Rock Tumbling Random Rocks From Our Driveway!

Mary and I decided to almost exclusively tumble what we could find in ours and our friends driveways this time! It was a lot of fun, and we discovered some neat stones. We ended up having to add just a few things that were not from our driveway as we lost some size, but not a lot.
Dave's REAL Job! www.davidshock...
THE SOAP WE USE:
Between each stage. This is HIGHLY CONCENTRATED and has ZERO fillers, so it works great for tumbling (and you barely use any due to the concentrated formula) 1/2 tspn. does the trick. - maryshockley.n...
THE GRIT WE USE:
60/90 Coarse Silicon Carbide Grit.
180/220 Medium Silicon Carbide Grit.
500 Fine Silicon Carbide.
1200 Aluminum Oxide Final Polish.
THE CERAMICS WE USE: www.amazon.com...
THE PRE-POLISH WE USE: www.amazon.com...
THE POLISH WE USE: www.amazon.com...
THE TUMBLER WE USE: www.amazon.com...
Michigan Rocks (AWESOME CHANNEL): / jugglerguy1
Rookie Rockhounding (ANOTHER AWESOME CHANNEL): / crazycrazysillyfresh
#Rocktumbling #rockhound #Nationalgeographicrocktumbler

[@sharonschwab7104]

I'm so glad you did some ordinary rocks. Lots are just as beautiful and even sometimes more interesting than than some minerals. I also saw how important the cleaning in-between each stage of tumbling. I need to do that! Thank you so much!

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you Sharon! We certainly have a lot of fun with it. We're still learning, but that's half the fun! :)

[@brianendthelandartifacts6521]

Hi. He did a amazing job. I have some content also… Check out my KZbin video Brian End the land artifacts.. like and subscribe.. thanks..

[@1marcelo]

I'm glad that the rough FU stone was not polished into a polite "I don't want to talk to you" stone.

[@DavidShockley]

LOL! Right?!?!!! :)

[@hallbjornthefirebreather8376]

I really appreciate this video, im wanting to get into rock tumbling and rock cutting and knowing I can basically just pick rocks from the drive way or just get random rocks from the creek really makes me have a little more hope on my endeavor. Again, thank you

[@DavidShockley]

Sure thing! I'm glad it helped you a bit! As for 'hope', I'm a complete stranger, and I have faith in you! GO FORTH AND TUMBLE AWESOME STUFF! ;) And have fun, even if something goes sideways. :)

[@daviddesrochers9439]

Do check your local law's regarding the removal of stones or gravel from creeks and river's, as they are habitat for spawning fish in spots in the world....( Fines can be atrocious!!!!..lol)..

[@hallbjornthefirebreather8376]

@@daviddesrochers9439 well its not really that kind of creek, not more and 5 or 6 inches deep. But as far as I know we don't have laws like that around here unless it's state or government owned land like a state or national park. But definitely something to be conscious of.

[@DavidShockley]

@@daviddesrochers9439 That's a really good point! Mary and I did look up a couple of local laws and we actually managed to track down two parks and rec employees as well as a ranger and chatted with them about it. You're DEAD ON with the riverbeds etc. Another good one is private land! You might THINK you're on public land, but around here (Fluvanna) almost everything you step on is privately owned. That can be tricky. But you bring up REALLY good points! :)

[@savanahgeorge786]

I’m just curious. Why would someone have granite as driveway stone? Never heard of it

[@heatherreis3276]

Rock lover since childhood. Always wanted to tumble. Found many interesting rocks in some gravel. Not in our Nova Scotia granite gravel tho because it's only grey granite. But sometimes you can find some private sellers with very varied stones. Nice to see such a nice couple collaboration. You guys are pleasant together.

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you so much! We try! LOL :) I hope you've gotten a chance to get into tumbling since you posted here! If so, let us know how it's going for you! We'll help if we can, should you have any questions. We're not professionals by any means, but we've learned a fair bit since this video was published. :) Happy Rock Hounding!

[@dorothyjack9164]

I'm in LOVE with that pink one... And I pick up rocks everytime I walk to the store.. I find some really fun ones. .. Love ur channel ❤️❤🙏

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you so much! We have a lot of fun creating videos for this weird little eclectic channel! LOL It is pretty neat what you can find at your feet when you're out for a walk! We've even managed to find actual gold. Barely enough to see, but we did find it once! :)

[@fritzozuna654]

I really like your "driveway" rocks, they are so unexpectedly beautiful!! I polish rocks one at a time, but you give me completely new ideas! thanks! I always did want polish some granite. You guys are really coming-up with some great looking "shiny-rocks"!!! It is soooo neat that you are both "into it" so completely too. Green "serpentine" would work real-nice too. Keep it going, please....

