Tumbling Glass - How hard can it be?

My goal was to tumble glass in two ways. Some I wanted to make as shiny as possible. I also wanted to try making imitation beach glass.
Thanks to Krystee for the obsidian tumbling recipe that I used for the shiny glass in this video. Here's a link to her excellent instructions: rockhoundlounge...
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Kingsley North is a lapidary store in Michigan's U.P. They make a great cab machine and sell many other brands too. They have a huge selection rough rock, tumblers, grit, jewelry supplies etc. at good prices. I buy most of my coarse grit from here in 45 lb. bags. It's the best price I have found. If you buy using the following link, I make a small commission.
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This is the cabbing machine I use:
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I buy a lot of lapidary supplies from The Rock Shed. I don't make money from your purchases there, but they have good prices and good service. This is where I buy my finer grits and polish.
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[@MichiganRocks]

If anyone would like to have this glass, you’re welcome to it. I am not willing to mail it out because I think it would just get broken in transit. So if you live in the Alpena area, or are passing through, come get it. The genuine beach glass is not up for grabs, I’m giving that to my sister.

[@silkeeberle8484]

I get it and share with my 7 Grandkids, 5 in Alpena. We all love looking for Rocks, Fossils and Beachglass. Please Rob, may we have some of your tumbled Beachglass?

[@debbielucas7792]

I would love to have some of that glass. I'm in Alpena every Monday and Friday.

[@MichiganRocks]

@@silkeeberle8484 Yes, you can come get some but I’ll be in the UP tomorrow making waterfall videos. How about Thursday?

[@MichiganRocks]

@@debbielucas7792 How about this Friday? I’m out making videos tomorrow, so I’ll get in touch with you on Thursday.

[@debbielucas7792]

Hi Rob, I decided to happily withdraw my request for some pieces of the beach glass. I think the viewer and her grandkids would really enjoy it! I think I may do some experimenting with tumbling glass. Another great video!!

[@RocketRockhound]

I can’t believe you just pulled out fire juggling like it’s nothing!

[@michaelmarks1391]

Yeah right? He's taking these rock tumbling videos up a notch.

[@MichiganRocks]

@@michaelmarks1391 I have been juggling since college, over 30 years ago. It's kind of natural at this point.

[@littledabwilldoya9717]

@@MichiganRocks I’ve never been able to even remotely be capable of juggling! I put it down to being right-brained! 😁🤷🏻‍♀️ Gotta have some advantages to being left-handed, besides the wonderful artistic talent!🙋🏻‍♀️😄

[@MichiganRocks]

@@littledabwilldoya9717 I'm not particularly coordinated. I was never good at team sports, although I can water ski and snow ski fairly well. Learning to juggle was a matter of willpower. I just practiced and practiced until I could do it.

[@littledabwilldoya9717]

@@MichiganRocks I guess I lost interest in trying it when I figured out it wasn’t going to come easy to me.😉 I really miss water skiing. We used to do it quite a bit at one time. My husband liked to pull me back over our wake to see if he could dump me. Love x-country skiing, but couldn’t find anyone to go with me to try downhill. I tried taking my daughters one time- they didn’t want to go back! It’s funny, I was always athletic, but neither of my kids were.😟😢

[@iforester4449]

Interesting and fun video. The highlight, of course, has to be the amazing juggling!!

[@MichiganRocks]

I made that part of the video a couple months ago. I didn't mean to have two juggling videos in a row.

[@Promatim]

The 'too perfect' beach glass looks exactly like the stuff I used to hunt for in the PNW, around Puget Sound. Your lake Michigan stuff, I've never really seen before. Funny how glass from different bodies of water looks different.

[@MichiganRocks]

I hadn't considered when I made this video that all my glass came from rocky beaches. Apparently, sandy beaches produce more uniformly frosted glass. Who knew? I guess you did!

[@Torewindtime]

It looks like a lot of what I've seen in California too

[@goddammitboi]

@@MichiganRocks The sandy polished rocks looks almost sand blasted

[@shellilogan771]

have you looked for beach glass on Whidbey Island Deception Pass in the State Park area there ? my son was stationed I'm Whidbey Island and the last thing he did for me because I couldn't get up there in time to hunt for my own Beach Glass was he stopped in Oak Harbor at a beach glass store and bought me some earrings and the necklace what a sweetheart and very expensive because it's real beach glass found there on the island good luck with your hunting it is beautiful stuff

[@MichiganRocks]

@@shellilogan771 I assume that's a question for @Promatim. I have never been to that part of the country.

[@andianu7936]

When you started juggling fire sticks I literally started HOLLERING! YOURE SO COOOOOL! That was the most epic surprise I’ve ever seen in any rock hounding video and it want even a rock. sooo amazing how did you learn to juggle fire?

[@MichiganRocks]

I learned to juggle from a friend at college. Then I joined the University of Michigan juggling club. Eventually fire and unicycles got included.

[@andianu7936]

@@MichiganRocks that’s so dope! Unicycling & juggling? You did that at the same time? Definitely a jack of many trades

[@fools_opinions]

The beach glass you find in my area of the UK mostly looks like the peice you were tumbling before polishing. The beaches here are long and almost entirely sand with few pebbles so it gives the glass a much more uniform smoothness.

[@MichiganRocks]

Several other people pointed out the same thing. My glass all came from rocky beaches because that's where I'm out looking for rocks. The glass is probably much nicer from sandy beaches. I did this more for the challenge of doing it than for the finished product.

