aslong as they have good intentions , and not are Growming them , ,, im not saying This Michigan is ,, but God Bless this Channel !!! )
Congratulations, Sam! Thank you, Rob for being a mentor and inspiration to so many! Really awesome video!
That’s awesome Sam!! Huge congrats!! You must be very proud. And you have the most excellent teacher. Rob sure knows his stuff. Awesome bud, so happy for you!!
Congratulations Sam. You did an awesome job. So glad you won. Well I gusee Rob must be an amazing teacher. I've learned a lot from him as well. You two make a great team.
Congratulations Sam💕.
So nice of u to teach him and letting him use ur machines💕
I have plenty of tumbling capacity, so sharing isn't much of a sacrifice.
@@MichiganRocks but really sweet to do so💕
I saw the announcement and I wondered if that was "our" Sam. Congratulations to both teacher and student. Rob, please forward to Sam for us. He did a great job!
When Sam won he shared the news with me in the most self-effacing way possible, just "Hey" and a picture of the results... He's great: incredibly smart, friendly, and an all around stand up guy.
Of course now that he's a world champion, he requires velvet carpets and servants to open doors, but otherwise he's totally down to Earth!
Yeah, I don’t think he’ll let it go to his head. I sure won’t be opening any more doors than usual for him either!
Congratulations to Sam ! He had a fantastic teacher ! The rocks didn’t look all that promising in the beginning. What’s the best way to ship polished rocks ? To individually wrap them in bubble wrap ?
I wrapped each rock individually in a piece of old T-shirt. Those went into a small flat rate box with bubble wrap. I helped Sam ship his the same way. I don't know if that's the best way, but it has worked twice.
Congratulations to you both for winning the same award at different times.
Congratulations Sam! That's so awesome! And great job teaching, Rob! I had no idea that stage 1 would be that long.
That was just for the slowest rocks to get finished some rocks got done with the first stage much quicker.
@@MichiganRocks Hey Rob! Love your content! I wanted to say that my rocks come out with shine but NO WHERE NEAR what yours end up like. I hear you say that rocks get "finished" but what is finished for you? Like for the typical rock, how long do you leave in each stage? I leave mine in for roughly three or four days in Stage One and then two or three days for Stage Two through to Polish. Am I not leaving them in long enough?
Something else I'll do with a rock is, if I want a rock a certain shape or getting cracks or pits out, I'll use my Rotary Tool to grind the entire surface of the rock and immediately put it in Stage Two. What do you think of that?
Well, thank you again for great info and content on all things rock related!
@@DogofW0r I'm assuming that you're using a rotary tumbler. Did you hear Sam say that some of his rocks were in the first stage for something like four or five months? They weren't all in that long, some got done sooner and some got done later. By "done" I mean that all the holes and cracks were ground out.
If you're using a rotary tumbler for the other stages, you're not leaving them in nearly long enough. In a rotary, I run them for a week in 220 silicon carbide, ten days in 500 aluminum oxide, and two weeks in aluminum oxide polish. My goal is to get the best shine possible, so I might go a little overboard on times, but it's worth it to me. You need to go for at least a week in each of the last three stages though to have a decent shine at all.
The advantage of using a vibratory tumbler for the last three stages is that I let them run for two days, three days, and then two days, for a total of a week. It's quicker and does a better job for me.
As for pre-grinding, that's a great Idea. I still put them back in the first stage after grinding because it mellows out any flat spots or sharp corners I left behind.
Congratulations Sam! To you and your teacher!! Thanks for sharing with us :)
Congratulations Sam that is showing great commitment to your hobby. What a great way to showcase your work to others! Again Congratulations on winning this competition!
So cool you guys are able to share your love for the hobby. Big congrats to the WORLD CHAMPION!
Congrats, and what a nice video. Someday I would like to join that contest. Keep on rockin😎!!!!!
Yay Sam!! 🎆🎉Congratulations!! 🎇🎊🥳 Congratulations to Matt and Zachary also! Those weren't easy rocks to tumble, I saw other videos and the rocks looked really rough. It's so cool that two people who learned to tumble rocks, basically from you Rob, won 1st and 2nd place. That says a lot about your skills also. Thanks for sharing Rob & Sam!✌️🤠
I was pretty excited about two people winning who learned from me too. As a teacher, I love to see my students succeed.
