💎 Rock Tumbling LABRADORITE 💎 From Start to Finish! | Rock Tumbling Tips & Techniques

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Thank you for watching! If you have any questions, about tumbling, gemstones, or about anything in the video - please ask below, I will answer!

[@mikejung4771]

I've noticed that Labradorite seems to fall apart as you use higher grits. Is this due to the prior tumbling or do finer grits cause the lab to fracture more easily? I've tried using plastic pellets in the vibratory tumbler, using a raytech like bowl I find they just sit on the bottom, using the wider / larger bowls I find it helps to cushion things a bit. What do you do for the polish stage in the tumbler? Just more sugar? I'm afraid to experiment on this final stage, so far I end up having to go back to 500 grit then 1000 to remove the surface cracks. Sorry for the wall of questions / comments!

[@ReikiGemWellness]

@@mikejung4771 This video here is exactly how I did it. When I used a rotary tumbler for the entire process, I think the continued "agitation" of the stones just caused them to weaken more and more over time. I also NEVER use plastic pellets anymore as they just inhibit the grit and polish from doing their job. The raytech has done a fantastic job keeping them moving and the sugar mixture slows the rate of rotation while still allowing the grit to vibrate along the surface. Now... keep in mind.... my stones were not 100% free of surface cracks. It's pretty much impossible with Labradorite unless they are carved and polished - no tumbling action. You'll have to separate yourself from the expectation of perfection to be satsified with the end results. Best wishes on your batch! 👍👍

[@mikejung4771]

So your sugar tip works wonders! May I suggest cerium oxide after 1200 alum oxide? My eyes say WOW, but what do I know! Thank you for getting me this far! :)

[@Bellastar6]

New subscriber I love your channel do you have explaining tumblers...which to buy, ..etc? Thanks

[@ViolyntFemme]

I know this is an older video, but I wanted to say thank you so much for this step by step. My labradorite was coming out awful - i'm new to this - but following these instructions made such an improvement once I started from the beginning and followed this exactly.

[@mikejung4771]

This is the video that I needed!!! Have tumbled Agate up until now, struggling with Labradorite in the tumbler, have been hand sanding after 1000 grit in the tumbler, which works well but takes FOREVER. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge and tips!! :)

[@ReikiGemWellness]

You're welcome! I hope you find it very useful with your next batch of Labradorite! 👍👍

[@dennisp1111]

Beautiful video, thank you. I just got my first piece of labradorite.❤❤❤❤

[@atelophob_ia]

is there any way to tumble labradorite well in a rotary tumbler? i only have a rotary tumbler but i love labradorite to death and i have some raw and i want to tumble it but i dont want to ruin it 🥺

[@azulitoalero]

I loved this video! Question- did you use large or small ceramic media? Also- did you use the same media throughout each step? Thanks!

[@caripage9327]

I've been told to use mixed ceramic, which you can wash and use in every stage. You can also add plastic pellets with the mixed ceramic, but don't use plastic pellets in different stages, use fresh pellets with each stage (they hold onto grit)

[@delilahsmith3441]

I'm new to some gemstones and this one's quite unique 😋

[@ReikiGemWellness]

It's such a gorgeous stone, but so hard to tumble. But I was pretty determined 😆😆 Thank you for watching and saying Hi!

[@delilahsmith3441]

@@ReikiGemWellness Yes yes, I really like your videos they educate me on gemstones and I really love it. 🤗

[@produceman13]

Do you have a video on how to tumble Rhyolite?

[@lisagiles6854]

Do you still post videos and rock tumble? Have you every tried garnets

[@faerefolke]

Worth the money I choose to spend on it. Very special stone that I wouldn't want to risk wasting in my regular tumbler.

[@gelflingmusic9428]

Gracias. Very helpful. May I suggest, wrather than use a noisy vibro tumbler, use the polishing tips for the dremel tool.

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Using a dremel on an entire batch of stones would take a very long time. That's a great method for larger, carved stones, but for 4-5 lbs of stones it would take a really long time.

[@shellyaboyer259]

I have two carved crabs in Labradorite and would like to polish them.. Do you have any suggestions?

[@hollygamble15]

This makes me appreciate my flashy labradorite palm stone even more ❤️✨💎 I definitely need more lab soon. Great job!

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Thank you! Yes, a great specimen of Labradorite can be stunning! 😍😍

[@kermann-bv8um]

I have several slab some have Tumbled a few still Beautiful but a little bit nervous about breakage

[@emilyfisher4666]

How do you get such a nice shine? I'm a new tumbler and I can never get a shine to my stones they always have a dull smoothness

[@FredJones-b9j]

Thank you, wish me luck,,,love that stone,,,put a flashlight under it,,,awesome.

