All your videos are incredibly helpful. You have been an enormous help to me getting started in the hobby. I see your name come up a lot having helped others in the rock tumbling community. Thank you for taking the time to make your videos.
Thanks, Sam. I enjoy helping people learn. I learned a lot from the Rock Tumbling Hobby forums. Now it's my turn to help other folks who are getting started.
I just ordered a Lot-o-tumbler, ceramic bits, and grits - I'm excited to see how everything turns out! We just go back from a week camping trip up in the Porkies and brought lots of rocks back with us!
I live the shiny puddingstones! Glad you got the burnish technique down...I am redoing a batch that I burnished and let's just say most are toast. Bought some rocks to go with tumblers and am not sure what I even tumbled. Claimed it was aventurine but it will not shine for anything. Smooths up but will not shine. There was a bunch of other stuff in the box too....but on a good note did get a few nice ones. So with those am pleased. Thanks for the inspiration.
Enjoyed this video of the beloved pudding stone. I agree, the long polishing process renders a nicer stone, but the short method also brings a desirable look. Thanks. 👏
I really liked both polishes, I can't really tell what I liked more :)) I found your channel almost by mistake and I'm really glad I did, your videos are awesome
I really love the highly polished pudding stone! I would love to see a video showcasing your lapidary collection, your favorite specimens. Great video as always 👏
It makes me want a vibe tumbler. Christmas is coming. Maybe my wife will see this comment. I know she will be watching, because she loves pudding stone and your videos ;-)
When I showed them to my wife, she said, "Why do they look so bad?" I guess she wasn't as impressed as you are. She likes them all smooth. I guess I do too, but some people prefer the more natural shape.
I like the highly polished the best, and I love the name "puddingstone!" Wish we had some laying around down here in West Texas. Great video, again. Thank you very much for posting!
Very nice, The ones worked for a month are stunning but I'd be perfectly happy with the rougher stones as well. It's just a beautiful stone to start with. Thanks for sharing.
I guess I wasn't the only one who wanted to buy a puddingstone :) The stone look lovely in all the stages but I do like the lightly polished ones best :)
That was a spur of the moment thing to try. I was surprised it turned out so well. It's only a few pictures. Be careful what you ask for, I can see more of those coming in the future. You might need to tell me to stop.
I would love to find some pudding stones, sometimes I have seen stuff that I thought is but I told myself its probably cement..maybe I should take a picture and send it to you for your opinion!
Before I started collecting rocks, I always thought that's what puddingstones looked like. Actually, I still think they resemble concrete. I can now usually identify a puddingstone just by the quartzite matrix. Sometimes I find puddingstones that have very little jasper that I know enough to turn over just to look at it better.
I have more animations on the way, but I keep finding more important videos to post. I have two videos ready to go with much more impressive animations. They’re probably just impressive to me because I’m new at making them.
If you start reading about the differences between flint, jasper, and chert, it gets really confusing really quickly. There are so many different opinions whether you're looking at it as a geologist, lapidary or even historian. I like your definition as well as any, maybe better.
@@MichiganRocks My understanding came from Shawn Willsey and his take was that chert covered a group of rock with wide color variation from the trace minerals in it. He did shy away from going too far on this, it seems he felt this a issue for collectors of semi precious stones rather than geologists.
@@MichiganRocks All of the rocks and stones that you find and work are really amazing. We really don't have that selection in my region. However, I am so intrigued with the pudding stones.( and the petoskey stones). The lake is incredible. I've never really thought of visiting Michigan until I watched your videos. Thank you!
These look much better than I would have guessed for 3 days, even using a Lot O. I've been experimenting with tumbling / lot o after seeing your previous pudding video. I'm having mixed results, the quartzite pitting is a huge challenge. I feel like for every pit that clears, another pops up. The pits really hold the aluminum polish on the end stage even with toothbrush/borax burnishing. Do you have any additional tips you can share? I'd really like to get some rounded ones like you've shown, they are my favorite stone to find in Michigan (yes even more than agates!).
The matrix always ends up pitted. Mine are pitted too, even if it doesn't show in the videos. It frustrates me as much as you. One thing that helps is minimizing the number of days in the tumbler. For other rocks, I go two days in 220, three days in 500 and then two days in polish. For pudding, I do two days in 220, one day in 500, one day in 1000, and one day in polish. That minimizes the pitting, but doesn't eliminate it at all. I have also done a dry tumble in corn cob media. I do the same stages, but with no water and corn cob. I only put in a few rocks at a time. It takes extra grit too. The rocks come out smoother with less pitting, but they don't get nearly as shiny. I've decided that I like the extra shine even without the pits. Some individual stones will pit more or less too.
A friend of mine goes to the East side of Copper Country in the UP of MI. That is part of the South Shore of Lake Superior. There are some remote beaches in that part of Lake Superior.
