2026 Rock Tumbling Contest (Part 11): On the Home Stretch of Stage 1 (Hopefully)

We have officially hit double digits in Stage 1 for the 2026 Feather River Lapidary Worldwide Rock Tumbling Contest! We’re cleaning out week 10 of coarse grinding, and full disclosure: patience is running thin looking at the same Stage 1 rocks week after week. In this update, we do another meticulous cleanout of the Dead Camel Jasper batch, monitor how our late-addition "long boy" is rounding off, and track the internal channels causing our favorite pinhole rock to worsen as it wears down. We also discuss alternative grinding solutions using cheap Amazon flatlap discs to save a stone's size before officially charging the barrel for what will hopefully be our final week of coarse grit! Part 10:    • 2026 Rock Tumbling Contest (Part 10): Pin ...   Part 12:    • 2026 Rock Tumbling Contest (Part 12): A Su...   Video Summary As the competition weeks stretch on, we audit our remaining "problem children" and evaluate which stones are finally ready to graduate. We observe a dramatic example of how much volume a jasper stone loses over an extra four weeks in coarse grit compared to its original slice. Facing persistent pinholes, instead of grinding down a favorite piece until it shrinks to nothing, we use 60 and 100-grit flatlap discs to smooth out a problem spot manually. With a growing pile of Stage 2 graduates and a barrel packed with cushioning ceramics to fill out the remaining coarse batch, we load up 60/90 silicon carbide for what might be the last time (fingers crossed). In This Video Week 10 Coarse Cleanout: Starting double digits with an inspection of the remaining contest pieces. [00:00] The Chasing Pinhole Channel: Watching our favorite pinhole rock's defect actually get larger as diagonal internal voids open up. [04:03] Size Comparison & Material Loss: Seeing the dramatic size difference between two halves of the same rock after one spent four extra weeks in Stage 1. [03:08] Amazon Flatlap Disc Experiment: Swapping the Dremel for 60 and 100-grit manual flatlap discs to save a stone from shrinking any further. [07:53] Charging the Barrel (Week 11): Filling the remaining space with ceramic media, adding 3 tbsp of 60/90 grit, and 1 tbsp of borax. [08:50] Join the Fun Feather River Lapidary & Mineral Society: https://www.featherriverrocks.org/ Equipment Rotary Tumbler: Dual 3lb Central Machinery tumbler from Harbor Freight Coarse Grit: 3 Tablespoons of 60/90 Silicon Carbide from The Rock Shed 1 Tablespoon of 20 Mule Team Borax Manual Grinding: Cheap Amazon Flatlap Discs (60 & 100 grit) Cushioning: Ceramic Media Cylinders Subscribe to follow my progress in the 2026 Worldwide Rock Tumbling Contest! #RockTumbling #FRLMS #Jasper #Lapidary #RockHounding #Stage1 #Geology #CeramicMedia #FlatLap More updates and past batches at   / eyetumbleforya