beckybee
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by beckybee on Sept 16, 2015 19:01:31 GMT -5
Hello!!This is my first time here, and the first time I've ever used a forum too, so go easy on me... I really need some advice! I have trawled through so much on this AMAZING site - and googled myself silly trying to get answers too! But I'm still not 100% sure what to do. I am lucky enough to live right next to the sea, in Aberystwyth, Wales, UK. The beach here is full of agates, jaspers (red, with streaks of quartz in some, and also green jaspers too), quartz, chalcedony, as well as flint, carnelian (rare), and some fossilized coral (mostly in Aberystyth Gritstone, but some also in harder stones including jaspers and quartz). They look stunning - gorgeous colours!!So I bought a Beech 5 lb Rotary tumbler with a rubber barrel (and a spare barrel for the polish) and the starter pack of grits that came with it. Much excitement. The pebbles were already totally smooth so I chucked them in the barrel with the 400 grit (silicon carbide) for 2 weeks or so (as advised by my booklet). Some I did with the coarse (80) grit first, then the 400 grit. They were very smooth. I checked each one thoroughly before deciding what to put into the polish stage. That has been going for over 2 weeks, but I'm not happy with the results. I used pumice powder, which was in the starter pack (from ukge.com). Some of the stones have a nice sheen to them (mostly the white quartz, and the agates). Others, especially the red jasper, are just a dull sheen. I really wanted them all to be glassy and shining with that wet look.... I presume the mixed stones were a problem? Even though they are all of the same hardness??? I think some of the stones had become rougher from the polish stage. I found a couple of stones in the barrel that may have caused some of the problems. But why did the quartz polish ok but not the red and green jaspers? Also, I'm not convinced about the pumice powder. None of you guys seem to use it. And I used the amounts recommended, but it was very 'liquidy' even after 2 weeks, and not like the slurries from the other stages. The trouble is - where to buy other polishing mediums in the UK? And which one do I go for? ? There only seems to be pumice powder, zinc oxide, and tin oxide available from lapidary specialists. I can't find many UK based on-line lapidary shops. Cerium oxide can be bought in tiny tubs for lots of monies, but it is sold for glass polishing and there are all sorts of grades so I don't know what to go for. Where do other people buy their supplies from, in the UK? After reading everyone else's threads here (thank you I have worked out the following for next time (your thoughts please?): 1) Definately do a coarse grit stage no matter what. And do a medium grit stage too - 220 grit. 2) Buy some 1200 grit maybe, as a pre-polish?? Maybe?? 3) Use Borax or similar to wash stones before the polish stage. 4) Maybe separate the different types of stone...? Hmmm. That would be a pain though. 5) Use plastic pellets for cushioning. 6) Try a different polishing medium. And make sure the slurry is thick enough? 7) Don't give up! I know I will make plenty of mistakes before I get the hang of this. But I want these stones to look amazing - I want to make them into jewellery. There are quite a few things to rectify for next time here - so many variables - but any advice on this will be much appreciated - in particular, about what polishing medium to buy. Thank you so much!!!!!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 16, 2015 19:28:46 GMT -5
I do mixed batches of beach rocks all the time. Some rocks come out great, others don't. Most are decent though. You'll figure out which ones to pick up in the future. I do separate my rocks if I have a lot of a particular type. If I just have one or two of a certain type, they al go in together. I've never heard of using pumice. That doesn't mean it's bad, I just never heard of it. 1.) I always run my beach rocks through coarse grit (60/90). I try to remove every crevice, crack, hole, etc. Holes can trap course grit. If that course grit comes out of the hole in a later stage (and it probably will), it will mess up your rocks. At least with beach rocks, you should complete the coarse grind in just a few weeks. I always do a 220 stage. I usually vibe tumble after the first stage, but I think most people do 500 after 220 and then right to polish. Use a 1000 stage for softer rocks, but not for harder rocks. Someone with more rotary tumbling experience can help more here. 3.) I do use borax, but other soaps work too. 4.) Most of us use aluminum oxide polish, I think. I'll leave the other questions for someone else. iant should be able to help you with where to buy supplies.
