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Post by captbob on Feb 21, 2008 16:08:33 GMT -5
I am working on putting together a batch of rose quartz to tumble. Right now, I'm cutting slabs 1 to 2 inches thick so I can cut them down for some nice larger sized pieces. Damn this stuff slabs up pretty, almost hate to break it up...
Anyway, I'm looking at this stuff thinking that it looks like it would break up fairly easily if I were to take a hammer to it.
First question is, how bad does rose quartz shatter when hammered? Sure would save a LOT of time, but I don't want to end up with small pieces and shards too small to use.
Anyone want to share your experiences with beating on a piece of rose quartz rough?
Next question, I did a forum search on tumbling rose quartz and didn't find much on it. Anything special I should know or do I just treat it like any other mineral?
Thanks for any rose quartz tips and suggestions!
Bob
Edited to add: Note to self: proofread TWICE
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geogoddess
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 287
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Post by geogoddess on Feb 21, 2008 16:43:15 GMT -5
I think it will shatter a little bit less than obsidian. But it will shatter along fractures and crystal planes if there are any. And the shards will be *sharp*.
If it were me, I would take the 1-2 in slabs, and tap it gently, working from one edge of the slab to the other. Resist the urge to beat the hell out of it, but small controlled whacks, ought to do the job.
As far as polishing it, I don't have any specific tips... other than to give it plenty of time in the coarse grind. Let it work out its chips and fractures there, rather in the medium and finer grits like I did. Although in my defense it was my first batch, and I was working on the 1 week per grit model... and it did not work.
There are some pictures of the jewelry I made from the usable pieces in the link in my signature.
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Post by Michael John on Feb 21, 2008 17:07:44 GMT -5
Score the stone with a saw, then place a wide-bladed chisel in the score. A few "medium" whacks with a hammer to the chisel will result in a pretty clean break, with minimal harm to the stone.
Pounding on the stone with a hammer will produce white impact marks (they look like bullet ricochets) and will encourage cracking.
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Roan
has rocks in the head
Member since January 2008
Posts: 600
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Post by Roan on Feb 21, 2008 17:49:58 GMT -5
Ooo! Something I can contribute to! I've wacked quite a bit of rose, and peach, quartz with a sledge  As noted, a chisel works well and use the saw, too. I use a masonry chisel. It fractures into very sharp shards -- be careful! Eileen, Who Has Stepped on a Way-Ward Shard or Two. Ouch! |
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Feb 21, 2008 17:58:51 GMT -5
I also recommend using a chisel. It breaks fairly cleanly with a chisel, I think a hammer would result in a huge amount of waste. Although not necessary, adding a small amount of plastic pellets even in the coarse grind will be a little kinder to the quartz, but it will lengthen the coarse grind stage -- the more pellets you add, the longer it will take. Definitely add pellets from fine grind onward. Rose quartz tumbles particularly well with amethyst IMO - they both like a little gentler treatment than agates (because they contain so many internal fractures), and they are identical in hardness, a bit softer than agate. Petrified wood works very well in the mix too. Here's a link to an old thread where I ran mostly amethyst, but some rose quartz too. -Don forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/index.cgi?board=Pictures&action=display&thread=12852&page=1 |
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geogoddess
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 287
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Post by geogoddess on Feb 21, 2008 18:22:12 GMT -5
So if I don't have a saw, can I just use a chisel and hammer? Or what would be the best method?
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Feb 21, 2008 18:57:49 GMT -5
I don't have a saw, I use chisel and hammer for everything. A saw will give you shapes that round up faster in coarse grind, but a chisel does a pretty good job too, just means you've got a longer time in coarse grind ahead of you.
-Don
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geogoddess
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 287
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Post by geogoddess on Feb 21, 2008 19:06:05 GMT -5
I'm getting used to a longer time in the coarse... I was just curious because the previous replies suggest scoring with a saw.
