James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
|
Post by James on Oct 5, 2003 21:47:40 GMT -5
Hey everyone. I was just wondering what your favorite stones are to polish. I don't have much experience, so I'm interested in what stones produce the best results.
|
|
WilliamC
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 416
|
Post by WilliamC on Oct 6, 2003 6:54:46 GMT -5
Greetings All, Well for all my yacking on this message board I've only managed to get one batch all the way through the polish stage so far, and that was green aventurine. Quite pretty, even if it only went through one polish cycle before I sold it so it never got that high shine I've been waiting for. So to give a trivial answer, my favorite stones are whatever I happen to be tumbling at the moment. Give me a year and a lot more experience polishing different rocks and I might have a more intelligent answer. Then again, I might not WilliamC
|
|
mrflake
having dreams about rocks
Member since August 2003
Posts: 58
|
Post by mrflake on Oct 6, 2003 10:59:30 GMT -5
Hi all, if I tumbled it I love it, however there is one stone in particular that was out of my first batch, just a plain brown rock with some subtle black markings, nothing special, but it sits in the palm beatifully, my father has lost most of his sight and yet you can see the pleasure this rock gives just to hold and work around in the hand, its longer than it is wide and maybe 2 and1/2 inches to 3 inches long, one end slightly thicker in all directions than the other end. Everyone who holds it does exactly the same thing, just works it around and enjoys the "feel" of it.
|
|
|
Post by Original Admin on Oct 6, 2003 11:00:34 GMT -5
Quite simply - mine has got to be Carnelian - the deeper red the better. I am always trying to find that "perfect" stone.
|
|
rockhound
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2003
Posts: 6
|
Post by rockhound on Oct 6, 2003 16:25:58 GMT -5
I am new also. I don't even know the names of all the rocks I have found. I have been searching in books but so far no luck. Good Luck on tumbling.TEXT
|
|
mudd1973
starting to shine!
new member of Culver City Rock and Mineral Club
Member since May 2003
Posts: 33
|
Post by mudd1973 on Oct 6, 2003 16:35:19 GMT -5
I love this board, probably check it twice a day. I just bought 40 lbs of rose quartz on Ebay. Has anybody ever tumbled this? I plan to tumble some larger pieces just to display and some small pieces for necklaces. Even though I've been reading this board for what seems like forever, I've been afraid to actually start my first batch. I have a mixed batch of facetted and beach smooth jasper that has been ready to start for awhile. Since I don't need to shape it, just to polish it, I plan to start with 220 grit and check it daily. I'll also add baking soda, since several people have mentioned gas build up with jasper. I was given an old tumbler and old grit by a friend whose husband had died. Some of the grit is not labelled. Is there any way to find what size it is or should I just compare the feel of the different grits and polishes and guess? Ellen in Los Angeles aka Mudd1973
|
|
|
Post by janine on Oct 6, 2003 18:07:56 GMT -5
Hi all - another lurker that decided to jump in. I have one barrel with amethyst and the other with some prairie agate and blue jasper. Just finished first phase with both and moved them on to the second step. The amethyst look good though some of the flaws are showing now. Some great color in the agate and jasper. What do I like tumbling best? At this point I love them all.
|
|
donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
|
Post by donwrob on Oct 6, 2003 20:05:57 GMT -5
I haven't really been tumbling long enough to pick a favorite yet either. They all are beautiful in their own way. I like obsidian, jasper and agates a lot. I have a big batch of slag glass that is really looking cool too, can't wait to polish it. I also have a batch of obsidian in final that is trying to gloss up, but has a little chaffing on some of the edges. Reason unknown, I had it mixed with some slag glass that may have done it. I pulled all the glass and am trying to run the obsidian longer to see if it lessens any. I suspect I'll have to go back and rerun from pre polish back up.....hope not . But, if I was forced to pick a favorite, it would have to be Flintridge flint (it is chert actually) just because it comes in so many varieties and colors. You never know what you'll get. Plus it is Ohios' gemstone and I have to be loyal to it...right? Tumble till you dop ;D , later, Don
|
|
Djinjuice
starting to shine!
Member since March 2003
Posts: 47
|
Post by Djinjuice on Oct 7, 2003 21:31:49 GMT -5
I'm still messing around with that blasted emerald. I have a few nice pieces I ought to fire off to Doc for facet, but most of the rest is being very resistant to being shaped in the tumbler. I also have a batch of quartzes in 3rd stage which include amethyst, citrine, smokey, rose, a couple aquamarine, and a couple garnets. So far so good! The garnets are pyrope variety, which I am a little disapointed in as they are not really showing their color well(yet), but I have high hopes ! Anyone have any ideas about these garnets? The few I tumbled are marble sized, but I have some that are golf ball size, and I'm not real sure what to do with them.
|
|
Djinjuice
starting to shine!
Member since March 2003
Posts: 47
|
Post by Djinjuice on Oct 7, 2003 21:33:41 GMT -5
Tumble till ya dop?! Har de har har harrrr !!!!! ;D
|
|
SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
|
Post by SirRoxalot on Nov 15, 2003 11:35:36 GMT -5
I just finished a 12 lb run of Brazilian agate chips. Cheap as chips (any Jamie Oliver fans out there???), takes a lovely shine, every piece is different, from solid to beautifully banded, colorless to black, brown, pinks, whites, lots of red, you name it. Absolutely fantastic stuff, very hard and tough so no hassle with cracks or breakage and only minor pits. So addictive I went back and bought a hundred pounds more. Downside is that it takes a long, long time to finish - 3 weeks in rough grind; and the stones are a bit on the small side.
