How perfect does a 5 year old need his tumbled rocks?
August 26, 2022 7:54 AM Subscribe
So Step 1 of rock tumbling with our camping rocks is done. I know from various online articles and youtube videos that you're supposed to inspect them for rough spots and pitting and put them back to step 1 if they have any. They have some. But this is for a 5 year old, not a geologist jeweller. How much will some pitting matter for purposes of impressing a 5 year old?
I fully admit that I am the kind of person who can't wait for the paint or glue to dry and have many times had to redo some aspect of a project that would have gone better if I'd just had some patience. So there's surely some of that going on here.
But also, the little tiny pitting seems to be happening in parts of the rocks that are different colours from other parts of the rock. I kind of get the sense, based on zero geological knowledge, that this isn't going to go get fixed. That if run them another week at stage 1 they're just going to end up with different or even more pits.
Does it make sense to just life with a pit in my rock and know that the rest will be shiny and my 5 year old happy or a will a pit spoil the whole thing? Does the answer depend on whether it's a single pit (mostly) or a rough spot seemingly caused by lots of tiny pits close together (like a very tiny, very shallow pumice)? THey are mostly "nice smooth rock with a pit or two" but there are a couple of "this black part of the rock has lots of tiny tiny pits".
I fully admit that I am the kind of person who can't wait for the paint or glue to dry and have many times had to redo some aspect of a project that would have gone better if I'd just had some patience. So there's surely some of that going on here.
But also, the little tiny pitting seems to be happening in parts of the rocks that are different colours from other parts of the rock. I kind of get the sense, based on zero geological knowledge, that this isn't going to go get fixed. That if run them another week at stage 1 they're just going to end up with different or even more pits.
Does it make sense to just life with a pit in my rock and know that the rest will be shiny and my 5 year old happy or a will a pit spoil the whole thing? Does the answer depend on whether it's a single pit (mostly) or a rough spot seemingly caused by lots of tiny pits close together (like a very tiny, very shallow pumice)? THey are mostly "nice smooth rock with a pit or two" but there are a couple of "this black part of the rock has lots of tiny tiny pits".
There are a couple of things that can happen, in addition to "rocks don't come out perfect".
posted by Winnie the Proust at 8:06 AM on August 26, 2022
- The pits can catch and hold onto grit, and carry it over to the next stage of tumbling, thereby contaminating it. You can avoid this by cleaning the rocks well before moving them to the next stage.
- The pits can be an indication that the rock is shedding material while being tumbled. If it continues to do that in the future tumbling stages, it could impact the polish of the other rocks.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 8:06 AM on August 26, 2022
Why not treat it as an experiment you can do together? Take some out now, put some back in. Compare and contrast, including on the emotional side ... was it worth waiting?
posted by rube goldberg at 8:09 AM on August 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by rube goldberg at 8:09 AM on August 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks...so when it's "this black part of the rock seems to be pitting a lot" should I take that as an indication that that rock is shedding?
I have washed all the rocks off with a toothbrush to get any grit out of pits.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:12 AM on August 26, 2022
I have washed all the rocks off with a toothbrush to get any grit out of pits.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:12 AM on August 26, 2022
It also depends what 5year old will do with the rocks. If it the plan is to laquer them and/or paint them and possibly glue them together into shapes of animals, smoothness will affect the outcome. If it is to simply display them, it will actually be cool to see the pitting and difference in composition.
posted by 15L06 at 8:13 AM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by 15L06 at 8:13 AM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I think he will put them in a jar and pull them out and look at them sometimes. The pits we're talking about mostly aren't like sandpaper/skin pores, etc. but mostly "this is a nice big smooth rounded rock...and look, sombody stuck a pin in this one spot."
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:18 AM on August 26, 2022
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:18 AM on August 26, 2022
Explain to the kid that the pitted areas are there because the rocks naturally have variations. I hope you will give them some unpolished rocks for a before and after!
posted by wryly at 8:26 AM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by wryly at 8:26 AM on August 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
I am 62. I have a bowl of rocks that I collected with my family when I was about your little's age. The rocks were collected mostly in the desert area outside Barstow California. They are mostly Jasper of all different colors: Red, green, yellow, shades of brown, etc. There are a couple of crystals as well. I have enjoyed those rocks my whole life. I assigned stories to some of them (one looks like a molar and I imagined it was the back tooth of some ancient being) Others I used in fantasy play as magical things. A lot of them have pits and cracks and it never bothered me. I can still remember the grinding sound of the tumbler in the garage and the excitement of the unveiling.
Over the years a few very cool beach stones have found their way into the collection, but is mostly just the original stones because it reminds me of a special time.
My vote is to leave them as they are.
posted by agatha_magatha at 9:16 AM on August 26, 2022 [23 favorites]
Over the years a few very cool beach stones have found their way into the collection, but is mostly just the original stones because it reminds me of a special time.
My vote is to leave them as they are.
posted by agatha_magatha at 9:16 AM on August 26, 2022 [23 favorites]
I have both polished stones and untouched rocks out at my place for the grandkids, who are in the same age range. They seem to like all kinds. Perfection is overhyped. This grandma says those stones are ready for the 5 year old. Have fun!
posted by Bella Donna at 11:49 AM on August 26, 2022
posted by Bella Donna at 11:49 AM on August 26, 2022
Broken tempered glass are these tiny sharp. cubes , sometimes that is all I use to clean and smooth stones in a tumbler, the corners work pits very nicely ,takes a week.
posted by hortense at 5:43 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by hortense at 5:43 PM on August 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
There are many rocks that are going to have things like this, as the components of said rock are variable. Some bits are going to pit, depending on what rocks you are working with. The pits are a teaching moment. Erosion and the mohs hardness scale certainly interact.
If your tumbled rocks are pitting, it suggests that they are not uniform in terms of composition. Certain minerals in the rock are going to erode, not tumble. If you are seeing this, further tumbling will likely yield other pits.
But it's been like 40 years since I tumbled rocks, so maybe I'm way off base.
posted by Windopaene at 8:06 AM on August 26, 2022 [7 favorites]