[@ChozoSR388]

@@MichiganRocks Not to mention, you only left it go for what, 4, 5 days? It probably takes a lot longer to do with sand because you're basically hitting something with something else of an almost equal hardness.

[@MichiganRocks]

@@ChozoSR388 True, I could have frosted it in much less time with something like silicon carbide grit.

[@cyberleaderandy1]

Ive hunted glass on the Fylde coast in the UK and its pretty uniformly frosted. I guess because of the sand.

[@salishseaquest7952]

Mother Nature has it all figured out for the making of beach glass. No matter how hard we try, we will never beat the real deal. It was an educational video, Rob. I've collected beach glass for years and I watched with interest to see how many steps you would take to reach your goal. Glad you were willing to try and show us all that you did.

[@maverickstclare3756]

Except you can buy glass that looks like beach glass but isn't, you can tell because it comes in all sorts of colours and they fade away in the natural process, so someone has worked it out.

[@salishseaquest7952]

@@maverickstclare3756 Except an experienced beach glass hunter can tell what is manufactured and what is nature-made....

[@MichiganRocks]

I watched a video where a woman showed how to tell the difference. It was really quite interesting to see the differences. It's a shame that people try to pass of fake beach glass as the real thing.

[@salishseaquest7952]

@@MichiganRocks That's the truth...it is a shame. Glad you searched out and watched that video. Half the joy of real beach glass is in the finding and then there are all the different colors and the wondering where it came from. Your video was still very informative as it did show it's not as easy as it looks. And sometimes, it doesn't work at all.

[@brightbkh07]

The shiny glass and the very smooth frosted glass are my favorite by far. They look so much cooler to me than beach glass. Don’t look at it as a failure, it’s beautiful!

[@MichiganRocks]

I'm not really into glass, so this was more of a tumbling challenge to me. I agree with you as far as what I like.

[@jfan4reva]

Reminds me of the story of how Lous Pasteur decided that, for the glory of France, he would make the best beer in the world. He tried for a very long time, and in the end he gave up, much to the disappointment of his friends who had been helping him dispose of his "failures".

[@MichiganRocks]

@@jfan4reva I'd enjoy having a friend like that too.

[@Mzungumb]

Great video! I heard an interview with a 10-year old national chess master today who had some very wise words. He said, “I never lose...I only learn...Because when you lose, you have to make a mistake to lose that game. So you learn from that mistake, and so you learn [overall]. So losing is the way of winning for yourself." So, this video was a success because we all learned a lot! I enjoyed every minute. :) Thank you!

[@MichiganRocks]

I usually show things that I'm fairly good at. I thought it would be good to show that I'm not good at everything. I also think that I learn the most by trying things like this for myself. That ten year old has a great attitude.

[@heathermorse5690]

I decided to tumble glass as well before I came across this video. I found that just using beach sand and water for 2 days in my tumbler worked perfectly! I love the results you got. Great video as always!

[@MichiganRocks]

Cool, I'm glad you got it to work. I thought this was a fun experiment to get it as close as I could to the real thing.

[@mojavegold-]

I started tumbling glass around ten years ago - trying to find an eco-friendly way of cleaning up a remote desert property I bought that was littered with many hundreds of pounds of broken antique glass. I run the glass for 8-12 hours at a time every few weeks or so - whenever I have time and when we have surplus solar energy available. I use a very large WWII-era cement mixer - containing only the glass, water, a few broken bricks and a few shovels full of gravel as media. The glass eventually comes out very nicely frosted and rounded - but not with the "loop"-shaped scratch patterns you see in natural beach glass. My favorite pieces are thick red, orange and blue pebbles. The sun-purpled antique manganese glass is also very nice when tumbled.

[@MichiganRocks]

Wow, a cement mixer is a serious tumbler! Sound like you had a pretty good method going.

[@bkitteh6295]

@Mojave Gold Sounds beautiful! Have you posted any pictures of your glass? Do you ever sell any? Every time I find some I like, it's very spendy. (And then there's the postage...) 👋🏼🙋🏽‍♀️✌🏽

[@MichiganRocks]

@@bkitteh6295 I assume you're talking about my real beach glass. I give that to one of two sisters who use it to make pebble art. I tried to give the stuff away that I made in this video. Three people said they wanted some, but only one showed up to get it. If you're in the area, it's all yours.

[@bkitteh6295]

@@MichiganRocks I saw that you were offering it to folks (free!), and I would've been there in a heartbeat, but the plane ticket would've sort of cancelled out the beautiful free glass. 😁 (I live on Seattle...) I think it's incredibly generous of you to offer it to us, particularly considering the effort that went into creating it. Thank you! 👋🏼🙋🏽‍♀️✌🏽

[@obxshelly]

@MojaveGold This sounds dreamy! I just purchased a rock tumbler to be able to make my own frosted glass. That mixer method you're using sounds Serious! lol I bet you get gorgeous pieces from it though 💜

[@stevenstandley1241]

Is there no end to the talent contained in this man :)

[@MichiganRocks]

My talent ended at trying to make beach glass.

[@rockinwitht9948]

Cool video! I am a fan of beach glass, and it was interesting to see how different each batch was. And I loved the juggling !!

[@MichiganRocks]

It was interesting seeing the different results. I understand tumbling just a little better, even though I don't yet know how to make really good fake beach glass.

[@nancygoerlich8526]

You're a man of many talents! Very impressive juggling skills!

