Does Sand Make Good Rock Tumbling Grit?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 มี.ค. 2022
- Let's' try it and find out! I was really surprised by the results of my experiment.
Thanks to Christina Jelinek for editing the closed captions for this video.
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I also tried black blasting sand, but it broke down almost as quick as Masonary sand
That's good to know. Thanks!
@The Guns N' Glory Show No, I haven't. Do you know what it's made of? Could be aluminum oxide, which is also white. If it is aluminum oxide, I use it all the time.
@@MichiganRocks It's White Silica. I dont know about hardness but it's really sharp.
@@SuicydeByCitizen That sounds like it's basically sand. Sharpness doesn't matter much if it's soft because it will break down very quickly. I'm not sure that's not better than sand, but that would be my guess.
try graded, crushed silica sand from a masonry supplier, it comes in grades 1/8 diam to flower
Surprisingly I think I'd like a lot of rocks just tumbled a while with water only, they look rough and natural but shiny and I like them more than I expected.
I prefer my rocks to be really nicely rounded, but if I liked them more natural, I'd consider tumbling a batch in just water. Those got surprisingly shiny.
I found the natural shapes with various imperfections and a nice overall shine very appealing.
Idk how good they look wet isnt how they look Dry. U def. Want fo burnish
@@mariopuzo4509 have you tried English?
Q😊
As a novice at this, your videos are incredibly informative. Thank you.
You're welcome!
I’m glad you included the just water barrel for a control. I always do a burnishing stage between different stages mostly to make sure the rocks are clean. I usually only do it for a few hours to a day though. I did notice that after doing it for a day after the 500 stage the rocks were pretty shiny. Great video as always!
I burnish between stages too, but like you, I do it to give the rocks a good scrubbing to get any remaining grit out. These rocks took two weeks to really get shiny from burnishing. A week didn't have a huge effect.
I’m surprised at the just water results. The sheen is very attractive with the less rounded rock. Super interesting video!
I was just as surprised as you!
I was pleasantly surprised at the rocks that were just in water. I like it getting shiny without drastically changing the overall look of the rocks themselves.
Thanks for showing the comparisons, Rob!
Make sure you watch next week's video comparing rotary and vibratory tumblers. You'd like how rocks look from just being tumbled in a vibratory tumbler. My rocks are usually drastically reshaped in a rotary tumbler before moving them to a vibratory tumbler.
@@MichiganRocks ..Oooo! I will, thanks!
Wow, amazing what just water does. They came out really shiny. Was way cheaper than the sand even. Sounds like its just better to spend the money. SOme really nice rocks too. Was fun to watch. Great video
The water didn't actually do the polishing, it was the rocks rubbing against each other, but that shocked me.
@@MichiganRocks Hi if you want see my video I have nice rock Black White
I really enjoy your approach to these different tumbling experiments. Keep it up.😎
I'm doing these for other people to learn, but I keep learning things myself too. It's been really fun.
I admire your williness and ability to answer every single comment or like at least. How do you manage this? Your viewers ask good questions as well.
I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep it up. It takes at least an hour most days.
I discovered by accident the power of burnishing. I had run two loads of rocks and in prepping for the final polish, I discovered that the polish was almost empty and I only had enough for one canister (poor planning, but…) so I decided to do a simple clean on the unpolished rocks. I put ivory flakes and ceramic pellets in and ran it overnight. I was very shocked to discover that they were very polished the next day. It didn’t have quite the same “depth” as a real polish cycle would give, but still quite shiny enough for freeform pendants.
I hope I didn't come across as bragging when I said my rocks were too shiny to burnish, but I think that's why I've never seen it work before. I have had an experience similar to yours before though. I have occasionally forgotten to add grit to a batch of rocks in the coarse stage, so they ran a week with no grit except whatever might have been left over after rinsing them. The thing is, after a week of tumbling like that, they have come out with a very slight shine. I always chalked it up to that little bit of worn out grit left in the barrel. I figured it might have been broken down enough to do a little polishing. Now I'm rethinking my theory.
@@MichiganRocks Indeed, this burnishing polish is not from (added or natural) grit but from rubbing two surfaces against each other without grit. Just imagine it---when two surfaces grind with particles in between, those particles want to cut grooves into the surfaces. If there are no particles, then high spots on one surface will match up with indents on the other and be sheared off.
