Rock tumblers....what can be polished in them?

Question

I have a rock tumbler (nothing special, i think it was just a kit from walmart or something) what can i tumble in it? Do i need specific rocks? I just have some small (less then one inch in diameter) already round river rocks that i would like to make polished. i don't know what kind of rock it is, maybe some sort of quartz.

if you have any information on rock tumblers or, if you have used them, how well did it work?

links would be great too!

thanks!

Answer 1

The harder the stones are the better it works.

You should have some packs of grit with the tumbler.

Put the stones and some grit in the barrel with enough water to just cover them.

Start coarse and tumble for a week, if they are getting nicely polished wash them off, then use the finer grit for a week, then....

you will want to check them every few days to see how they are doing, you might want to add more grit, water or stones at this time..

This takes a long time and you might want to set it up in a garage or somewhere that the noise wont keep you awake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumble_poli...

http://www.stoneageindustries.com/assort...

This guy gives a lot more detail

http://www.delscope.demon.co.uk/personal...

------------

I almost forgot to mention not to wash the slurry down the sink. It can clog the drain almost as bad as if you poured concrete down it.

Answer 2

you can usually tumble any kind of rock that will fit within reason. Some even say you can put any rocks in.