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you! We're still learning, but it's fun! :)

[@BonesFPV]

Great video. Thank you.

[@DavidShockley]

Of course! Thank you for watching! :)

[@ottobruegman4694]

Try tumbling same hardness stones. Rocks that are softer than other rocks in the tumbler get scratched by the harder rocks. Green stones only in tumbler is the right idea. Nice video. Have fun.

[@DavidShockley]

Thanks Otto! We're actually recording a series right now where everything is VERY similar in hardness. :) We're already seeing better and faster results! We're learning as we go, but it's still a fun process! :) Thanks for the advice, and we're glad that you enjoyed the little video! :)

[@DancesWithKitties]

I love our green rocks. 🪨

[@anneblankinship4464]

Glad for all your instructive video. I am interested in this hobby but really know nothing about it so I am glad for your thorough discussions. Thanks! I will subscribe

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you Anne! We're still learning too. I hope you have some fun and enjoy this if you do decide to start tumbling! :)

[@viewer942010]

Wow. That's crazy how much grit was still on the rocks after burnishing. I'm thinking I should burnish longer on my Lot-o-tumbler. I've just been doing it an hour or so.

[@DavidShockley]

Right? Now consider this... It's been a while since we did that video, and we've learned that what we thought was a LOT of grit was actually just reactions from the soap, stone, and even the barrel. On top of that, we've also learned that burnishing TOO long after the final stage can actually remove some of the shine. So be careful! :)

[@jw7956]

Beautiful treasures! Enjoyed watching! 💜

[@crafty_mamaw5220]

My FIL has been tumbling rocks for 40 years. Some rocks won’t polish no matter what. Also he doesn’t do alot of these steps and they are all perfect. It’s trial and error. Better tumblers and more than one are an investment you need if you seriously want to tumble rocks. He’s also never used ceramic or any other media besides the rocks. He also doesn’t refill the tumbler with more to fill the gaps.

[@DavidShockley]

Wow! It sounds like he REALLY knows what he's doing! Maybe after 40 years we'll learn how not to do some of the things we do! :)

[@queenbee9505]

@@DavidShockley 😏😏😏😏😏

[@SustenanceNCovering]

Those are gorgeous.

[@lgaines4086]

I would love to see video about cutting random rocks to see what the insides look like.

[@tasnimweaver1492]

there are some videos on that out there..and they come out amazing

[@valeriereneeharper]

Some rocks are mixes of soft and hard material so the softer part will erode away faster making pits in your stone. For example, if you have a sandstone with beautiful chunks of jasper in it, the sandstone part of the rock will not polish and be eaten away way faster than the jasper making a funky looking rock in the end.

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you so much Valerie! We're clearly beginners! LOL :)

[@beakittelscherz5419]

Looks very cool! Thanks for sharing the process! The grid sludge is actually a very good mixture to sharpen wood turning tools. Or mixed with soap a cleaning agent for AL the car wrenchers out there! Just try it out. So if you have crafty friends, give some of it to them for handwash or sharpening knifes and tools. Esp. The finest grid-sludge👌👍

[@DavidShockley]

Wow! Thank you for the suggestions! At least there's something else we can do with it all now! LOL

[@amyjones7962]

😂😂😂😂 I too despise them little bastards, Sir! 😂

[@DavidShockley]

LOL!

[@christinerobinson9372]

You picked out all the interesting rocks to put into the tumbler. I wanted to see the boring, plain old gray rocks, what happens to them?

[@DavidShockley]

Christine, We were JUST saying we should just try a lot of random (mostly boring) rocks and see what happens! You know, like straight up gray old gravel. LOL. I think all we'd really have to do is just research exactly what we had, and make sure they were all extremely close on the MOHS Hardness Scale so we don't end up with more boring dull rocks, only smaller, after a month. :) Now that we have two tumblers, I think we should try it and see! I'll add it to the radar. :)

[@vance7354]

Side note, the "polish" you listed is not actually a polish, its a "Pre Polish". 1200 grit AO is a pre-polish. If you watch Michigan rocks, he uses Rock Shed Polish, which is 2 micron and finer, this polish is likely somewhere around an 8000 grit, Or even Higher grit like 14000 for polish. My Girl has a Nat Geo type tumbler, and we used the grit that came with it before I did any research, and we got a bit of a shine on SOME of the rocks we ran, but not all. If you really want a TRUE mirror shine, you need to get much finer than 1200 grit for your final stage. I run a 5 stage tumble that goes like this: 80 grit Silicon Carbide Grit. 220 Grit Silicon Carbide Grit. 500 Grit Silicon Carbide Grit. 1000 Grit Aluminum Oxide 2 micron/8000 Grit Aluminum Oxide Final Polish. If its a rock that will shine, this will put a mirror polish on it. Hope this helps! www.rockshed.com/rock-shop/rock-tumblers-supplies/rock-tumbling-grit-and-accessories/aluminum-oxide-polish/

[@DavidShockley]

WOW! Thank you so much for the info! We will TOTALLY do this! Do you record your tumbles and advice? I'll have to subscribe to you!

