Here on the 172, we love rocks. Not just your ordinary run of the mill, get out of your driveway rocks. I am talking Gems. (Not diamonds or rubies). Although we do have Ruby in Zoisite). We have Jaspers, Agates, Tiger Eye, Thunder Eggs, Geodes, Amethyst, Petrified Wood, and more.
Boy do we have them. They are everywhere. In the house, the yard, and our cars.
Types of Rocks
We have them in almost every form imaginable. Raw rock that is not that pretty, to cut rocks that are beautiful.
Where we get most of our rocks
We go to our favorite rock shop, The Gem Shop in Cedarburg, WI, and buy raw rock. Eric cuts the bigger rocks and makes cabochons. The cabochons are to make wire wrapped and hemp jewelry. Smaller pieces Eric tumbles. Some of those are used to make jewelry as well. Also sell the tumbled rocks by themselves as well. If someone just wants a shiny rock to carry in their pocket, we have them.
The Process
So, let us talk about the process, because from what I said above it sounds like it takes just minutes to do all this. It is a much longer process than that.
First, we buy the raw rock. Then the rocks have to be cleaned and checked over. Eric decides which rocks he wants to cut and which ones go into the tumblers or the vibe.
Cutting the Rocks
He first cuts off a small piece of the rock to get a flat surface. (Sometimes I get those. I really like the thin pieces). Next, he cuts slabs of the rock to make the cabochons. Once he has the slab, he then decides where the best-looking spot on the rock is. He chooses the spot that has the most detail, then he decides what shape to cut the cabochon into and draws that on to it. He uses a trim saw to make the cuts.
Polishing
Once he has the shape he wants he then rounds the corners using a grinding wheel. He uses different wheels to get the stone just how he wants it. He starts out with a rough grit and moves progressively to a finer wheel. Time may vary on this as well depending on the stone. He checks to make sure he is getting the bevel on it the way he wants by coloring on it with a pencil. He continues to grind the stone until he gets the shape he is looking for.
Polished
Then he polishes it. This is where the real magic happens. This is when the not so pretty stone turns into the beautiful gem.
I am so far behind.
Next, the stone goes to the jewelry making table. There it either gets wire wrapped or hemp wrapped. Eric and I both wire wrap, but I am the only one that does the hemp.
Tumbling
The rocks that go in the tumbler have 4 stages. Eric will pick up the writing from here. He knows more about this part than I do.
The number one thing about tumbling rocks is…
Don’t let the rock water/sludge go down your drain! You will need a plumber!!
Tumbling rocks can be a very full hobby all on it’s own. Different rocks have different hardness (Mohs scale) and care must be taken with rocks that are on the softer side. During the tumble it is suggested to use a filler to help cushion the stone to keep them from crashing hard into each other and getting damaged. I prefer to use ceramic tumbling media for this.
In the first stage of the tumble I use a 60/90 coarse grit that rounds off the edges of the stones to give them a smoothish surface that will lend itself to a polish. This stage runs for at least a week. When the rocks come out of this stage I inspect them for condition and will put the ones that I don’t think are ready back into stage 1 for another round.
Next: Stage 2 is the same process but with 150 grit
Than: Stage 3 is the same process but with 500 grit
Stage 4 is the same process but I use TXP polish
Between stages I use a toothbrush to scrub the rocks of any grit left over from the tumble stage. You don’t want a coarser grit ruining the next stage of the polish process.
I took a 5 gallon bucket and cut a hole in the lid so that an old colander sits in it to rinse my rocks off. Then I let the water sit for a few days for the sludge to settle. Next, I pour off the clearish water into the yard and then let the sludge dry out before emptying it into the trash.
Vibratory Tumbler
I also have a vibratory tumbler that I like to use for larger batches. The 1st stage of the tumble is the same for all rocks because the sharp edges would wear away the vibratory tumbler bowl but after that the rocks go into a vibe tumbler. Instead of the rocks tumbling over and over in the grit and water mixture they are covered in a thick grit soup and vibrate around in a circular fashion. Larger amount of rocks takes longer to clean and process and it is a bit loud when running.
I’ve liked tumbled rocks since I was a kid. My first rock tumbler experience did not go well (being 9 in the mid-70’s without a lot of knowledge) but it was always something I wanted to do. Now that I’m older and knowledge is easily obtained I’m glad I have the ability to produce shiny rocks to bring a smile and hopefully introduce someone new to a fun hobby.
Here’s a wonderful forum for you to explore.
https://forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/page/rocktumblinghobby
Supplies… https://therockshed.com/
Nice people north of us as well
Don’t forget to visit our shop https://mccrorymercantile.ecrater.com/ to see our finished items.
And as always…
Life is short, so do what you love.
Remember in a world where you can be anything, be kind.
Nice matters.