What is a Rock Tumbler?

A rock tumbler is a device used by lapidarists to shape and polish the rocks that they work with. A lapidary is someone who works with rocks, either as a hobby or a profession. Hobbyists may use a rock tumbler to polish rocks that they have collected for display, while professionals such as jewelers use a rock tumbler to shape and prepare rocks in preparation for use in finished pieces. Because of the wide range of people using rock tumblers, they come in an assortment of styles ranging from simple desktop models for people just experimenting with rock tumbling to industrial models for use in large jewelry studios. When rock is first mined or collected, it is usually rough, misshaped, and pitted. A skilled lapidary can see the potential of a hunk of rock like jade or quartz, and use a rock tumbler to bring out the natural beauty of the stone. First, the rough is broken into chunks of different sizes, and then put into a rock tumbler with coarse grained grit. The tumbler is a cylinder ...  more

@Karen: Thank you for your comments! Silver fusing seems like such a cool thing to learn… Maybe one day I will find the time! @Marsha: You're welcome!! I will definitely have some videos on tumbling in the future. @Bev: I hope the info in the video helps with your problem! Let me know if you have any further questions, in regards to buffing. Thank you for your comments! @Raye: Dremels should be allowed to come 'out to play'! :-) Hope you find you are using it more often now! In regards to the tumblers, some people have had success with the kiddie ones, though I have never used one. I am trying to learn more about tumbling so I can pass the info on to everyone. @Cindy E.: Like I just mentioned in Raye's response, they can work but I can't tell you too much about that without learning a little more. So stay tuned. Love your comments, as always! @denby: Yeah I used to buff the Sculpey III beads forever trying to get them to shine more! Then I read that they only buff to a matte finish ...  more