I think you’re in the wrong lake. I have never found a puddingstone in Lake Superior. Lake Huron is where I find them. Glaciers brought them down from somewhere in Ontario. Drummond Island seems to have the most, then they’re spread a long way south of there.
@@MichiganRocks There are some, but only in certain areas and certainly no big ones that I know of. I spend my summers in the Porcupine Mountain area (and farther East into Copper Country). I find a lot of agates and beautiful jasper, along with other minerals, but there are a couple areas farther east where we've run across some smaller puddingstones. We rarely go into those areas because I mainly pick Laker agates. Certainly not the quality of puddings you had in the tumbler. I cut and polished the largest pudding I've found on the far East side of the South shore of Superior (the size of a softball). They lack the larger red jasper inclusions, tending to have smaller pieces of that distinct mineral.
@@thinkcivil1627 I had no idea they could be found in Lake Superior. The east end of the lake would be the most likely spot though. I hunt from Grand Marais to Whitefish point and I've never seen one. I only get there for about three days a summer though.
I have a book mostly written, I've just never finished it. I probably should do that some day. You can't reuse grit. Grit breaks down as it is used. I start most of my tumbling batches with 46/70 silicon carbide grit. As it gets tumbled, the large pieces break into smaller pieces, but those smaller pieces are still sharp. It breaks, it doesn't wear down. So as time goes on 46/70 grit eventually becomes 220 grit, which is my next step. If you left the rocks tumbling long enough without changing grit, they'd probably become shiny, although you wouldn't remove the cracks and holes that way. At the end of a week, I can't feel any grit left in the barrel when I rub it between my fingers. Starting at the third stage, I switch to 500 aluminum oxide. Aluminum oxide wears down rather than breaking. It starts out with larger pieces and those wear into smaller, rounded pieces. This makes it better for polishing. Silicon carbide scratches, aluminum oxide smoothes. At the end of two days with 500 aluminum oxide in my Lot-O, the rocks already look really shiny. The polish stage is just smaller particles of the same stuff so they shine it up even more. Some people do reuse polish. I can't imagine taking the effort to save it. In my Lot-O, I use 1/2 TEAspoon in a batch. Rotary tumblers use more, so it makes a little more sense there, but it's not a large part of the cost of tumbling. I go through way more 46/70 grit than anything else. I just ordered 45 lbs. of it the other day. I can't remember when I last bought any of the other grits.
Hi firstly thank you for your very informative videos. I am in the UK and we cant get Borax here it is banned. Could I use normal washing powder that is available in the UK as a substitute? Thanks Jon
They will, but not this fast. I usually start my puddingstones in my rotary tumblers. They run for weeks or months in the first stage and then I move them to my vibratory tumbler. But, you could do the end stages in a rotary tumbler too. Did you see my other tumbled puddingstone video?
Hello! I love your videos and live in Michigan myself - and have been visiting DI for over 16 years so I have a lot of puddingstones I have been leanring to tumble! I am wondering if you could answer a question for me?When I use my Lot-O tumbler, the rocks and media do not move as fast as yours are in this video. I see yours are moving in a rotating motion and mine are as well but much slower and then here and there the rocks and media will look a little stuck and kind of just vibrate back and forth and then rotate slowly again. Any tips on how I can get the rocks in my Lot-O to move quickly like yours? Anything I may be doing wrong? Thank you!
There are a couple things that come to mind. First, if you have too much water, the action will slow a lot. You should fill the barrel with water, then dump out as much as you can. Put your hand over the top and turn the barrel upside down and drain it. You should be left with wet rocks and no standing water. Letting the barrel dry out too much can also slow the action. You have to check the barrel a couple times a day and squirt in a little water if it looks dry. Check to make sure you don't have a broken spring. They sell replacement springs, so they must break occasionally. Check the weights on the fans. They should be on the same side on both fans. That's what causes the vibration. If the weights were on opposite sides, it wouldn't vibrate. If all the above is good, then I'd suspect that your Lot-O might need tuning. There's a wooden dowel hot glued under the springs. Moving it will change the action in the barrel. It's supposed to be tuned at the factory, but I've heard of several people who have gotten machines that are not properly tuned. I have never moved mine and this would be a last resort, but it might be necessary. Here's a discussion about this topic. I'll let you read up on it and decide if you need to fix it. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/88524/lot-polish-stage-issue
I've been collecting petosky stones for years on our annual trip to Michigan. Got a small tumbler, and have gotten to the stage of finish hand polishing. Do you do this and have a video?
Do you only use borax for rough rocks that don't wash as easy. Also do you use it for the whole tumble cycle or just an hour before changing to the next grit? I appreciate your help. Your videos rock, literally!
I use borax in the Lot-O tumbler for the 500 and polish stages, no matter what kind of rocks they are (except when dry polishing with corn cob). I also use either borax or just dish detergent between stages to give them an extra good cleaning. I'm more likely to do this if the rocks have more holes in them. Just before a clean out, I put in a squirt of dish detergent and a little extra water. All of the above comments are about vibratory tumblers.