@@MichiganRocks So cool!😎
Crazy how different the rocks are from batch to batch. I didn't have a single rock that was black what so ever. Good job. Have to take notes to get higher on the list next year.
You would think they'd try to get the boxes as similar as possible. I definitely think there's an element of luck in this contest. If you look at the contest page, Matt's second place rocks are mostly light colored. I don't know if he just decided to send in light colored rocks or if that's all he had to choose from. www.featherriverrocks.org/rock-tumbling-contest/
Congrats to both champion rock tumblers in the room....I tried to enter the next year..but found out they were already done taking apps for next season. Congrats Sam...who have a good teacher/ mentor
They sold out really quickly the year after this.
Congratulations guys...
Congratulations Sam!!! Michigan Rocks you are an inspiration to all tumblers!!!! Thank you!!!!
You're welcome, glad to help out!
Congrats Sam, you had the best teacher.
Congratulations Sam! Your knowledge about agates has grown quite a bit in such a short period of time. You are a born picker. Beautiful trophies by the way.
Congratulations Sam! You're a great teacher Rob.
That is a neat event! I have never heard of that event before. Thanks for sharing
You're welcome!
Awesome so cool, we'll done! Great video! Congratulations.
Congratulations, Sam!
So proud of Sam!!! and also Rob you are a great mentor to many of us rockhounds!!
Awesome video! Congratulations! What a great neighbor and Mentor you are! Super encouraging video. Keep up the Great work!
That’s amazing Sam! Congratulations! You had the best teacher!!
Way to go, Sam! Thanks for sharing some of your secrets, so much fun to watch.
Belated congratulations Sam! nice work on those less than ideal rocks. And good job teaching him Rob, well done!
OUTSTANDING!!!! And that trophy is as much yours....what a teacher!
Congratulations!!!
How very exciting.
Congratulations, Sam.
Way to shape a legacy, Rob.
Be blessed. Rock on. 🪨
Whoa! Another World Champ....!!!! Pretty dang amazing Sam!! Trained him well Rob!
Yes, he did didn't he.
Congratulations Sam! I really enjoyed the video. The finished rocks are beautiful!
Well done Sam! You're an inspiration Sir... I'm tumbling my very first batch of river rocks from the Mason county Washington state area. YOU and your Mentor, Keep up the good work! M.
Congrats Sam. Be proud. That trophy is well earned.
You would know, Chuck.
Excellent job Sam!!! I bet you were screaming for joy!! So proud of ya kiddo!! You got the best teacher!! He sure has helped me through my frustrating failures!!! 🙏🧎🏼♀️🥰
Congratulations Sam - Well Done. And Rob it looks like you can Take the teacher out of teaching but you can take the teaching out of the teacher. Thanks Rob for all that you share every week on this channel. I hope you never retire from this vocation. Think of all the rocks you haven’t collected or tumbled yet.😃
Oh come on, I deserve to retire someday, don't I? For right now I'm having a lot of fun doing this and plan to continue. I'm glad you're still enjoying it.
Congratulations to Sam! Good job and congratulations to Matt also.
Congratulations Sam! That is so awesome - World Champion. Just WOW!
Congrats to you Sam,good job! Thank you Rob, I now have some nice fossils and cool rocks from Alpena since I saw some of your work. I am 7 hours away, but worth the drive! Peace and Love to you and yours!
Ouch, that's a long drive. I'm glad you found something cool after making that trip.
@@MichiganRocks Ya, it is a long way.... So much cool stuff though! Been up 2x this year. I would go more, but work is a bit constraining. Thank you again Rob!
I had no idea there was a tumbling competition! Congratulations on your success.
Yep, this is the only one that I know of.
Too funny give that lad some of that Michigan Rocks whoop butt! 😝😊 You both did a fine job!
Congratulations Sam, well done.
Congratulations young man! Super cool!!!
Congrats Sam! They turned out awesome! It's nice to learn from the best! Thanks for sharing!
Congratulations! 😊
Congratulations
Fantastic! Love the T-shirt with fly patterns too!
very cool! sam congrats! rob you’re a good mentor. i had no idea there were so many factors to consider when making polished rocks.
