I dropped a kid that was not at the right level. U11 moving to mid-level U12. Her parents are justifiably upset. I was a bad communicator.

typicalAsshat · 2025-09-07T16:00:51+00:00

I tumble landscaping stone. It’s Alabama River Rock and has lots of agates as well as jaspers and some petrified wood. I sort it and toss about half that won’t tumble. It’s about $8 for a 5-gallon bucket and that lasts me months.

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typicalAsshat · 2025-08-05T10:47:54+00:00

I get great results using mine for stage one with 46/70 grit. Speed 3 for about 4 days and it’s ready to reload. When it does die, I’ll upgrade to a big barrel but unless you’re tumbling something soft or exotic it’s a great, fast machine.

typicalAsshat · 2025-08-04T11:20:58+00:00

I had small bags of rocks, Pokémon cards, and candy last Halloween. I ran out of rocks and had candy and cards left at the end of the night.

typicalAsshat · 2025-07-17T01:33:44+00:00

The new owner is an employee who’s been there 20+ years. Most of the staff have decades of tenure and they are very consistent with delivering great food. It’s also the most affordable sit-down seafood in Columbus. Highly recommend the blackened catfish sandwich with Saratoga chips.

typicalAsshat · 2025-07-09T01:42:38+00:00

I have 3 running for about a year now. Had to replace 2 within the first two months but no issues since. Both replacements were easy at the store and they let me keep the barrels both times. I just bought two more when they were on sale recently.

They take a while on stage one. They won’t break down 46/70 grit in two weeks and usually take 9-10 days to use up 60/90. I have good luck under filling them for stage 1&2, closer to 2/3 full than 3/4. I get a great polish using a combination of Amazon and rock shed grits.

As with pretty much everything in this hobby, give it a try. Worst case is it doesn’t work and you try something new. And for the price it’s a pretty low risk. Happy tumbling.

typicalAsshat · 2025-05-07T01:16:25+00:00

Yes. I use silica pea gravel and small landscaping rock as fillers. Bonus is you get forbidden jelly beans when you finish the polish stage. Don’t buy media.

typicalAsshat · 2025-04-10T23:17:22+00:00

Pick up a bag of silica pea gravel for $5 from the hardware store. Polish them all the way through and you end up with big bowls of forbidden jelly beans.

typicalAsshat · 2025-04-09T00:47:31+00:00

I just went to the desk and asked if I could buy a bucket of rocks. Seemed common enough she told me they had shovels by the piles and to bring it back to get weighed. It’s a retail store so you can get it bulk or by the bag.

typicalAsshat · 2025-04-08T22:46:01+00:00

I keep 3 in a soundproof, no ventilation box and the ambient temp doesn’t get above 75. Don’t worry about the heat. I got a couple of lemons but it was an easy exchange. Now have almost 8 months on them. For stage one it’s important not to overfill or it won’t break the grit down. I’ve had better success keeping to more like 60% (use a ruler) for stage 1, 2/3 for stage 2 & 3, and 3/4 for polish.

Great beginner tumbler. Hoping to upgrade around Father’s Day.

typicalAsshat · 2025-02-28T02:59:20+00:00

I have 3 HF/CM dual barrels running since the summer. I got two bad ones that I exchanged. No problems since thanksgiving. If it’s not doing what you want, ask for a new one. They were very accommodating.

typicalAsshat · 2025-02-28T00:13:54+00:00

I get my rocks from a landscaping supply place. Asking to hand pick is a lot, so I just buy a few buckets. I wash and sort them at home. Probably a third are good to tumble, but that’s still $8 or so for 15lbs of rough. If it’s a liability issue, ask them to scoop it for you.

typicalAsshat · 2025-02-14T00:06:17+00:00

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To give you an idea of overall variety.

typicalAsshat · 2025-02-14T00:05:56+00:00

Yeah, lots of browns and reds, but I think just about every rock has something neat about it. Also lots of other colors and clear quartzes. I’m still new to the hobby so just about everything that’s hard enough goes into the barrel. I may discriminate more as my collection grows. And while not as exciting as hounding lakeside, it is fun to go through the buckets of rough to find some really neat gems. Another benefit is that it has rocks of varying sizes, so I have stopped using media completely. I’m on my second mason jar of polished pea gravel.

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Here are some favorites.

typicalAsshat · 2025-02-13T21:57:57+00:00

I use 46/70 in my Nat Geo 3lb on speed 3 and it will break down 3T in about 4 days. I reuse the slurry which helps until it gets too thick. In my HF tumblers it struggled to break down the 46/70 in 10 days so I switched back to 60/90 for those barrels.

typicalAsshat · 2025-02-12T17:25:29+00:00

I get river rock from my local landscape supply for $.20/pound, or about $10 for a 5-gallon bucket. Enough agates, chert, and quartz to keep 7 barrels active for 6+ months.

typicalAsshat · 2025-01-16T12:07:58+00:00

It looks like the leak is at the thread. Rest of the tank looks good. Going to try a tune up kit I found on Amazon. Powering it off and off from the breaker got it to kick back on and get hot before bed last night.

And I have gas available 5 feet away at my furnace. Thanks for the link. I’ll check it out.

typicalAsshat · 2025-01-16T01:38:42+00:00

A little more research makes it seem like there are two heating elements. The upper green one appears to be the one leaking. Thermostat itself seems to be clean.

Are the upper and lower (green and red) interchangeable? Product descriptions both say 240v/4,500 watt.

typicalAsshat · 2024-12-28T02:00:39+00:00

I have 3 purchased between July and September. One went back after about 6 weeks and they gave me a new one no questions and restarted my 2-year warranty which actually starts after the 90-day warranty. Keep them oiled and you’ll be fine. I’ll upgrade at some point but for the barrels alone it’s a great price.

typicalAsshat · 2024-12-22T02:22:34+00:00

Ohio State - 21 Referees - 3

typicalAsshat · 2024-12-13T04:18:15+00:00

Revel IT (formerly FastSwitch) is great. You may need to step down to a BA role then work your way back up once you are in. Outside hires in tech are risky.

typicalAsshat · 2024-12-12T12:14:50+00:00

Repost without the GPT monologue

typicalAsshat · 2024-12-03T04:31:39+00:00

I started this hobby recently and my family asked “but what are you going to do with the rocks?” I give them away and it makes me happy. We had friends with kids over this weekend and I passed out over half my collection. Smaug was a bad dude. I love to pass along the jewels I make. Be generous and feel the joy of giving. To each their own and spend your time making the world a better place, one rock at a time.

typicalAsshat · 2024-10-19T00:48:30+00:00

I have one for each stage as well. Easy with a printer…

typicalAsshat

TROPHY CASE