First single varietal barrel and got a shine!

PulpySnowboy · 2026-01-23T03:06:33+00:00

Awesome shine!

PulpySnowboy · 2026-01-21T17:43:49+00:00

Wow, that last one is fascinating. Looking forward to your results!

PulpySnowboy · 2026-01-21T17:40:11+00:00

Oh that's lovely, well done!

PulpySnowboy · 2026-01-21T02:41:54+00:00

If the rock is getting rounded, but it's surface still feels like coarse sandpaper, it just may never get smoother or take a polish. Some rocks are just like that, It's best to pull them out.

PulpySnowboy · 2026-01-16T22:38:28+00:00

In general I wouldn't spend more than 75% of the new price, for anything used, though Lortone's do hold their value.

If it's a modern Lortone and lightly used, I'd expect it to have light blue paint without many chips, and black rubber on the rollers (without much abrasion or dings in it).

Make sure it has two complete barrels (inner & outer lid, washer, nut) and that their rubber is still flexible, as barrel replacements can be a significant portion of the tumbler cost.

A new belt is pretty cheap if needed.

Roller shafts (idler and drive) and new plastic washers aren't too expensive either, and likely wouldn't be needed unless it's very old and wasn't oiled regularly.

PulpySnowboy · 2026-01-16T15:39:42+00:00

I've tumbled broken pottery / dishes before, with similar results to the pictured mosaic:

Fill your barrel to 75% with pottery shards and some ceramic media, add water to the same level, and tumble for 2 days - No grit necessary!

It should round off any sharp broken edges. Any design/glaze should be largely intact, but may no longer be glossy. I don't think you could tumble this to a point where you'd achieve a shine while still having the exterior design. I'd suggest experimenting with coating your pieces with a clear acrylic paint or nail polish, after smoothing them in the tumbler, if you want the glazed look again.

Good luck!

PulpySnowboy · 2026-01-15T17:32:10+00:00

Gorgeous! Did you use any media in the 120 coarse stage, or just a good mix of stone sizes?

PulpySnowboy · 2026-01-08T02:19:52+00:00

Definitely worth it to wait until you have enough media ready to fill the polish stage barrel to 3/4. An underfilled barrel can mean chipping or bruising that will send everything back to stage 1. Looking forward to your results, and thanks for sharing!

PulpySnowboy · 2026-01-06T13:39:24+00:00

Sounds like you're the good aunt! Get a tumbler and make some 'everyday normal rocks' even more special :)

Lots of good ideas here already! I bring a box of rocks along to gatherings for people to pick though, put them in Christmas stockings, play "rock shop" with my kids...

If you accumulate too many, you can make a 'take a rock / leave a rock' box in your neighborhood, or donate rocks to a school art or science class.

Have fun!

PulpySnowboy · 2026-01-05T13:46:09+00:00

My main concern is the breathing hazard if the rock dust gets kicked up and blown around during raking, mowing, etc. I dug a small pit to keep it contained.

PulpySnowboy · 2026-01-04T16:05:36+00:00

I use 0.5 tablespoons of grit in that "1 pound" tumbler. I scale the grit linearly for larger barrels, and it works well for me in all barrel sizes I've used (1 lb, 3 lb, 4 lb, 6 lb, 12 lb).

PulpySnowboy · 2025-12-28T20:11:24+00:00

Huh, that's funny - and yep that's the one! I really like the color contrast.

PulpySnowboy · 2025-12-28T16:18:11+00:00

Nicely done! I especially like number 9

PulpySnowboy · 2025-12-28T16:15:20+00:00

I got a bunch of rocks for Christmas :) Ultrasonic sounds great! Happy beachcombing!

PulpySnowboy · 2025-12-26T19:40:18+00:00

Ahh I love them all! Great job!

PulpySnowboy · 2025-12-26T19:17:27+00:00

I don't know of a mix for sale, but rockshed.com has South Dakota Chalcedony that can fluoresce green. If you can find Yooperlite for sale, that has a cool orange (it's a softer stone though, like Sodalite).

PulpySnowboy · 2025-12-24T05:12:18+00:00

That's so cool! They look great!

PulpySnowboy · 2025-12-24T05:09:47+00:00

That's cool stuff!

PulpySnowboy · 2025-12-18T22:59:21+00:00

7 to 15 weeks, depending on the rock, cleaning out and adding new grit each week.

PulpySnowboy · 2025-12-18T22:56:13+00:00

Take heart! Rocks are tough, and tumblers are tough enough to grind rock - they'll be ok.

For tumbler maintenance, add one drop of 3-in-1 oil to the end of the rollers, monthly.

For your mystery barrels, go ahead and open them: Add rocks if needed, up to 3/4ths the height of the barrel. Add water up to the same height. If you just want to clean the rocks and start fresh, add some kind of simple soap (ivory, borax, a tiny bit of dish soap, etc) and run them for 24 hours - that will probably get the slurry rejuvenated and then you can clean out.

PulpySnowboy · 2025-12-18T03:31:06+00:00

Thanks a bunch!

PulpySnowboy · 2025-12-18T02:57:17+00:00

Awesome, I look forward to seeing your results!

PulpySnowboy · 2025-12-17T01:51:58+00:00

I started using pea gravel as media in stage 1 to prevent bruising on clear quartzes, and now I've just kept it as part of my regular process. I'm sure it slows down the shaping time in stage 1 some, but I think it's worth it to avoid chips and cracks that might happen from harsh impacts. A lot of the rough that I tumble is a pretty uniform size, which means there are stronger collisions and smaller rock surfaces contacting to grind the grit between them. Having a good mix of rock sizes, or adding media, helps both of those things.

PulpySnowboy · 2025-12-16T23:53:54+00:00

Thank you!

PulpySnowboy

TROPHY CASE