Meeko's Serpentine

Yeah, I love the way it looks! I also love Zebra Jasper. They both look awesome!

Nice! Where did you find the Zebra Jasper?

It was in some tumbling mixes that we bought and tumbled last summer. I think that it is hard to get because I can never find it anywhere.

Here is the process that I have developed for tumbling as of right now. Be prepared for an extremely long post 😂😂.

This process involves both the Koolstone tumbler and the Harbor Freight tumbler. Using both brands of tumblers are for harder rocks, rock that are about a 6.0 and up. When tumbling rocks under a 6.0, I use just the Harbor Freight because it tumbles at a slower speed.

I now only use the Koolstone for stage 1 because it runs at a faster speed and shapes the rocks faster cutting the time needed to get enough rocks for stage 2.

I use the Harbor Freight for all of the remaining stages because I get a much better polish with the slower speeds and minimal to no bruising on rocks.

Also, just a note. I use a metal colander/strainer for stages 1 and 2, but then I switch to a plastic colander/strainer for stages 3 and 4 (and stage 5 if it is needed).

Step 1 - Koolstone

Fill the barrel with only rocks to where there is only about an inch between the rocks and the rim of the barrel where the lid sits in.

Put water in in barrel to somewhere around 1/2 inch below the top of the rocks (give or take, it doesn't have to be precise).

I put in:

1 Tbsp of Borax

3 Tbsp of 60/90 Silcon Carbide Grit

1 heaping Tsp of Old Miser

I run it on Speed 1, I never use the other two speeds. I will run it for 3-4 days. I will then dump it, rinse the rocks, and check to see if any are ready to move to stage 2.

Any rocks that are ready to move on, I will store in a bowl with a lid and cover the rocks with water until I have enough.

The rocks that are not ready will go back in the barrel with fresh rocks to make up any space that was lost from shaping and rocks removal for stage 2.

I then recharge the barrel with the same amounts of products previously listed.

If there was a lot of unused grit, (I have noticed that some rocks don't use the grit as fast as other types of rocks), I will increase the run time to 6-7 days. If the grit looked pretty much used up, I will keep the run time at 3-4 days.

I keep repeating stage 1 until I have enough rocks to move on to stage 2.

Stage 2 - Harbor Freight

After stage 1, I switch over to the slower Harbor Frieght tumbler. I have done the full polish in both brands and have found that I get a much better polish by switching to the slower tumbler from this stage forward. The polish is noticeably better with the slower tumbler..

This also frees up the faster tumbler to allow more, and or, different rocks to be shaping while the other batches are polishing.

I fill the barrel to about 2/3 full (I would say about 1 1/2 inches from the top of the rocks the to rim of the barrel where the lid sits) with a mixture of rocks and ceramic media. The ratio that I use is generally about 75% rocks and 25% ceramics. This changes depending on the type of rocks. Softer rocks, and rocks that tend to bruise easily, will require more ceramics and less rocks. Sometime you may even need to have as much as a 50/50 mixture of rocks and ceramics for softer rocks to minimize the rocks banging into each other.

Once the rocks and ceramics are in, add water to around 1/2 inch below the rocks.

I put in:

1 Tbsp Borax

2 Tbsp 120/220 Silcon Carbide Grit

1 Tsp Old Miser

I run the barrel for 14 days (I will explain why I do it for so long at the end of my process).

I then dump the barrel and rinse them off very well. I then move on to burnishing/washing stage.

Burnishing/Washing - Harbor Freight

Place the rocks and ceramics back in the barrel. If the level looks a little low, add a few more ceramics to get back to the 2/3 level. Add water to cover the rocks. I completely cover the them with water for this step to give them as much cushioning as possible.

I put in:

1 DROP of dish detergent (I use and prefer Dawn)

1 heaping Tbsp of Borax

I run the barrel for anywhere from 4-24 hours. I prefer around 12 hours (overnight), but sometimes I have to cut it short or long depending on if I have stuff to do. I always give it at least 4 hours. I get good results with at least 4 hours, but the best results seem to be at least overnight.

Dump the barrel and rinse them off well and move them on to stage 3.

Stage 3 - Harbor Freight 

Fill the barrel with the rocks and ceramics. Make sure that the level is still around the 2/3 full mark (it should be). If not, add a few more ceramics to get it there. Add water to about 1/2 inch below the rocks.

I put in:

1 Tbsp Borax

2 slightly heapingTbsp 500 Aluminum Oxide Grit

Old Miser can only be used with Silcon Carbide and only in stages 1 and 2. Never use Old Miser in any stage after stage 2.

Run the barrel for 14 days.

Dump barrel, rinse very well, and move to stage 4.

Stage 4 - Harbor Freight 

Fill the barrel with the rocks and ceramics. Make sure that the level is still around the 2/3 full mark (it should be). If not, add a few more ceramics to get it there. Add water to about 1/2 inch below the rocks.

I put in:

1 Tbsp Borax

2 slightly heaping Tbsp Polish (I use 8000 Aluminum Oxide grit)

Run barrel for 14 days.

Dump barrel, rinse very well, and move to Burnish/Wash stage

Burnishing/Washing - Harbor Freight

Place the rocks and ceramics back in the barrel. If the level looks a little low, add a few more ceramics to get back to the 2/3 level.

I put in:

1 DROP of dish detergent (I use and prefer Dawn)

1 heaping Tbsp of Borax

Run the barrel overnight.

