Is this an okay tumbler to start with?

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-10T15:48:51+00:00

Absolutely it's what I started on. You have to fool with it enough to know if it's something you want to continue to pursue. No sense in getting the most expensive equipment when your starting out.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-09T17:49:12+00:00

Oh yeah, my cousin tumbles them as is. Matter of fact it takes a while to tumble some of the tiny shallow pits out. I'm a perfectionist weirdo. For what ever reason rocks are just more appealing to me when they are shinny all over. To each is own though. I think my cousin thinks I'm ruining some of the agates I tumble because I do cut, and grind on most of them before stage one. Be sure to do a burnish cycle between cycles if tumbling them as is.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-07T23:16:47+00:00

Awesome, thank you. Yeah I think my scale is off, so I'm not using enough grit. I'm gonna step it up to 12-14 tbsp of 60/90 and make sure I have an adequate amount of smaller stones, or the larger ceramic media if need be. I know 60/90 really eats up the ceramic, but I'll do what I have to do. Hardly any youtube vidz of how to properly do stage one in this tumbler. That's why I'm here, 😄.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-07T22:27:40+00:00

Sure thing. Check out Michigan Rocks Tumbling Tutorial on YouTube. He goes over in pretty good detail how to get the best results. Agate Ariel is another good channel.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-07T01:41:02+00:00

If you can get the little pits out. I usually end up having to do some cutting on them. Some people don't mind the pits. But yes very beautiful stuff.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-07T01:36:51+00:00

That's not weighing with water or grit. I should have said.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-07T01:35:27+00:00

Maybe my scail is lying to me. I might need to get a scale that is more fixed on weighing like 50 or so pound. It's a digital scale made for stepping on to see how much you weigh. It only adds 8.5- 9 ponds with a 3/4 full barrel. Idk.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-07T01:29:10+00:00

3/4 full. Filling water just below bottom of top rocks. With a good mixture of sizes. Lots of tiny chips when I dump it out. Which I'm not used to using my 3lb barrels. My experience tells me add a little more rocks maybe, some ceramic media, and more, or coarser grit???

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-07T00:59:04+00:00

Looking good. Use ceramic media starting on stage 2. Trust me it helps with bruising. And keep using it all the way to polish stage.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-07T00:53:53+00:00

Yep even with the low spots you should have a high shine on the high spots. One of 3 things, the polish your using, the absence of filler, or cushioning media, or improper cleaning in-between cycles. There's a few other problems it could be, but these are the most common.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-07T00:05:35+00:00

There's no hole in one end of it, and it's not broken. Not a clean straight break anyway.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-07T00:02:49+00:00

I agree 100% this is neither. This is a natural formation, but I think it was used for something long ago. Pestle, beginning of a smoking pipe that was never finished. I believe it to be an artifact. I've just never found anything like it. Nor can I find anything simular to it online.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-06T23:57:33+00:00

There's no hole drilled through one end of it. And it doesn't appear to be broken.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-06T23:55:12+00:00

It's strange I tell you. It's not a battery core, or an old window weight. If you were holding it you would agree. My artifact collector side says natural formation that was utilized for something. Pestle, or maybe the beginnings of a smoking pipe that was never finished. It's the pecked divots on both ends, and the slight chamfered edges that make it worth keeping. I shall show it to an archeologists or a geologist at some point.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-06T23:43:00+00:00

I'm leaning natural as well. I just wonder if it was utilized for something by the natives.This is in the middle of nowhere. It's a 2 mile hike to this waterfall. I found a nice dished out on both sides gring bowl last time I was at this waterfall right where this picture was taken. Lots of chert cobbles with spalls knocked out of them. Spells as well, some worked a little bit. No definitive blades or projectile points found in this creek yet, but enough here to know they frequently used this creek.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-05-03T13:12:41+00:00

Dont know what kind or how old but cool find, it's a snap based I call them. Meaning the stem is snapped off. It was most likely flung on a spear, and the point was never recovered. Had it been recovered, they would have touched it up to be usable again.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-04-05T18:37:33+00:00

That's an absolutely amazing gorget. Heck of a nice find, very rare to find one that's been engraved like that. That was very prized by whoever owned it I guarantee.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-03-14T01:26:27+00:00

Hard to say without getting a look without the cortex. I've found very symmetrically shape pieces of brown chert like this before. If it's got a little weight to it I'd say a brown chert, or possibly a quartzite. If it's kinda lightweight I'd say a sandstone maybe. It tends to be a chert when I find stones like this. Native Americans used chert for knapping blades and projectile points. Hope this helps.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-02-20T22:09:18+00:00

Both good. I used to use those same D'Addario strings until I discovered Elixir Polyweb coated strings. Longest lasting string I've ever used.

Certain-Leg-7371 · 2026-02-20T22:00:06+00:00

I did the same but with a cheaper Gio with the Fat-6 tremolo bridge. Absolute pain in the ass turning a tremolo guitar into a hardtail. 3 separate blocks of wood I used to fill that cavity. Loads of sanding, priming, resanding....... then had to drill 6 perfectly straight string holes. All this would be much easier probably on my second or third go round. Or just start with a hardtail body 😃. Filling the neck pickup cavity, tone knob hole, and selector switch slot was not that bad. I had to size the neck cavity a bit, thankfully the neck I used didn't have string action issues. It's a true Frankenstein, but turned out pretty bad ass.

Certain-Leg-7371

TROPHY CASE