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beckybee
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by beckybee on Sept 16, 2015 19:44:52 GMT -5
Awesome, thank you for your advice!! Yeah the site where I bought the stone tumbler from says pumice powder is the best / most cost effective polish to use. But I don't see it mentioned anywhere else!! www.ukge.com/en-gb/Lapidary/Grits,-Media,-and-Polish__c-p-0-0-14-243.aspx I look forward to what others think about this then. What type of stones are your beach pebbles? Cheers!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2015 20:31:48 GMT -5
Greetings [beckybee] firstly may i welcome you to RTH Forums,from Scotland, Both UKGE Ltd and "Little Gems" The Rock shop of Cromer have the wrong spelling for Beach Lapidary Ltd's "Beach Tumblers". You should have got your 5lb Beach tumbler from "Little Gems" The Rock shop of Cromer for £170 inc Vat, UKGE price £186 inc Vat for Stone and £198 inc Vat for Metal, UKGE prices look ok until you notice all prices are excluding Vat at 20%. Pumice can be used as a polish for metal only, It sounds as if UKGE is selling Thumlers tumblers metal grit pack too! Polish for rock, is Aluminum Oxide (Unavailable to buy in the UK), Cerium Oxide, Tin Oxide or Zinc Oxide. See My first tumbler!! page 2 onward and please read Sticky #5. . . . This barrel is for metal only, the wrong barrel. . . .This is the correct barrel for stone for for stone, UKGE has sent you the Metal barreling tumbler, the wrong tumbler! Please check out my Sticky's below. -- Please click images to open larger images in a new Tab, same with everything that is Underlined! I currently have a 3lb Beach (UK), Lortone QT 12/66 (USA) rotaries & 2x Viking Vibrasonic (Diamond Pacific) (USA) virbrating tumblers, with Silicon Carbide grit F80, F220, F600, F1200, with Tin Oxide (1.0 micron) & Aluminum Oxide (1.0 micron & 0.3 micron) polishes. I hail from (The Barony of Seabegs) Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, U.K, where aliens (15mb) sometimes come for a visit & about 4 miles west from that monstrosity & 7 miles west of this new monstrosity! Sticky's: their contents are resource information 1#: Vendors worldwide (2mb), 2#: How to use the forum, 3#: How to identify rocks & minerals, 4#: Save money on expensive grits & polishes, 5#: Aussie Lapidary Forum: Rock Tumbling Guide!
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beckybee
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by beckybee on Sept 17, 2015 1:56:16 GMT -5
Hello!! Thank you ASI Industries! Yeah I saw the Beach tumblers were a bit cheaper on the Little Gems Rock shop.....Too late!! Ah well. I got the correct barrel - the one on the right of your pictures. No metal fins in it. UKGE sell their pumice powder as a polishing agent for stone. Hmmm I am not convinced about it. So where do you buy your aluminium oxide from? Or any of the other polishes? I can get tin oxide and zinc oxide only. I can see these things are available from the US but I would imagine the postage rates are loads - ? I've trawled through most of the resources on here already, and learnt a lot...including a lovely tutorial by Shelbeeray - thank you!!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2015 2:27:55 GMT -5
Greetings [beckybee] Aluminum Oxide Rock shed (USA SD) or Germany see Sticky #1. By the way I sent a Private Message. Please check out my Sticky's below. -- Please click images to open larger images in a new Tab, same with everything that is Underlined! I currently have a 3lb Beach (UK), Lortone QT 12/66 (USA) rotaries & 2x Viking Vibrasonic (Diamond Pacific) (USA) virbrating tumblers, with Silicon Carbide grit F80, F220, F600, F1200, with Tin Oxide (1.0 micron) & Aluminum Oxide (1.0 micron & 0.3 micron) polishes. I hail from (The Barony of Seabegs) Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, U.K, where aliens (15mb) sometimes come for a visit & about 4 miles west from that monstrosity & 7 miles west of this new monstrosity! Sticky's: their contents are resource information 1#: Vendors worldwide (2mb), 2#: How to use the forum, 3#: How to identify rocks & minerals, 4#: Save money on expensive grits & polishes, 5#: Aussie Lapidary Forum: Rock Tumbling Guide!
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beckybee
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by beckybee on Sept 17, 2015 5:49:30 GMT -5
Thank you for your help!! As I in does tries! I have messaged you back! Here are some photos of some of my pebbles. These are taken after grinding in 400 grit, and they are wet. link to some photos of my pebblesAny thoughts on these - are they suitable? As far as I know, these are all jaspers and agates and quartz and chalcedony. There are some of the fossilized corals here too.
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Intheswamp
Cave Dweller
Member since September 2015
Posts: 1,910
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Post by Intheswamp on Sept 17, 2015 8:32:41 GMT -5
I'm jealous....really jealous!!!! From my newbie viewpoint those are some *really* nice rocks!!! You're doing good, just get some real polish. I wish I could give more advice, but I will say....hang around here and you'll learn lots about your newfound hobby!!!! did I mention that I'm really jealous?
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beckybee
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by beckybee on Sept 17, 2015 9:25:26 GMT -5
Aww thank you Intheswamp!!! Glad you like the pictures!! I've been beach combing all my life and I'm so pleased to finally have a tumbler at last - and the potential of getting these beauties polished is quite exciting!! I can happily spend all day looking at pebbles on the beach. I am busy investigating the best places to buy different polishes from, right now. I didn't realise the UK does not have so much choice where this is concerned. I'm still not sure what to go for at the moment......... So anyone else's ideas are much appreciated. We are very lucky in Aberystwyth to have such a variety of pebbles on this particular beach. All the beaches nearby do not have this variety. A lot of the jaspers came from North Wales and were transported via the glaciers. But why this particular beach (and two particular spots, for that matter) is something I don't know. I have heard that it could be from ballast from ships. There are ancient lime kilns all along the coast here, where lime was imported.
