Comments for Rocks & Gemstones

Comment on Harbor Freight/Chicago Electric Rock Tumbler by Stan

Stan — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:45:23 +0000

WOW! All my daughter wanted to do was break a rock found at beach with her other two Musketeers, smooth/polish the pieces, and make a treasured keepsake necklace as one is heading off to college, with the others following next year. I got stuck trying to figure out how…what a hassle, I’m blowing through belts on the Chicago machine as well. Chicago tumbler-Frustrating; shipping cost of replacement belts-insulting/irritating; 411 provided here-PRICELESS…thanks

Comment on Agate hunting along the Genesee River by Rob

Rob — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 16:12:47 +0000

Hi Luckysmom, if you find some Labrodorite, let me know. Would love to go hunt for some. Maybe get some GPS coords if you can.
My wife and I were members of the Rochester Lapidary Society last year. Just have been too busy to do it this year. We did enjoy it, and will probably rejoin again next year.

Comment on Agate hunting along the Genesee River by Luckysmom

Luckysmom — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 23:21:15 +0000

Hi there,

Saw your posting about Labrodorite at Canadice lake. I’m not sure where Canadice lake is but I have heard of Labrodorite occurring in the Adirondacks. I’ve been told its in the star lake area. I’m hoping to find some this summer….. Do you belong to the Rochester lapidary or mineral club?
Steph

Comment on Gemstones-The Addiction Starts by Austin Cook

Austin Cook — Wed, 19 May 2010 09:23:36 +0000

my favorite gemstone is none other than diamond. the most expensive and priceless gemstone ever.*~”

Comment on Cash and Treasures TV show by Cher and Rich

Cher and Rich — Wed, 19 May 2010 01:08:26 +0000

we saw an episode of Kirstens show where she was on a ranch in SW Texas. The Woodward Ranch. The Woodwards are wonderful folks and their ranch is famous for its red plume agates…We worked like we were obcessed and had a ball! More fun than we have had in years!!!

Comment on Harbor Freight/Chicago Electric Rock Tumbler by Will

Will — Sun, 09 May 2010 04:27:48 +0000

Every thing I have read and all the folks that I have talked to say that the Lortone belts work very well on a Harbor Freight tumbler and last a long time.

Comment on Problems polishing Apache Tears/obsidian by Rob

Rob — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:15:35 +0000

Ron, I look forward to hearing about your experiences polishing the apache tears. We are still working on it. We have them polishing in red rouge now. We’ll see how that works.

Comment on Polishing Apache tears/obsidian by Movieman990

Movieman990 — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:07:56 +0000

See my response in your other post about Apache tears.

Comment on Problems polishing Apache Tears/obsidian by Movieman990

Movieman990 — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:06:30 +0000

Hey there…

I collected a 5 gallon bucketfull of apache tears near Tonopah, NV some time ago and am now getting into the lapidary phase. I just acquired a tumbler and since I am going on a trip to the Hauser Geode Beds this month (April, 2010) it may be late in the month or even May before tumbling takes place, but I will let you know here what my experience is.

Many of my Apache tears ARE polished by wind and sand on the top surface (shiny) while they have a matte finish on the surface that was below the surface of the ground.

I find THAT a very interesting look for a “specimen” item. I sell these at a flea market along with geodes.

Comment on Harbor Freight/Chicago Electric Rock Tumbler by Kevin

Kevin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:57:15 +0000

I have the HF dual drum tumbler and had problems with belts breaking too.

I returned the first one I bought after burning through both belts that came with the thing in a week. HF replaced the whole works for free, since it was still under factory warranty.

I found that if you lube the bearings with WD40 once a day and wobble the shafts back and forth to make sure the oil goes into the bearings, the belt will last months, not days. My tumbler has been going 24/7 for the last 2 months and I am still on the new one’s first belt.

Also, be careful you don’t overload the barrels with rocks. I put my barrels on a scale and weigh rocks, grit and water up to 3 Lbs in each one. Too much weight and the belt breaks.

Put the tumbler on a sacrificial piece of wood or something absorbent – you’ll have a big black puddle of oil under the tumbler in a few weeks, with this lubrication schedule!

Comment on Harbor Freight/Chicago Electric Rock Tumbler by kevin

kevin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:00:02 +0000

if you open the Hb tumbler up, you can adjust how the wheels align and it helps the tumbler work much better.

Comment on Gemstones-The Addiction Starts by Anamika

Anamika — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:51:35 +0000

Your wife is not alone there. Majority of women cannot resist the beauty of gemstones.

Comment on Harbor Freight/Chicago Electric Rock Tumbler by M

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 21:01:39 +0000

Thanks for posting this! I was looking on eBay for something affordable that wasn’t and NSI…you’ve saved me a lot grief.

Comment on Harbor Freight/Chicago Electric Rock Tumbler by Ron

Ron — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:47:30 +0000

I found this site looking for info on the HF tumbler, so for all you Googlers out there you can get belts of just about any size/diameter through McMaster Carr (mcmaster.com). I repair medical lab equipment and a lot of them use oddball belts, and I’ve yet to be stumped by one. All you need to do is measure the total belt length, diameter, then choose a material on their site. Their site even explains what each material is best suited for. Good luck!

Comment on Harbor Freight/Chicago Electric Rock Tumbler by Cassie

Cassie — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:09:08 +0000

Sorry, I meant HF, not HB.

Comment on Harbor Freight/Chicago Electric Rock Tumbler by Cassie

Cassie — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:07:10 +0000

I’m glad I found this. My son has the HB tumbler and the belt broke on the third day running the machine. The belts are back ordered through January 2010 (no wonder), so I have been in search of an alternative. I wonder, has anybody tried using the replacement belt for the Lortane 1.5 or 3a for the HB tumbler? They would certainly be a better quality and I think they would fit with a 9″ circumference and 1/4″ thickness.

Comment on Freeing quartz crystals (Herkimer Diamonds) from calcite matrix by Bella

Bella — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:15:19 +0000

hello, I am a huge rockhounder, have been most of my life and I am not getting into more of the what is what and looking for certian types, I have some big chunks of white rock, which i then believed to be calcite, now I have to try the vineager!! I am excited! THANKS!!

Comment on Tools for Herkimer Diamond mine trip by Harmon

Harmon — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:20:50 +0000

They’re nice tool too. I wish my helpers would quit losing them on me.

Comment on Tools for Herkimer Diamond mine trip by jeremy

jeremy — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:06:27 +0000

A good place for a prybar or other heavy duty stuff is Cook Iron Store on Andrews Street downtown. They have alot of stuff there. I’m a plumber and I’ve gotten a few huge prybars from them over the years. They have stuff from 3′ on up( I like the 6′ variety). They’re nice tool too. I wish my helpers would quit losing them on me.

Comment on Freeing quartz crystals (Herkimer Diamonds) from calcite matrix by diamonds

diamonds — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:13:39 +0000

It seems indeed a good idea to use vineager or muriatic acid to solve the calcium, as any chemistry course will learn you, you can also add water if you want the process to go slower, good luck with finding diamonds