[@emmitstewart1921]

This brings back memories. Back in the eighties, I was making gemsai (Small trees made out of copper wire with tumbled stones for "leaves"). Near my house was a football practice field with a high fence around it and across the street was a bar. Drunks from the bar or just driving down the street seemed to find it a great sport to try tossing their beer or wine bottles over the fence. Most missed and the bottles fell on the sidewalk or grass strip. Passing by one day I thought that I could break down the brown, green, or blue bottles to make leaves for my trees. It only took about an hour to gather all the glass I needed, I broke it up into pieces from ten to fourteen millimeters (approximately) and tumbled them. I used the green bottles for summer leaves, and brown for fall leaves. My biggest success, however, was when I found a lot covered with pea gravel that had a lot of small white quartz pebbles. I collected a tumbler full of these pebbles and used them as the clumps of snow on a winter tree.

[@MichiganRocks]

That sounds like a really fun project. I like that you did all the seasons.

[@poly_hexamethyl]

2:37 When I was in grade six I did a science project where I took some nichrome wire hooked up to electricity so that it glowed red hot, and then rotated a glass bottle against the wire to heat it in a narrow line, followed by plunging the bottle into water, and it cracked perfectly along the line. 4:07 Kudos for the awesome juggling!!! That just made my day!

[@davidhile5363]

My wife and 3 daughters are avid beach glass collectors. I’ve often thought of trying to make some but haven’t done it yet. I think what you ended up with would fool most people. I think I would have done it the same way you did with perhaps throwing in a little bit of silicon carbide to speed up the process a little. I’ve seen people cut bottles by wrapping a piece of copper wire around the bottle like you did with the yarn. Then twisting the ends together and heating the ends with a propane torch, then plunging TV he bottle into ice water. I think I would break up the glass using a similar method like you use to split rocks only maybe using a thick blunt rod instead of a chisel. Our Lake Michigan beach glass is usually fairly small pieces. Thanks for exploring another facet of tumbling !!!

[@davidhile5363]

Just out of curiosity, could you tell if the glass shards did any damage to your barrels?

[@justjulee9135]

I really liked how you kept at it with trial and error. I was very interested in seeing how the shiny glass was going to turn out as well. Very cool video.

[@MichiganRocks]

Thanks, Serah!

[@egantw]

I've been watching some of your videos because I have collected a bunch of rocks through the years and have always thought about polishing them up. I recently purchased a beginners tumbler from Harbor Freight just to see if I like the hobby. Your videos have been super informative and I appreciate your dedication. AND wow, that fire juggling was totally awesome! Good job.

[@MichiganRocks]

I'm glad you're finding them useful. That makes the time I put into making them feel like time well spent.

[@gavinjenkins899]

I think the main thing you're missing is that cheap glass leaches out its soda over years chemically, not just mechanically, from acid, water, air. Even just glass sitting in a forest being rained on and being damp and muddy, not knocked around at all, gets hazy and frosty and covered in carbonates. I think if you broke it up smaller at first, did the big drum like earlier, and then let it sit around in slightly acidic damp conditions for months/couple years, it might look a lot more realistic. I don't know how to accelerate it.

[@MichiganRocks]

That's a good point I hadn't considered. Thanks!

[@gingermackeen5741]

You were really persistent! This video was fun and took a lot of work. Thanks, Rob!

[@MichiganRocks]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I know I had some fun with this.

[@Unclewalnut]

It is interesting to think that each video I watch of yours is something you have been working on for a month or more. I also find it very brave of you reaching into the slurry without gloves after the first batch haha.

[@spaceycarchasey6656]

can i just say the last thing i expected to see was a fire-juggling from a rock-collecting youtube channel. no clue why youtube decided to put this in my algorithm, but i'm not complaining! good work!

[@MichiganRocks]

I can't figure out why KZbin is pushing this video so much. I don't think it's one of my best, but I'm not complaining. Maybe I need to juggle fire in my videos more often.

[@StonedustandStardust]

The glass should be frosted when dry, and clear when wet. I have a rock tumbler with two 6 pound tubs. I place glass marbles and rounded stones in there, they will round out the edges of the glass nice. I usually tumble both small quartz rocks from the beach and glass together,using step one and two of grit (two weeks) and then remove the glass , which is nicely frosted at this point. Then I finish the stones as usual. Works great. I am going to try and experiment with glass, sand and salt water, maybe some soap and ceramic beads for week two and see what happens. Thank you for this video.

[@MichiganRocks]

This video was me just playing around with something new. It was a fun little experiment.

[@emdee7744]

Amazing fire juggling, Human Torch! And the beach glass DIY experience was pretty cool too!

[@MichiganRocks]

Thanks, Em.

[@DDeeS-jx2mq]

Really enjoyed the process on this video, thanks for sharing everything, the good the bad and the ugly, it was all good actually.:) I have no ideas to help you out but sure liked watching it all and the juggling was awesome! Great video as always.

[@MichiganRocks]

I thought it might be more instructional to show how I experiment sometimes than to always show my successes. I hope we all learned something.

[@linseyskelly9524]

I would love to see you perfect this process! Please try again when you get a chance. I love making glass jewelry but I rarely get a chance to go to Lake Michigan and collect it. It would be really cool to make my own! Totally dug the fire juggling!!! Go BLUE!