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Post by captbob on Feb 21, 2008 20:01:12 GMT -5
Thank you all for your replies. Don, that's an amazing looking tumble of amethyst & rose quartz, something to strive for! I will continue to cut thick slabs for this tumble batch and may break the slabs then rather than finish cutting the pieces smaller with the trim saw. Will see how the breaking smaller goes... An update on the sodalite batch - I wasted almost a week by adding TOO MANY pellets to the 2nd week of the coarse tumble last week  took most of them out and added more grit. Will check it in another week. Haven't cheked the tiger eye/ tiger iron batch or the banded jasper batch yet. Trying to learn patience! I'll try to post a couple before pictures here of the rose quartz before it goes in. Thanks again for all your suggestions! Bob |
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Post by Cher on Feb 21, 2008 20:35:16 GMT -5
Mine didn't shatter to the point that it had any reallly sharp shards at all. It was very much like regular white quartz, just broke into little chunks. The edges were pointy sharp but not knife sharp. If I were you, I would take the time to saw it, it's so beautiful it's worth the effort. Remember, do not leave it in the sun, it will fade.
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Wolfden
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2007
Posts: 1,368
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Post by Wolfden on Feb 22, 2008 12:07:31 GMT -5
Hey there Bob ,
I have a batch of Sodalite running also , it's in 500 for its second week.I have posted some pictures in the tumbling section. Good luck with yours. Lets see some pictures lol
Wolf
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Post by captbob on Feb 22, 2008 12:24:18 GMT -5
Hi Wolf, I've been watching your sodalite tumble updates with interest - kinda like a kid cheating on a test! ;D Looking forward to seeing your finished tumble and want to know what you use for polish and for how long when you get to that point. I've read here that sodalite can be difficult to get a good shine on, so I'll probably use an AO 1000 prepolish when I get to that stage. But, that's a LONG time from now as I'm still on 60/90. There are photos of my tumbling adventures in this thread: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/index.cgi?board=trtphoto&action=display&thread=21945&page=1Good luck with your batch! |
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Wolfden
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2007
Posts: 1,368
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Post by Wolfden on Feb 22, 2008 13:14:17 GMT -5
Hey Bob ,
Thats a great thread , I guess I need to step up my game LOL I'm glad that there is someone besides myself that is tumbling the sodalite lol
I love your tumblers , great setup . Be sure to keep us informed on the homemade tumbler works out. I'm in the middle of making a cabbing setup .. I have a couple more wheels to get before I start putting everything together lol
Have a great day
Wolf
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geogoddess
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 287
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Post by geogoddess on Feb 22, 2008 14:52:40 GMT -5
I have some sodalite going as well... took most of it out of the 60/90 today. A friend has commissioned a choker/neck piece using it, so its slow going to get the best shine.
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Wolfden
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2007
Posts: 1,368
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Post by Wolfden on Feb 22, 2008 22:47:47 GMT -5
We look forward to seeing pictures of the progress . Good Luck
Wolf
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Post by connrock on Feb 25, 2008 6:46:54 GMT -5
Here's another 2 cents worth.
You have to consider the quality of your rough.
Some of the rough rose quartz that is sold as tumbling rough is a very poor grade and is chuck full of fractures.
There is no good way to break this type as you will end up with not only a mess of fractured rough but also a mess of fractured polished rose quartz!
connrock
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SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
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Post by SirRoxalot on Feb 27, 2008 18:24:21 GMT -5
I'd suggest that sawing rough for tumbling is an awful waste of time and diamond blades. Score it to crack where you want to, if you must, but don't be slabbing stuff.
Buy or make a proper rock trimmer; I've run hundreds of pounds of tough rough through my old core splitter, it's a very handy tool. T
he rose quartz I've tumbled has taken a lot of work. Lots of hammering required when it got out of coarse grit. So many fractures to get rid of, lots of time spent nipping and chipping for hours lol. Got to hammer it without remorse, harder you grade it, better the finished product. Turned out to be worth it, takes a lovely polish and the transparent bits are particularly nice. Fun stuff, but lots of work!
SirRoxalot
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Post by captbob on Feb 27, 2008 20:34:05 GMT -5
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geogoddess
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 287
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Post by geogoddess on Feb 27, 2008 20:41:26 GMT -5
Nice quartz.
My garage has a nice hum to it as well... but even that hum is not as loud as my neighbor's squeaky dryer.
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Post by akansan on Feb 27, 2008 23:24:00 GMT -5
Set up looks great! I love the way rose quartz turns out - always a favorite from my tumbles. (Spell check is available when posting as long as you don't use the quick reply. If you hit reply, there's a button at the bottom, next to preview, that'll spell check for you.  ) |
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took most of them out and added more grit. Will check it in another week.
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