I don't think it's difficult to polish rocks, but there are a few variables. The biggest thing is patience.
@@MichiganRocks yes! when i heard stones are in the tumbler for months, i was shocked!
Congratulations Sam! Rob you taught that young man very good! Keep up the great videos and God bless you and your family.
Thanks, Robert!
Way to go Sam! Just a great job - congratulations. That was a lot of fun to watch. I'll be sending you guys a couple of Ohio State Buckeye caps you can wear on your next project 🙂
That Rob - he's a darn good teacher.
I'd say something about those caps, but this is a family channel.
Congratulations, Sam!!✨
Keep up the great work!!🌟
Always enjoy the hunt and the tumble!!💫
Congrats Sam!!
Wicked video man. Congratulations to the both of you. First time viewer and new subscriber. Super interesting and cool
Thanks, Sebastian!
i enjoy your video's and the knowledge you share, i got my son into your video's also and he has been tumbling for almost 2 months now and is enjoying it very much. so i thank you sir for great videos 👍
That's great. How old is your son? Is he a kid or adult?
@@MichiganRocks he is 17 going on 18 next month, just graduated, im hoping he goes into geology or similar to help me find me more gold and him more rocks 😁
@@GoldenSkullProspecting My son I law is a geologist. I kind of won the jackpot there!
@@MichiganRocks indeed, that is awesome, hoping i have some of that luck with my son lol
congrats to the winners! and on first place!
Congrats to Sam... and his mentor. Awesome video!
Congrats Sam!
Congrats, I learned some good stuff from the video and my daughter and I are looking forward to applying it, thanks.
I hope you two turn out some super shiny rocks!
Whoop! Whoop! So genuinely excited for you Sam. Asked Santa for a vibratory tumbler this year! I guess that means I gotta be good. Hopefully I can get the candy shine some day like you guys.🥰
Remember, Santa Claus is watching you!
I saw his name on their web site. I figured it had to be him. You must be proud of him. Congrats Sam.
I'm very proud of him!
Baddass! Congrats man!!!! Great mentor!!
Very cool, congrats! Im fallin love with tumbling and polishing rocks. I cant wait to get a saw setup and a cab machine someday. Already have a plethora of angle grinders, but a variable speed sander or a wet polisher would be cool too.
For me, I acquired equipment slowly. I bought mostly used machines at first and it takes awhile to find them.
@@MichiganRocks Your content is fun and wholesome, 10/10. Keep it up! I just cracked my 4 barrels and am burnishing them now. How does one find these Lapidary contests? Im utterly fascinated, I wish I would have continued this hobby from my childhood onwards. Im about 6 months into this fun
@@jaredt5127 I put a link to this contest in the description of the video. It's the only one that I know of. I'm on the Rock Tumbling Hobby forums and they have had some contests in the past, but it's not a regular thing there.
Way to go Sam ! You as well Coach !
Congratulations Sam, great show!
Congrats to all on the wins. It's awesome to see the younger generation interested in the rock tumbler and such.
Great episode.
I think rocks are one of God's puzzles he made for us.
🙃☕❤️ From Texas
I think that about God quite a bit. The more you learn about anything in nature, the more you realize just how complex it is. I think God made things complicated to keep us amazed at his creations.
Well done Sam! It is really nice when or if we get cool neighbors. Fantastic job Rob, with your help in showing him the skills to achieve such a high award.
Thanks Elaine!
Nice, those rocks looked very appealing to the eye. Worldwide 🏆 that's awesome
I think it's mostly people in the U.S. since the rock club that puts it on is in California, but the year I won, the second place winner was from New Zealand.
Good work guys and good luck for the next one!
He already has sent them in. Results should be in in about a month.
As a beginning tumbler I appreciate your informative videos. I have been collecting rocks for years in the hopes of one day being able to tumble them when life slowed down. Well that time has come due to some medical issues. Thankfully I have a nice little shop space to set up. My first attempt at some Michigan glow stones are in the final tumble 🤞 I may decide to polish a little longer. Thanks again, I really enjoy your videos, I can now at least name some of the stones I am finding in Wisconsin.