@@MichiganRocks Ok, this is really good to know and great advice. I really appreciate you helping me out. I have a note book full of notes from your videos.
Hey Rob, great work. Been wondering what the “lotto tumbler” could be, now I know. Question, what is the borax doing? Is this for the pudding stone or id this helpful for other stone (fossils, agates, granite)? Got allot of all these out of Huron this morning!
I think the borax just thickens the slurry a bit so the grit sticks to the rocks better. I know of someone who uses Metamucil in her tumbler and gets the same results. I use borax for the 500 and polish stages for all rocks. Fossils generally are pretty hard to tumble and I don't tumble granite because it undercuts.
@@MichiganRocks , thanks for the explanation! Borax is inexpensive so easy to try out. I’m REALLY glad you explained your not tumbling granite, I will be sure to separate that out and tumble those together, or not at all. I really appreciate the advice, your info focuses on our water and the rocks in it, super helpful!
@@berjo77 You should definitely tumble some granite. Parts do get shiny and you might really like it. If not, at least you won't have to wonder about it every time you see some on the beach.
Great video! Thank you! I'm thinking about purchasing a Lot-O Dual Tumbler, but read somewhere that it's 220 volts. Do you know if that's correct? Thanks!
I don’t know, but I doubt it. I wouldn’t want a dual. I rotary tumble almost everything that goes in mine (with the rocks in this video being an exception. I can’t keep the thing fed as it is with several rotary barrels running.
@@MichiganRocks Thanks for the reply. So your advice would be to go with a single vibrating Lot-O instead of the dual? Do you like your single vibrating Lot-O?
@@brianmessenger3574 No, I don’t like it, I love it. I just think the two barrel model would be a lot to fill with nicely shaped rocks. You have to run both barrels full, although you could fill one with ceramics and no grit, just for weight. If you want more naturally shaped rocks, a two barrel might be great, but I like rocks with no holes in them so a one barrel Lot-O is plenty for me.
Where did you get your tumbler? I'm getting into making cabs and I've heard good things about how they are much more gentle on fine features than a rotating tumbler. Another question: Do you always use the same ratio with Borax and grit? Would you recommend using this with agates, and with a rotating tumbler? Great results for such a short time. I like how it shines the rock, while leaving it somewhat on the rough side. That's what I'm looking for.
Think Civil I bought my tumbler from The Rock Shed. therockshed.com Check out my video on tumbling crazy lace agate to see my normal tumbling method. I almost always use the same ratio of borax to grit, except in the first stage, which I skipped here. For the 220 stage I use two tablespoons of grit and no borax. Rotating tumblers use way more grit. I’m working on a video showing how to tumble with just a rotary tumbler. It won’t be done for a few months though.
@@MichiganRocks I watched your video where a couple deer heads you cut out made it through the tumbling, antlers included. A couple broke, but that got me interested in that type of tumbler.
I am working too hard. You do it so well. I am jealous of your results. I need to get a vibration tumbler. Those look great. Where can I get rocks like that without a trip to Michigan ????
Ebay usually has some. There are also Facebook groups about puddingstones. Just search for "Michigan puddingstone" or "Michigan pudding stone". www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xmichigan+pudding+stone.TRS0&_nkw=michigan+pudding+stone&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=pudding+stone&_osacat=0
I buy most of my grit and polish at The Rock Shed (therockshed.com). I buy my coarse grit at Kingsley North in 45 lb. packages because it's a little cheaper that way. If you look in the description to this video, I have described exactly what I did. My method for 95% of my rocks is in the description to this video: th-cam.com/video/ksrmpPZrAuU/w-d-xo.html
I started tumbling in 2012. As a kid, I lived on an inland lake. My sister and I used to look for rocks on the beach and then trade them. I don't remember bringing them into the house though. We'd just line them up on the dock or something and then leave them when we were done playing. I can't really say I was "into" rocks as a kid. I got into rocks because my son was into rocks as a kid. We bought him a tumbler for Christmas, and then he lost interest a couple years later. I did not lose interest.
I've been tumbling year round for over seven years. I don't like making videos in the basement in the summer when I can be outside, but the tumblers run all year.
@@josephgrochowski1942 Oh, ok. I didn't know what the number 18 referred to. I don't know what that would be. If it's slag, I guess it would make sense that it's magnetic. Of course magnetite is magnetic too, but it doesn't look like puddingstone.
Hi Rob! I am about to try this tumble with some puddingstones. Did you add water to your stones and borax and grit? It looked like you drained most of the water off and didn’t add any more? Thanks! Beth
With the Lot-O tumbler, you want the rocks wet, but with no standing water in the bottom of the barrel. I fill the tumbler with water, then drain it all off. Sounds like you observed what I did correctly.
