Mystery Mix: Rock Tumbling Rough

Colorful and easy-to-polish by a beginner in a small rotary tumbler.

The photo above shows the contents of one randomly picked, two-pound package of Mystery Mix Tumbling Rough. It was dumped into a colander and photographed wet to display the rough's full colors. Each package of Mystery Mix contains a two-pound grab sample of tumbling rocks, selected for size (1/2 inch to 1 3/4 inch), diverse color, and their tumbling success in a small tumbler. Most of the rock types blended into Mystery Mix are listed for sale on this website. Click the photo for a larger view.

Here is a scatter of tumbled stones that represents what might be produced from a two-pound package of Mystery Mix. You should expect several different types of stones with some duplication. Every bag is different, and the types of stones in the mix change over time. If you buy Mystery Mix today and again in a few weeks, you may receive different types of stones. All of these stones were tumbled by Adam Rittenhouse in Thumler's AR-1 and AR-2 tumblers. Photograph by Angela King. Click the photo for a larger view.

Mystery Mix Tumbling Rough

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Size:

Mostly 1/2 to 1 3/4 inch pieces

-- Tested Tumbling Rough
-- Highly Recommended For Beginners
-- Rocks Selected for Color & Success in Tumbling
-- Works Well in Small Rotary Tumblers

This is the tumbling mix that we recommend for beginners and anyone who would like to have colorful rocks that are easy to tumble. We have tumbled this mix ourselves, so you can be assured of getting rocks that can be successfully polished in a small rotary tumbler similar to the Thumler's MP-1, A-R1, and A-R2.

This mix contains a sampling of several different tumbling roughs sold on this website - they are of similar hardness and can be tumbled together. You will be able to find many of these rocks on the pages where we have tumbling rough for sale.

Every package is different, and the composition of the mix changes often. So, if you buy a package today and buy another package in a few weeks, you are likely to receive a different mix of rock types.

What's in it? Mystery mix contains minerals and rocks that have a Mohs Hardness between about 6 and 7. They are mostly varieties of quartz (such as jasper, agate, or chalcedony) and igneous / metamorphic rocks (such as granite, quartzite, unakite, or dalmatian stone). That narrow hardness range makes the rocks in the mix compatible for tumbling together.

Happy Tumbling!

Tumble this rock using our Instructions for Jasper, Agate, and Chalcedony.

Mystery Mix - Tumbling Properties
Marketing Name:	Mystery Mix
Classification:	Mostly varieties of jasper and agate, various kinds of quartz, igneous rocks, metamorphic rocks, and other materials that perform well in a small rotary tumbler.
Mohs Hardness:	Most pieces have a Mohs hardness between 6 and 7.
Size:	Pieces of this rough range from about 1/2 inch up to 1 3/4 inches in size (measured across the maximum dimension).
Recommended Recipe:	We have tumbled Mystery Mix many times in small rotary tumblers such as Thumler's MP-1, A-R1, A-R2, and Model T. It also tumbles well in small rotary tumblers from other manufacturers. We use our "Tumbling Instructions for Agate, Jasper, Petrified Wood and Other Hard, Tenacious Materials".
Recommended Polish:	TXP aluminum oxide
Tips for Success:	(1) For nicely rounded stones, we tumble Mystery Mix for two weeks in coarse (60/90 mesh) silicon carbide grit. We use about 2 tablespoons of grit for each pound of rocks and add enough water to almost cover the rocks. We stop at the end of the first week, rinse the rough, put it back into the barrel, add fresh grit, add water, and tumble for one more week. (2) After the second coarse grit step, rinse the rough, clean the barrel, and examine your rocks. Woo Hoo! Your rocks should now have a slightly rounded shape and look wonderful when wet. You are now ready for the medium grit step. (3) We are going to use ceramic media during the medium grit step. So, place your rough back into the barrel. Then add enough ceramic media to bring the barrel up to about 2/3 full (large media, small media, or used media will be fine). We then add medium (150/220 mesh) silicon carbide grit, two tablespoons of medium grit for each pound of material in the barrel (rocks plus media). Add enough water to almost cover the rough and media. Seal the barrel and tumble for one week. (4) After tumbling in medium grit, open your barrel, thoroughly rinse the rough, the media, and the barrel, and it is time to examine your rocks again. They should look even better than after the last step. Your rocks should now be nicely rounded and their surfaces should be nice and smooth. So, place your rough and media back in the barrel. Then add two tablespoons of fine (500 mesh) grit silicon carbide for each pound of material in the barrel. Add enough water to almost cover the rocks and media. Seal your tumbler barrel and tumble for another week. (5) Congratulations! You are now ready for the polishing step. Clean your rough, media, and barrel. Then examine your rocks one last time before polishing. They should now be rounded and extra smooth for the polishing step. You now should have a good idea of what they might look like when polished. Place your rough and media back in the barrel and add two tablespoons of TXP aluminum oxide polish for each pound of rough and media in the barrel - then add just enough water to almost cover the rocks. Now seal the barrel and tumble for one week. (6) Now it is time to see how your rocks polished. So, open the barrel and rinse the rocks and media. Dry them with a soft cloth. If you achieved a nice polish, congratulations! If the polish could be a little brighter, proceed to step 7. (7) At this time, some people do a 30-minute burnishing tumble with grated Ivory bar soap after tumbling to buff the stones. This step is optional - especially if your rocks are already bright and shiny.
* Tumbling properties on this page are for the stones being sold here. Stones from other sources may require a different procedure. If you encounter problems getting good results using material sold as "tumbling rough" we recommend asking the seller for tumbling instructions.

Large Ceramic Media

Large ceramic pellets work great as a filler and for delivering grit or polish to difficult-to-reach surfaces. More information...

Small Ceramic Media

Small ceramic pellets work great when you need small material for better tumbling action or to deliver grit or polish to difficult-to-reach surfaces. More information...

Standard Grit Kit

1 pound of each: coarse, medium and fine grit. 8 ounces of TXP polish. This is enough supplies to tumble up to four three-pound barrels of rocks. Save money with a large grit kit.