I'm glad to hear you've finally gotten into tumbling after thinking about it for so long. On the other hand, I'm sad to hear that it's because you're not feeling well. Good luck on that first batch. I'm planning to do more tumbling videos this winter.
Tumbling rock in course grit for months , , I have to ask how often did you change out an refresh the grit ?
Once a week. I've been cleaning out barrels once a week for over ten years now. Sam has only been at it for a few years though.
@@MichiganRocks ok thx .. Great job an Congrats
@@MichiganRocks is tumbling past 7 days in the same coarse grit a waste of time?
@@okthen4820 I'm sure some grinding takes place, but it's going to be slower. So it depends on your definition of a waste of time. Personally, I'd like the grinding to go a little faster so I change the grit. Some people will keep the old slurry and just add more grit. That way the old slurry might still do a little but the new grit will do more. There's also a belief that having a thicker slurry speeds things up. This is kind of a lot of reading, but you might enjoy reading about an experiment that was done on this topic: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/68043/cleanout-recharge-experiment-final-results
Thank You, I Enjoyed watching the process of the tumbling and Congratulations 🎉 🏆 it’s a good video. And Here comes the Pun. You Both Rock!
You could say we're rock stars, huh?
@@MichiganRocks indeed Rock Stars 🌟😃
CONGRATS!
How awesome, congratulations Sam! Pretty great that you've got yourself an apprentice.
Congratulations Sam, on your great accomplishment, and special thanks to Rob for outstanding mentorship. Sam, we are so proud of who you are and all you are becoming.
❤️ Aunt Sharlene
He's a good one. I see why you're proud of him.
Congratulations Sam, that's so amazing.
You have the best teacher.
I also learnt to tumble by watching Robs videos.
I dont have a vibe tumbler yet.
I really enjoy watching your videos you do together.
Wahooooo so cool that you won. 🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊💖💖
We were both really excited with his win. Not bad for his first entry!
@@MichiganRocks he had a great teacher. 😊😊
Really enjoyed the video.
Congrats to all!
Congratulations Sam! 🥰Well done. 👏🏻🥰
Congratulations Sam and the other winners. Way to go. Good video - enjoyed the process. I forget things a lot - perhaps I should enter this contest. 😂
Sounds like you're well suited for it!
Great video Rob. So glad Sam won !!!
Great color in all of them !!!!
Congrats Sam and belated Congrats to Rob!
Congratulations Sam!!!
Congratulations!!
🎉congratulations SAM!
Congratulations Sam!
I guess patience and the desire for perfection really helped.
I am sure that will also apply to your successes in the future!
Cheers,
Rik Spector
Just started tumbling and would love to try and win one these trophies! They're so cool looking
If you look at the comments, you'll see that the winners were all new to tumbling.
For more rock tumbling tips, check out this playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLqNINgwEkm-Lyn24HlhulSV4Unc00-Cuc.html
CONGRATULATIONS SAM!!!!! That is so cool!
I didnt know Feather River even had a mineral society. Ive been up there a few times hunting for nephrite around Oroville and Paradise. Congrats on your win kid.
And I have no idea where Feather River is, other than in California.
@@MichiganRocks north end of the Sierra on the east foothills and Sacramento Valley.
@@johnnynephrite6147 Thanks!
Congrats, Sam!😊
Way to go man! I ❤️ that you did this with him! ⚡️
You guys are excellent rock tumblers, great job guy’s!
Congratulations Sam you are on your way to a great Rock Tumbler! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Congratulations Sam. Very impressive, Lake Lahontan is on the way to my best Rock Spots and I've collected quite a bit of it. From a mile square area I get a really large mixture of different looking , texture and hardness rock that we call Lahontan Agate ... and it's all super difficult tumbling material to work and get a superior polish !
Your results certainly showcase your hard work and skills.
Hey Michael, would you consider this a true agate? It didn't seem at all agate like to Sam and me.
Well Done, Sam!
Great job, Sam.
Congrats to Neighbor Sam! Happy you were there to help and teach him a few things.
Sam is a good student. He was a good student in my algebra class and he's a good student of rock hunting and tumbling. He quickly surpassed me in finding agates, in fact.
@@MichiganRocks Young eyes!