[@benjilee5279]

I’ve been watching your videos for more than a year now and just realized today that I haven’t subscribed. I find all of your videos very interesting, but this video was amazing. AMAZING! From start to finish - I learned so much! And like another commenter mentioned, the time you put into the experiment and how we get to see it nicely edited with only a different Michigan shirt to tell us it’s a new day. And, the final result of the beach glass looks a lot like sea glass I find in New Jersey at the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. They say you can never really imitate sea glass because the real stuff from the ocean has tiny ‘C’ shaped indentations on it. But, the stuff you came out with looks just like it. Thank you for sharing, and keep up the excellent work!

[@MichiganRocks]

It's about time you subscribed! It's funny that you mention the tiny C shapes. I didn't notice those in either the real stuff or the imitation glass. However, I do get those marks occasionally on some rocks I tumble. Botswana agates seem to be the worst for them. Of course, I don't want them in my tumbled rocks. I'm not sure when they get there because they only show up at the end when there's a good polish on the rocks. I use both a rotary and vibratory tumbler, so it could happen in either one.

[@powerlinekid4296]

Try running batches for a day or less. I'm used to ocean beach glass, which looks like a combination of your 2 batches. I run most of my glass in the Lot-O with 2 Tbsp of old sludge from a 46/70 batch with damp sand and glass. I started out running it for a couple of days, but soon realized that look I wanted had happened in less than 18 hours. In the rotary I use damp sand and glass and check on it once day, never ran it more than 3 days. It's definitely a trial and error project.

[@1-ASMR-LOVE]

I really enjoyed the video! Very interesting! Loved the juggling 🔥🔥🔥. I actually wanted to see the shiny glass! But I think the batch that stopped processing got pretty close to real beach glass. Thanks for making this video!

[@MichiganRocks]

You're welcome, Sharon.

[@rae2785]

I settle in for some good ol glass tumbling from Michigan Rocks and you start JUGGLING FLAMES. absolutely amazing

[@MichiganRocks]

Since that's the only reason I have charcoal lighter fluid (I have a gas grill), it's hard to avoid juggling when I'm using it.

[@JorgeGonzalezC10]

My theory on the beach glass: You need sand and big rocks together. The small grains of sand are "incrusted" into the glass creating those small dents and making it look rough. And you need the bigger rocks to actually hit the glass and hit the sand into the glass. Am I making sense? hopefully. So, glass and a big rock hit each other and there is sand in between, roughing it up. As we can see in the end of the video, it started to look more the way you wanted it. But I have no idea. This is probably my 3rd video on rock/glass tumbling I've watched. Never knew this existed. Thank you for making it interesting and sharing this.

[@MichiganRocks]

My actual beach glass all came from rocky beaches. I am not really into glass, but I find it occasionally while out looking for rocks. Several people told me that they find beach glass on sandy beaches and that it is very evenly frosted. So according to that, rocks are not necessary to get that frosted look, but rocks do seem to be what chips it up.

[@greenbayrockhuntress]

This was an awesome video! I have collected over 30# of Lake Michigan beach glass since the start of the pandemic. Ultimately have started a little side business making jewelry and artwork with it. The beach glass pieces that are old and very roughly lake tumbled I rub in a very small amount of mineral oil to buff out that "white haze." It lasts almost indefinitely I believe unless it's thoroughly washed off. I've always wondered how tumbled glass might turn out? I personally prefer to keep my finds in their natural state, and recycle the shiny new and sharp pieces. I really appreciate how you show all stages and comparisons related to tumbling. I have learned so much from your videos this past year!

[@MichiganRocks]

I'm surprised that you put oil on your beach glass. I thought the appeal of it was the frosted look. I'm also surprised that you found that much in a year. That's a lot of glass and a lot of hunting.

[@greenbayrockhuntress]

I only apply the oil to a select few that are so white/rough it's difficult to distinguish the color. I use that as a last resort to salvage a piece that ultimately ends up being beautiful with a little help.. the rest is as perfect as the day it washed ashore😀

[@faeriesmak]

Wow..you found a ton. I live south of Sheboygan and have not found much this past 2 years due to the water being really high and my beaches went from sand to rocks!

[@greenbayrockhuntress]

@@faeriesmak I have tried Sheboygan a few times in the past few years and yes, due to the high water levels I really never found anything and I checked out beaches probably in a 20 mi stretch in that area. Hopefully this summer it'll be a whole different story!

[@faeriesmak]

@@greenbayrockhuntress Where do you have the best luck? Since the water levels went back up I am finding even LESS of it than I was finding with low water levels!

[@txwaterbird6115]

Quite a while ago you did a video that gave us a tour of your beautiful yard. I was completely impressed, although there was one thing missing. This video reminded me to mention it to you. The next time you find a blue jar you should hang it in a tree somewhere in your yard. It becomes a h'aint jar and will ensure no h'aints get into your home.

[@MichiganRocks]

I have no idea what a "h'aint" is. I do spray around the perimeter of the house for ants.

[@txwaterbird6115]

@@MichiganRocks a h'aint is southern speak for a haunt, a ghost or ghoul. They are mesmerized by certain colors of blue thus the color h'aint blue. People paint their porch ceilings h'aint blue for protection against them. We also hang blue jars in our trees so any h'aint that is passing by will be drawn into the bottle (because of the color) and be unable to escape. Our daughter-in-law lives in the UP and they have something similar. A dream catcher. Now you know more than you ever wanted to about how to keep a h'aint free home.

[@MichiganRocks]

@@txwaterbird6115 Much more than I wanted to. I'm not into witchcraft. I am Catholic and I'd rather have my home blessed than rely on a purple bottle hanging in a tree.

[@txwaterbird6115]

@@MichiganRocks Not witchcraft. Just old "southernisms". I'm born & raised Episcopalian and plan on staying so. Having a h'aint jar is no different than having a dream catcher.

[@wyomingadventures]

@@MichiganRocks I'm with you on at. Sounds like some weird stuff!

[@lorditsprobingtime6668]

Only very recently bought a rock tumbler, live very close to a beach so was considering trying beach sand for gently polishing certain materials but thanks to you I can see it won't work well for what I wanted so you've saved me a lot of experimenting, wasted time and pointless wear and tear on the tumbler too. Thank you very much.

[@MichiganRocks]

Sand is too soft to be an effective tumbling grit. Silicon carbide is much harder and also breaks down into smaller, sharp pieces that keep on grinding.

[@lorditsprobingtime6668]

@@MichiganRocks Thanks for the reply. I knew it wouldn't be very abrasive but thought it could be good for slow and fine finishing. I will have to study and watch a lot more videos. Yours alone changed my thinking about several things and I'm certain I have a LOT more to learn before wearing it out just experimenting.

[@okiedoak201]

I must say...anyone who spends 2months to make a video has dedication...I love your stuff... But don't dispair.... beach glass is different from what spot on earth your standing...and from my experiences...beach glass from the north is much different from the stuff on the east coast...and very different from what is found in the Florida and pan handle area....so we'll done...and two 👍👍

[@MichiganRocks]

I think the difference may be that I pick up glass from rocky beaches and other glass comes from sandy beaches.

[@ATLTraveler]

The heat and cold method works the best but the key is you have to score the glass first (you can get a cheap glass cutter to score the bottle on Amazon for like 12 bucks), it also helps a lot if you put a peice of tape just above and just below the score. Then you can literally just dunk the bottle in boiling water for 30 seconds or so and then straight into ice cold water and you will get a perfect cut every time. The main thing your missing though is scoring the glass. You don't have to cut it deep, I just hold the cutter level on a thin peice of wood with the blade facing horizontal and then stand the bottle up right next to it and turn the bottle against the glass cutter, it will give you a perfectly level score every time. Perhaps you could even use a razor blade, but never tried it.

[@MichiganRocks]

I know there are better method, but this was a one time thing. Glass isn't really my interest nearly as much as rocks are. I have several rock saws that would have been really easy to use to either score or just cut the bottom off these bottles. I thought it was fun to try less common methods. If I ever decide to do this again, I'll give the scoring method a try.

[@racheldavis5482]

Awesome video! Lots of info about tumbling glass and bonus fire juggling. I loved seeing all of the different results. 👍👍

[@MichiganRocks]

Thanks, Rachel.

[@jenannelong]

You're a man of many talents! I love your videos... I'm learning a lot! Thank you!

[@MichiganRocks]

You're welcome, glad to help.

[@kgrach]

I got to say that beach glass from the Atlantic by me is very smooth and frosted, maybe it's different in the great lakes. but the stuff you picked up locally looked like trash. While the frosted stuff made with the media looked more like the stuff I am used to. I think if you tumbled it with the 60/90 for a month, it would probably be a perfect match for the stuff I am used to seeing.

[@MichiganRocks]

I pick up all my glass from rocky beaches. I think that's the difference. I did this more for the challenge of it and my nicked up stuff made it quite challenging.

[@kgrach]

I understand the challenge factor. Love the content.

[@jamesdemski5231]

He bust out the flaming juggling!!!!! Truely amazing .. love the content

[@MichiganRocks]

Thanks, James.

[@kiahgypsykarma]

I really enjoyed this experimental video and your juggling skills at the beginning Thank you

[@MichiganRocks]

You're welcome, Kiah.

[@UnmaskingTheMachine]

I first watched this tutorial over a year ago and I'm finally about to try it so i came back to refresh myself on the process

[@MichiganRocks]

Good luck!

[@UnmaskingTheMachine]

@@MichiganRocks I stopped my glass tumble after 5 days in stage one because I like the frosted look. They turned out perfect though. Thank you for the information on this process sir 🙏

[@nick92065]

I use beach sand, along with pebbles from the beach and ocean water to tumble my glass. I let it go for 7 days.

[@sel7666]

I was NOT expecting the juggling of fire torches! You weren't kidding when you said, "And now for my next trick..." a precursor of what was yet to come! 😆👏👏👏

[@MichiganRocks]

I don't kid around. Fire juggling is serious business.

[@Dirtyswrath]

Just pulls flaming juggling out of nowhere, love it!

[@_mwk]

Very nice magic show! The tumbling was fun as well.

[@MichiganRocks]

You mean the juggling? Not exactly magic, just lots of practice.

[@FrogsForBreakfast]

It's not beach glass, but discarded glass in a sandy desert region gets a frosted appearance too. I like in a region with heavy clay soil, so discarded glass just gets the sharp edge worn down a little but stays mostly shiny.

[@MichiganRocks]

It's the blowing sand in the desert that kind of sandblasts the rocks, right? I'm surprised that clay will wear down edges, but keep the glass shiny. I suppose the really fine particles of clay would act more like a fine polish in a rock tumbler.

[@katiedid713926]

Love the variety of your videos. The juggling is an added bonus. Thanks!

[@MichiganRocks]

I'm trying not to get into a rut.

[@katiedid713926]

Couldn't imagine that happening. 🙂

[@spetkovsek57]

I had a baking dish (probably tempered glass) that I tried to tumble. I'm not sure what the issue was, but after 3 weeks in 47-60 grit, it did nothing. I probably had too much water, so I drained off some water and tossed in a few small thundereggs and ran it again for another 3 weeks. That helped a bunch. Like you, it came out all the same smoothness. Unlike you, I left it as it was and moved on to other stuff.

[@MichiganRocks]

I had fun playing with glass in this video, but I'm much more interested in tumbling rocks.

[@davidryansargent6731]

Lol!!! The juggling was unexpected but very entertaining........ Thanks for the laugh and smile to start my day!! YOU ROCK!!

[@MichiganRocks]

I have a gas grill. The only reason I have charcoal starter fluid is for my torches. It's hard not to think of juggling them when I'm using starter fluid.

[@DM-mb9jh]

We were just talking about trying to make beach glass. My young son and I love your videos. Thank you so much for taking the time to make these!

[@MichiganRocks]

You're welcome. Let me know if you make more realistic beach glass than I did.

[@lindseyo8739]

You are one of my favorite Tubers to watch! I love your sense of humor and STYLE!!!

[@lindseyo8739]

Are you missing salt, like how the ocean is saltwater???

[@MichiganRocks]

I live in Michigan where the lakes are unsalted. I can't imagine salt making any difference anyway, but I was trying to copy beach glass that I found on the shores of the Great Lakes.

[@deenomad1975]

Oh yeah and the fire juggling?! That was awesome!! There has to be a story behind that we would love to hear!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@MichiganRocks]

I learned to juggle in college and joined the U of M juggling club. I used to have a fairly popular juggling website with little looping videos before there was a KZbin. I had a juggling club at the middle school I worked at and taught lots of kids to juggle over the years. I'm not sure there's much more of a story, just another hobby. Here are a couple videos you might enjoy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWnOaI2CZZp5l9E kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnzOfIl7pNqSjKc

[@jiml9856]

Well, I didn't expect to see flaming juggling! And under the leg, no less! Very nice!

[@MichiganRocks]

How could I pull out lighter fluid without lighting up the torches?

[@pierrelaboom4026]

Yes yes that's hilarious excellent on the bottles and well good job on the juggling!

[@evanalbaugh9363]

Someone may have mentioned this before, but that purple glass is pretty old and interesting! It was originally clear, but because manganese dioxide was used as a discolorant, it turned purple in the sun. Manganese dioxide fell out of favor by ~1918, making that piece easily over 100 years old!

[@MichiganRocks]

Someone mentioned that the purple happened due to discoloration, but I didn't know it was over 100 years old. Unfortunately, there was nothing where I found this that was in one piece. That purple stuff was the bottom of a large bottle or jar.

[@evanalbaugh9363]

@@MichiganRocks Yep I would probably assume jar. If I had found the trash pile, I probably would have gone back with a metal rake or shovel and scratched around to see what else was to be found; most might be buried now. It may also have been a jar that a family had kept around a while until it broke, meaning the surrounding objects could have been a lot newer. Interesting nonetheless! Plus, if you leave the pieces in direct sunlight for a few months, you might be able to see them get significantly darker purple👍

[@MichiganRocks]

@@evanalbaugh9363 I went back with a friend who has a metal detector but didn't find too much.

[@chrisferragamo2388]

A great informational video! I commented on your long tumbling tutorial about tumbling metal parts. I found that walnut shell filled to half, a small handfull of washers and screws, and two squirts of polishing compound makes all the metal shiny, even the threads!

[@chrisferragamo2388]

My next project is tumbled glass (:

[@MichiganRocks]

That's great, I'm glad you have it figured out. I can't believe that gets into the threads too.

[@rorycrane1630]

Glass is really fun to Tumble. I was able to get a bunch of Depression Glass which even more fun due to the Ultra Violet reaction which cause it to glow.

[@MichiganRocks]

Isn't depression glass worth something? I'd hate to break it up.

[@deborahellenberger7153]

Awesome. Excellent juggling! What a treat! Glass tumbling was fun as well.

[@MichiganRocks]

Thanks!

[@angef9687]

I love this video because you're willing to do trial and error and dicuss yiur findings at the end of eat stage. I was blown away by your juggling. I figured you were going to juggle the glass bottles after the last video I saw, but I was definitely not expecting the real deal!!!! Amazing!!!

[@MichiganRocks]

I didn't want to clean up broken glass from my driveway. Fire juggling doesn't make a mess.

[@user-up9dz4mr1d]

If you've ever heard of sea glass, and for those who haven't heard of it, it's made of broken pieces of glass from bottles, cups, accessories, etc. and it goes in the ocean. the ocean and rocks start to tumble and make it smooth. desert glass is about the same thing but it's tumbled without water. There are manmade because they are pieces of glass but also somewhat formed by the sea or sand

[@sunnyscott4876]

Your workshop is so neat and clean!

[@MichiganRocks]

Yes, the part in front of the camera looks great, doesn't it?

[@sunnyscott4876]

@@MichiganRocks 😊

[@Therealwk]

That’s just incredible how he Can juggle Those fire jugglers I have full respect for mr. Michigan rocks 👏🏻

[@MichiganRocks]

Juggling fire isn't much harder than juggling without the fire. If I'm going to catch the wrong end, I just let it fall to the ground. I have caught the wrong end, and even then it doesn't burn if I let it drop right away.

