💎 Rock Tumbling OBSIDIAN💎 From Start to Finish! | Rotary 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!

[@kasturiartsandhandicrafts1683]

Nice guid line,but I try lot but alluminium oxide no not work ,witch grade of alluminium oxide use ,can u tell us ? Thanks

[@stephaniem839]

Oh my gosh! I’m totally doing this! Thank you so much! I have some coming out of stage 1 and have heard horror stories about ruining it. I already have the Tumble-Vibe 5 too. THANK YOU!!!!!!! 🙏🏼 😊

[@chuckneese1282]

Thanks for your lesson. After visiting Glass Butte I wanted to tumble some. So far I've gone by your step by step process and finally have them in the vibe now. These are the first rocks I've tumbled and am so excited with the results so far!!!

[@dickrogers4779]

We just got back from a trip to Glass Butte in Southeast Oregon. We picked up some beautiful specimens of red obsidian and mohagany obsidian. Really liked your easy to follow process.

[@ReikiGemWellness]

I just picked up some Mahogany Obsidian from a local mine and I look forward to setting up my tumblers again to polish it up 👍 I hope to visit Glass Butte in the future!

[@shannonbyers3347]

I love when you “hmmm” like the rocks are yummy enough to eat! I love your videos. They are explained well and I love to see the multiple phases of the rocks.

[@Peter-gq8ru]

Awesome info. Thanks!

[@koarivera9151]

Thx great video mine are in vibe now.

[@beatfarmerfan]

Your Obsidian turned out great! I am going to take a road trip to the rock shop next week, and I think that will definitely be on my list. I just started my Blue Lace in week 2 of coarse grit and it is impressive. I think it would be great if you showed your tumblers in action. I am curious about the way your blue Raytech vibratory tumbler works. Thanks for the videos, and stay safe!

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Wow, I bet the Blue Lace Agate looks gorgeous! That's on my future wish list 😀 I don't tend to film y tumblers in action because they are loud, but maybe I can make a quick tutorial on the Raytech Tumble-Vibe, that would be fun 👍

[@JeffWeymier]

Loved the video. We just started tumbling a few months ago and am loving it. We are having trouble with the obsidian and was wondering what the sugar does for the process.

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Great question! The sugar acts as a thick syrup and slows the rate of vibration or tumbling. This slows the occurrence and intensity of the rocks bashing into each other therefore reducing the "bruising."

[@michaelvandyke6715]

Not to bad.... We hound obsidian at Glass Buttes Oregon and work with it a lot, cabbing it, slabbing it and ( or) tumbling it .... Tumbling it, is the hardest of all the things you can do with Obsidian... Great video ...👍

[@borderlessbusinessbrokerag4859]

Can Obsidian rough be easily shaped into bracelet beads? And how heavy should they be?

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Obsidian beads are available everywhere - I have no idea about the weight.

[@lostboysvideovault]

I have obsidian in final polish stage right now, but I don't have a vibratory tumbler, so I'm trying to make all this work in a rotary tumbler. I'm actually using Caro Syrup in lieu of a sugar mixture to try to slow down the action of the tumbler. I'm also using ceramic tile spacers as tumbling media, which are soft and rubbery. I'll know if it worked in about a week.

[@ReikiGemWellness]

I would love for you to find success with the rotary tumbler! I try to leave the vibratory as a pure last resort. Let me know how this works out for you!

[@Sharkteethfossildiscoveries]

How did it work ?

[@lostboysvideovault]

@@Sharkteethfossildiscoveries Many came out with marks or scratches, but I got a handful of good ones out of the batch. I just gave away most of them anyway, and kept the few that I liked.

[@michaelvandyke6715]

Just a note, next time when using the syrup, leave the media out and tumble for 10-14 days per cycle...👌

[@northernrocks543]

When I break up rocks I wrap the rocks up In an old towel or shirt or any old rag. It keeps the rock pieces contained and not flying all over. Where did you get your obsidian? The only places I know where to order rocks is The Rock Shed, Kingsley North, and Gems by Mail.

[@ReikiGemWellness]

That's a great tip! I got this batch of Obsidian through The Rock Shed 👍

[@aaronbuster1989]

Surprisingly, Etsy has many vendors selling rough stones for tumbling. The one with the best prices was CrystalRiverGems, but be sure to check the prices with the Rock Shed as they were going back and forth on the best prices.

[@123guitardan]

Where did you get your golden sheen obsidian?

[@donnacanada522]

Can you cut small slabs with a saw or is obsidian too brittle?

[@alexastavast364]

We have 2 5 gallon buckets that are most full and we have tried tumbling some once before but they had a bunch of little scratches and I want to try again

[@larimar7057]

is there any alternative for oxides ? for example if i use powder of obsidian to polish obsidian it will work or not ?

[@MarkTChristy]

I keep getting pits that are clear black inside, and 2-3 weeks in rough grit still popping out. Nice tips!!! Love the tumblervibe!

[@donnacanada522]

What does the sugar do?

[@gregoryus1]

Hello I bought obsidian I like to know what I can put on it to know if it real or glass

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Obsidian is glass, essentially. But because Obsidian is plentiful and inexpensive - no one makes fake Obsidian. 🙏💖🙏

[@belindaluu1]

@reikigemwellness, if there is a chip in the obsidian (like a puncture - a harder stone hitting it but not deep) does that affect the metaphysical qualities of the stone?

