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I got a rock tumbler at a thrift store over a year ago. I tested it, it works, but I still need to order grit.
I picked up a lot of beach rocks last year, intending to tumble them...
You live in a great location to pickup some semi-precious stones to tumble. Where I live it is restricted to quartz, flint, or glass; unless we buy stones from your area.
I heard the Amazon tumbler is better than the Harbor Freight tumbler. Both Amazon and Harbor have single and double drum tumblers. I kind of liked the idea of the double drum where one drum could be polishing while the other one doing the original smoothing of the stones.
Years ago I helped a man that had the professional saws and tumblers as well as the tolls to cut and mount. I just wish that I again had access to his scrap pile! He used to take trips out to Arizona and New Mexico to buy or find rocks. But that was back in the 1950's and 60's. I presume it is harder to find or more expensive to buy today. He always had a trailer full of geodes waiting to be cut. I wished that I had some of the larger ones now.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I just saw this thread. Back in the late 1970s my wife and I bought a double tumbler, and for several years I would tumble the stones, and she would set them and add gold chains. Most were given as gifts but we did sell some by word of mouth, that was before the internet. I stumbled upon it recently in the garage, and it brought back memories. Hopefully I have time to use it again in a few years when I retire.
I just saw this thread. Back in the late 1970s my wife and I bought a double tumbler, and for several years I would tumble the stones, and she would set them and add gold chains. Most were given as gifts but we did sell some by word of mouth, that was before the internet. I stumbled upon it recently in the garage, and it brought back memories. Hopefully I have time to use it again in a few years when I retire.
Back in that same period, my dad made silver jewelry...mostly with turquoise, but sometimes he used other stones that he tumbled. It was definitely his "side hustle".
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He used to take trips out to Arizona and New Mexico to buy or find rocks. But that was back in the 1950's and 60's. I presume it is harder to find or more expensive to buy today. He always had a trailer full of geodes waiting to be cut. I wished that I had some of the larger ones now.