@@HenryLoenwind Thanks for that explanation, Henry.
That is a great lesson Rob , I like how you brought out the Mohs scale to show the differences between all the stones , and the effects it has overall. thanks Rob , see you soon. Cheers
I'm glad it was helpful, Steve.
Man! This was really cool. I’m amazed at the shine on the water ones. It’s a nice way to show off the prettiness of rough pieces without fully going through the whole tumbling process. Super interesting man!
I'm not sure that will work with all rocks, but it sure put a polish on these. I had no idea that would happen.
Love your experiments so informative, I do burnishing between grits , thank you for sharing interesting results 😊💙
I'd be interested to see a comparison of final polishing between plain water and water plus polishing compound (i.e. start with two batches of rocks that are tumbled and ready for final polish - but just use water in one set)
I understand what you're saying, but I'm not sure what the point of that would be, at least for me. I almost always use a vibratory tumbler to finish my rocks. The final polish only takes two days and uses 1/2 teaspoon of aluminum oxide polish.
If you were just doing the experiment out of curiosity, I could see it, but to save on grit it doesn't make much sense. If you were doing the experiment in a rotary tumbler, you could save two or three tablespoons of polish, so it would make a little more sense to try this. I suspect it would have more effect on harder rocks, but that's just a guess.
@@MichiganRocks yeah, just curiosity really. Sort of a measure of how effective the polishing compound is, in terms of time and quality
Oh hey, never thought I'd see one of my favorite creators over here! 😀 you have such a wide range of passions though, it makes sense. Do you think you'll ever get into rock tumbling on your channel?
@@that.neurodivergent I'd love to actually - the UK (or at least the bit where I live) isn't great for source materials - it's mostly boring flint here, so I might need to buy in some rocks, or travel to get them...
@@AtomicShrimp fair enough! I know I'd be MORE than stoked to see a traveling rock-finding series on your channel but of course travel can be expensive and still possibly risky at the moment. But it is a very fun idea!! Here's wishing the best for your endeavors!
Hey Rob, this was a great comparison between different types of grit. We have used sand in the past and it does take a lot longer to polish. Thanks again for your help on getting our rocks to shine. Its all about the first stage and cleaning in between stages. The borax trick worked very well. Oh, congrats on the Michigan win just a few seconds ago. Sweet sixteen!
I'm glad you're getting some shiny rocks out of your tumbler!
I know I wear Michigan shirts all the time, but that's because I graduated from Michigan. I'm not a sportball fan though. Nancy was watching the game and I was downstairs working on a rock project.
Great video, looks like I need to do more tests with burnishing in my rotary tumblers. It also makes me wonder if sand could be a good abrasive for rocks less than 7 Mohs. Thanks for running this cool experiment!
I'm probably going to try sand on Petoskey Stones to answer your question about softer rocks. Several people have asked about soft rocks.
You answer the questions we're too scared to ask but are thinking. Thinking like a true Teacher. I can tell you were a great teacher. I bet Nancy was too.
This question gets asked quite a bit if you're looking at the right forums.
very informative. I'm especially interested in that tumbling closet you made, looks great and very functional!
Here are a couple videos showing that tumbler closer. A friend of mine designed it and I built it.
Homemade Tumbler: th-cam.com/video/6qIcK2ZohGM/w-d-xo.html
Tumbler Update: th-cam.com/video/PAMOCc2BNJM/w-d-xo.html
Always trying new things, I think it is awesome Rob. Learn something new each video.
I'm attempting to answer a lot of questions that beginning rock tumblers have.
Very interesting. I think the biggest take away is the water only batch. Thank you for explaining burnishing. I’ve been puzzling over it this last week, so your timing was perfect!
That was the biggest thing I got from this video too. I had no idea.
I agree with the burnishing, I was tumbling rocks with soap, was only supposed to do it for 1 day just to clean it for next steps, but forgot about for 5days. Next step was to go to stage 2. Rocks now looks like I just got out of pre polish
I was really surprised by that and now have more respect for burnishing. I still don't think it's going to do much if your rocks are already really shiny, but for less shiny rocks, I'm sure it can have an effect. The question is, does it do much good if you only run the rocks for a day or two or do you have to go for a couple weeks?
