Warzy Raptor
starting to shine!
microcrystalline silicates my beloved <3
Member since April 2024
Posts: 37
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Post by Warzy Raptor on Apr 16, 2024 20:15:13 GMT -5
 Hey y’all! So I did of bit of beach crawling today (south shore Long Island, the super sandy area) and came home with some really pretty stones, mostly quartzite and some unknowns that might be granite, basalt, etc. My question is: if the rocks are *already* super smooth and rounded, is it possible to skip straight to the pre-polish and then polish stages? Some of these guys are on the small side and definitely wouldn’t survive 60/90 grit, and I’d be hesitant to run them through 200 (but definitely will if I have to.) Please, lend me your advice and knowledge! (Photo is of the little ones I’m afraid to put into 200 grit, please excuse the pruny fingers) |
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Post by pebblesky on Apr 16, 2024 20:34:57 GMT -5
Depending on how smooth (maybe examine with a magnifier) the stones are, you could possibly skip 60/90 and start with 200. How small and how soft are they? I would not suggest skipping 200. If the rocks are too small or soft to survive 200, they probably won't give you desirable results after prepolish and polish without taking special care.
One thing nice about 60/90 and 200 is they could effectively break the fragile part at the early stages for you, so that you will have less headache and waste less time in later stages.
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Post by jasoninsd on Apr 16, 2024 20:37:04 GMT -5
Hey y’all! So I did of bit of beach crawling today (south shore Long Island, the super sandy area) and came home with some really pretty stones, mostly quartzite and some unknowns that might be granite, basalt, etc. My question is: if the rocks are *already* super smooth and rounded, is it possible to skip straight to the pre-polish and then polish stages? Some of these guys are on the small side and definitely wouldn’t survive 60/90 grit, and I’d be hesitant to run them through 200 (but definitely will if I have to.) I’ll take some photos to add here in a little bit, just got them bathing to get rid of salt and sand at the moment. But please, lend me your advice and knowledge! I know there have been lots of people who have skipped the initial coarse stage (with success)...especially if the rocks are already "smoothed" over by nature's tumbling!  |
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Warzy Raptor
starting to shine!
microcrystalline silicates my beloved <3
Member since April 2024
Posts: 37
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Post by Warzy Raptor on Apr 16, 2024 20:53:20 GMT -5
Depending on how smooth (maybe examine with a magnifier) the stones are, you could possibly skip 60/90 and start with 200. How small and how soft are they? I would not suggest skipping 200. If the rocks are too small or soft to survive 200, they probably won't give you desirable results after prepolish and polish without taking special care. One thing nice about 60/90 and 200 is they could effectively break the fragile part at the early stages for you, so that you will have less headache and waste less time in later stages. I just rinsed and separated them by “What definitely needs 60/90 grit”, “What needs 200 grit”, and “oh gosh I’m so afraid to tumble these little guys” haha - here’s the photo of the little guys! Let me know your thoughts, would they be all right in the 200 stage? |
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Post by jasoninsd on Apr 16, 2024 21:11:17 GMT -5
Depending on how smooth (maybe examine with a magnifier) the stones are, you could possibly skip 60/90 and start with 200. How small and how soft are they? I would not suggest skipping 200. If the rocks are too small or soft to survive 200, they probably won't give you desirable results after prepolish and polish without taking special care. One thing nice about 60/90 and 200 is they could effectively break the fragile part at the early stages for you, so that you will have less headache and waste less time in later stages. I just rinsed and separated them by “What definitely needs 60/90 grit”, “What needs 200 grit”, and “oh gosh I’m so afraid to tumble these little guys” haha - here’s the photo of the little guys! Let me know your thoughts, would they be all right in the 200 stage? Those will be alright in stage 2. Watch out for that one in particular that has a crevice in it. It could trap grit. So you'll want to make sure that gets cleaned after every stage...and any of the others that are like that as well... |
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Post by pebblesky on Apr 16, 2024 21:44:38 GMT -5
Depending on how smooth (maybe examine with a magnifier) the stones are, you could possibly skip 60/90 and start with 200. How small and how soft are they? I would not suggest skipping 200. If the rocks are too small or soft to survive 200, they probably won't give you desirable results after prepolish and polish without taking special care. One thing nice about 60/90 and 200 is they could effectively break the fragile part at the early stages for you, so that you will have less headache and waste less time in later stages. I just rinsed and separated them by “What definitely needs 60/90 grit”, “What needs 200 grit”, and “oh gosh I’m so afraid to tumble these little guys” haha - here’s the photo of the little guys! Let me know your thoughts, would they be all right in the 200 stage? These look perfectly fine for 200. The crevice that Jason pointed out, if you want to get rid of it, you would want to run the pebble in 60/90 first instead of 200. Some of these seem to have good potentials to be shiny. |
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Warzy Raptor
starting to shine!
microcrystalline silicates my beloved <3
Member since April 2024
Posts: 37
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Post by Warzy Raptor on Apr 16, 2024 22:00:47 GMT -5
I just rinsed and separated them by “What definitely needs 60/90 grit”, “What needs 200 grit”, and “oh gosh I’m so afraid to tumble these little guys” haha - here’s the photo of the little guys! Let me know your thoughts, would they be all right in the 200 stage? These look perfectly fine for 200. The crevice that Jason pointed out, if you want to get rid of it, you would want to run the pebble in 60/90 first instead of 200. Some of these seem to have good potentials to be shiny. Much appreciation to you and Jason! I might actually try to manually remove that crevice with my little diamond rotary tool bits before I put them in the tumbler, but if I get lazy and just -don’t- I’ll make sure to burnish them with Borax between every stage. Got a week to go before I have an empty tumbler barrel so plenty of time to kill, lol. Thanks so much! |
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jimmie
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 233
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Post by jimmie on Apr 17, 2024 4:17:01 GMT -5
South shore of Long Island? Welcome from the east end on the south shore. I pick up rocks like that all the time when fishing in the surf. You have a great selection. I throw mine in for a week in rough tumble, cleans them up a little. Yours will turn out fine.
