ambernut
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2022
Posts: 9
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Post by ambernut on Apr 14, 2022 13:53:42 GMT -5
After collecting about 1kg of amber on the south coast of Sweden I started googling how to polish amber in a rock tumbler, only to find that the consensus was that amber was too soft and should not be tumbled. Just the sort of thing to make me determined to try.
I got a tip from a fellow amber collector that amber could be polished in a vibratory tumbler for ammo, so I bought a Lyman 1200 twin turbo and started experimenting. I threw half the amber into the tumbler and documented my results. Overall I think it went pretty well but I didn't get the glassy finish I was looking for until I tried Vibra-Dry 25000.
Here are a couple of videos showing what I tried, the first is the rough tumbling up to AL-OX X3 and the the second the final polish.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,339
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Post by quartz on Apr 14, 2022 22:22:14 GMT -5
Thanks for the quite complete rundown on polishing the amber. I've used some of your method [toothpaste and corn starch] on common opal with good result, I think amber is near the same hardness. Well done videos and a nice shine at finish.
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