@@MichiganRocks thank you again Rob! I’ll be using a rotary Tumblr because my vibratory Tumblr is enormous from Harbor freight and I don’t like it. Should I add water with a rotary Tumblr? Thank you so much for helping me!
@@elizabethmiller4935 Rotary tumblers use water. I fill the barrel to about 3/4 with rocks and then water a little below that, maybe 1/2 to 1 inch below the top of the rocks. I don't think Harbor freight sells a vibratory rock tumbler. I think they only sell a tumbler for metal, like bullet casings. They're not designed for the weight of rocks. They're designed for a dry media and brass. Double check what you have before you ruin it by tumbling rocks in it.
Love the puddingstone! Is this something that you can go out and pick up 10 or 20 pounds of the good stuff, or do you have to be selective and work for it? Would really like to cut some of this. Will gladly trade you for some nice Iowa geodes.
They're not at all rare, but they aren't easy to find either. There are lots of puddingstones I leave behind. Some have just a few specks of red in a huge stone. I appreciate the offer of a trade, but I don't have lots of it on hand.
I really love those pudding stones! Neat to see the difference. Amazing what 3 days does. Where do you buy tumbling media from? I'm still going to buy a tumbler. Hoping to get started this spring. My rock collection keeps growing.
I have collected many stones. One that i am curious about I was told way back when was a tiger eye. But not sure. You can see through it. Is it a river rock. River stone?
Michigan Rocks thank you!! I live in south east Michigan and hunt Lake Huron and am also a teacher. I love all your videos, especially your rock hunts. Thank you for all you post. I
An amazing channel rookie rockbound is asking the explorer channels to spread the hashtag #thefinders to create a community of all the explorers out there. I think it’s a great idea so I’m going to post this comment on my favs and hope word spreads so we can all discover more awesome channels!!!
the Puddingstones came out very well ! the colors are popping ! thanks for sharing !
You can really tell the difference in each step. Amazing how shiny they can become. Was fun to watch. Great video
All your videos are incredibly helpful. You have been an enormous help to me getting started in the hobby. I see your name come up a lot having helped others in the rock tumbling community. Thank you for taking the time to make your videos.
Thanks, Sam. I enjoy helping people learn. I learned a lot from the Rock Tumbling Hobby forums. Now it's my turn to help other folks who are getting started.
I just ordered a Lot-o-tumbler, ceramic bits, and grits - I'm excited to see how everything turns out! We just go back from a week camping trip up in the Porkies and brought lots of rocks back with us!
That sounds exciting! I hope they turn out great.
I live the shiny puddingstones! Glad you got the burnish technique down...I am redoing a batch that I burnished and let's just say most are toast. Bought some rocks to go with tumblers and am not sure what I even tumbled. Claimed it was aventurine but it will not shine for anything. Smooths up but will not shine. There was a bunch of other stuff in the box too....but on a good note did get a few nice ones. So with those am pleased. Thanks for the inspiration.
I hope you can learn something from these videos. If there’s a specific question you have that I can help you with, let me know.
Also, those turned out pretty good for only three days!
Very cool. I'm really liking those pudding stones.
Enjoyed this video of the beloved pudding stone. I agree, the long polishing process renders a nicer stone, but the short method also brings a desirable look. Thanks. 👏
Yep, they're both cool, that's why I wanted to share this quick process. I really didn't think that getting a shine in three days would be possible.
I love how you show the differences between several days ad few months, it's really nice in both
There's a big difference in the finished rocks and the time it takes to polish them.
I really liked both polishes, I can't really tell what I liked more :))
I found your channel almost by mistake and I'm really glad I did, your videos are awesome
@@ShoonitStSinta Thanks!
I really love the highly polished pudding stone! I would love to see a video showcasing your lapidary collection, your favorite specimens. Great video as always 👏
I'll think about doing something like that.
I would love to see that also.
Me too love your videos..
It makes me want a vibe tumbler. Christmas is coming. Maybe my wife will see this comment. I know she will be watching, because she loves pudding stone and your videos ;-)
Have you been a good boy this year? Santa is watching, you know.
Man that’s awesome for only three days 😳 such a cool natural polish.
When I showed them to my wife, she said, "Why do they look so bad?" I guess she wasn't as impressed as you are. She likes them all smooth. I guess I do too, but some people prefer the more natural shape.
I like the highly polished the best, and I love the name "puddingstone!" Wish we had some laying around down here in West Texas. Great video, again. Thank you very much for posting!
I think it's fun to see all the different materials available in different parts of the world.
@@MichiganRocks true coach, teacher, you're right!
@@MichiganRocks I'll send you some "Texas Petrified Wood" if you want some. Let me know. steveprichard@sbcglobal.net
They are the Permian era old sea era. Millions years old.
I live in Atlanta and go to many of the same beaches as you. Hope to see you out there some day. Really enjoy your videos. Nice shop.
Thanks for watching!
