Tumble and Polish

Batch 28 is currently tumbling stones from the holding box. Most of these stones are pitted or scratched and come from past batches 21, 22, 24 and 25. Because these stones have been removed from those other batches they only need a redo at 400grit. That means they can skip the usual Stage 1 (80/100grit) and Stage 2 (220grit) tumbles.

I am trying to document more of the tumbling stones journey on Instagram – if you’re an Instagram user you might like to give me a follow at https://www.instagram.com/tumbleandpolish

Batch 28: 3lb Tumbler 3

After checking the stones thoroughly after Stage 3 (400grit) only one greenish stone has a small pit. I removed three stones placing them in the redo box and one more stone after the soap tumble. 54 stones were put in the “waiting to polish” holding box because the 4lb tumbler isn’t free yet.

Some changes are already noticeable by the time the stones finish tumbling in the 400grit. The pinkish stones are most noticeable. See the one at the top left and one at the top right (of the first row). The blue/grey stone 5 rows down 4 in has also changed somewhat but I ended up removed that one for redoing (now part of Batch 29). It wasn’t quite smooth enough to go through to polish.

Transfer to 4lb Tumbler

Most of the stones from Batch 28 were transferred to the 4lb tumbler along with Batches 24, 25 & 26 for polishing. Some stones were removed and placed in the holding box for redoing at 400grit again (becoming part of Batch 29) because they still have pits to smooth out (see image above on left).

Polished Stones of Batches 24, 25, 26 & 28

Batch 28 | 3lb Tumbler 3 | Holding Box | 2 September – 15 September
4lb Tumbler | Batch 24, 25, 26, 28 | Gemstone Beach & Holding Box | 15 September – 27 September 2023