[@DavidShockley]

And YES! This REALLY helps! I'm so glad you saw our video and offered some advice! LOL Totally ordering some of that polish now!

[@queenbee9505]

Lol. When I was 12,, I got a rock tumbler. There was no youtube in 1973. I got the rocks from the alley. Not all rocks will shine. It is best not to tumble limestone, gypsum or sandstone. You will grind them to dust and just make mud. Type of grit matters, sequence matters, rocks matter. I made mud. I also drove my parents crazy. The tumbler got thrown into the yard after I ran it during sleeping time. I did not use grit..just rocks n water. I don't think the tumbler came with instructions. It was a plastic Ronco tumbler

[@jamesharvey7492]

I tried using train track rocks. They had quartz stones and granite with quartz stripes. They were pretty good.

[@DavidShockley]

NICE! That's a great idea actually...

[@maryelizabethshockley9002]

That IS a great idea!

[@sabrinakingsoundworks9897]

Snap! Great idea. I live near Crewe, Va...huge train hub, hear trains all day and night. Named after a similar town in England. Wanted to try this since I was a kid. Great video! Thanks, y'all.

[@JasonWatson-hn8kd]

I am in Maine. Great feldspar and quartz along the tracks. This is also a great source of green glass from old power pole inslators Always tumble rocks of similar hardness together and most anything will look good

[@SustenanceNCovering]

I saw a video of someone polishing dinosaur bones and the rocks looked just like the one you showed at 1:03:03.

[@DavidShockley]

COOOOOOOL! Thank you for pointing that out! Now we have to go find that one again! :)

[@joekirkwood]

Unakite is feldspar, Quartz, and green Epidote which is my favorite. The Quartz can have Amithist in it. And that green stone is an Epidote.

[@joekirkwood]

Collect the red and green and the clearing white stones.

[@jamnoise72]

Thanks for sharing guys I really enjoyed that :)

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you! We're glad you enjoyed it! :) Happy rockhounding! :)

[@anchorbait6662]

I'm guessing the dirty water\grit after cleaning with soap is due to rock on rock contact along with the ceramic . so basically made from the rocks themselves not necessarily leftover grit. I'm just my thoughts

[@DavidShockley]

We think you are 100% right! After a few tumbles we came to the same conclusion. :) Thanks for the insight though! Clearly you can see we're still learning. :)

[@dreamlookautodetailingauto3353]

Your driveway rockvare pretty. But don't think they came out shiny. Try using a vibratory tumbler instead of a rotary tumbler on the polishing stage. Should get better results. 😉

[@DavidShockley]

100% AGREE! (Minus the quartz) And as luck would have it, we DID get a vibratory tumbler! We're going to start filming with that this spring! :)

[@dreamlookautodetailingauto3353]

@@DavidShockley awesome!

[@DavidShockley]

@@dreamlookautodetailingauto3353 Thank you! We're really looking forward to it! If you have any advice, we'd love to hear it. We need to start from scratch with this one, so our first video will probably be just mounting the tumbler to a big heavy cinder block or something. LOL. But hopefully, we'll learn in short order! :)

[@richardhulbert9480]

I have found my ultra sonic cleaner with a bit of dishsoap works well to clean between the later stages. I dont use it between rough and stage two. I dont use media till stage 3 but yall got nice results and thats what matters

[@animaloverload7465]

Been slowly tumbling my landscaping rocks around the house. Just got a ton of granite this year too. Lots to do.

[@DavidShockley]

Nice! I hope you get some fun results! :)

[@momconley3935]

Love this helpful video. I am a beginner and just got my double tumbler. I want to teach my granddaughter. I think it’s a good opportunity to collect rocks on our hikes and then tumble. What does burnish mean? And want to know what people do w their finished rocks.