[@dayneswanda1453]

Great video! I’m a beginner but have done a few loads of agate, jasper, & amber from AK. They turned out great but just recently tried a tub of Apache tears from CO & couldn’t get them to polish. They’re nice & smooth but chalky looking when dry. Any tips? Thanks

[@paulcarder8032]

Another great job Shannon. This Obsidian lesson came at the right moment. I just put a batch of Obsidian for polish in my vibratory this morninging. I use a Lot-O, but basically I followed your guidelines in this video. What do you do with the chips? Keep the helpful videos coming!

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Thanks Paul! I actually just threw the little chips in with the course batch and they just ground down during the 3 weeks in course. I'll tell you though - always be careful when breaking apart Obsidian because these are literally flying pieces of glass and I cut myself picking up the tiny pieces 😮😮

[@ljrandom147]

Hey , i have pieces of obsidian that i found in my hikes and travels. I just ordered a a 2lb tumbler today actually. Any tips and tricks you could throw my way. Any special grit that goes best with obsidian and polish?

[@ReikiGemWellness]

If you watch the video it shows you exactly how I did it, and my recipe and timeline are at the end of the video. Obsidian is a tricky stone to start with if you are just starting to tumble. I would recommend beginning with jaspers or agates before moving on to Obsidian 👍👍

[@Lavendeer201]

I cannot get my obsidian to shine like that! How do you do it?

[@koarivera9151]

Will this recipe work in just a regular rotary tumbler I have a thumler model b

[@ReikiGemWellness]

I could get never get Obsidian to finish without bruising completely in a rotary tumbler which is why I specifically showed this with the vibratory 👍

[@freelove75]

when you say sugar, do you actually mean sugar, like what i would put in cookies?

[@alexl7363]

Do you recommend using the Raytech vibratory tumbler that's listed in your description? I am interested in purchasing but I've never used one before. Would you recommend it for beginners? Can this type of tumbler be used for jasper and agates? Or is it best to use a rotary tumbler for those types of stones? Sorry for so many questions! Thank you in advance :)

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Oh yes, I HIGHLY recommend the Raytech Tumblevibe for beginners! It's inexpensive, smaller capacity, and really easy to use. I personally only use the Tumblevibe for softer, more delicate stones and still use the Rotary for agates and Jaspers, but yes you could still tumble them in the Vibe. However, it's never recommended to do the course stage in a vibratory, so you'd still need both a rotary and the vibratory.👍👍 Thank you for asking!

[@alexl7363]

@@ReikiGemWellness Awesome! I've got a couple rotary tumblers, but they look pretty intimidating. One of them is a Viking Super VT-6 Tumbler that was passed down to me from my great great grandfather. It is humongous, but it still works. The other is a Lortone Model 33B. I've never tumbled before, but it is a hobby that runs in my family so I'd like to keep it up. Are you familiar with these models? If so, any advice on using them? Or would you recommend another brand for rotary tumblers? Thanks so much for getting back to me! It's appreciated!

[@ReikiGemWellness]

@@alexl7363 I have no experience with the Viking, but I do highly recommend all Lortone rotary tumblers 👍

[@sirisundertakaur703]

Shannon you said for the medium grit you add 4 tsp of water but what about for the fine grit , extra fine grit , and polish step -besides the sugar are you also adding water or is this dry polishing?

[@torgado]

Hi Shannon- So I've watched this amazing video start to finish 3 times now. I'm just getting started with obsidian tumbling. I have a Thumler Model B rotary and a Thumler UV18 industrial vibratory tumbler. Wondering what ratio of obsidian to ceramic media you've found that minimizes bruising/chipping? Same ratio for the rotary and vibratory? Will be doing fairly large batches with fresh obsidian gently and respectfully collected off the surface (legally) from eastern Oregon. Thanks!

[@judyhirsh716]

I just took out my obsidian from stage 4, 1200 grit. It looks like I just took it out of 180/220 grit. It looks worse than it did going in. What happened? I'm using ceramic pellets as well. My amethyst and fluorite looks shinier than them. I'm so sad as I was expecting these to be the shiniest rocks in our batch but they are the dullest.

[@gregoryus1]

In a market in England every year there is this market people come and sell things also people selling stones

[@anneallen2690]

Thank you

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Thank you so much Anne! 💖🙏💖

[@erikfriesl916]

Wow, I have tried to tumble 2 batches and I have not been able to get the polished look... the next batch I will try your process, but that will have to wait til I can afford a vibrating tumbler....

[@ReikiGemWellness]

Raytech Tumble Vibes are usually less last $100 with shipping. It's a smaller, less expensive vibe and it works really well 👍

[@erikfriesl916]

@@ReikiGemWellness thanks

[@phyllisgovia4253]

We need to remember they are not rock they are glass and they will cut you! I learned that the hard way.

[@BlackTubers]

you must have the *sweetest* obsidian in town .... do you see what I did there?

[@Davelon420]

If you respect the processes involved in making the stone you will receive good stone after the first polish attempt. You my dear only seem to enjoy the appearance not what made it, may be why you keep getting cracked 'gems'... js. Appreciate Gaia as well as GIA next time and you won't disappear mm's of precious stone.

[@ReikiGemWellness]

I think you haven't watched the other videos on my channel 🙏🙏