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dshanpnw
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2020
Posts: 1,158
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Post by dshanpnw on Apr 17, 2024 6:55:46 GMT -5
I agree with Jimmie  , if you run them in 60/90 for just one week they shouldn't loose too much and they'll look better. Then do the same with 220. Thanks for sharing. |
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Warzy Raptor
starting to shine!
microcrystalline silicates my beloved <3
Member since April 2024
Posts: 37
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Post by Warzy Raptor on Apr 17, 2024 15:29:07 GMT -5
South shore of Long Island? Welcome from the east end on the south shore. I pick up rocks like that all the time when fishing in the surf. You have a great selection. I throw mine in for a week in rough tumble, cleans them up a little. Yours will turn out fine. AYYYY you surf fish too??? How ya doing new friend, haha! I’m just getting my gear ready for this year’s bluefish run (my favorite of our local sport fish), and come fall I’ll be out your way plenty chasing stripers. Did the Montauk Classic last year and oooof couldn’t have had a worse weekend for it, barely any fish in :\ Even chunked bunker in Turtle Cove and NADA. You ever need a fishing/rockhounding partner, gimme a shout! And thanks for the tip! I’m going to experiment with these guys, I have a bunch of big ones that will go into 60/90, and the smaller ones I’m going to put directly into 220 and see how they fare. Noticed the south shore rocks are always way smoother than the north shore finds, guess all that sand makes a difference! |
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Mark K
Cave Dweller 
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,818 
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Post by Mark K on Apr 17, 2024 21:06:42 GMT -5
I have taken AZ pet wood and put it straight into the tumbler with NOTHING in with it except water and let it go for a few weeks and they came out shiny as heck. No shaping at all, but shiny. You could try it if you have the time. I did at the time because I was not tumbling anything else at the time. Results may vary.
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Post by Son Of Beach on Apr 17, 2024 21:21:39 GMT -5
I ran all my beach finds at least one week.
Word of caution though, especially with those quartz, is to use plenty of cushioning.
I've ruined many quartz pieces in my haste.
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Warzy Raptor
starting to shine!
microcrystalline silicates my beloved <3
Member since April 2024
Posts: 37
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Post by Warzy Raptor on Apr 18, 2024 3:23:57 GMT -5
I ran all my beach finds at least one week. Word of caution though, especially with those quartz, is to use plenty of cushioning. I've ruined many quartz pieces in my haste. I’ve got ceramic media at the ready! And I might be picking up a vibrating tumbler tomorrow, may run those little ones through there instead. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Apr 18, 2024 7:27:00 GMT -5
I ran all my beach finds at least one week. Word of caution though, especially with those quartz, is to use plenty of cushioning. I've ruined many quartz pieces in my haste. I’ve got ceramic media at the ready! And I might WILL be picking up a vibrating tumbler tomorrow, may run those little ones through there instead. Fixed that for ya! LOL |
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jimmie
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 233
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Post by jimmie on Apr 18, 2024 10:00:17 GMT -5
South shore of Long Island? Welcome from the east end on the south shore. I pick up rocks like that all the time when fishing in the surf. You have a great selection. I throw mine in for a week in rough tumble, cleans them up a little. Yours will turn out fine. AYYYY you surf fish too??? How ya doing new friend, haha! I’m just getting my gear ready for this year’s bluefish run (my favorite of our local sport fish), and come fall I’ll be out your way plenty chasing stripers. Did the Montauk Classic last year and oooof couldn’t have had a worse weekend for it, barely any fish in :\ Even chunked bunker in Turtle Cove and NADA. You ever need a fishing/rockhounding partner, gimme a shout! And thanks for the tip! I’m going to experiment with these guys, I have a bunch of big ones that will go into 60/90, and the smaller ones I’m going to put directly into 220 and see how they fare. Noticed the south shore rocks are always way smoother than the north shore finds, guess all that sand makes a difference! |
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jimmie
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 233
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Post by jimmie on Apr 18, 2024 10:02:51 GMT -5
South shore of Long Island? Welcome from the east end on the south shore. I pick up rocks like that all the time when fishing in the surf. You have a great selection. I throw mine in for a week in rough tumble, cleans them up a little. Yours will turn out fine. AYYYY you surf fish too??? How ya doing new friend, haha! I’m just getting my gear ready for this year’s bluefish run (my favorite of our local sport fish), and come fall I’ll be out your way plenty chasing stripers. Did the Montauk Classic last year and oooof couldn’t have had a worse weekend for it, barely any fish in :\ Even chunked bunker in Turtle Cove and NADA. You ever need a fishing/rockhounding partner, gimme a shout! And thanks for the tip! I’m going to experiment with these guys, I have a bunch of big ones that will go into 60/90, and the smaller ones I’m going to put directly into 220 and see how they fare. Noticed the south shore rocks are always way smoother than the north shore finds, guess all that sand makes a difference! I’m out in Watermill, if you ever want to swing by and check out my collection, send me a dm and we can meet. I’ve got a pretty extensive collection of agates from all over the world. |
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, if you run them in 60/90 for just one week they shouldn't loose too much and they'll look better. Then do the same with 220. Thanks for sharing. 