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Intheswamp
Cave Dweller
Member since September 2015
Posts: 1,910
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Post by Intheswamp on Sept 17, 2015 9:28:43 GMT -5
...and you got all that history to go with them, too!!! ARRGGHHHH!!!! Youse killin' me!!!!!!
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Deleted
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Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2015 12:23:56 GMT -5
Greetings [beckybee] I had a quick look at your rock pics and they mostly appear to be Leaverites to me sorry, How much Fixed 80 Silicon Carbide grit do you have? Please check out my Sticky's below. -- Please click images to open larger images in a new Tab, same with everything that is Underlined! I currently have a 3lb Beach (UK), Lortone QT 12/66 (USA) rotaries & 2x Viking Vibrasonic (Diamond Pacific) (USA) virbrating tumblers, with Silicon Carbide grit F80, F220, F600, F1200, with Tin Oxide (1.0 micron) & Aluminum Oxide (1.0 micron & 0.3 micron) polishes. I hail from (The Barony of Seabegs) Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, U.K, where aliens (15mb) sometimes come for a visit & about 4 miles west from that monstrosity & 7 miles west of this new monstrosity! Sticky's: their contents are resource information 1#: Vendors worldwide (2mb), 2#: How to use the forum, 3#: How to identify rocks & minerals, 4#: Save money on expensive grits & polishes, 5#: Aussie Lapidary Forum: Rock Tumbling Guide!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 17, 2015 12:30:22 GMT -5
Wow, what a colorful bunch of rocks! I don't know if they'll tumble, but they sure look like they're worth a try.
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Intheswamp
Cave Dweller
Member since September 2015
Posts: 1,910
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Post by Intheswamp on Sept 17, 2015 12:56:20 GMT -5
Would the problem be with them being to hard, to soft, or both?
I'd definitely give time in the barrel. If they don't work out they're still very cool specimens to display!!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 17, 2015 14:06:27 GMT -5
In most cases harder rocks whine up better. Some beach rocks are too soft to tumble well. Mixed hardness in the same rock is bad too. The soft stuff wears away faster then the hard. That's called "undercutting".
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beckybee
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by beckybee on Sept 17, 2015 15:34:05 GMT -5
Hmmm ok well now I'm wondering if I should give up the whole thing completely. I didn't think you guys would be so discouraging. Ah well thanks for your time anyway!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 17, 2015 15:54:58 GMT -5
I hope I didn't come across as discouraging. I was just answering intheswamp's question. I do batches of rocks from Lake Superior that look somewhat like yours all the time. You might have some rocks in there that don't polish, but most will probably be fine. What's the harm in trying? I think you have some beautiful rocks there.
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Post by captbob on Sept 17, 2015 16:17:41 GMT -5
Are you kidding me? That is an OUTSTANDING batch of rocks. What fun patterns and colors!
If they are "softer", (hard to think of rocks as soft huh!) they just take extra care when tumbling. I would love to tackle a batch of rocks like that.
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beckybee
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by beckybee on Sept 17, 2015 16:51:22 GMT -5
Really? Oh thanks captbob and jugglerguy - no worries. I was a wee bit concerned as they were described as ones I should not bother with at all... I have no idea, obviously - but I know I am in love with my beach finds. Each stone is so fascinating, I actually feel stirred with emotion at nature's beauty sometimes, when I am beachcombing. I move about 10cm an hour along the shore. Sometimes I feel as if I have personally introduced myself to each and every one of them. I do get some funny looks sometimes. I bought this stone polisher specifically so I could do more with these stones. I'm not really interested in buying in any rocks. Ok, I will keep trying. I am waiting for payday, then I will purchase some different polish. It is too expensive for me to buy from the USA, so my only choice seems to be cerium oxide, tin oxide, or zinc oxide. I've been rersearching all day and still not sure what to go for. But I have a small handful of suppliers to choose from now. I know it is trial and error. Any more thoughts on which of those three polishes I should pick for these stones?
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boutoo
having dreams about rocks
Member since August 2015
Posts: 62
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Post by boutoo on Sept 17, 2015 16:56:36 GMT -5
Hi from London Becky Your finds are much prettier than my Thames ones & 'Andrew gets his grit from Northern Minerals who are great if you don't mind buying in bulk (they have pretty rocks too). Make sure your borax is EU approved as it can be dangerous For me so far the most discouraging thing has been how much material can be lost. Am off to update my thread now, so you'll see about my adventures there
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beckybee
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by beckybee on Sept 17, 2015 17:15:58 GMT -5
Hello boutoo! I am just reading through your thread now, actually!! I haven't even looked into what burnishing material to use yet. I was planning to see what was available in the shops here. It is a small town so probably not a great deal. Any suggestions of UK products that will do? I have a tub of boric acid (powder) but that isn't the same as Borax is it? Maybe some laundry soap flakes will do. But I haven't bought anything like that for a long time - not sure if they are still available. I used to buy soap flakes for felt making. What about ordinary soap flakes? I have a very large block of pure olive oil soap here (from felt making, again). I'm a bit confused here too!
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