[@DavidShockley]

That's great! :) Mary and I are so happy you enjoyed our little 'adventure with rocks' :) We're still tumbling even now and a new video with new equipment should come soon. :) As for "What does Burnish mean?" All you are doing when you 'burnish' is taking your rocks after a stage of tumbling, cleaning them, and then running them in nothing but soap and water (along with any ceramics you might have used) for a few hours. That soap and water really helps make sure you are not cross contaminating any of the old grit with new grit during the next phase. It also helps the rocks shine a little more! ESPECIALLY When you burnish after the polish phase! :) If you check the 'Description' of the video, you can find the soap we used. And a lot of people use Ivory Bar Soap that's been shredded, as well as Borax. We use a Norwex brand, but all three do roughly the same exact thing. As for what people do with the rocks once they're polished, a LOT of tumblers find they can make jewelry with them, or gift them to those who can! As for Mary and I? We gift them to the local kids in and around our neighborhood, and line MANY of our windowsills with them. :) I hope that helps! And good luck with your adventure! :)

[@meg2831]

If you ever go to Maine you should check out jasper Beach. it's just a bunch of rocks alot of which are jasper.

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you Meg! :)

[@theonewhosnortsfairys]

The purple and green stone is unikite if you're still wondering and the green is epidot it looks like with green quartz. I saw dalmatian jaspers and midnight jasper is the dark almost black sparkling one and i saw a goldstone in there at one point.

[@DavidShockley]

WOW! Thank you! We've gotten a little better at IDing things, but every little bit helps! :)

[@theonewhosnortsfairys]

@@DavidShockley yeah I have been a hounder for about 30+ yrs now and I still don't know probably half of what is out there still lmao! Then again my memory isn't what it used to be by far but almost every day I'm doin the damn thing again and again, and perseverance has a way of winning almost every time. 😎🤙 keep it up with your beautiful ass driveway you two lol. Love the videos 🧔👌

[@theonewhosnortsfairys]

@@DavidShockley by the way I have aggots and opal and serpentine along my railroad tracks so at least that makes me feel like I'm not being left out next to your rock hounders dream driveway lmao🤣🤤😎🤙

[@DavidShockley]

@@theonewhosnortsfairys WOW!!!!!!!! That's awesome! :) I hope you continue to have fun with your rockhounding. We still enjoy it as much as we can! :)

[@elizabethlewis3509]

The rocks that take longer to tumble smoothly are harder on the mohs scale. i.e jasper hardness 7. Knowing the hardness of the rocks is helpful. Remember that the harder rocks or minerals in the matrix will have more shine.

[@1979hellcat]

Those turned out beautiful!

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you! :)

[@shiner4mIDAHO]

you can get a real feel for the beach agates when you put them on the lense of a bright flashlight & see how they look...also helps establish hardness.

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you! We need to start taking Flashlights with us when we hunt! :)

[@naomib8282]

I've found loads of treasures in the driveways here at home in Michigan, many, many varieties, colors, densities and types of fossils.

[@DavidShockley]

That's awesome! One of our favorite channels is Michigan Rocks. You guys seem to have LOADS of awesome places to rockhound there! We're thinking of taking a summertime road trip to Michigan to explore. :)

[@joekirkwood]

You have Unakite gems. Quartz, and Sandstone, Michigan Lake Stones.

[@Reneemfenn]

Would anyone explain how Borax is used when tumbling, plz?

[@DavidShockley]

Sure thing! Borax is usually used to burnish your tumbles between stages, or just at the very end. And by burnish, I just mean, to clean the rocks. Some slight sediment / residue might remain on the rocks from your slurry. So Borax (Or any soap without fillers) can be used to clean the rocks (and the drum) between tumbles or after your final tumble. Hope that helps!

[@ControversialChris-o2b]

Instead of detergent you can also use sugar, salt, epsom salts and soda crystals.

[@DavidShockley]

Cool!

[@foxtrotdeltausn4757]

I just got lit up by YJs yesterday. The only sting that is still bothering me is my ring finger. It's nice and swollen. So I'm wearing an o-ring as a wedding band, lol. Literally, I went to my o-ring box and grabbed the one that fit.

[@DavidShockley]

DOH! Ugh... That sucks. Hope you feel better soon! Those things can be THE WORST! I got hit a few years ago while mowing the lawn. Ugh...

[@joekirkwood]

The orange clear stone is a Chelcedony.

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you Joe! :)

[@kathywiseman7944]

I've still have rocks from northern Ohio I tumbled 50 years ago that could be twins to this batch.

[@DavidShockley]

Nice! That's awesome! You must be a professional tumbler by now. :) I wish we had started 50 years ago! Imagine what we could have learned in that time. :)

[@shiner4mIDAHO]

remember gold follows black sand, it may of been that fine powder gold you were looking at

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you! Who knew? It's crazy what you can find in the - dirt. LOL

[@northerngurl9429]

Watermelon Bonkrers were the greatest candy ever made! Miss them

[@DavidShockley]

RIGHT!?!?!?!!?!?!!?!?? LOL!!!!!!!