@@MichiganRocks that's is a good question, I'm wondering how shiny it can get by just doing that.
Cool video...thnx so much for all of your hard work..you are always so thorough...much appreciated. Also I really like the natural state of most of my rocks, so it's super to know about the shine from just tumbling with water. Keep rockin
I have no idea what sorts of rocks that will work with, but it might be fun trying it on a few.
Outstanding instruction. Thank you for talking. Explained very well. Brilliant.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video. I've always been curious about if regular sand would work as well as grit. Now I know. Thanks!
I have seen this question come up on forums quite a bit. I trusted the people who told me it wouldn't work, so I wasn't surprised that it didn't. I sure was surprised about how tumbling rocks in just water shined them up though.
I wondered that, myself, but suspected it had to do with the quartz sand wearing away faster, and it seems I was right about something for once! 😊 Thanks for doing this one. 🙂👍🏼
Good prediction, Mary.
That was a really interesting and well thought out experiment. I would have never dreamed that the batch tumbled in water would have lost more material than the batch tumbled in sand, and then come out shiny to boot. I’m guessing once the sand lost it’s sharpness it acted more like a lubricant or a buffering agent. I tumble in a rotary tumbler and burnish between the prepolish and the polishing stage. If I let it burnish for 24 hours the rocks often come out with a pretty decent shine. Not as good as polishing of course. Thanks for trying this !
A couple other people suggested the same thing about the sand acting as a lubricant. I think that's a good theory. I burnish between pre-polish and polish too, but in a vibratory tumbler and only for about an hour. They come out of 500 really shiny in my Lot-O and I only wash them for a short time, so I've never noticed an increase in shine after burnishing.
Thank you Rob! This is the answer to my question I've been asking for the last 3 years
I'm glad you'll finally be able to sleep tonight!
You discovered free polish!
I enjoy these tests. I had been thinking of using sand as a filler/cushion in my granite tumbling experiments, but now I may add a long water only final tumble to see if that helps even out the texture. Waiting for the ground to dry around here so I can restock my rock supply.
I don't think that you could even out undercutting with just water. The water didn't remove much material at all and that's what you'd have to do to fix the undercutting that happens with granite. Of course, I haven't really tried this, so it's worth a shot, but that's just my guess.
Thank you. As always, you are very informative. I learn so much from you, you know the questions that we're wondering.
I spent a long time at the Rock Tumbling Hobby forums where I saw these kinds of questions coming in all the time. I'm working on answering them.
Thanks for all you detailed information!!! After a year or so of hands on Im getting some nice outcomes!!
You've got to just try some of this stuff out for yourself to get the feel for it.
This was very informative, thanks. 👍 I love your tumbler setup. It's very nice the way you have it enclosed in a cabinet with the sound proofing material. I was gifted a small tumbler kit with rocks and tumbling medium but have never used it for rocks because the tumbling medium can get expensive but I do use it to tumble silver and copper jewelry with steel shot. I may have to experiment with my rocks in plain water to see if I can get a good shine on them. I suppose if nothing else, they'll be cleaned when finished tumbling. LOL! Thanks for sharing this demonstration! 🙂
If you buy your grit in larger quantities, it's not that expensive. I buy my rough grit in 45 lb. boxes from Kingsley North and it's just over $100. That will last for a long time.
The results from plain water were really interesting! I have some pieces I've been trying to figure out if I want to polish or not because they look so interesting rough, that a water only tumble may be the right answer for a more natural finish!
Give it a try!
Thorough experiment and explanation. I’m not surprised, because your teacher experience often shows through in your videos. That was interesting.
Thanks, Rosalind!
Fantastic video. Very informative. Fixing to buy a tumbler. Going to go for a double thanks to your recommendation on an earlier video. Look forward to your other ones. Thanks for the help.
Have fun with that new tumbler!
Thank you for experimenting and sharing! I have a similar mindset and this saves me a lot of the work.
I have a couple more experiments planned.
Very interesting results. I was quite surprised to see how well just the water batch did. I guess that's good to do if you don't want your rocks to get to rounded. Thanks for taking the time to demonstrate.