[@zenberryflood]

I’ve never tumbled labradorite because I generally like to not tumble that stuff, lol because it’s too difficult for me but instead I carve large labradorite into stone sculptures with a 400 grit dremel then go up the grit all the way to fine 5000 grit, but those stones look gorgeous, especially this one, love all the lines, almost like agate style.16:16

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Carving really does work best for Labradorite and it can really allow those rainbows to shine! I am envious of your ability to carve! 🙌🙌

[@zenberryflood]

Reiki Gem Wellness awe thank you, you tossed some coals into my fire again, I was a little burnt out on carving but you gave me back my motivation and passion, with just a comment, so I thank you very much for the compliment.

[@randalldrennen926]

Thanks for this video! I just finished my first batch of Labradorite, using a slightly modified run of your recipe here. I am really happy with the results. I did have a bit of spalling from stage 1, but I don't think I used enough media for cushioning in that stage. My modification was leaving out the AO 1000 grit stage. I just wanted to minimize the time in the Tumble-vibe, so I skipped that one. I still got a pretty good shine.

[@nankokoolish2800]

Thank Crystal, perfect name btw! I have a v5 raytech vibrating tumbler. Can I still get my labradorite to shine? Exactly what grit gauge do I use and how long. Ty so very much!!!!

[@ToxicSeizure]

I am starting with labradorite that I have found in a river, so it’s already a little bit “tumbled”. Should I start with less time in the course stage?

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Yes, I would definitely reduce the time. Try one week and see if it looks good to move on to Medium 👍

[@therockshedinc.2718]

Nice Job on the Labradorite. It's a tough one to do for sure.

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Thank you! It was challenging to do for sure and I'm so glad I managed a successful batch! 😀😀

[@bridgettmccraw2933]

My question is how are they shaped? I have eggs,ovals and 2hearts ?

[@tanjathome-archer7981]

What grit of corn cobs did you use?

[@suebland14]

Please help. I have been running labradorite in my vibe tumbler and just finished a polish run but they are still mat finish what can I do to make them shine

[@northernrocks543]

Thanks for this video it helped out allot. I was tumbling my Labradorite in course grit for two weeks. I though that the more I tumbled it in course grit that I could bring more of the flash out. Some of the rocks it helped but allot of the rocks it didn't. Is the Labardorite flash only on the surface or is it also deep in the stone? Please stay well and take care in this difficult time.

[@ReikiGemWellness]

That's a great question! The flash is internal and is very specific to Labradorite - in fact, it's called Labradorescence 😀 This is a result of light reflecting off the twinning planes inside the labradorite 👍👍

[@stacyjv_4982]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and the recipe 😊

[@titansback1267]

what is the best gemstone for inspiration and finding creativity?🤔

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Carnelian - definitely! 😀 kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2WzmKOYqKdsgdE

[@titansback1267]

thanks for the advice, that was fast!

[@titansback1267]

luckily I have the stone YES

[@ReikiGemWellness]

@@titansback1267 You're welcome! 👍👍

[@chychyy6728]

I’m getting into carving stones with detail. How do you think the tumbling process should go, same as normal?

[@paigelee6321]

I recently came across raw labradorite want to tumble it any advice , I see yours it very light mine is very dark black and deep blue flash, this is my favorite stone 💙,

[@paulcarder8032]

Beautiful results! I would like to know where you purchased your rough. The Labradorite rough I purchased at a local rock shop in Peoria was a lot more ragged and jagged than yours. I took me 2 1/2 weeks to get it even close to yours after rotary tumbling in coarse grit. By then the cracks were appearing. I finished it in my vibratory in a similar time line that your recipe did. Not quite as many cracks as your first failed batch, but I was still disappointed. Do you think starting out with a "smoother" rough would be helpful? Thanks for all your instructive videos. Keep it up!

[@ReikiGemWellness]

I got my rough at gemsbymail.com. I had alot more rough than I showed, so there was a great variety in how the rough looked. I generally would keep the amount of rotary work to a bare minimum, so you may have to accept less "shaping" to get a smoother finish at the end. Does that make sense?

[@karenfrye4546]

Hi, long time tumbler here. I was wondering if you had tried running stage one individually on a flat lap before moving on to stage two. What are your thoughts on that? Thank You, great videos!