[@oldgamerchick]

I just got a 3 pound Nat Geo tumbler. I am very interested to see how yours turns out. I will be tumbling flint I found by the road side.

[@DavidShockley]

That's great! I hope you have a ton of fun with it! We sure do! :)

[@oldgamerchick]

@@DavidShockley thank you. It's a very quiet machine. Almost sounds like heavy rain on my metal roof. A sound I like very much 🤗. Thank you for your great video.

[@DavidShockley]

@@oldgamerchick Well you can't go wrong with that sound! :) Enjoy your tumbling! :)

[@susancrandall2093]

The sparkle in your stones is mica.

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you! :) That's one of the best parts about this community of Rockhounds etc. It seems so welcoming and eager to help out the novices (like us!) LOL. That mica sure does look nice if you can get it polished.

[@janetfournier4067]

Just became rock hound gathering rocks from everywhere. Yelled at me kid yesterday ...pull over I see a rock lol

[@DavidShockley]

LOL!!! Nice!!!!!!! :)

[@JoaniesJourney]

When burnishing not all of that was remaining grit. Because of the ceramic media you were actually still creating grit. Try removing the ceramic media before burnishing and see how much grit you actually get. 👍 Also why are you using ceramics while polishing?

[@DavidShockley]

Ahh! That explains quite a bit! And should you not use the ceramics when polishing? We've read that it does help. Maybe it doesn't?

[@JoaniesJourney]

@@DavidShockley I'm no expert so its just my next logical thought. If it's an abrasive then you should get a better result if they were removed during the polishing stages. 🤷 It certainly would make a nice experiment! 👍

[@earljohnson2676]

Most of those green color rocks are epidote it’s super common but great to polish

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you Earl! Yes, we really do like how they turned out! :)

[@queenbee9505]

Could not find the Michigan rocks grit link

[@DavidShockley]

I think Rob (Michigan Rocks) took down his store? We managed to grab some grit from him at one point, but these days we just see who has the best price and go from there. Here is what we search for on Amazon, and so far, they do a great job! THE GRIT WE USE: 60/90 Coarse Silicon Carbide Grit. 180/220 Medium Silicon Carbide Grit. 500 Fine Silicon Carbide. 1200 Aluminum Oxide Final Polish.

[@weirdo8643]

Your rocks are awesome!! And your video is very informative. Been wanting to tumble for years, but don't have a set up for it.... very limited space and nowhere the noise won't bother anyone....But saving your video for when I'm able to a few years down the line. On another note, Shockley isn't a common name. Are you by chance related to a Brittany Shockley or a Chuck (Charles) Sharkey? Maybe a David or Brian Farrington? Last I knew they were in California. Janet is David, Brian, and Chuck's mom.

[@DavidShockley]

Hello! And thank you! It's been a fun little experience for sure. :) I hope some day you are able to get into it! As for the names you mentioned, I don't really recognize them, but I agree, Shockley is a rare one out there! :)

[@leohorishny9561]

Interesting. Looking at your results makes me want to get a cheap Dremel and slice into some of the interesting specimens to see what sections of those rocks look like.🤔

[@DavidShockley]

Leo, that sounds fun! We've been wanting to cut some too! I think there'd be some nice discoveries in there.

[@debrashattuck6068]

I have cut driveway rocks. They are gorgeous

[@Michelle-TB]

Rock bats 🦇 from a garden or from digging in the dirt cave

[@openyoureyes7539]

I think 38:12 is a Unakite specimen.

[@DavidShockley]

We think you're right! Thank you for the heads up! :)

[@bbffmuyy]

I heard you ask about shine, I'm an older guy winding down and Its amazing what pops out of memory. there some nod to the idea tha the shiner the ball the smoother the finish. we used to use a rotating cylinder to polish and burnish large amounts of silver. Hope it helps or amuses

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you so much Ken! :)

[@marypraznik2758]

These are no ordinary rocks ! If l had those rocks in my driveway l would be in 7th heaven. Ordinary ??? I dont think so.

[@joekirkwood]

Watermelon->Unakite

[@crystaltaylor3320]

How do you know what rocks tumble good together?

[@DavidShockley]

In our case? Trial and error. But watching KZbin videos like MICHIGAN ROCKS is a great way to learn!

[@crystaltaylor3320]

Thank you so much I'll definitely check it out. I love your channel so far too keep up the great work!

[@DavidShockley]

@@crystaltaylor3320 You're welcome! And thank you! :)

[@jac4YouTube]

I had a tumbler years ago but got rid of it because of the noise, I love the polished look of rocks but not the work that goes into it

[@DavidShockley]

I'm positive that if we had to deal with the noise, we wouldn't be doing much tumbling either! So you're right about that. They can be super loud. :)

[@reginaromsey]

Looks like you have a few agates as well.

