Post by feurstein on Jul 26, 2008 14:16:25 GMT -5
Hi Folks,
It’s taken me a while, but I finally finished this batch of Laguna Agates. The stones were “tumbling grade” rough and relatively cheap, but from the moment I started tumbling them I began to love them more and more.
I started with about 400g of rough nodules and tumbled them in 80 grade SiC, washed and re-charged weekly. After about 8 cycles there were still lots of pits and blemishes and it was a further 6 cycles before I was happy that most of the stones were ready to progress.
This was by far the longest tumble that I’ve ever attempted, and due to the heavy pitting and the extended rough grind, the resulting loss of material left me with less than half a load of stones to go forward.
Luckily I had a complete second batch and so I started the rough grind all over again with batch 2! It was just as long and harrowing and after another 14 weeks of washing and sorting the batch was just about ready.
2 weeks of 220 grade tumbling and another wash, followed by 2 weeks with 400 grade SiC finished the grinding and the silky pebbles were transfered to Aluminium Oxide polish for a final 2 weeks of tumbling.
I think the wait was worth it as the final tumble stones really pleased me, despite the numerous pits, cracks and occasional fissures. I shall be tumbling another batch soon as I had a lot of enjoyment with these. Hope you like ‘em...
The whole batch...
A few highlights...
So there you have it folks, Laguna Agates! A LONG but enjoyable tumble! Hope you enjoyed the peek.
Thanks,
H
It’s taken me a while, but I finally finished this batch of Laguna Agates. The stones were “tumbling grade” rough and relatively cheap, but from the moment I started tumbling them I began to love them more and more.
I started with about 400g of rough nodules and tumbled them in 80 grade SiC, washed and re-charged weekly. After about 8 cycles there were still lots of pits and blemishes and it was a further 6 cycles before I was happy that most of the stones were ready to progress.
This was by far the longest tumble that I’ve ever attempted, and due to the heavy pitting and the extended rough grind, the resulting loss of material left me with less than half a load of stones to go forward.
Luckily I had a complete second batch and so I started the rough grind all over again with batch 2! It was just as long and harrowing and after another 14 weeks of washing and sorting the batch was just about ready.
2 weeks of 220 grade tumbling and another wash, followed by 2 weeks with 400 grade SiC finished the grinding and the silky pebbles were transfered to Aluminium Oxide polish for a final 2 weeks of tumbling.
I think the wait was worth it as the final tumble stones really pleased me, despite the numerous pits, cracks and occasional fissures. I shall be tumbling another batch soon as I had a lot of enjoyment with these. Hope you like ‘em...
The whole batch...
A few highlights...
So there you have it folks, Laguna Agates! A LONG but enjoyable tumble! Hope you enjoyed the peek.
Thanks,
H