Dump barrel, rinse very well, and lay rocks and ceramics out on a clean towel or paper towels and allow to air dry.

Sit back, admire your hard work, and play with your rocks!

Don't forget to take pictures and share them with us here!

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Here are a few notes about my process:

As mentioned above, never use Old Miser in any stage past stage 2. It can also only be used with Silcon Carbide grit.

When tumbling softer material (under 6.0 Mohs), I use the slower tumbler from start to finish. I will check stage 1 anywhere between 3-7 days depending on the material. For example; something like Tiger's Eye or Labradorite, etc, I will check every 7 days. Things like Calcite, Fluorite, etc, I will check every 3-4 days.

For the length of time that I use, I do this for a couple of different reasons:

1) Grit is expensive. Right now, in this economy, I have more time than money. I would rather spend my money on rocks instead of grit 😂.

2) I have figured out that this works to give the best polish that I have achieved so far. Here is my thinking on why it works. This will be a little lengthy as well.

I do wood working and wood carving, so I am well versed in how sand paper grits work. Tumbling grit is the same thing.

You start out with coarse grit and move through progressively finer grits to remove the scratches left from the previous grit until the scratches are gone and you are left with a very smooth surface. And in the case of rocks, a polished finish.

As grit is working on the rocks in the tumbler, it doesn't get used up and disappear. It just keeps getting smaller and turning into a finer grit. That is why you shouldn't reuse grit that hasn't been used up. Because after tumbling, it is no longer the same coarseness as it was when you initially put it in.

So in that line of thinking. I decided to move to 2 week runs on stages from 2 through done. And here is my reasoning.

From stage 2 and all remaining stages are a one week run, because after that, the grit is supposedly "used up". But I know that it doesn't really get used up that quickly, it just gets finer. Given enough time, it would in fact get ground down to nothing. But not that fast..

So by running stage 2 for 2 weeks instead of 1 week the grit will get progressively finer the longer that it runs, and thus giving a smoother finish.

To break it down to simplify it and use a general number for what happens with the grit (which will be used for reference only), it would look something like this:

Stage 2 - 120/220 grit

At the start, the grit is a mixture of 120 and 220 grits. The more time that it tumbles, the coarseness of the grit get finer. So for sake of simplicity, the first week it would be a 120/220 grit and the second week would be more like a 160/260 grit or so. That would mean that you are basically using the same grit to remove the coarser scratches.

This principle would apply to all of the grits and in my thinking would look something like this, in simplistic terms and numbers:

Stage 2 using 120/220 grit

Week 1 = 120/220 grit

Week 2 = 160ish/260ish grit

Stage 3 using 500 grit

Week 1 = 500 grit

Week 2 = 700ish grit

Stage 4 using 8000 grit

Week 1 = 8,000 grit

Week 2 = 14,000 grit

Now these numbers are arbitrary and the actual progression is more gradual and not as dramatic changes.

Now if this is correct or not, I do not know. But based off of my knowledge, it sounds correct. All that I do know is that running the stages for 2 week runs, works at producing an excellent polish.

You can try it for yourself and see, or don't.

It's totally up to you.

Well, I hope this extraordinarily long post has helped some people. And if anyone decides to try this method, please post your results for us to see!

Wow! This is a very different process than I've been using - from number of days at various stages, speeds and amount of grit used. Really interesting! I've definitely abandoned speed 3 on the Koolstones. Way too fast and produced a bunch of chipped rocks.

For some of the batches I've been at Stage 1 for 3-7 weeks (raise your little rocky hands on the 6-7 week journey Moroccan Seam Agates). For jaspers and Mohs 6.0-7 seven to 14 days at Stage 1 is usually good to go.

I've also been using only about 1 teaspoon of Old Miser now that I have it. They recommend even less but you're using a full Tbsp.

Also - where are you buying 14,000 grit? I have 8,000 from The Rock

Shed but haven't seen 14,000 anywhere.

I'm going to give your recipe a go on a few barrels but I don't know how you're getting nicely shaped rocks on Stage 1 for such a short tumbling cycle other than softer rocks.

Love the feedback and I'll let you know how it goes - happy tumbling! 😁

Just to clarify a few things.

I only use 1 TSP of Old Miser.

I don't have any 14,000 grit. What i was saying in that part is that by leaving the 8,000 grit running for a 2 week cycle, that as the grit wears down it becomes finer and finer as the cycle runs. The 14,000 was just an arbitrary number of where it may end up after 2 weeks of tumbling.

As far as stage 1 goes, it takes me weeks to months to get them where I want them to be. I just check them every week and remove the rocks that are ready to move on and put the rest back in the barrel with fresh rocks and run it again. It will take me anywhere from 8-16 weeks (sometimes longer, sometimes less depending on the hardness of the rocks) to get enough rocks ready to move on to stage 2.

One other thing that may help you out, and is probably why I may get my rocks shaped a little faster (even though it doesn't seem like it 😂), is this:

A thicker slurry will grind the rocks faster than a thinner slurry will. That is why I use a little less water than most recipes call for. It is rare for me to put the water level higher than 1/2 inch below the rocks. The main time that I add more water than that is during Burnish. I'm not trying to shape or polish during that stage, but basically wash.

It can be a little difficult explaining such a long process in text alone. Some things get lost in translation. 😂

Keep me updated when you try it out and let me know what you think. If you have any questions about a step, just ask. 👍