[@northernrocks543]

HELP! This hobby is just as frustrating as it is rewarding. I have tumbled Labradorite before and it was some what ok it fractured a little. This time I have had my Labradorite in course grit for two weeks. I am afraid to keep it in course any more. The first week I put 50% rocks to 50% ceramic media. The rocks bearley rounded and the grit looked liked I just put it in so I took out a little of the ceramic media that was all did not cleaned out the barrel it still had all the grit. I go and open the barrel after the second week and it looks the same no change still has all the grit it looks like I just started. I have a three pound double barrel tumbler how much ceramic media should I put in for the first stage? and should I put it in first stage again not so much for the roundness although they look the same as when I first put them in but it looks like some of the rough needs to come off to uncover some of the flash. And if I do put it in course grit again should I skip the second or the third stage to prevent fracturing? I didn't have this problem before. I hope you and your family are staying safe and well from the virus. I here Texas is getting hit hard with it. Are numbers are starting to go up again to here in Illinois.

[@ReikiGemWellness]

I'm near Houston, so I definitely feel your pain with the current situation! This video highlights exactly what I did to get good results. I couldn't do it all completely in a rotary tumbler as it just looked "torn up." Labradorite seems to do well in course, so you can leave it there until you get the smoothness you want, but to finish it I just had to get the vibratory and use the sugar mixture to "baby" it through polish. It's definitely a frustrating stone for sure!!

[@karenfrye4546]

I noticed your post. It sounds as though your grit is not staying in suspension. Please try a product called Old Miser Grit Carrier. This product is dried clay. When in water the oil in the clay releases causing the grit to stay in suspension. I hope this helps. I just use a little for this purpose, although if a lot is used it would have an effect similar to the sugar thickener.

[@Amanda.aka.Megan.Shines]

I'm completely new to the hobby and looking into getting a tumbler. I've seen a few videos mention that vibratory tumblers are more gentle and faster. Is there a reason that you can't go step one in the vibratory tumbler?

[@ReikiGemWellness]

The course grit required for Stage 1 is too abrasive for the bowl of the vibratory tumbler :(

[@trishr2946]

Hi Shannon--Love your vids and wisdom! I'm early into labradorite tumbling and have a large chunk in the rotary tumbler now...am up to the 1000 pre-polish. My question is: I have about fifteen medium-sized labs and in the rough state I don't see any flash at all...do I just tumble till flash appears? Does tumbling BRING OUT the internal flash by removing surface rock? The big chunk I'm doing now has lots of nice flash which appeared early in the 60/90 tumble... But I just have had this question regarding the NON visible flash in these other smaller pieces...thanks for any words, thoughts, insights you may have to offer! (P.S. I don't have a vibratory tumbler so am just going with the rotary. So far this big lab's holding up fine.)

[@michaeltibbetts7086]

Hey! How did these pieces turn out? I also have some grey pieces that I would like to bring some color to.

[@trishr2946]

@@michaeltibbetts7086 HI Michael...Well, I had to sort of give up on those that had no flash showing. I did stop the lab tumbling after one very large piece--I mean as big as my fist almost--did show some gold/pink flash. I smoothed this for a long time in the tumbler and like the results. But the remaining ones after a coarse grit tumbler and that showed green/blue flash I ended up putting in a shallow dish of water which covered them completely--there are about fifteen of these--and sat this under a good light. Interestingly, they showed some heretofore unseen flash as I moved them about or shifted the light. Another little flash group I put in a glass jar of water to enjoy that way. I find they are a beautiful little display. I'll stop and lean over the dish of water/labs to study their lovely colors. (My cat also uses this dish as a water dish--lol!) It was unfortunate that I wasn't able to get more nice smooth labs but I think I would have had to tumble them in my little hobby tumbler for WEEKS and I just didn't want to tie up the tumbler that long. But I do love the labs in the water....every time I look they are revealing their lovely colors. They're like the little rough opals I have in a large glass test tube of water. Wishing you good luck with yours. I did end up tossing some that revealed zero flash no matter what.....Bye!

[@sarahcha98]

i have a question about polishing... i’m new to rock tumbling but every time i use a polishing grit my stones come out looking ashy.... any advice on how to make them have a glossy shine? i have rose quarts, clear quarts, smokey quarts and amethyst. Thanks in advanced!!

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Hi Sarah! Polish and grit are two different stages. You should be going through 3-4 stages of grit, then a final stage of polish to get the shine. If the product says polishing 'grit' it's not going to make it shiny 👍👍 I do have an online course that is very helpful for rock tumbling beginners called Rock Tumbling 101 if you'd like some additional advice reikigemwellness.com/courses/learn-rock-tumbling-101/

[@aaronbuster1989]

I wonder if using mineral oil and plenty of filler in the rotary tumbler would slow down the impacts sufficiently so you can use the rotary for all the stages. Since I'm just getting started, a vibratory machine seems quite expensive compared to oil.