[@DavidShockley]

I'm not sure to be honest! But that sure would be nice! :)

[@stevenklimecky4918]

Could be banded flint.

[@sharonschwab7104]

I wanted to add that sadly in Nebraska, we're not as fortunate rockhounding as in other states.

[@redbird57]

I need a rock tumbler

[@DavidShockley]

There are far worse hobbies! :)

[@shannonbyers3347]

When you burnish in between what speed do you use. I also tumble in a NG tumbler but love your soap rinse idea in between as I have had grit sticking!! Loved this video!!

[@DavidShockley]

Hi Shannon! Thank you! We burnish on the slowest speed possible. One thing we learned too is that burnishing for TOO LONG can remove some of the final polish. So we're down to about 1 hour of burnish between stages, at the slowest speed. :) I hope that helps! And good luck! :)

[@shannonbyers3347]

@@DavidShockley that’s great to know. Thank you so much! Funny I also use Norwex soap but didn’t think about that!! S

[@DavidShockley]

@@shannonbyers3347, Oh nice! We were told to use Ivory or Borax, but we found that the Norwex used far less and did a much better job! And yes, we WERE burnishing for hours, sometimes overnight, before we learned that the process can actually remove some of the polish you managed to get. So these days we stick to about 30 minutes to an hour. :) If you ever get a chance to check out Michigan Rocks, that channel is a WEALTH of information of tumbling! It's also just a fun channel. You should check him out! :) Good luck, and happy tumbling!

[@rampagemototv2023]

4days 24/7 continious tumbling?

[@DavidShockley]

Yep! The only time we're not actually running the tumbler is if it gets way below freezing and we're worried the slurry might lock up. But in general we let it go day and night. :)

[@dianequince8761]

Wow, very nice rocks from your driveway! I use Dawn dish soap and have been cleaning my rocks for 1 to 2 hrs. in-between the stages also. Do you think laundry detergent is better and should I burnish longer? Im still new at this and watch different channels on tumbling. I appreciate any advice and subscribed to your channel also. Thank you. And you have a beautiful yard!😃

[@DavidShockley]

Hello! I'm not sure laundry detergent is any better than regular soap. UNLESS the detergent has fillers like scents etc? That MIGHT make it less effective for burnishing? I'm not really too sure? We just used what he have, and there are no additional ingredients in there that could leave any sort of residue. I hope that help! As for burnishing between stages, we find we get the best results doing that. :)

[@dianequince8761]

@@DavidShockley , thank you 😃

[@DavidShockley]

@@dianequince8761 Sure thing! Happy tumbling! :)

[@reginaromsey]

What would have happened if you had run the tumbler in phase 1 is you went ahead and did the full 7 day run? You can’t tell if you pulled them too quickly unless you have that to judge again.

[@DavidShockley]

Wanda, Likely what would have happened is we still would have gotten results, but they just wouldn't have been as drastic as you're generally looking for during your first rotary tumble with very rough material. In other words, we would have likely run Phase 1 with new grit for a few more days after we inspected them. :)

[@ZE308AC]

Rock 🪨 tumble metal rocks

[@riverpandax]

omg i forgot about bonkers :)

[@DavidShockley]

RIGHT??? LOL! We need to bring back BONKERS! :)

[@muddshovel56]

The one that may be Jasper looks like a Care Bear

[@DavidShockley]

LOL!

[@trptrungblogs]

👍👍👍👍💎❤️

[@tasnimweaver1492]

actually from what I have read online you could have just recharged..in other words just simply added more grit without washing them off and then continued

[@DavidShockley]

I think we read the same thing! You can tell we were still beginners at this point. LOL. Thanks for the tip though!

[@SergioBlackDolphin]

From road side to sea side stones.

[@joekirkwood]

Epidote, and Amathist, and or Prenite.

[@AstralArbourSystem]

I find a lot of cool rocks at the beach, and I'm trying to convince my parents to get a rock tumbler. But they think I'll use it once and then it'll sit in the basement being a waste of money. I could technically buy one myself but I don't have a job right now so I wouldn't have any money until I find a new one.

[@DavidShockley]

Considering the price tag on the little National Geographic tumbler, it might be low considering the other tumblers (better) that are out there, but for what we paid, it's been great, and well worth the expense. Not to mention, we've actually had people offer to buy some of the stones we've tumbled, so who knows? Maybe it could pay for itself? ;) Just a thought. I hope you do manage to get your hands on one so you can see for yourself if it would gather dust, or be used! GOOD LUCK!

