Rock Tumbling 101

Name: Rock Tumbling 101
Rating: 4.6 (54 reviews)

Learn How to Polish Stones from Start to Finish

Created byShannon Marie

Last updated 10/2019

English

What you'll learn

Geting started tumbling and polishing rocks and gemstones.

Course content

3 sections • 15 lectures • 1h 27m total length

Why Tumble Rocks?5:51
In this lesson you'll learn the primary reasons why people choose rock tumbling as a hobby. Knowing why you want to tumble rocks will help you determine how you get the rocks, which type of gems to choose, and what you do with them when you're done.
Basic Equipment4:59
This lesson reviews the minimum equipment you'll need to get started with this hobby. Please refer to the lesson resources for a checklist of supplies.
All About Tumblers8:44
In this lesson you'll learn about the two primary brand of rock tumblers and what you need to consider when purchasing one.
Where to Find Rocks?5:01
This lessons reviews where you can find the rocks you'd like to polish. Where you decide to get your gems will shape your experience of this hobby. Please refer to the Resources for a list of Online Stores where you can buy supplies and rough stone.
Choosing Your First Stones4:43
This lesson covers the types of stones that are best for beginners to start with and helps you decide specifically which type of rock you want to try in your first batch.
Grits, Polish & Filler Media10:14
In the final supply-related lesson, you'll learn all about the types of grit, polish, and filler media and why they are so important.

Basic Timeline, Recipe & Logging Data9:13
This lesson sets the expectation regarding how long a batch of rocks may take from start to finish. You'll learn how much grit and polish to use in your batches and this importance of writing down your actions at each stage. Please refer to the resources for reference material and log sheets.
Loading the Barrel with Rough6:14
During this lessons you will watch as I load a barrel with rough stones to begin a brand new batch. You can use this as a reference when you start your own batches.
Cleaning & Recharging Each Week6:32
In this lesson you will learn how to clean your stones, introduce the right amount of filler media, and recharge the barrel with grit.
When to Move to the Next Stage?6:59
In this lesson you'll learn how to make the most important decision in this tumbling hobby. Moving rocks to the next stage too early will result in poor polish and potentially having to start all over at the beginning. Learn what to look for that indicates to stones are ready to move from Course to Medium grit.
Washing Cycles6:57
In between grit types, you'll need to make sure your barrel, stones, and filler media are completely free of the current grit type to eliminate contamination during a finer grit stage. I show you how to perform the wash cycles and what the water should look like before you load the finer grit.
Polishing7:04
During this lesson you'll watch as I load the barrel with polish, and how to check your stones for progress along the way.

Requirements

Description

Learn everything you need to know about starting a Rock Tumbling hobby. You'll discover what supplies you'll need to purchase, the stages of the rock tumbling process, how to find or purchase your gemstones, and you get to watch me perform all the steps you'll need to when starting your first batch. There are lots of downloadable reference materials included with the lessons.

Who this course is for:

Beginners who are interested in learning how to start up the rock tumbling hobby.

Rock Tumbling 101

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Getting Set up6 lectures • 40min

Starting Your First Tumbling Batch6 lectures • 43min

Wrapping Up3 lectures • 5min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: