It’s been three months since purchasing my rock tumblers. I started out with some gemstones that were included with one of my purchases. Then I moved onto river rocks I found in the Rea Brook river that runs right behind my home. I thought: Why not? Let’s check out what’s in there! First I picked out a lot of quartzite, mainly from the Stiperstones in Shropshire, UK. I also found some other stones with some potential color – which it was really hard to tell since the stones were very dirty. I used my ‘treasure finding’ eyes to pick up rocks that looked like they had potential to turn into cool looking polished stones.

Who knew stones that started out looking like this:

. . . Go through a couple of tumble runs:

And end up looking like this:

after many, many (over 2 months worth) first tumble runs (60/80 grit) all the way to polish:

I am very pleased with how they turned out. Relentlessly tumbling 24-7 on the 60/80 grit to get them all smooth enough to go through a pre-polish to a polish. They are really shiny and very smooth – lovely to hold in your hand.

I wrote to the Shropshire Geological Society and asked them to help me with the identification of these rocks. I separated the rocks by color and sent them the photos above. Here’s the reply I received:

Nice pebbles 1-6 (the first 6 photos above) are most likely quartz in one form or another. Color /mottling probably iron-rich staining /veining. Photo 7 is probably calcite or limestone. Calcite is 3 on Mohs hardness scale, so quite soft. Quartz is much harder at 7.

My feeling is photo 7 is indeed limestone as opposed to calcite. These particular stones only needed one run on the 60/80 grit, that’s how soft they are. I’ve put some in with the other rocks to polish and they get a bit damaged so I’m saving the ones that come through to do a polish run all together.

I’ve also started to make some pendants with the river rocks. They are coming out quite nice – the colors are beautiful! Here’s a few photos:

So I’m having fun tumbling, polishing and creating! The only downside is the effect on the energy bill. My two tumblers are rated for energy efficiency, however there is a noticeable difference in the cost of electric per month. I may need to give it a rest for the winter. In the mean time, I’ll tumble enough to make some more pendants. I can also make more orgonite too while it’s still warm outside. It seems to be really popular!

Feels good to be creating! Hope you enjoyed looking at my rocks as much as I do. I’m amazed by the beauty that’s been uncovered through the tumbling process. Each rock is a masterpiece, its uniqueness shining through in its own personality and colors.

I have started a new blog website strictly for rock tumbling and my creations! Click here to see it!