2026 Rock Tumbling Contest (Part 12): A Sudden Change of Plans

It’s Week 11 of the 2026 Worldwide Rock Tumbling Contest, and we have a major pivot in strategy! This week's Stage 1 cleanout of the Dead Camel Jasper revealed a frustrating problem: there was a bunch of unspent grit sitting at the bottom of the barrel. It turns out that using half a barrel of ceramic media in Stage 1 is, in fact, a bad idea (which I knew already). Since patience is officially gone and running a barrel full of media isn't working, I am making a sudden change of plans to kickstart the grind and get these rocks moved on. Part 11:    • 2026 Rock Tumbling Contest (Part 11): On t...   Part 13:    • 2026 Rock Tumbling Contest (Part 13): Anot...   Video Summary Only a few tiny stones graduated to the Stage 2 jar this week, leaving us with a barrel that is far too empty to run. Instead of making the mistake of adding more cushioning media to a coarse grind again, I dug into my stash and pulled out a leftover pound of rough mixed Sardonyx (Mohs hardness 6.5–7). While mixing brand-new rough with nearly finished competition stones is a calculated risk, the coarse edges of the sardo-nyx are exactly what we need to force the stubborn jasper "problem children" to finally smooth out. We inspect the pinhole rock's transition into a full crevice, note a color change on the big showpiece stone, and listen to the immediate auditory difference of a barrel that is actually grinding again! In This Video Week 11 Cleanout & Leftover Grit: Discovering unspent grit and diagnosing the "too much ceramic media" mistake. [00:00] Problem Children Update: Watching the favorite pinhole rock open up into a deep crevice and tracking a worsening fracture line. [00:53] The Color Change Showpiece: A look at the largest stone left in the barrel as a pale, tan-colored area reveals itself under the wear. [01:19] The Sardonyx Pivot: Introducing nearly a pound of rough Sardonyx as aggressive filler to replace the ceramic media. [02:45] Charging for Week 12: Loading the barrel with the mixed lot, 3 tablespoons of 60/90 coarse grit, and 1 tablespoon of borax. [05:03] 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 20 Mule Team Borax New Filler Material: 1 Pound of Rough Mixed Sardonyx Subscribe to follow my progress in the 2026 Worldwide Rock Tumbling Contest! #RockTumbling #FRLMS #Jasper #Lapidary #RockHounding #Stage1 #Geology #Sardonyx #CoarseGrind #TumblingTips More updates and past batches at   / eyetumbleforya