Just started rough grind on 12 lbs of Bancroft sodalite, stuff I collected years ago, nice range of colors from admixed minerals, so not just blue sodalite but yellow cancrinite, white albite, black tourmaline, should be awesome. Hope that third tumbler arrives soon...
|
|
|
Post by Original Admin on Nov 16, 2003 13:13:39 GMT -5
Started out on some Brazillian Carnelian about 3 weeks ago - its probably similar to the agate SirRoxalot is talking about, reds, browns and greys here.
Perhaps not as banded in the main - but there are some bands in there.
It came in as 4 nodules - VERY HARD to break up - and each with a bit of crystal inside at the center - although only just hollow by around 4mm.
I'll put photos up on the site once done - this stuff looks nice.
Andy.
|
|
Trylobyte
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 101
|
Post by Trylobyte on Nov 24, 2003 12:16:35 GMT -5
I'm hooked on beach agates. You can buy them by the lb, they're already nicely rounded (usefull since rough agate can take several weeks of rolling with the 46/70 grit to round itself off), and they shine up beautifully. I've already rolled about 20 lbs. of small stuff (1/4 - 3/4") that I bought for dirt cheap at a beachcombers fair, and I'm now in the process of making cool little candle holders that basically have an outer glass shell, then an inner candle holder, with a single to slight double layer of stones, so that the candle flame shines out through the agates. Very popular.
I recently purchased some more small beach agates (12 lbs) from a place on the Oregon Coast called Facets, and they are really nice. About $3/lb. Lots of different colors. They're in the roller as we speak. I may just go ahead and see if they can come up with 100 lbs, because I've got lots of plans for lamps and such.
Although some say you can skip the rough grind and go straight to phase 2, I give all of them a week in the 46/70 grit just to give them a good surface. Being hard as woodpecker lips, they don't give up much mass, so I don't worry about it, and I always put a few larger stones in with them. Otherwise, just give them the standard 4 grinds...
|
|
Pdwight
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 619
|
Post by Pdwight on Nov 27, 2003 1:09:26 GMT -5
This stuff is amazing, it is so diverse in patterns and colors....and it polishes up great.
Dwight P
|
|
|
Post by puppie96 on Nov 29, 2003 17:01:14 GMT -5
HI -- when I got my first tumbler a couple of months ago, I used some hard stone tumbler mix that I got at a show and put in a variety of stuff I've picked up for years --- from beaches, parks, etc. I wasn't certain about all the hardnesses, but was very careful with following the directions, not rushing any steps, etc., and the results were amazing! I never thought the first batch would be so spectacular. They are still sitting on the kitchen island where we admire them frequently. Then I did much the same with batch 2, using those rocks that still needed work from the first batch along with some more found rocks, and again the results were fabulous!! I know that a lot of what I had was chert and relatives that I picked up in New Mexico, I had just grabbed pieces with interesting colors, etc. And this is how I got hooked! I'm feeling really positive about the sapphire/ruby I've got going but I don't think it would be working nearly so well in a barrel tumbler. The emeralds are not very far along yet so I don't know.... I'm sure I'll be babbling about them in future progress reports. Have a great day everybody!
|
|
|
Post by Noosh9057 on Nov 29, 2003 20:08:35 GMT -5
Well I am new to the Tumbling. I did do some tumbling about 25 years ago when I was about 15 years old. I am looking forward to getting in to it agen. I am going to order a new tumbler soon. With the internet I have learned more in about 7 days then I learnd when I was tumbling so many years ago. This web site is great!!!! Dose any one out there use one barrell for all stages. I did 25 years ago and it semed fine? What do you all think of this?
Noosh Roger
|
|
James
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 876
|
Post by James on Dec 1, 2003 16:43:45 GMT -5
Dose any one out there use one barrell for all stages. I did 25 years ago and it semed fine? What do you all think of this? Noosh Roger I did once on my first attempt at tumbling and it was an absolute disaster. The main problem with using one barrel for all stages is not the 80 and 220 grit cycle but with the pre-polish cycle. You could proably get away with using the same barrel for the 80 and 220 grit if you clean up carefully. But the problem with the pre-polish, is that it tends to stick to the inside of the barrel and contaminate the polish cycle. Yielding dull, ugly results. In any event that you decide to use one barrel for multiple grits: make sure to run the load in Cascade dish soap several times, at 15 min each before moving to the next grit.
|
|
mike
no posts
Member since October 2004
Posts: 0
|
Post by mike on Dec 13, 2003 21:56:22 GMT -5
::)hi does any one know how to tumble petoskey stones. i know you can do them. but how kan some one please help.
|
|
|
Post by Noosh9057 on Dec 14, 2003 0:07:32 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. I think I am going to try one barrell one time to see how it works.
|
|
DurboRox
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2003
Posts: 12
|
Post by DurboRox on Dec 23, 2003 18:38:58 GMT -5
I love tumbling Mexican lace agates, and I love giving them to folks. They always turn out beautifully.
I hope everyone has a great holiday season, and I hope you get your heart's desire in 2004.
|
|