I was as surprised as anyone. Normally, I recommend a vibratory tumbler for someone who wants shiny rocks that are a more natural shape.
Very informative, thanks for sharing ! I didn't think the ones with just water would get so shiny! 😍🥰😇👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I didn't either!
Learning so much from these videos…my son is very interested in rock collecting, and I am considering purchasing a tumbler. Thanks so much. I hate going into anything blind…so your videos are so useful ☺️
Lortone tumblers are my favorite rotary tumblers. They've been in short supply for the last couple years, and Christmas probably won't help. Check the two stores I have listed in the descriptions of my videos. They usually have some of the best prices.
Thanks for the comparison, very informative as always and appreciated.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Very educational! I think we have all asked ourselves why we need special sand. Thanks for sharing ❤
You're welcome!
Coincidentally, I was just asking myself this question a couple hours ago. I just purchased a Thumler's A-R2 this evening from a place that still has one in stock. I have never tumbled before, but I have watched plenty of your videos, and I'm excited to get started. While wondering about whether or not beach sand would work as a grit, I hypothesized that this would result in rocks that would have a roundness and sheen that you would already find on a beach with the same type of sand. Like many others, I'm surprised at the result you got with just water!
Get a Lortone tumbler. Much better than the Thumblers.
Hey, welcome to the world of tumbling! I sort of agree with Andy about that tumbler. I have one. It will tumble rocks with no problem. The motors seem to have better reviews than Lortone motors do. The problem with the small Thumler's tumblers is the lid. They wear out quickly and leak both when they wear out and also some other times. I'd suggest getting an old cookie sheet or something similar to put underneath it for when the barrels leak. It makes clean up a lot easier.
Very methodical!
Also, I'm tumbler curious, but never tried it -- so your explanations were informative and clear. :)
Will look through the list of your videos to see if you have a tour of your gear/set-up/process. I'm always intrigued by how individuals set up their "shop". :)
I have several full tumbling tutorials and an old tour of my shop. Here are some links for you. The first one is the method I almost always use.
Rotary tumbler followed by vibratory tumbler: th-cam.com/video/hz2E0xJYEWY/w-d-xo.html
Rotary tumbler with ceramics: th-cam.com/video/dYGFal0e1WY/w-d-xo.html
Rotary tumbler with plastic pellets: th-cam.com/video/EnNvywwztr8/w-d-xo.html
How to use a Nat Geo Tumbler: th-cam.com/video/CsTc1kXUuPo/w-d-xo.html
Tumbling beach rocks in a Nat Geo tumbler: th-cam.com/video/_Vmm24Fc7j4/w-d-xo.html
Obsidian (Apache Tears): th-cam.com/video/aW5UmiYY89g/w-d-xo.html
Shop tour: th-cam.com/video/_kgta1BLOkY/w-d-xo.html
I've used ivory soap and found that it does work for tumbling , I save the used ivory bars when they get to small to use and break them up and just toss them in my tumbler ! it puts a nice final polish on my rocks
Yep, that's burnishing like I did in the barrel with just water. As I discovered here, it makes more of a difference if your rocks aren't already perfectly polished. It's also just a good idea to do to clean out any slurry that might be stuck in cracks or holes.
Thats a very good experimental comparison, good to know! The difference is incredible. Love your videos. Go Blue!
Lots of new tumblers ask this question. I remember thinking the same thing myself. No one would buy tumbling grit if sand worked well.
Today I'm starting a load of agates in my rotary tumbler using tiny pea gravel. Your sand gave me the idea, so wish me luck. Since I'm out of grit (and I'm cheap) I'll do the other steps using water.
Good luck!
Your videos are always interesting thanks
Great info! Thanks for doing all the leg work again.
No problem!
GREAT video - Thanks for all your work !!
Fantastic experiment and content.
Great video! I hope you recreate this experiment soon with softer rocks like maybe obsidian or labradorite etc... I think it's important to note that (as I'm sure you're familiar) each stone or mineral has what's called cleavage and silicon carbide is also special in that it stays fairly sharp as it always exposes a new edge when it breaks instead of rounding off and becoming smooth. I've seen charts featuring data which state that 60/90 grit will actually outperform a larger/coarser grit over a certain period of time because it maintains it's shape longer but this is all relative to the size and hardness of the materials you start with and the size/speed of your barrel and tumbler!
