Batch 68: Enough Slope Point Readies

It’s been quite hard to make a batch but I finally have enough Slope Point readies! Many of the stones have been sitting in the readies drawer or the redo drawer. As a result the tumblers used for this batch are many and hard to track accurately. Therefore Batch 68’s log for this post starts at Stage 3.

The stones have all gone through Stage 1 and Stage 2 at some stage and the grit used was the normal F60grit for Stage 1 and 220grit for Stage 2. Some of the rougher stones have done two or three cycles in Stage 1 to get all the bumps and gouges smoothed out enough to take a polish well.

The fossick where these stones were gathered is detailed here (or Bach Beach as JP likes to call it). Granites, breccia, petrified wood and rhyolites can be found at Slope Point. Rhyolite is an extrusive igneous rock high in silica content. I think that’s why it polishes so well (usually!)

Batch 68: 3lb Tumbler 4

Stage 3: 400grit

Number of Stones: 33
Weight in: 436g
3 Tbspns of 400grit
1 Tbspn Borax
Ceramic media added
Days Tumbling: 7
Weight out: 381g – loss of 55grams

Pre-polish Soap Tumble: 24 hours

Transferred the Slope Point readies over to 4lb Tumbler 2 and combined with Batch 64 (Gemstone Beach stones) to make up full load for polish.

Batch 68 - Slope Point — From the readies drawer – ready for Stage 3 (400grit)

Transfer to 4lbT2: Ready to Polish

Stage 4: Polish Mix

Number of Stones: 33 (+91)= 124
Weight in: 1194g Weight out: 1190g – loss of: 9 grams
9 Tbspns of polish powder + 400mls of water. Ceramic media added.
Days Tumbling: 12

Stage 5: Deep Clean

2 Tbsns borax with ceramic media for 3 days

Batch 68: Ready for Polish

B68 ready to polish — Wet stones (look better here than after polish!!)

Batch 68: Polish Complete

B68 complete — Although the wet stones look better, I think the light isn’t really showing some of the shine of the polished stones!

As mentioned in Batch 64’s post, I wasn’t very happy with the final result of either batch. There are quite a number of stones that have not taken a polish well. After much thought I think it’s more to do with the composition of the stones than the tumbling/polishing process. I also think that ceramic media is much better for “making up the load to ⅔ barrel full” than for “cushioning” purposes. I think that the plastic pellets do a better job of cushioning although they are a pain in the butt to remove after each stage you use them in. (Unfortunately you can’t transfer from one stage to the next like ceramic media can because they become embedded with grit particles and can cause contamination scratches.)

There was one stone from Batch 68 that ended up with a small gouge in the polishing or borax tumble. I really liked the shape and the composition of this stone so I got out my dremel and gently sanded out the gouge. That stone is now in the redo drawer and will go back through Stages 2-5 again. I’ll keep you posted on how it turns out!