Stage #1 inspection – I Tumble Rocks

I didn’t even open my rock tumbler last week. The last time I opened my lortone rock tumblers was week #7. Yes, I skipped by week #8. I thought about taking the rocks out but said… I’ll wait. Late this afternoon, I finally got around to opening my three barrels.

Week #9, Stage #1. Tumbled rocks just rinsed.

This is my six-pound barrel containing agates, tiger eye, and obsidian. I rinsed the rocks thoroughly and placed them back into the barrel with water, where they’ll tumble for about a day. I didn’t even add my teaspoon of borax. I will most likely add that tomorrow. As I rinsed the rocks today, I noticed several appear ready to move on to stage #2, and I could have already started stage #2.

The majority of the rocks have been tumbling for nine weeks. However, the rose quartz rocks are new. This is their second week of being tumbled.

Last evening, I removed my tumbled rocks from Stage #1.

Freshly rinsed tumbled agates – Stage #1

I rinsed them thoroughly in my five-gallon bucket, checked each one to see if they were smooth enough to move on to Stage #2, or would they be placed back into Stage #1 after going through their rinse cycle.

Several are ready for Stage #2. The above photo shows a few of them.

After rinsing the Stage #1 grit of the rocks, I placed them back in their respective barrels. I filled each barrel with enough water to cover the rocks and added one teaspoon of borax powder. From my research, numerous rock tumblers recommend rinsing their stones after each stage. This helps remove the grit that might get into cracks or crevices on the rocks. I’ve been letting my rinse cycles run for at least one day, the longest being a little over four days.

Category: Stage #1 inspection

Tumbled Rocks: Week 9

Week 6 – Checking on tumbled rocks, Stage #1