Very nice, The ones worked for a month are stunning but I'd be perfectly happy with the rougher stones as well. It's just a beautiful stone to start with. Thanks for sharing.
I just think it's amazing that a rock can be polished so quickly. I'm so used to waiting for months.
I guess I wasn't the only one who wanted to buy a puddingstone :) The stone look lovely in all the stages but I do like the lightly polished ones best :)
Nice stop motion bit!
Wasn’t that a fun little bit? 😀
That was a spur of the moment thing to try. I was surprised it turned out so well. It's only a few pictures. Be careful what you ask for, I can see more of those coming in the future. You might need to tell me to stop.
Michigan Rocks apparently Dave hasn’t seen your juggling act.
Polishing really brings out the colors in the stones.
Yep, that's the idea. Rocks almost always look better wet. Polishing makes them look wet even when they're dry.
I would love to find some pudding stones, sometimes I have seen stuff that I thought is but I told myself its probably cement..maybe I should take a picture and send it to you for your opinion!
Before I started collecting rocks, I always thought that's what puddingstones looked like. Actually, I still think they resemble concrete. I can now usually identify a puddingstone just by the quartzite matrix. Sometimes I find puddingstones that have very little jasper that I know enough to turn over just to look at it better.
Wow so cool , i like how shiny they got.😍🥰😇💜💙💚👍🏻
A pedra mais linda do Michigan.
E a oficina mais organizada do mundo. 👏👏👏
Não é tão organizado. Eu apenas coloquei toda a bagunça atrás da câmera.
They turned out pretty amazing.
Beautiful rocks!
I’m definitely going to search for rocks this year and looking for pudding stones and Petoskey stones as well !
Happy Holidays !
The searching is at least half of the fun.
Searching is what keeps me sane when I'm digging to prep for masonry work
Interesting rocks! They look like someone jackhammered up a terrazzo floor :-)
They actually look a lot like concrete too, but better somehow.
Great videos!! I love the stop motion animation at the end, that made my day!!
I have more animations on the way, but I keep finding more important videos to post. I have two videos ready to go with much more impressive animations. They’re probably just impressive to me because I’m new at making them.
Thanks for the Tumbling info.
Nice job!
Thanks!
@@MichiganRocks you are welcome!
Jasper is red chert. Chert comes in many colors from black to yellow and includes flint.
If you start reading about the differences between flint, jasper, and chert, it gets really confusing really quickly. There are so many different opinions whether you're looking at it as a geologist, lapidary or even historian. I like your definition as well as any, maybe better.
@@MichiganRocks My understanding came from Shawn Willsey and his take was that chert covered a group of rock with wide color variation from the trace minerals in it. He did shy away from going too far on this, it seems he felt this a issue for collectors of semi precious stones rather than geologists.
Really beautiful!!
Thanks!
@@MichiganRocks All of the rocks and stones that you find and work are really amazing. We really don't have that selection in my region. However, I am so intrigued with the pudding stones.( and the petoskey stones). The lake is incredible. I've never really thought of visiting Michigan until I watched your videos. Thank you!
@@SuperKasper333 We have a beautiful state here.
I prefer the real shiny and smooth ones too 👍
Yep, you and I are on the same page.
These look much better than I would have guessed for 3 days, even using a Lot O. I've been experimenting with tumbling / lot o after seeing your previous pudding video. I'm having mixed results, the quartzite pitting is a huge challenge. I feel like for every pit that clears, another pops up. The pits really hold the aluminum polish on the end stage even with toothbrush/borax burnishing. Do you have any additional tips you can share? I'd really like to get some rounded ones like you've shown, they are my favorite stone to find in Michigan (yes even more than agates!).
The matrix always ends up pitted. Mine are pitted too, even if it doesn't show in the videos. It frustrates me as much as you. One thing that helps is minimizing the number of days in the tumbler. For other rocks, I go two days in 220, three days in 500 and then two days in polish. For pudding, I do two days in 220, one day in 500, one day in 1000, and one day in polish. That minimizes the pitting, but doesn't eliminate it at all.
I have also done a dry tumble in corn cob media. I do the same stages, but with no water and corn cob. I only put in a few rocks at a time. It takes extra grit too. The rocks come out smoother with less pitting, but they don't get nearly as shiny. I've decided that I like the extra shine even without the pits.
Some individual stones will pit more or less too.
@@MichiganRocks Thank you for your detailed response. You have been a great inspiration to this fellow rock hound!
Very nice
I looked and looked this summer from one side of Superior to the other and could not find one pudding....
Did find a bunch of upper lights 😎
A friend of mine goes to the East side of Copper Country in the UP of MI. That is part of the South Shore of Lake Superior. There are some remote beaches in that part of Lake Superior.
Thank you I will keep looking 👍
I think you’re in the wrong lake. I have never found a puddingstone in Lake Superior. Lake Huron is where I find them. Glaciers brought them down from somewhere in Ontario. Drummond Island seems to have the most, then they’re spread a long way south of there.
