How Do I Polish Lake Stones in My Rock Tumbler?

Attached are pictures of rocks I attempted to polish in a tumbler, I am not getting the results I would like. I would like a glossy polish to the rocks. Also is there a way to remove the so called polish that is on there now? Thanks in advance for any help.

Judith

Hi Judith,
I think your problem is contamination. The photo shows a rock with "caves" in the surface. This rock and others like it (including some with less extreme "caves") will carry grit from one stage to the next, even with careful cleaning. Set aside all rocks like this one, and start again in step 3. That should solve your problem. Also, make sure you're cleaning your barrel very carefully.

Some people get stones like these to polish by running them through a soap stage in between the regular stages. You could try that as well. For a soap stage, we recommend Ivory bar soap shredded with a cheese grater, and water.

If all else fails, take comfort in knowing that some stones just won't take a polish.

Anita
Rockpick Legend Co.

Can I Polish Petosky Stones in my Rock Tumbler?

We recently received this question from a customer. Here is our answer:

Petosky stones are really hard to polish.

In the polish step, replace the water with corn syrup. Use Tin oxide polish only with clean plastic pellets.

You should also add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar.

If this doesn’t work, nothing will in a tumbler.

Most petosky stones are polished by hand and not in a tumbler.

I Can't Find "Soap Flakes"--What do I use as the final step in my rock tumbler?

Here's a rock tumbling tip:

Use a bar of Ivory soap as your final burnish, but shred it with a cheese grater first.

Many name brand laundry detergents are harsh enough to remove the polish. Some generic brand detergents have been used successfully, but on a trial and error basis.

Happy Rock Tumbling!

Just What Are The Plastic Pellets in The Rock Tumbler Grit Kits For, Anyway?

I have a quick question pertaining to previous orders. I am new to the whole lapidary process and do not understand what the little plastic beads are for. The rock polishing unit I purchased from you makes no mention of them, we are curently using Tide for step five. Any help is appreciated. Thanks, John H

We've been getting this question a lot lately. Here is the response we've been sending out:

The plastic pellets are volume fillers for steps 3 and 4. When the rocks fill less than 1/2 the barrel, use the pellets to increase the volume to 2/3 or so. You can reuse the pellets, but only in one step. So place the used pellets in a bag and mark them either step 3 or step 4 (depending on which stage you used them in). Don't cross contaminate. Retrieve the pellets by pouring the contents into a bucket of water. The pellets will float, and you can scoop them off for reuse. Scooping with a colander works well.

Tide is not the best choice of a "soap." It is actually harsh enough to remove polish. Use a bar of Ivory soap, but shred it with a cheese grater first.

Happy Rock Tumbling!

Be on the level and not carried away with the Karo!--Rock Tumbler Tip

Here is a rock tumbler tip from a customer--Thanks, Duane!

Hi Rick, I've had two bad experiences with my Thumbler double tumbler recently. Both of these bad experiences were my fault.

I came home to find the tumbler stopped (good thing the motor has heat protection!). This was the first time this had happened and luckily my wife asked if it could have been the Karo I used. Turns out she was right, I had cleaned the tumbler off from what had leaked out but never cleaned the barrels. In my hurry to start a batch of Picture Jasper and Burro Creek Agate, I just reused the sticky tumblers.

The sticky tumblers would climb up the retaining washer and jam between the rollers. No problem, clean up some more and let the motor cool and I'd be off again.

Sure enough, the tumbler went into service just as it always does.
However, I get home from work the following night and find the same thing, the tumbler over heated and shut off.

This time I restart the tumbler and watch it for several minutes only to see one barrel climb up over the retaining washer. It didn't take long to realize that I had moved the tumbler off of a level surface. This was making both barrels gravitate to the retaining washer. The tumbler was moved back to a level spot and has been happily tumbling for quite a while now.

Lessons learned, wash your barrels if they get dirt built up on them and make sure the tumbler is on a level surface before starting the motor.

Just thought I'd send you an update on using Karo and suggest a word of advice about making sure the tumbler is level (you might find out your garage floor or work bench isn't as level as you thought they were).

:)

Duane