neoblackheart
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2015
Posts: 13
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Post by neoblackheart on Oct 9, 2015 18:38:15 GMT -5
I have had some Emeralds Ruby and Sapphires for a year or so now and I haven't had the time to clean the matrix off of the outside nor do I know how to. I read some stuff and it says tumbling works great so I plan to buy a tumbler when i have the time. My question is what do i do when i have that. EVERYTHING i have read online pointed to trying to smooth stones and thats not what I am attempting to do. I have some smaller stones that i want to remove the matrix from and 2 or 3 larger rocks one emerald about 2 or 3 inches in diameter. I also have a few smaller rubies and saphires the biggest of which is a saphire about an inch or so. The emeralds and like 2 rubies are just covered in matrix while most of the other rubies and saphires just have small spots here and there and are just rough all together. I understand i won't be turning these into some smooth looking stones because of just how hard they are but I was wondering exactly how i go about using them in a tumbler to remove the matrix.
Edit: I should also add this. I am in a location where there arn't any gem mines does anyone have any suggestions of where one could order some completely rough stones or even just bags of gem rich dirt like you see in those pan your own gemstone stores in and around north carolina or where one could search in their own area for some that might show up?
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Post by mohs on Oct 9, 2015 20:53:29 GMT -5
that's an interesting problem besides tedious work with a dremel which actually would work very well
I'm wondering if sandblaster wouldn't be efficient?
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neoblackheart
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2015
Posts: 13
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Post by neoblackheart on Oct 9, 2015 21:02:20 GMT -5
that's an interesting problem besides tedious work with a dremel which actually would work very well I'm wondering if sandblaster wouldn't be efficient? Well I don't have a dremel tool.
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Post by mohs on Oct 9, 2015 21:06:53 GMT -5
I bought a battery operated dremel for about thirty bucks I got a lot use out of it but the battery won't recharge now
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Post by jakesrocks on Oct 9, 2015 21:10:12 GMT -5
What is the matrix, and how hard ? You may be able to soak them in CLR or Lime Away for a couple days. It won't hurt the gem material, but may remove or at least soften the matrix. Anything Mohs 7 and above a soda blaster will clean without damage.
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neoblackheart
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2015
Posts: 13
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Post by neoblackheart on Oct 9, 2015 22:33:14 GMT -5
the emerald i know is hard black rock. I know hard because i was beating on it with a hammer to no effect. NOt sure on the others. My question though is what do you use in a tumbler for best results on these?
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rastageezer
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 169
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Post by rastageezer on Oct 9, 2015 23:22:11 GMT -5
I used a grinder on some matrix around emerald and then popped the stones out with a chisel. It worked pretty well, separated cleanly from the matrix.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2015 23:37:49 GMT -5
Greetings [neoblackheart] firstly may i welcome you to RTH Forums, Sapphire & Ruby are both 9.0 on the Moh's scale and will tumble together, but Emerald is between 7.5 and 8.0 on the Moh's scale, both Silicon Carbide and Aluminum Oxide grits will take months to tumble, you are best using Cubic Boron Nitride or Diamond. 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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neoblackheart
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2015
Posts: 13
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Post by neoblackheart on Oct 9, 2015 23:42:58 GMT -5
One thing I found while looking was this
Could I just take my around 5 or 6 Emeralds I have and put them into a tumbler and tumble them by themselves to break apart the matrix? Maybe add some Lime away as a liquid in it to break it up even more as posted above?
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neoblackheart
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2015
Posts: 13
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Post by neoblackheart on Oct 9, 2015 23:48:19 GMT -5
also if i was to get some Diamond grit what grit would you suggest getting?
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lhr
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2015
Posts: 15
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Post by lhr on Oct 10, 2015 10:58:04 GMT -5
I've been tumbling a load of Rubies since 7/29/15. I got most of them from Fantasia Mining Inc. They didn't seem to have a lot of matrix, but on 9/2/15, after 5 weeks of weekly cleanouts and using 6 tablespoons of 60 grit in a 3 lb Lortone barrel, they began to show some color. So, I guess there was some matrix that just took that long to come off. The next week the color continued to improve. They're still in 60 grit with weekly cleanouts. They're still not anywhere near smooth, and I don't want polish clinging to all those lines and crevices when I'm through. I read what I could find about tumbling rubies before I started, and I knew it would be a long process.
I tried to find Cubic Boron Nitride, but couldn't find it in small lots (less than tons.) Anyone know where to find it?
Diamond powder is VERY expensive--over $8 + shipping for a GRAM--so I'm going to hold off on that until the polish stage. If that every comes.
OMG!! I live in South Carolina, and we thought we were through with the rain, but it just started a deluge again! We have a river house that's still at least 4 feet under water.
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neoblackheart
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2015
Posts: 13
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Post by neoblackheart on Oct 10, 2015 20:11:12 GMT -5
Gonna throw this in with the same thing I have a few other lower quality stones such as a nice chunk of amethyst and some other quartz rocks as well as a few garnets. Most of these have hard stone on the outside the amethyst I talked about has a hard layer of almost clear white stone on the outside of it. Any idea how i can remove that?
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