I haven't tumbled labradorite yet (I actually just three some in the tumbler a few days ago), but since it is a type of feldspar, I suspect that it's cleavage is a big part of what makes it hard to tumble. I do realize that's what makes silicon carbide so good at grinding. You probably saw my year long tumbling video from January. It was really obvious from that experiment that silicon carbide is sharp and cuts for a long time.
I have had several people ask about softer rocks, so I'll probably do this again with Petoskey stone.
@@MichiganRocks I AM familiar with the video in which you tumbled rocks for a year and it was also great! I think that tumbling silicate-dominant rocks such as quartz varieties including jasper, agate and petrified wood is so common that a lot of people simply don't have the experience or knowledge of just how rapidly you can grind softer rocks and minerals into oblivion. Especially since some of these materials can get rather pricey.
Thank you, Rob, for a very interesting video. The water was a huge surprise!🤔
Surprised the heck out of me!
Great experiment! I always wanted to try this out. I had no idea that water alone would make such a difference tho. One more issue with sand is that the grains are rounded so they will not polish as well as the courser grains.
I had no idea that rocks could polish themselves either until I ran this little experiment. It was a fun surprise.
Amazing that the plain water tumbler shined the stones so much! Good experiment!
I know! I was really surprised.
This was very interesting! You broke it down and explained it well! Thanks!
Glad you liked it, Kim!
I’m impressed with your methods and materials, professor
I have another experiment started.
It's interesting that you post this. I just started a batch of milky quartz with Black Diamond abrasive tested against Dan and Darcys rough grit.
I didn't know what Black Diamond was, so I looked it up. It's an abrasive company, but they sell several different abrasives. Which one are you trying? I assume Dan and Darcy is something like 60/90 or 80 grit silicon carbide.
@@MichiganRocks FYI. The black diamond abrasive is a total waste of time. 3 weeks and minimal wear
My quartz went from 4.16 pounds to 4.11 pounds
@@skiphughes7705 Thanks for the follow up comment. We an all check that off our lists!
Very sciency thanks for the testing. And the videos are great too.
"Sciency" is hard to type without autocorrect messing it up.
Excellent experiment. I have medium size white gravel, about the same size as yours, in my backyard. Over a year or two the ones on the top get covered in moss or algae, not sure which. I am using a mini cement mixer to tumble these stones, along with water and a mix of sand and small gravel as a cleaning medium. Results have not been quite as good as I had hoped, and your tests have helped to explain why. Thanks.
I'm glad I could help. I never thought about cleaning driveway gravel though.
Interesting experiment. Thanks.
I love a good experiment. I'm surprised the just water batch took on as much of a shine as they did.
I was surprised too!
Interesting test comparison Rob
Really fun science project! The water one was surprising; turned out really nice!
Yeah, the water barrel was really fun.
Thank you for this.
Using just water really shined them up. But, didn't seem to round the edges much.
I did clean my rocks before the prepolishing.
I wanted to make sure I got all the 220 grit out of my tumbler as well as off the rocks. I am wondering if I over filled my canister with water and that's why it's so quiet. I also put in those plastic beads. Oh well I will know in a few more days 🤗.
Awesome video as usual. You always show such great ideas. The water polishing the rocks does make sense. Lots of rocks from rivers and streams are nice. You just shaved a few thousand years off the process.😂 have a great weekend. 🙃☕❤❤❤
The barrel should be about 3/4 full. The water should be a little below the top of the rocks, down about 1/2 inch to an inch.
For the plastic beads, I'd put in a layer of rocks and then put beads in just enough to fill in the gaps. Then add another layer of rocks, then some more beads.
@@MichiganRocks I felt the bottom of my canister it doesn't seem to be bulging. So I guess I am ok for now. I think I may have too much water but, not too full. I hope I am ok. Thank you.
🙃☕❤❤❤❤
I live near the ocean and have unlimited access to the beach sand. Have wondered how that kind of sand would do. So happy you have basically answered that question.
The availability of sand is what makes people ask this question, I think. That and the cost of actual tumbling grit.