@@MichiganRocks There are some, but only in certain areas and certainly no big ones that I know of. I spend my summers in the Porcupine Mountain area (and farther East into Copper Country). I find a lot of agates and beautiful jasper, along with other minerals, but there are a couple areas farther east where we've run across some smaller puddingstones. We rarely go into those areas because I mainly pick Laker agates. Certainly not the quality of puddings you had in the tumbler. I cut and polished the largest pudding I've found on the far East side of the South shore of Superior (the size of a softball). They lack the larger red jasper inclusions, tending to have smaller pieces of that distinct mineral.
@@thinkcivil1627 I had no idea they could be found in Lake Superior. The east end of the lake would be the most likely spot though. I hunt from Grand Marais to Whitefish point and I've never seen one. I only get there for about three days a summer though.
How many times can you reuse your grit? If at all. I learned so much watching your work. You should write a book on your methods. Thanks again.
I have a book mostly written, I've just never finished it. I probably should do that some day.
You can't reuse grit. Grit breaks down as it is used. I start most of my tumbling batches with 46/70 silicon carbide grit. As it gets tumbled, the large pieces break into smaller pieces, but those smaller pieces are still sharp. It breaks, it doesn't wear down. So as time goes on 46/70 grit eventually becomes 220 grit, which is my next step. If you left the rocks tumbling long enough without changing grit, they'd probably become shiny, although you wouldn't remove the cracks and holes that way. At the end of a week, I can't feel any grit left in the barrel when I rub it between my fingers.
Starting at the third stage, I switch to 500 aluminum oxide. Aluminum oxide wears down rather than breaking. It starts out with larger pieces and those wear into smaller, rounded pieces. This makes it better for polishing. Silicon carbide scratches, aluminum oxide smoothes. At the end of two days with 500 aluminum oxide in my Lot-O, the rocks already look really shiny. The polish stage is just smaller particles of the same stuff so they shine it up even more.
Some people do reuse polish. I can't imagine taking the effort to save it. In my Lot-O, I use 1/2 TEAspoon in a batch. Rotary tumblers use more, so it makes a little more sense there, but it's not a large part of the cost of tumbling. I go through way more 46/70 grit than anything else. I just ordered 45 lbs. of it the other day. I can't remember when I last bought any of the other grits.
Hi firstly thank you for your very informative videos. I am in the UK and we cant get Borax here it is banned. Could I use normal washing powder that is available in the UK as a substitute? Thanks Jon
A lot of people use a bar of shaved Ivory soap. If you don't have Ivory, use some other soap.
@@MichiganRocks Thank you for taking the time to reply.
Thanks.. great info.
also have a few small pudding stones. Will they polish in the rotary tumbler as well?
They will, but not this fast. I usually start my puddingstones in my rotary tumblers. They run for weeks or months in the first stage and then I move them to my vibratory tumbler. But, you could do the end stages in a rotary tumbler too. Did you see my other tumbled puddingstone video?
Hello! I love your videos and live in Michigan myself - and have been visiting DI for over 16 years so I have a lot of puddingstones I have been leanring to tumble! I am wondering if you could answer a question for me?When I use my Lot-O tumbler, the rocks and media do not move as fast as yours are in this video. I see yours are moving in a rotating motion and mine are as well but much slower and then here and there the rocks and media will look a little stuck and kind of just vibrate back and forth and then rotate slowly again. Any tips on how I can get the rocks in my Lot-O to move quickly like yours? Anything I may be doing wrong? Thank you!
There are a couple things that come to mind.
First, if you have too much water, the action will slow a lot. You should fill the barrel with water, then dump out as much as you can. Put your hand over the top and turn the barrel upside down and drain it. You should be left with wet rocks and no standing water.
Letting the barrel dry out too much can also slow the action. You have to check the barrel a couple times a day and squirt in a little water if it looks dry.
Check to make sure you don't have a broken spring. They sell replacement springs, so they must break occasionally.
Check the weights on the fans. They should be on the same side on both fans. That's what causes the vibration. If the weights were on opposite sides, it wouldn't vibrate.
If all the above is good, then I'd suspect that your Lot-O might need tuning. There's a wooden dowel hot glued under the springs. Moving it will change the action in the barrel. It's supposed to be tuned at the factory, but I've heard of several people who have gotten machines that are not properly tuned. I have never moved mine and this would be a last resort, but it might be necessary. Here's a discussion about this topic. I'll let you read up on it and decide if you need to fix it. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/88524/lot-polish-stage-issue
@@MichiganRocks thank you so very much for your reply! I really appreciate it!
I've been collecting petosky stones for years on our annual trip to Michigan. Got a small tumbler, and have gotten to the stage of finish hand polishing. Do you do this and have a video?
I just posted a video of this today.
