Looking for Rocks to Tumble

[johnc]

I've just built a rock tumbler for my son.
I've ordered some abrasive powder ok, but I'm not sure where to find rocks to tumble.
We aren't after anything exotic just something which will reward the effort put in.
Can anyone offer any tips as to where I can find some stones for him?

cheers,
John.

[calxoddity]

where do you live?

[Aussie Sapphire]

welcome to the forum John,

Calx and a few of the other regulars can give you some great advice on finding rocks for tumbling - a rough idea of your location can help to advise in which direction to look and what you might find.

We have been looking into getting a supply of tumbling rock for those who want to get started in the hobby - still working on that one.  Essentially, you want rocks that will take a polish so look for ones that are shiny when wet as this is a good indicator of polishability (if this is a word  ) - if they are very porous and look dull/matte when wet, they are unlikely to polish well but there is a huge range of good options out there so keep your eyes open.

cheers
Leah (Aussie Sapphire)

[johnc]

Thanks for the replies,
I live near Hornsby in Sydney's north.
cheers, john.

[calxoddity]

John,
   Simple steps to tumblingness:

• Jump in your car and drive down to North Beach at Wollongong.
• Walk along the beach and grab all the petrified wood you want between the beach and the boat harbour (ie walk south and stop when you bump into the Continental Pool just before the boat harbour.)
• Stop and throw away all but 5 kilos, as you realise that you have picked up far too much and it's heavy...
• proceed home and start tumbling

   
To be honest, you could do the above on most beaches between Stanwell Park and Wollongong, but the location above is the easiest and most abundant collecting and easiest to get to without too much of a fight for parking.

If I'm around I could show you - but would need a few days notice as I travel a lot.

Regards,
Calx

[Aussie Sapphire]

thanks calx,

now all we need is some pictures of the final result to inspire John and others to get stuck into it.

stick 'em in the gallery and they'll show up straight away.

cheers
Leah

[calxoddity]

Hi,
  For starters, here's what petrified wood from our local beach looks like after being tumbled - I finished this lot about 2 weeks ago, but only took the pikkies today.

Enjoy!

[Andrew]

 Wow that looks cool
 Does anyone wonder what you are doing when you go to the beach with your bucket and wheelbarrow

 Cheers Andrew

[calxoddity]

I take a small satchel and get around 5kg per visit. Probably takes around half an hour, because I look for the interesting pieces.  This gives me enough variety to put 1kg of interesting mix in the right size assortment into the tumbler. 

Basically, where I get the stones from, I could take as much as I could possibly carry in under 60 seconds....

Regards,
Shane

[arabian]

How about rocks in or around Melbourne?
Is Gembrook still a good place to look. Hence it got its name by "Gems in a Brook"

From
Jackie

[mehoose]

Jackie,
See if you can get your hands on an old book called
'How and Where to find Gemstones in Australia and New Zealand by Bill Myatt'. Try the library, wealth of knowledge.
In Vic there's STUFF all over the place.
This is taken from the book.

For a day trip or o'night head to Phillip Island.
*Please do this at low tide*
Along a 4 mile stretch between Phelans Bluff and Pyramid Rock you will find at the beach red, pink and grey agates and pebbles of chalcedony.They suggest starting at 240 grit for this agate it doesn't take much to polish.
(Check your map, I think this is referring to Kitty Miller bay where they say go down to the beach, head left for about a mile to the fossicking area and you might need to dig around in the sand.)

I'll do some more reading in the morning. Is it the East side you want me to check out? Where are you? I grew up in Vermont.

Merryn.

[mehoose]

Something else I just remembered.
There are many rocks at the beach, handy to put them in the water and see what patterns they have. What you want to look for are the rocks which stay wet for longer than a few seconds, these should take the good polish. Some rocks 'act' like a sponge, when you do the lick/spit test the water just seems to disappear. These don't take a good polish as a rule.
Oh, and if a stone feels waxy when you rub your thumb across it it's probably jasper.

Any other hints or corrections to what I've said? Please add more.

Merryn.