Tumbled Stones
Tumble Stones are an excellent and inexpensive way to add to your crystal/stone collection. As you connect with your beautiful crystals, you will probably find yourself looking at bigger, more ornamental pieces to have in your home and office space, be it for adding to your decor, or using in your own sacred space.
Tumbled stones are a wonderful way to carry with you at all times, for their vibrational effect, healing benefits and protection. Follow your own intuition as to how you do this, but some suggestions are:-
- in your pocket
- in your handbag/purse
- in a medicine pouch with your other treasures
- in a little bag be it velvet or organza
As a decoration, the possibilities are limited only by your imagination:
- in a bowl on your desk or in a special space in your home: bathroom, bedroom coffee table, kitchen etc
- around electrical appliances
- in a glass or vase or other ornamental dish
- scattered on a coffee table or sideboard
- in a glass or crystal bowl with an air plant
- placed in and around a piece of driftwood.
They are also used extensively to create crystals grids for manifesting your dreams and visions.
Tumbled stones are made in a machine known as a rock tumbler. The most commonly used rock tumbler is a rotary machine that turns a barrel containing the stones, along with abrasive grit, and water, for days and weeks at a time.
As the rocks tumble in the barrel, the grains of abrasive grit get caught between the rocks and abrade off sharp points and edges. This first step modifies the shape of the rocks and moves them towards a rounded shape.
In two subsequent steps, smaller-size granules of silicon carbide are used to smooth the surfaces of the rocks in preparation for polishing. Then, in the final step, a rock polish such as micron-size aluminium oxide is used to produce a bright, lustrous, polished surface on the rocks. The tumbling process usually takes a few weeks to complete in a rotary tumbler.