Do you only use borax for rough rocks that don't wash as easy. Also do you use it for the whole tumble cycle or just an hour before changing to the next grit? I appreciate your help. Your videos rock, literally!
I use borax in the Lot-O tumbler for the 500 and polish stages, no matter what kind of rocks they are (except when dry polishing with corn cob). I also use either borax or just dish detergent between stages to give them an extra good cleaning. I'm more likely to do this if the rocks have more holes in them.
Just before a clean out, I put in a squirt of dish detergent and a little extra water.
All of the above comments are about vibratory tumblers.
@@MichiganRocks Ok, this is really good to know and great advice. I really appreciate you helping me out. I have a note book full of notes from your videos.
Golden 👍
Hey Rob, great work. Been wondering what the “lotto tumbler” could be, now I know. Question, what is the borax doing? Is this for the pudding stone or id this helpful for other stone (fossils, agates, granite)? Got allot of all these out of Huron this morning!
I think the borax just thickens the slurry a bit so the grit sticks to the rocks better. I know of someone who uses Metamucil in her tumbler and gets the same results. I use borax for the 500 and polish stages for all rocks. Fossils generally are pretty hard to tumble and I don't tumble granite because it undercuts.
@@MichiganRocks , thanks for the explanation! Borax is inexpensive so easy to try out. I’m REALLY glad you explained your not tumbling granite, I will be sure to separate that out and tumble those together, or not at all. I really appreciate the advice, your info focuses on our water and the rocks in it, super helpful!
@@berjo77 You should definitely tumble some granite. Parts do get shiny and you might really like it. If not, at least you won't have to wonder about it every time you see some on the beach.
Great video! Thank you! I'm thinking about purchasing a Lot-O Dual Tumbler, but read somewhere that it's 220 volts. Do you know if that's correct? Thanks!
I don’t know, but I doubt it. I wouldn’t want a dual. I rotary tumble almost everything that goes in mine (with the rocks in this video being an exception. I can’t keep the thing fed as it is with several rotary barrels running.
@@MichiganRocks Thanks for the reply. So your advice would be to go with a single vibrating Lot-O instead of the dual? Do you like your single vibrating Lot-O?
@@brianmessenger3574 No, I don’t like it, I love it. I just think the two barrel model would be a lot to fill with nicely shaped rocks. You have to run both barrels full, although you could fill one with ceramics and no grit, just for weight. If you want more naturally shaped rocks, a two barrel might be great, but I like rocks with no holes in them so a one barrel Lot-O is plenty for me.
Where did you get your tumbler? I'm getting into making cabs and I've heard good things about how they are much more gentle on fine features than a rotating tumbler. Another question: Do you always use the same ratio with Borax and grit? Would you recommend using this with agates, and with a rotating tumbler? Great results for such a short time. I like how it shines the rock, while leaving it somewhat on the rough side. That's what I'm looking for.
Think Civil I bought my tumbler from The Rock Shed. therockshed.com
Check out my video on tumbling crazy lace agate to see my normal tumbling method. I almost always use the same ratio of borax to grit, except in the first stage, which I skipped here. For the 220 stage I use two tablespoons of grit and no borax.
Rotating tumblers use way more grit. I’m working on a video showing how to tumble with just a rotary tumbler. It won’t be done for a few months though.
@@MichiganRocks I watched your video where a couple deer heads you cut out made it through the tumbling, antlers included. A couple broke, but that got me interested in that type of tumbler.
I am working too hard. You do it so well. I am jealous of your results. I need to get a vibration tumbler. Those look great. Where can I get rocks like that without a trip to Michigan ????
Ebay usually has some. There are also Facebook groups about puddingstones. Just search for "Michigan puddingstone" or "Michigan pudding stone". www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xmichigan+pudding+stone.TRS0&_nkw=michigan+pudding+stone&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=pudding+stone&_osacat=0
Where do you buy your Al Oxides? And what grits do you use
I buy most of my grit and polish at The Rock Shed (therockshed.com). I buy my coarse grit at Kingsley North in 45 lb. packages because it's a little cheaper that way. If you look in the description to this video, I have described exactly what I did.
My method for 95% of my rocks is in the description to this video: th-cam.com/video/ksrmpPZrAuU/w-d-xo.html
Just Stunning! How many years have you been doing this? Were you into rocks as a kid?? Your whole set up is just phenomenal!
I started tumbling in 2012. As a kid, I lived on an inland lake. My sister and I used to look for rocks on the beach and then trade them. I don't remember bringing them into the house though. We'd just line them up on the dock or something and then leave them when we were done playing. I can't really say I was "into" rocks as a kid. I got into rocks because my son was into rocks as a kid. We bought him a tumbler for Christmas, and then he lost interest a couple years later. I did not lose interest.
Great share!
Do you tumble all year or most in winter?
The bit of stop motion was cute, like those sunday cartoons from the 60s.