Great video as always my friend!! Thank you for sharing!!
Great video.
Really suprising results with the water. I always burnish my stones in borax or soap powder, it really makes a difference. I only have a rotary tumbler though.
The sand experiment was interesting too.
A friend and I were wondering about that.
I think it's fun when I answer questions before they are asked. I have a new understanding of burnishing after this.
@@MichiganRocks I like burnishing, really cleans the barrels, cleans the concrete too 😊
Wow I think I'll give burnishing a second chance after watching this. Great video Rob!
That's how I feel. It's situations like this that remind me to keep an open mind. There's always opting new to learn.
I was surprised by the water tumbled rocks! Very interesting video 😁
I wasn't expecting that either. I make these videos to teach others, but I almost always end up learning something myself too.
I have used diatomaceous earth as a first step and have been really pleased at how quickly it worked. I checked the stones daily as it was that fast at smoothing the rough edges.
That's really surprising. I just looked up the hardness of diatomaceous earth and it's only 6 on the Mohs scale. Most rocks that I tumble are 6 or harder. What kind of rocks were you tumbling in it? Were they something really soft, like Petoskey Stones?
Not Petoskey but I imagine I could for a bit. I have done some sort of fossils (with little holes or gentle waves). The main purpose is too take sharp edges down from whatever rocks I playing with at the time. I don’t shape the rocks, just take any sharp edges or if smooth, polish them.
I decided giving diatomaceous earth a try due to the tiny sharp minerals.
Really cheap too!
Once I find the “safe place” that I put the nuts from my barrels (🙄) I’ll run some examples. It is not going to get them fabulously smooth, but the time it saves getting the process started is really impressive!
Like I said, I check them daily too every other day because it can be rather aggressive.
I start with 4 tablespoons, then drop to 2
@@heidiwilliams8783 Thanks for the additional info!
@@MichiganRocks I neglected to mention that when I run it, I have tiny pieces of rock with sharp edges, like granite. That probably has a lot to do with my results.
Wow I love,love,you dude you made my day you were very through,and I can't believe how great the water looked,they look better than the ones I've been tumbling for 3wks🤣very helpful and short to the point😔❤️🙏
Glad to help, Vickie.
I imagine, that the rocks, both in the water only and the sand, were a pretty good depiction of what would happen if the stones were left on their own in a natural setting, such as a beach where they are tumbled by the motion of sand and waves....so it isn't too surprising how nice they look. I live in FL and have nothing but sand and rocks in my yard and am hoping that when I am able to get my tumbler (C'mon Santa!) I'll be able to use what is in my yard for the first stage of polishing. Would be so much cheaper!
It's cheaper, but it might take thousands of years like the ones in the lake. I'm pulling for Santa to come through for you this year!
How interesting, I always wondered how rocktumblers worked, didn't know something was put in with the rocks.
Yes, usually silicon carbide or aluminum oxide grit is used in a tumbler, depending on the stage. As you saw here, not much happens without grit in there.
Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.
Good line!
Thank you so much for a detailed video
You’re welcome!
Hey...awesome idea!
This was really interesting!
We use our rock tumbler to clean the coins we find metal detecting. Funny enough I work at a sand processing facility hauling about 600,000lbs of it daily, but we use the natural aquarium gravel from Walmart in our tumbler barrels.
I could see sand working for cleaning coins, but I don't quite understand how aquarium gravel would work. I'm not familiar with what Walmart sells for gravel, but I'm picturing something like 1/2 inch rocks. That seems too big to clean coins. It's interesting how different people use their tumblers.
Very interesting. Love your experiments !
Thanks!
super interesting concept I really like your style
Cool, I've never been accused of being stylish before!
Brilliant video.
Thank you.
Great video. Thanks for all the info
You're welcome!
Thanks for the "research" ;-) I was close to give sand a try, however, you answered the question already.
Amazing You are just answer my questions thanks Chef
Chef? Glad to help!
Subscribed. I will build a thumbler and start experimenting with it. Thank you for being an inspiration
Good luck, Nick!
Great test!!
Gotta love a good experiment.
Yep!
It’s surprising what just water did. I think it looked the best out of all of these tests.
