Hobbies And Interests
Basics
According to Rocktumblinghobby.com, rock tumbling is the process of taking rough stone as raw material, and placing it inside of a barrel with harder "grits" where it is rotated until the rough edges are removed. Once it is shaped, it is polished until it becomes perfectly smooth.
Significance
People often use rock tumblers as a hobby of taking jagged rocks, and creating beautiful stones that can be stored in collections. They can also be used as gifts, ornaments and decorations.
Tumbling
When the rock is in the process of being polished and smoothed, this is known as "tumbling." Rocks that are of the same hardness are loaded into a plastic or rubber barrel and begin "barreling" (rotating) with silicon grit and water. A full tumble polish from jagged rocks to polished stones generally takes four to five weeks.
Types
The two main types of rock tumblers are rotary rock and vibratory rock. Rotary rock tumblers have one or more barrels where the rocks are placed. Having multiple barrels allows the user to tumble two or more batches of rocks at the same time. The rocks simply rub against each other inside the barrels to become smooth. Vibratory rock tumblers consist of a bowl rather than a barrel. After the rocks, grit and water are placed inside the bowl and covered, they are vibrated. The friction from the vibration causes the rocks to smoothen out.
History
Modern rock tumbling became a common hobby during the 1970s. People used the polished stones as jewelry because it was in fashion. Dishes and decorative glass jars filled with stones became another popular fashion design that were set up in homes and businesses.