[@AstralArbourSystem]

@@DavidShockley Thanks! :)

[@MegaMeaty]

The water is grey, because the soap is reacting with minerals in the rock.

[@DavidShockley]

I never even thought of that JB! Thank you! That makes total sense now that I think about it. Thanks again!

[@MegaMeaty]

@@DavidShockley Thanks for the video - I live in the high Rockies, and have been collecting things that look good before you tumble them, and I think I will find a tumbler for myself - Just like to see What people are using, and to what effectiveness.

[@DavidShockley]

@@MegaMeaty Oh, nice! If you're still looking (Shopping) I would suggest taking a look at the LORETONE 33b tumbler. So far, it gets a LOT of great reviews and it's a dual barrel system which is very nice. You might also consider looking up MICHIGAN ROCKS on KZbin, as that gentleman has a LOT of great advice and suggestions. :) I hope that helps!

[@maryelizabethshockley9002]

@@MegaMeaty ooooh! Such different geology from here 🤩 Do you know what kind of rocks you’ve been finding?

[@MegaMeaty]

@@maryelizabethshockley9002 Depends on what mountain you are on. On Jasper mountain - you can find a rainbow of colors of jasper. In the Sandstone you can find common white opal. In Recent volcanic areas you can find agates. I have piles of the stuff, and a lot of different types of quartz, and that is one of my favorites, because it has some interesting properties. I am really wanting to tumble the dendritic quartz I found. It should polish to something unique.

[@1erinjames]

I've been so frustrated with the tumbler process. People on yt end up with incredible polished results. In real life, not finding the same results.

[@alexgaede359]

Question so the same ceramic media went into all stages/cleaning together every single time? No changing out just kept going??

[@DavidShockley]

Alex, For this tumble, we used all the same media, and sometimes added more. And you're exactly right, we cleaned it with the rocks between each stage! :)

[@maryc2102]

@@DavidShockley you might try a rubber media for the polish stage. The ceramic might be keeping you from the full candy looking shine. Ceramic itself is a grit. You sharpen knives with it. We don't run any kind of media in the polish stage...

[@DavidShockley]

@@maryc2102 I never really thought about that! But it makes perfect sense. We're gearing up for a new round, so we'll have to try that on the Polish Stage! THANK YOU!

[@josephmansfield2437]

pellets in stage one that's bold and defeating the purpose of stage one

[@DavidShockley]

Agreed. You can tell we were still kinda learning what the heck we were doing! lol

[@josephmansfield2437]

its fun to learn and to watch thumbs up

[@catco8644]

If you have to save some rocks out to tumble again do you keep them in a jar of water?

[@DavidShockley]

That depends! We DO sometimes keep them in water if we're not entirely sure if we managed to get all of the grit off. Otherwise, we just dry them off and add them to a collection that is marked (Phase 1,2,3...) etc. :)

[@snakeysdw]

I tumbler what I call ally rocks....get some pretty cool rocks...in my opinion...thanks for posting this video.

[@ibkristykat]

I saw someone just spray a silica coating out of a rattle can as a short cut to polishing lol.. I'm like "that's just cheating" lol

[@DavidShockley]

LOL! Yeah, that's a TOTALLY different thing! :)

[@ibkristykat]

@@DavidShockley yeahhh I was like "that's a bandaid essentially... not the same thubg.. soooo not the same". Gonna forget I gained that knowledge lol

[@HeidiEisenhuth]

If you want the candy coat polish you need to remove the ceramic media and use something for buffing and polishing. You are sanding the surface with the ceramics.

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you! We've actually learned a little bit more than when we filmed this, and you're totally right. We kinda learned that the hard way! lol

[@tasnimweaver1492]

actually I know many people use ceramic myself included..my thought would be you only use 1200grit as a polish..people I spoke to said even as high as 1600 is just "pre-polish" and polish should be 8000 to 12000 or higher grit

[@copasetic1]

You really don’t need the ceramic media in the first stage, and you may see faster smoothing without it. However, it’s important in all subsequent stages, including polish, unless you have very soft minerals, in which case plastic media may be better. As others have mentioned, going to an 8000 grit with a longer run time is going to work well in most circumstances. Before that, I was stopping at 1200; the 8000 made a huge difference.

[@amazingawaits]

It's the ceramic pellets rubbing on the stones it's harder then the rocks your tumbling

[@DavidShockley]

Thomas... You know what? We've NEVER considered that! Seriously, how could we not have thought about that? That makes so much sense now that you mention it! THANK YOU! I wonder if we should get the softer media? Like the plastic media? I know some people use Corn Cob etc. Hmm... Thanks again!

[@deirdrepasko9965]

Cool how they turned out! Um...what does 'candy coat' mean? Thanks!

