Apache Tear Rock Tumbling Polish Trick ⚗💎

Mohs (scale of harness) 5 They are to soft to tumble in stage #1 Course grit (60/90 Silicon Dioxide) The stones would have 30% of their size ground away ❗️

Soo…I start them on stage #2 Medium grit (170/220 Silicon Dioxide for 4 to 5 days instead of 7-8 days )

Then stage #3 Pre-Polish grit (500+ Silicon Dioxide for 4-5 days)

Stage #4 Polish grit (1200+ Aluminum Oxide for one week (Al O¹ breaks down after 7 days of tumbling)) So clean and add fresh polish and run another 7 days if needed.

𝕀𝕥 𝕀𝕤 𝕆𝕂 𝕥𝕠 𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕜 𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕣𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕡𝕝𝕖-𝕗𝕖𝕨 𝕕𝕒𝕪𝕤 to √ Progress in each stage

Now Stage #5 Gem-Foam ( Magic little ‘sponge cubes’ ⚗❓) for 2 or 3 days and your rocks will come out shinier then ‘oleo’ on a glass door knob whilst not slippery to the touch 😉

Apache Tears ready for Polish Aluminum Oxide ⚗

Ceramic chips used to smooth rocks bouncing in the grit slurry and quiets the machine 😉

Big Hammer for making tumbler size stones out of large rocks ❗️ Tumbler size stones cost $30 a pound. Precious rock comes in bulk chunks (up to 6LB for only 4 dollars 💎

Stay Tuned for more translucent polished Apache Tears stones from New Mexico polished right here in N.E. Tennessee 🤠 (7 days AL O¹ + ‘Gem Foam’ 3 days = 10 days max) 😉
I will rinse them if I deem necessary , If they are dun tumbling 😉

1 October 2021 2

Dinosaur 🦕 Eggs ❓

No ❗️ 𝕋𝕦𝕣𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕒 A𝕘𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕎𝕪𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘.

The proper name of the fossilized snail was thought to be Goniobasis, (pronounced gone-e-o-basis). Further study from paleontologists discovered it is actually Elimia Tenera. Turritella are common snails of a marine nature, but southwest WY at the time was fresh water.

Elimia Tenera 👉 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elimia_tenera

I got some work cut out for myself breaking these down to tumbling size ❗️

𝕀 ℕ𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕒 𝔹𝕚𝕘𝕘𝕖𝕣 ℍ𝕒𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕣 ⚒ ❗️

28 August 2021 0

💎A lapidary rock (wet) saw costs $ 500 – $6,000 chuckies 💰

So I purchased an eight dollar ‘Cold Chisel’ that will work just fine for me ⚒

⚠️ Wear safety glasses (place a rag over rock)

I have to run my stones for 3 days with ‘GemFoam’ and water to get them shinny, as recommend by National Geographic ❗️

I am adding ceramic ‘filler pellets’ media next tumble

The final stage will be 3 to 5 days using ‘GemFoam’ media which should shine them rocks up 👌

20 August 2021 0

just started last batch of stage #3 (pre-polish grit) 𝕋𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤 ℙ𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝔾𝕖𝕞𝕤 💎

After 8 days then Stage #4 (polishing grit) is next for 10-12 days (3 batches)

𝕐𝕠𝕦’𝕧𝕖 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕠𝕗 ‘𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕠𝕣 𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤’ running across the laminated dining rm & kitchen floor these kitties in Tennessee call it the ass and tail slide, taking the rugs with them before slamming into the oven or fridge 😽

17 June 2021 4

I got an eight 💲 dollar ¾”cold chisel ❗️ I can’t afford a 1k$+ for a rock saw 💎

Lapis Lazuli One week on 2nd Stage grit (medium coerce) tumbling 1 week to go on pre-polish then10 days on polish grit 😉

They are getting smoother and shinier 🕒 ‘𝔸 𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕕 𝕂𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 ℕ𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝔹𝕠𝕚𝕝𝕤’ ❗️

5 May 2021 3

Tumbler (not the social site) stone polishing 💎

Mixed assortment of Aventurine, Sodalite, Dalmatian Jasper, Rose Quartz, & Agate

These are after 5 days of the coarse grinding grit (stage 1) removed the rough edges.

I have 5 batches ready for medium grit (stage 2) {7-8 days each}

26 April 2021 7

Rock Tumbling grits (Silicon Carbide) milled variations there of 90/75 coarse then finer variation for polishing ;)

Silicon carbide is one of the hardest-known materials with a Mohs Scale hardness of 9+. This hardness gives it the ability to cut tumbling roughs such as agate, jasper and petrified wood, which have a Mohs hardness of about 7.

Angular Particles: When crushed, silicon carbide breaks into angular-shaped particles with sharp points and edges. This gives it an effective cutting and grinding ability when it is caught between tumbling rocks in tumbler barrel.

Inexpensive: Silicon carbide is inexpensive, selling for just a few dollars per pound as a screened and packaged product.

The combination of hardness, angularity and low price make silicon carbide an excellent abrasive for rock tumbling, gem cutting and lapidary work of all kinds. Silicon carbide granules are also used for sand paper, sand blasting, water-jet cutting and many other purposes.

via: https://rocktumbler.com/blog/what-is-silicon-carbide-grit/