How to Start Rock Tumbling

It takes years and years for nature and its elements - dirt, rock, water, and sand - to smooth a rock's surface. But with a rock tumbler, you can get those same results in considerably less time. A tumbler's purpose is to roll the rock over and over until the sharp edges and dull exterior are worn away, revealing a smooth, shiny surface.

Any rocks will do! Choosing rocks from your own backyard is easy and convenient. You can also take a special trip to an area with interesting geography to get a wider selection of rocks. Don't forget your rock pick! Whichever rocks you choose, make sure they are relatively uniform in shape and don't have any cracks or crevices. Try to choose rocks with interesting colors and patterns that will be brought out by the tumbling process. Take along a handy rock pick.

When tumbling, start with a coarse grit, move to a fine grit, then proceed to a silicon sand step. The final step is polishing with any variety of commercial polishes, including titanium dioxide (an ingredient used in toothpaste) or cerium oxide polish which helps create a wet, glassy look. Expect to use only a fraction of the amount of polish as you do grit. Perhaps buying a Rock Tumbler Kit is the easiest way to get started because all the products you need, plus an instruction book, come together.

Rock tumblers use material called silicon carbide grit. It removes all the rough edges from the raw rock. Grit is gauged by the size of the particles. A good rule of thumb is to have one tub of 80 grit, one tub of 220 grit and one tub of 400 grit on hand. The larger the grit number or rating, the smaller the particles. Since the grit is harder than sand, tumblers can polish rocks much faster than nature.