1.  Add a table spoon of sugar to the final polish stage for that extra gleam to your finished stones.

2.  Do not underfill a barrel with water, you will end up with such a thich slurry that the stones will stick together as the waste in the barrel gets denser and denser.

3.  Dip your stones in super glue and allow to set solid before starting out - this will fill any cracks or crevices and help prevent grits from passing onto the next phase.

4.  Make a note of each tumble you do - how long each phase took, what rock type was involved etc.  Experiment with the amount of grit you use at each phase an take note of the results.  This can save a lot of time in the future.

5.  Add some washing powder to the final polish phase, this helps the polish to glide more smoothly over the surface of the stones.

6.  A syringe is useful for oiling the bushes on the tumbler - you can avoid applying too much and having oil splash all over the place when you restart.

7.  To prevent the stones from slipping during phase 2 and 3, stick small pieces of tough rubber to the inside of the barrel, this helps to trip them as they turn and prevents flats from forming.

8.  Begin your tumble with rocks as near to round as possible, this is difficult to acheive but reduces the amount of wastage as you try to get that last long peice into shape!

9. If you are tumbling more than one barrel, make a note of the start date of each newly charged barrel, they quickly become out of step with each other and you need to know how many days have passed at each phase for each barrel.

10. For softer rocks, check on them on a daily basis, as they can quickly disintegrate into mud - especially during the 80 Grit phase.