bach
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2007
Posts: 3
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Post by bach on Jul 25, 2007 20:14:20 GMT -5
Well I live now where I can collect all the Petoskeys I want. I want to polish them with a 5 pound vibrating tumbler. I was wondering if anyone had a good formula as far as time and media. I was thinking maybe 400 grit with molasses for 12 hours, then 600 grit with molasses for 12 hours, then go on to Cerium Oxide with plastic pellets. But there must be someone here who knows more than me. Someday I'll get a wheel but can't afford it now. Does anyone have a good routine for polishing Petoskeys in a vibrating polisher? thanks!
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agatemaggot
Cave Dweller 
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
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Post by agatemaggot on Jul 25, 2007 21:20:43 GMT -5
Bach,
Never tried tumbling Petoski there isnt a lot around Iowa. I would like to get some to work with though. If you have oodles and gobs of the stuff , would you like to work up a trade. I think it is fairly soft and might be a challenge to tumble.
Harley
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luv2hound
freely admits to licking rocks
I try & I try, but dang it! Those rocks just keep ending up in my pockets
Member since June 2007
Posts: 890
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Post by luv2hound on Jul 25, 2007 21:30:40 GMT -5
What are Petoskeys?
~~Mitzi~~
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bach
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2007
Posts: 3
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Post by bach on Jul 26, 2007 6:19:36 GMT -5
Petosky stones can only be found around some of the shores of lake Michigan and no where else. They are from coral 40 million years old from when Michigan was under a prehistoric sea. They are soft, it would be like doing fossil or glass maybe. If anyone has any ideas let me know, I think I could experiment and get it. As long as I'm careful it would be hard to screw up to bad. There is nothing like a Petosky stone. Do a search and look at pics of them. They are very cool
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silverdig45
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2007
Posts: 6
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Post by silverdig45 on Jul 26, 2007 12:07:49 GMT -5
Petoskey stone is a fossilized coral, the state stone of Michigan and is commonly found along the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron in the United States.
It was formed by the fossilization of ancient coral, hexagonaria. These corals lived in warm shallow seas that covered Michigan during Devonian time, some 350 million years ago.
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firewalker45
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since August 2006
Posts: 929
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Post by firewalker45 on Jul 26, 2007 13:13:13 GMT -5
Hi Bach, I have had some failures but no sucess yet. I have a batch ready for 600 that I will start soon. I will let you know if I am sucessful. Daniel
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dtcmor
freely admits to licking rocks
Back to lickin' rocks again!
Member since May 2006
Posts: 898
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Post by dtcmor on Jul 28, 2007 22:38:31 GMT -5
The only good way I have found to polish the Petoskeys is to do them by hand. I use wet/dry sandpaper to smooth them, and then rub the polish in with a damp cloth. It takes about an hour or more for the proccess, but it produces great results. I used to have a link to a web page that explains this proccess - I'll have to do some searching and will post it if you are interested.
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Iowahound
having dreams about rocks
Member since December 2004
Posts: 72
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Post by Iowahound on Jul 29, 2007 7:56:58 GMT -5
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dtcmor
freely admits to licking rocks
Back to lickin' rocks again!
Member since May 2006
Posts: 898
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Post by dtcmor on Jul 29, 2007 10:11:57 GMT -5
Iowahound - that is the same link that I was looking for, but had lost it. Thanks for posting it!
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erbojones
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2006
Posts: 659
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Post by erbojones on Jul 29, 2007 13:39:08 GMT -5
Thanks for the link!! Snowdog sent me a big Petoskey stone and I was wondering how to polish it up. Cool!!
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bach
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2007
Posts: 3
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Post by bach on Jul 29, 2007 21:08:17 GMT -5
I really don't want to do 800 of them by hand though!
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fossilman
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2007
Posts: 256
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Post by fossilman on Aug 1, 2007 22:46:02 GMT -5
You can polish them on a cotton or other type lapidary wheel with ZAM (green waxy polish). ZAM polishes all sorts of very soft stones like malachite, azurite, calcite, fossil corals, etc. You do have to do them by hand, but you can get a mirror polish in no time. I use it so much I have a wheel specifically for it  Dan |
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erbojones
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2006
Posts: 659
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Post by erbojones on Aug 2, 2007 9:21:21 GMT -5
Excellent tip Dan - thanks a lot!!
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snemecek
starting to shine!
Member since August 2007
Posts: 29
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Post by snemecek on Sept 9, 2007 14:41:38 GMT -5
We have lots of petoskey stones around here. I just add them to a batche of some of my softer stones for tumbling. It works very well for me.
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Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Sept 12, 2007 15:16:22 GMT -5
Hi Dan
What exactly is ZAM I havent seen it in UK
Thanks
Jack
Yorkshire UK
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