Seasonings Greetings
I've been tumbling year round for over seven years. I don't like making videos in the basement in the summer when I can be outside, but the tumblers run all year.
Rock number 18 in Lake Superior rocks what is it possibly slag - magnetic looks quite similar to that
I'm not sure what you're saying.
I found the rock very similar to that and its magnetic just wondering what it is
@@josephgrochowski1942 Oh, ok. I didn't know what the number 18 referred to. I don't know what that would be. If it's slag, I guess it would make sense that it's magnetic. Of course magnetite is magnetic too, but it doesn't look like puddingstone.
What does the borax actually do in tumbling, if you’re putting grit in your tumbler?
I think it works mainly by thickening the slurry a little and making the grit stick to the rocks better. So it just makes the grit more effective.
Hi Rob! I am about to try this tumble with some puddingstones. Did you add water to your stones and borax and grit? It looked like you drained most of the water off and didn’t add any more? Thanks! Beth
With the Lot-O tumbler, you want the rocks wet, but with no standing water in the bottom of the barrel. I fill the tumbler with water, then drain it all off. Sounds like you observed what I did correctly.
@@MichiganRocks thank you again Rob! I’ll be using a rotary Tumblr because my vibratory Tumblr is enormous from Harbor freight and I don’t like it. Should I add water with a rotary Tumblr? Thank you so much for helping me!
@@elizabethmiller4935 Rotary tumblers use water. I fill the barrel to about 3/4 with rocks and then water a little below that, maybe 1/2 to 1 inch below the top of the rocks.
I don't think Harbor freight sells a vibratory rock tumbler. I think they only sell a tumbler for metal, like bullet casings. They're not designed for the weight of rocks. They're designed for a dry media and brass. Double check what you have before you ruin it by tumbling rocks in it.
@@MichiganRocks jeez Louise! Thanks SO MUCH!
@@elizabethmiller4935 You're welcome.
Ooo Shiny 😍🙌
Shiny but bumpy.
Love the puddingstone! Is this something that you can go out and pick up 10 or 20 pounds of the good stuff, or do you have to be selective and work for it? Would really like to cut some of this. Will gladly trade you for some nice Iowa geodes.
They're not at all rare, but they aren't easy to find either. There are lots of puddingstones I leave behind. Some have just a few specks of red in a huge stone.
I appreciate the offer of a trade, but I don't have lots of it on hand.
What does the borax do when added with grit?
It thickens up the slurry and helps the grit stick to the rocks.
Puddingstones. Areverynice
Yes they are.
I really love those pudding stones! Neat to see the difference. Amazing what 3 days does. Where do you buy tumbling media from? I'm still going to buy a tumbler. Hoping to get started this spring. My rock collection keeps growing.
307 Wyoming 4E I buy most of my tumbling supplies from The Rock Shed. They have good prices and good service. therockshed.com
Great video. I like your process better. I like the smooth and shiny. Thanks for sharing, Davin
I like my way better too, but this way is just so darn fast. I thought it was interesting.
Thank you for sharing.
I have collected many stones. One that i am curious about I was told way back when was a tiger eye. But not sure. You can see through it. Is it a river rock. River stone?
I have tumbled some tigereye. You can't see through it at all.
The stones I'm referring to are black. But transparent.
@@MisterTee2010 It's hard to tell without a picture, but it sounds more like obsidian.
have you tried any other rocks using this method?
No, but I would think it would work about the same as long as they were hard rocks that weren't broken.
Thank you
Thanks!
What does the borax do?
I think the main thing that it does is thicken up the slurry so the grit sticks to the rocks better.
Michigan Rocks thank you!! I live in south east Michigan and hunt Lake Huron and am also a teacher. I love all your videos, especially your rock hunts. Thank you for all you post. I
@@morganyoubargainedfor I'm glad you're enjoying them. I was on the beach for seven hours yesterday. I think I have enough for a video.
Michigan Rocks looking forward to it!!!
Rockin 😃
An amazing channel rookie rockbound is asking the explorer channels to spread the hashtag #thefinders to create a community of all the explorers out there. I think it’s a great idea so I’m going to post this comment on my favs and hope word spreads so we can all discover more awesome channels!!!
Already on board, but thanks! I think it's a great idea too.
I LIKE THE OTHER BOX OF ROCKS MORE.
Me too.
why the borax
Borax thickens the slurry and helps the grit stick to the rocks better.
I went to your friend Chuck's page hoping he might have had a cross pendant, but he didn't.
I know he's made crosses before, but I don't know about cross pendants. You could always send him a message asking what he has.
@@MichiganRocks Thank you, I posted him a request.
Found it.
I forgot about this video. The one I wanted you to see was this one: th-cam.com/video/LqkzUt7SRn8/w-d-xo.html
Nice. I'll give you $200 for the best one.
I'm sorry, I don't sell any rocks online. Also $200 is way too much for one of these.