A rockhound’s paradise, Gemstone Beach is becoming more and more popular. Not so long ago the carpark would be empty upon arrival and maybe 2-3 […]
Batch 72: New Grit Supplier
There’s a new grit supplier in town! (Unfortunately not in my town though!) Mr Grit (MrGrit on FB) has just started out as a lapidary […]
Batch 73: Ready for Stage 2
Using the QT12 (12lb barrel) for Stage 1 (F60grit) means that the Stage 2 (220grit) readies drawer for Gemstone Beach stones fills up very quickly. […]
Batch 71: Double Barrels not Turning? A Solution
Are the double barrels not turning on your rock tumbler? Is the drive shaft turning, belt tension is fine but the barrels just won’t turn […]
Batch 70: Newbies and Redos
Before these stones officially became Batch 70 the majority of them had already tumbled once in F60grit. Out of the 50 stones, 33 were ready […]
Batch 69: Rubber Band Fix on Barrels
The QT66 that I got thanks to an awesome barter unfortunately doesn’t want to turn both barrels. The drive shaft works ok and the belt […]
Batch 68: Enough Slope Point Readies
It’s been quite hard to make a batch but I finally have enough Slope Point readies! Many of the stones have been sitting in the […]
Batch 67: Kakanui & Karitane Beach
I am down to the last of the stones that were collected from Kakanui and in particular a lot of these stones were picked up […]
Batch 64: Using Less Silicon Carbide Grit
One of the smaller tweaks I have been making to my whole tumbling stones process has been using less silicon carbide grit in my barrels […]
Batch 66: Lortone Tumblers Galore!
All of my rotary machines are Lortone Tumblers. I now run 2 x double 3lb barrels; 2 x 4lb barrels; 1 x 12lb QT12 and […]