Batch 12 consists of Papatotara stones from our beach, a part of Te Waewae Bay out front. I’ve also included some ‘random’ stones from the holding box that have been awaiting an 80/100-grit redo. One particular stone in this batch is special as it is a stone that my friend Nat and her young son Oakley picked up. He loves playing with my jar of polished stones when he comes over, so I’m delighted to polish a special stone for him.
Tumbler: 3lb Tumbler 2
Stage 1 – 80/100grit
Number of stones: 35
Weight in: Forgot to weigh.
4 Tbspns of 80/100 grit – no pellets added.
19 days tumbling. Removed 2 stones at end of tumble to redo at 80/100grit.
Weight out: 893g
Stage 2 – 220grit
Number of stones: 33+8 (Added 8 stones collected from Gemstone Beach – smooth enough to skip a 80/100grit tumble)
Weight in: 952g
4 Tbspns of 220grit – no pellets added.
12 days tumbling.
Weight out: 795g – loss of 157g.
Stage 3 – 400grit
Number of stones: 41
Removed 5 stones (192g) – they need a redo at 220grit – put in holding box.
Added 5 stones (181g) from holding box – waiting for a redo at 400grit.
Weight in: 781g
4 Tbspns of 400grit – pellets added.
10 days of tumbling.
Weight out: 706g – loss of 75g.
4lb Tumbler
Stage 4 – Polish Mix | Stage 5 – Borax
I placed Batch 12’s 41 stones in the holding box to wait for a polish tumbler. The stones stayed there until March when they were combined with Batch 13. The polish mix was on it’s 3rd use (& probably it’s last – I haven’t yet figured out how to keep it’s polishing strength after letting the polish settle to the bottom, tipping off the water and adding clean water back into the mix.)
The two batches were polish tumbled for 14 days (a further 124g was lost in weight). The borax tumble was done for 24 hours.
I was extremely happy with the finish of Nat and Oakley’s stone (to the right). The band really stands out and the polishing bought out a few lighter bands around the stone too.
Batch 12 | 3lb Tumbler 2 | Papatotara + Gemstone (holding box) redos | 12 December 2022 – 4 February 2023
4lb Tumbler (Combined with Batch 13) | Polish & Borax | 4 March – 19 March 2023
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