Rock on down to do a little tumbling

First you need to make sure you have enough stone to make a tumbler load. This will depend on the size of your tumbler. You need to fill the tumbler barrel 2/3 to ¾ full with properly graded and sized stones. If the barrel is not full
enough, you won't get the proper tumbling action in the later steps. You will want to mix small stones with larger stones in order to get a tumbling action in your tumbler.

Add the necessary amount of coarse grit to the stones in the barrel. THE RULE OF THUMB IS 1/2 LB. OF GRIT FOR EVERY 5 LB. OF STONES.. After adding the grit, slowly add water until the water level is just touching the bottom of the top layer of stones. DO NOT overfill because too much water will inhibit the tumbling action. Run the tumbler for 24 hours, then open the barrel to release any slight gas build-up during the coarse grind. If the slurry appears pasty or very thick, add a small amount of water. Let the tumbler run for an hour and recheck, add water as needed.

Be patient and don't stop too soon. Note: If the stones are not all smoothly rounded, it is necessary to repeat the coarse grit step using a charge of new grit. The original grit will have broken down too much to provide additional shaping. After the 1st grind, you must clean the barrel and stones thoroughly to remove all traces of the coarse grit slurry. Do not pour slurry into your plumbing system, it will settle in the pipes and harden like cement. There should be no visible grit or slurry left on the stones, you are now ready for step 2.

Place the cleaned stones in the barrel, inspecting them as you go, and removing any that need more coarse grinding - if you have less then 2/3 barrel full of stones add plastic pellets to make up the additional volume. Add proper amount of water and grit according to table, reseal the barrel and let it run for 2 to 3 days before checking stones. On the 7th day, they should have a smooth matte finish over their entire surface. If not run for additional 2 to 3 days. Plastic pellets will float to the top, remove and clean them as they can be used again. Use the same cleaning procedure you used in step 1.

Fine or pre-polish, place stones into the barrel, following previous instructions. Run for about a week, checking progress every other day. Clean and inspect stones for final polishing stage.

Gently place the stones into the barrel to avoid any scratching of chipping. After charging the tumbler with water and polishing compound (see table), add plastic pellets to increase volume to 2/3 - 3/4 full. The pellets will help carry the polishing compound and that will cushion the stones. Polishing should take 5 to 7 days. At the end of this time, remove and inspect several stones. If they look the same when dry as they do when wet, your batch is finished. If, after 7 days, your polished gemstones appear to have a slight film on them, it can be removed and extra shine and luster added by the burnishing step. Before burnishing, be sure to thoroughly clean the barrel and stones and recover the plastic pellets.

Place you stones into the barrel, add the same plastic pellets and proper amount of powdered soap (Do not use any liquid detergents, dishwasher powders or any products that contain bleach or additives, as these products will damage the barrel and ruin the polish). Add water as in previous steps and run for at least 4 days.