razorback
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2017
Posts: 6
|
Post by razorback on Oct 30, 2017 15:48:56 GMT -5
Very old newbie trying to figure out why rounded stones (tumbled) are preferred to natural shaped stones (vibe).My desire is to uncover the beauty in the stones for personal use or give away so I am trying to figure out which polishing devise to buy without spending a lot of money in the beginning.
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
|
Post by Wooferhound on Oct 30, 2017 16:19:58 GMT -5
Well sure, at a minimum a tumbler can be used to clean the rocks for presentation. I would think that it would be more difficult to put a polish onto a rough rock. A rounded rock shows the internal structure of the stone more clearly.
|
|
|
Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 30, 2017 16:33:58 GMT -5
|
|
unclesoska
freely admits to licking rocks
All those jade boulders tossed in search of gold!
Member since February 2011
Posts: 934
|
Post by unclesoska on Oct 30, 2017 16:44:05 GMT -5
Rougher or natural shaped stones w/ imperfections have a tendency to accumulate grit in the nooks and crannies, very difficult to clean out at times, especially if it has a chance to harden. Many folks start their rocks in a rotary tumbler, for rounding and defect removal, and then do later stages in a vibe.
|
|
|
Post by pauls on Oct 30, 2017 17:01:10 GMT -5
I second the idea of rounding to remove flaws. I have just been cleaning up some partly tumbled stones that had been put aside to remove deep holes and cracks with the saw or grinder. I saw along cracks to split the stone without putting any more fractures in them. It's really amazing the amount of grit deep inside some of the cracks I saw open. It only takes one of those to split in the polish stage and everything is ruined.
I put hopeless cases to one side to polish all at once, used for pots, fish tanks, kids that are going to lose them anyway. Really keen kids get really good stones. I would give the top brick off the chimney to a kid that was keen.
|
|
razorback
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2017
Posts: 6
|
Post by razorback on Oct 31, 2017 8:11:24 GMT -5
thanks for the experienced input.
|
|