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Some people do use sugar in the rotary to slow down the roll, but it takes alot of sugar. The vibratory I use is less than $100. The link for that should be in the description. 👍

[@cw7064]

FOCUS

[@Master-n-Teachvirgo8557]

😎🤙 keep rocking

[@GizmoAwesome]

Lmao I'm dying because this is the first stone I got for my Tumbler. Ofc it's advanced level. Fml 😂

[@ICEPICK7882]

Mine nearly fell apart in step 1 for 2 days fml. $9 for 1lbs I will just set these aside and tumble something else. What a bummer 😕

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Sometimes a brief time out is just what we need. We can come back later and try again. This is a really challenging stone, so don't worry about your first time results 👍

[@evajarbeau7655]

is it ok to just use a rotary because that's all I have but I bought 2lbs of this before watching this video:(

[@ReikiGemWellness]

I tried rotary several times before this video, because that's what I prefer, but it all came out horribly. I think I show examples in this video.

[@evajarbeau7655]

@@ReikiGemWellness Hi! ok so the first batch you showed had like cracks in them everywhere and I would be thrilled to have that be my outcome!! I just started tumbling so my expectations im guessing are not very high😅 Any ways I was looking back at your account to try and find if you made a rotary video showing each of the steps you took. So I was wondering if you did and if you did you don't need find the video, ill find it myself, I was just wondering if you did make it

[@DivineMasculine777]

Labradorite with purple flash

[@latoyaburns4133]

What happens to the "failed" batch of labordorite? Can you start over from step 1?

[@ReikiGemWellness]

I went back to Stage 2 and used my new techniques for it and it turned out just fine after that 👍👍

[@RicksPuzzlingAdventuresfro-h6b]

Well that is nice but I don't have the money to buy another machine and to have to use two machines now to get the shine people used to get just using a rotary tumbler. I will have to quit the tumbling hobby then I guess because recently every one of these videos are trying to say buy this Vibratory machine too. I started this hobby because of being led to believe that a tumbler was good enough and you just have to master how to use it and the steps between each tumbling steps. Seen others do this fine without this other machine. Also the tumbler is quiet that I use and live in apartment so no problem with noise from that. Another person here in other apartment got complaints due to that vibratory machine they bought. Returned it now. Too loud I guess. I like what you got but I really want to know how others get the same result you got but using tumbler only and cleaning techniques etc. Well Thank You though for the great video and explanation but I just don't have the money or own a house to do it. Thank You. Wish you all the best and happiness with your hobby. Peace.

[@genevievegelatto8447]

Looks like I’m going to have to invest in a vibratory tumbler. Nearly every one of your videos I’ve watched requires one. Sigh.

[@RicksPuzzlingAdventuresfro-h6b]

I am against vibratory machines to polish them. Sorry but not everyone has one and not all of us can afford one and lastly many just want to spend the time and patience to get the same result you get with that machine. This is a hobby for most people not in to make money or other reasons. I hope this recent push on YT to get people to buy expensive or even poor cheap vibratory machines that will fall apart in a year or less I hope this ends and we can get people showing how they "Tumbled" their stones to a nice finish again. That is what used to be the norm but not a lot of videos want you to get use buy whatever Vibratory machines. I am just tired of them. I seen your videos before they are great but too sick of this push to get people to go into this extra machine. Thanks for this video though informative and great for those who use these machines. Peace.

[@jordanbuckfruit]

Me realizing I’ve ruined a few pieces of labradorite 😭

[@genevievegelatto8447]

Sigh. I’m new to tumbling, and every single one of your videos I’ve watched thus far, you call an “advanced tumble”. I was hoping labradorite would be an easier tumble, but suspected it’d be tricky, due to the nature of the stone. I just did the first 2 stages of a fluorite tumble as my very first foray into tumbling, after watching your fluorite video, (actually cut the cycles short), and they look GREAT, but I didn’t have enough, or big enough rough to start with, so there’s very little left of the stones left after just 1 day in rough grit (on #2 speed) and 1 day on 2nd stage grit (also on #2 speed). I filled the void with ceramic media, but now the stones are so small, I’d need more ceramic media to continue, and I don’t have any more. I’ll buy more, and try again with more fluorite (and larger pieces), because it is indeed beautiful and very smooth already (looks great wet, so I know it’ll look great polished!). What would you suggest as a good beginner stone to tumble? (I’d prefer.anything but jasper, however I’ll give it a try if that’s what you suggest. I have NO problem with checking my stones daily, or as often as needed, by the way.)

[@ReikiGemWellness]

I do plenty of videos that are beginner level - all of the jaspers are great for beginners. It could be that the stones you are interested in tumbling, however, are advanced. Here is the entire tumbling playlist and you can browse through the various types: kzbin.info/aero/PLQF5VvgJv9WgU4Sdiw_0O9CDKczR4OkU5