Maybe you could do a test where you start with just water then go to the final grit/polish. Then have another batch where you go through the whole process with all the smaller grits and see if using just water before the final grit is worth it.
I could, but I don't think I will. I have a good method for polishing rocks. I wasn't looking for a better method. I was just trying to show that sand doesn't work well for grit. The rocks getting polished in just water was interesting, but not something I'll be doing on a regular basis.
I did the first stage of polychrome jasper in my HF tumbler. Opened it to cement. No water. I know I did add water or I wouldn’t have gotten cement. I think I had to many rocks. They did lose volume. What a messy cleanup.
That's actually not a horrible thing. It means that your rocks really ground down a lot. It doesn't mean that you had too many rocks in the barrel. Too many rocks usually slows down the grinding action. Your problem seems to be that you didn't have enough water in the barrel. When I tumble Petoskey Stones, which are super soft, I have to put in twice as much water as I normally use to avoid having a barrel full of pudding.
@@MichiganRocks ty!
Thanks for the great video. I was wondering if sand would be a good grit for softer rocks?
I plan to try that, but I haven't yet.
Well done.
Thanks, Greig.
The water tumbled rocks are beautiful. They have more their character and the less brilliant sheen gives a different quality of depth. Thanks for the testing.
I didn't expect to be surprised by the results of this experiment, but the shine I got by just tumbling in water was very surprising.
Great video, I love the in depth detail on how to actually do this. I have two question though: Can you do a video on a suitable vibratory tumbler other than the Lot-O? And 2: where did you buy the serape jasper tumbling rough from. By the way I have a lot more question but I know you are busy. Thank you!
I got the serape jasper at the Rock Shed (link in the description). I'm not sure if they still carry it.
I asked one company to send me their vibratory tumbler to do a review of, but they never answered my email. I called two weeks later and was told that someone would call me back, and they never did. I might try some other companies, but I have a bunch of other video ideas on my list before I do that.
I'd be curious to see that sand used on softer rocks. Using it on jasper, most of which is MOHS7 is sort of a push since sand is basically quartz-also MOHS7. Still a very nice demonstration, as all of your videos always are. Thank you for all you do for the hobby, Rob.
I didn't make a video, but I did try this with Petoskey stones after reading a bunch of comments just like yours. It did grind them down, although a very small amount of silicon carbide grinds them down better. I only use 1/2 tablespoon in a small barrel or one tablespoon in a six pound barrel. I'll continue to use silicon carbide since it works so well and doesn't cost much for such a small amount.
I tumble turquoise (natural and not stabilized) and the host rock will breakdown and start the initial polishing process. A run with pre polish and polish works great. I think the idea of using sand to start the process on softer stones is a great idea.
I have since tried this on Petoskey stones, which are about a 3 on the Mohs scale. It did start to grind those. I can see sand working on turquoise too.
Have you ever tried using the polishing step on the partially glossy rocks tumbled in the water? It seems it might give you a more sharp angled glossy rock, a different look.
I have done a three day tumble on puddingstones that might be what you're picturing. th-cam.com/video/zgGKE8PzAMg/w-d-xo.html
The plain water actually produces a beautiful result. I like it better than a finished rounded polish. It still lights up the surface and it keeps the fracture structure of the rock. Shiny oval pebbles don't have the same personality.
Lots of people say they like more natural looking rocks. I like them really rounded and free of any flaws. What's nice about this hobby is that you can do them however you like. We don't have to all do them the same.
Would like to see similar tests with playground or decorative sand. And do rock tumblers use the same media as sand blasters?
I think the sand I used is the same or very similar to playground sand. I wouldn't expect anything different from it.
I'm not sure what all the different abrasives used in sandblasting are. I do know that one thing used for sandblasting is aluminum oxide and that is also used in tumbling.
thanks~ (you saved me the effort I was going to try this)
You're welcome. Spend your time actually grinding rocks!
Very cool experiment. Only using water could be a way to polish some of the smaller stones that we wouldn't normally try, they won't get completely destroyed in the process and you get a cheap shine. I think I'll do a run of a whole bunch of small stones this way and see.
I'm not sure how well this method will work with rougher rocks. The rocks I did already had very smooth breaks. It's worth playing around with though. You make a good point about using it on very small stones.