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you! I think people started using "Candy Coat" because the rocks kinda come out shiny like a hard candy might. Almost wet looking when completely dry. :)

[@deirdrepasko9965]

@@DavidShockley I got a rock tumbler for Christmas that I have yet to use, mainly because my husband and I have not agreed where to put it as he's a light sleeper and is afraid of the noise. However, I'm going to use it soon because I didn't realize just how many steps there are, and that I have to dump the water outside. I collect 'Lucky Stones' (quartz) and have a pile of white ones with honey-colored veins going through and am curious as to what they'll look like polished, along with some other colored ones. I usually like to keep my rocks in their natural state, but as I said, I AM curious about how some would look like polished. Thank-you for inspiring me to get my rear in gear. lol

[@DavidShockley]

@@deirdrepasko9965, Awesome! We love tumbling Quartz! I'm sure you will do just fine! I know some people will make a nice thick base to set their rotary tumblers on to dampen the noise through the floor. And I've seen in some cases, that people will take an old cardboard box, drape towels over it, and then set that in the back of a coat closet with an extension cord and surge suppressor to further dampen the noise. We keep ours out in the garage so it can go all day and night without bugging us, but they CAN make a little bit of noise for sure. Good luck, and I hope you have some fun! :)

[@deirdrepasko9965]

@@DavidShockley well, we happen to save cardboard boxes, so that's an excellent idea! Thanks so much again.

[@shanecorning5222]

Descent Job on the 3Lb Natgeo TUMBLER huh? .... . And it is not thousands of dollars, nor, require diesel leave it running right

[@DavidShockley]

Yeah it does a decent job. It's a little fast, so you can get bruising, but we've started replacing the motors with slower ones. Yes, you can just leave it going. It takes about as much electric to run as an alarm clock. :)

[@jamnoise72]

Does it cost a lot to have the machine running?

[@DavidShockley]

It actually costs less than running your alarm clock! :) Or so says National Geographic. :)

[@MegaMeaty]

@@DavidShockley This takes .3 Amps, so (watts = amps x volts) OR watts = .3 x 110 which equals 33 watts. Now for one week would equal 33 watts x 7 days x 24 hours = 5544 watts or 5.54 kilowatts for one week. At $.16 per kilowatt it comes to $.89 per week. I uses the same energy as 6 LED light bulbs, and the only way your alarm clock is going to use 33 watts if it has a HIFI amp, or it's a NIXIE tube clock.

[@DavidShockley]

@@MegaMeaty Thank you! Wow, you did your homework on that one! That's actually really good to know. I'll be sure to update our "Descriptions" with this info. Thanks so much! I really do appreciate it. :)

[@jesslivermont2924]

My guy good video but your surprise at all the sludgy water…. It’s still tumbling rocks together when your burnishing. Like they’re is ALWAYS going to be dirty nasty water if the rocks are rumbling against one another. But yea nice vid otherwise

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you! Yeah, you can kinda tell we were still PRETTY new at it! LOL But we're learning. :)

[@ROCKINWHEELERS]

gneiss do not play well with others. otherwise good.

[@susanboggs1612]

Wow! Would love to know where to buy some of that driveway rock. Can you find a name or phone #?

[@DavidShockley]

Susan, I think most of the gravel out here comes from the Luck Stone Corp. You can find them online, or here - 2981 Richmond Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22911. I hope that helps! :)

[@stevethepirate2875]

I can't say for sure about the brand you are using, but some laundry detergents use a percentage of powdered marble as a whitening agent. It is fine enough that it liquefies in water. Between that and the ceramic, you may be polishing off a bit of the stone when you do your cleaning tumble. Just a guess as to why the ware gets so dirty on stones you have already rinsed. Great vid. Thinking of getting into this. I have access to a stone countertop company offcuts and scraps. Could be fun.

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you for the ideas! That does sound like something we can look into for sure. We've come a little ways since this, but are always looking for ideas! :) Thanks again!

[@karlsmith945]

My common rocks are chert, like yours better

[@merlitaarillano5492]

Ur selling your rocks

[@DavidShockley]

Not right now. We're mostly giving them to the local kids. :)

[@miP987]

Those are stones not rocks.

[@miP987]

Quartz is only one that's a rock. "Rock" is actually a scientific name and assigned to objects where the atoms aligned. Sandstone is formed of sands compressing so it's a stone so won't take a polish as readily plus it keeps breaking down, it's why it gets smaller. The stripped stone you thought was petrified wood is sedimentary.

[@DavidShockley]

Thank you Michelle! As you can see, we're still learning! It's nice to get some advice and hear from someone who knows more than we do!