[@SherryAustinMcginley]

I’ve seen beach glass and often wondered what it would look like if it was smoother. Now I know and I’m surprised that I like it best left natural. Nice video and entertainment 😁

[@MichiganRocks]

Shiny glass is pretty easy to make. Imitating what the lake does to glass is not so easy.

[@ericstillwagon8621]

I did this about a month ago, i used about a dozen 1 inch diameter sized quartz rocks and got beach glass looking pieces in about 6 hours. I then used a diamond tip burr on my dremel to engrave the glass came out nice. Go Blue from virginia 👍

[@MichiganRocks]

Cool, did you just have rocks in there, or was there sand along with the rocks?

[@vondellknorpp]

The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas uses tumbled glass in some of the beds for ground cover. It’s very attractive and a good way to use recycled glass.

[@MichiganRocks]

I'll bet it's not that fun to remove leaves from in the fall. I have seen it sold for that purpose before though.

[@nmtumbleweed5320]

This was thoroughly entertaining, lol. I have always wanted to do this because our town does not recycle glass and I don’t like throwing it out.

[@MichiganRocks]

You're going to be really busy recycling all that glass yourself!

[@MsChokaholik]

Interesting video - the smooth frosted glass is what we pick - if it has chips or isn’t smooth then we leave it on the beach. There’s a great beach up in Seaham (NE EnglandJ)where there used to be a glass factory.

[@MichiganRocks]

I picked all of my samples from rocky beaches since those are the only beaches I go to. Several people told me that on sandy beaches the glass gets much more evenly frosted.

[@ResortDog]

Note: Raw glass, obsidian, jasper shards or plumes will eat the insides of your rubber barrels up and you need to watch contamination more and buy more lid seals, you will go thru them. Hitting the glass makes shards more than crushing it.

[@MichiganRocks]

I haven't done much glass and not too much obsidian, although I have done some of both. I never noticed an increase in wear. Thanks for the info.

[@connor4456]

New to this channel and loving it but the fire juggling was so unexpected I couldn't stop laughing. 10/10 video

[@MichiganRocks]

Thanks, Connor. The only reason I have charcoal lighter fluid is for my torches, so once that was out, juggling fire was unavoidable.

[@connor4456]

@@MichiganRocks I loved it

[@ZacLowing]

I collect bonfire seaglass along Chicagos beaches and am soon getting into tumbling them, this video helped out, thanks!

[@MichiganRocks]

You're welcome!

[@amyjones7962]

I tried beach glass in my rotary tumbler and i filled it about two thirds with glass pieces and added water to cover the glass about an inch and tumbled it for almost a month and it came out perfect!

[@MichiganRocks]

Cool! I'm glad you got it figured out.

[@obxshelly]

My husband & I found this fascinating to watch. Thank you. I believe we are gonna give tumbling a try. You have a new subscriber!

[@MichiganRocks]

Thanks for subscribing, Michelle! I have some rock tumbling videos where I actually know what I'm doing. This was just something that I played around with for fun.

[@Brezzy369]

I love the really smooth ones 😌👌🥰. I want to try this 😃!

[@MichiganRocks]

Good luck!

[@lynnscott8286]

Nothing beats mother nature’s job with beach glass it’s so beautiful

[@MichiganRocks]

I found that out!

[@MrSpock-hw7mm]

Cool video, im very picky when i look for beach glass. It has to be super smooth all the way around and i imagine pieces like that are tumbling for months or even years

[@MichiganRocks]

I have no idea how long it takes in the lake. I don't even know how you'd do an experiment to find out since you can't really confine it. I'd also hate to throw a bunch of glass into the lake.

[@melindadutcher212]

I seen you on another video with the stones, and now with fire 🔥 So full of fun tricks... Thank you for your services you provide 🦅🦉🦅🌲🌞🌲🦋💚🦋 May you and yours have a great day, eve...

[@MichiganRocks]

You're welcome!

[@jtcowboy5518]

Dang! Didn't know you have such a talent other than your skills and knowledge in rocks. Bravo!

[@MichiganRocks]

I'm just full of surprises.

[@bathompson1019]

I make my own “sea glass”. I only use beach sand and seawater. I tumble for 5 to 7 days. It comes out exactly like what we find in our Virginia beaches. Rounded edges and frosty. I put glass in, water to just over the top and than some sand, never measured. After a couple of days I add a little more sand.

[@MichiganRocks]

I think I would have been fine if I hadn't been trying to get the chipped edges like the glass I find on rocky beaches.

[@billyhoffman5322]

I have seen people who live in Arizona and Nevada deserts do dry tumbling with sand and rocks to make beach glass for stage 1 and then do a stage 2 of 60 - 90 to round off the chipping.. I am new to tumbling and planning on doing a few runs of glass, some to polish and some as faux beach glass.

[@MichiganRocks]

There are lots of things you could try. I just got tired of trying them after awhile and called it good.

[@patricialewis9329]

I liked them all!

[@SilentXpedition]

You surprised me I never knew you can do the juggling. Pretty interesting things about tumbling glass. Some people like the smooth frost glass for their decorations.

[@MichiganRocks]

I could see that. Frosted is really easy to do. I have a big bin of stuff that I did the first step to make it shiny and then didn't finish.

[@jade-wr9pn]

I love tumbled glass. I live at the shore and often see it come in to my work. The juggling was a nice touch 😂

[@MichiganRocks]

I'm more of a rock guy myself, but I know a lot of people love beach glass.

[@helgavoorneveld1530]

Lol for someone who is not feeling well you do put up an impressive juggling display 😁

[@debbissonette87]

Oh my gosh! Juggling moves were hilarious! Great video

[@MichiganRocks]

Thanks!

[@donaldpype7018]

Never seen talented side before. You rock.

[@MichiganRocks]

That means that you probably haven't seen my most popular video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/npS1paenbseGqLs

[@verdagarner5112]

The fire throwing was very neat, I always wanted to try tumbling glass.

[@MichiganRocks]

Thanks. This video may have shown you more ways to avoid tumbling it than ways that actually work well.

[@cynthiadugan858]

I saw a guy make faux sea glass for jewelry once using just dirt from the garden and 1 day in the tumbler. I don’t know how well it turned out but it stuck in my head because I thought free dirt from the yard and a day on a tumbler would be an awesome way to make something cool from broken glass and I might just try it someday.

[@MichiganRocks]

You should try it. It's fun to just experiment.

[@elizabethharttley4073]

The experiment is a success. The differences become interesting and lovely. Most of the beach glass I've found is on ocean beaches, shaped by shell sand and water. So much fun, thanks for this video

[@MichiganRocks]

I had fun playing around. The more experiments I do like this, the more I learn.

[@nancygaxiola5412]

Oh my gosh! I have a juggling friend! She'll love this!

[@MichiganRocks]

She might like this one too: kzbin.info/www/bejne/npS1paenbseGqLs

[@nancygaxiola5412]

@@MichiganRocks yes, she is a unicycling juggler too! She'll LOVE this!

[@donnaschaner3216]

You are funny again. Love it. Juggle away. I like the idea of the glass.

[@MichiganRocks]

It was fun to play around with.

[@donnaschaner3216]

I like the smooth 🍷

[@helgavoorneveld1530]

I hope you feel better soon thanks for sharing!!

[@MichiganRocks]

That video was two years ago and I was joking that I had drank all those bottles of booze the night before. I was feeling fine then and I'm feeling great today. Thanks for your concern, though.

[@helgavoorneveld1530]

@@MichiganRocks oh oepsy hahaha I didn't look at the date greatings for Ireland 😆

[@hertears14]

This is so wholesome and useful

[@bEnderOfWorlds]

It's about time someone spoke the truth. You are a brave man, taking a righteous stand against Rolling Rock. It is truly awful.

[@MichiganRocks]

I did finish off the six pack, but only after all other options were gone.

[@MsSandraCGL]

A man of many talents!!

[@speaklifegardenhomesteadpe8783]

😲That nail trick!!! So cool!!!

[@MichiganRocks]

I thought so too!

[@PeopleDoingStuff]

The glass we usually find here in Hainan is more like the smooth stuff you "over tumbled". My daughter collects them and uses them for art projects. Never thought about making some with her tumbler. Thanks for the vid!

[@MichiganRocks]

Lots of people have told me that they find really evenly frosted beach glass. What I didn't consider is that all of my beach glass came from rocky beaches because those are the only beaches I go to. I think glass from sandy beaches wouldn't have the little chips that my glass has.

[@PeopleDoingStuff]

​@@MichiganRocks Makes sense! You always say you use polish. Any idea what the grit is? Here in China it is only sold by grit (mesh here). The highest I can find is 6000 grit. That ok for polish? We were using 1200 but it never has the shine like yours.

[@MichiganRocks]

@@PeopleDoingStuff I think grit and mesh are slightly different. The stuff I use is somewhere around 2 micron, I think. 6000 should work well, but you might need to run it a little longer so it can break down to a smaller size. I use aluminum oxide polish. There are various polishes that should work well including aluminum oxide, cerium oxide, and tin oxide. Silicon carbide is not a polish, no matter how small it is.

[@PeopleDoingStuff]

Ahh none of the aluminum oxide here is being called polish. It is all rated by mesh. I found some 8000 mesh today. I will give it a try with and without extra time and see what I end up with. Thanks for the feedback!

[@MichiganRocks]

8000 aluminum oxide should work really well. @@PeopleDoingStuff

[@greatnorthernviews3052]

I just did what you did with uranium glass I broke it up like you did and I ran it for a week in 60 90 grit for one week with other rocks. And ran them in the Lot-o with 220 grit. They came out great. No sharp edges and frosted nicely. They look nice mixed with yooperlites in my display under uv light.

[@MichiganRocks]

I'm glad you got it figured out! I can see how those would look awesome mixed with Yooperlites.

[@communitypark2313]

Happily enjoying this video as I wait for the torrential rain to subside....then off to see what awaits on the shores of Lake Erie. A most heartfelt Thank You for educating & enlightening me daily. Greetings from Fairview PA (West County, Erie PA).

[@MichiganRocks]

You're welcome. I was just at Lake Erie a couple days ago. I was looking at the lake from the tops of Cedar Point roller coasters and wondering if there were any good rocks there.

[@communitypark2313]

@@MichiganRocks Lol...I ask myself the same question...are there any good rocks today!! In my case, not yet knowing enough if a 'treasure' jumped up & bit me. 70-yr old gal who has spent decades picking glass, shards, etc., discovered your videos during lockdown & a whole new world opened up for me. Now, there isn't a time that I am scavenging & mumbling to myself 'I wish Rob & Nancy were here to tell me what I am seeing or not'.

[@MichiganRocks]

@@communitypark2313 I don't know what half the stuff I find is. I just enjoy it.