Tumble and Polish

There’s a new grit supplier in town! (Unfortunately not in my town though!) Mr Grit (MrGrit on FB) has just started out as a lapidary supplier with the following black silicon carbide grits available so far:

• #80 – 1kg $13.95, 5kg $59.95, 10kg $99.95
• #220 – 1kg $14.95
• #600 – 1kg $22.95

I think what’s making him cheaper to use is the postage and packaging is at cost. Getting lapidary supplies in New Zealand is already expensive and it’s even more expensive for someone like me who is way down the bottom of the South Island in an area considered further than the normal rural (which is already expensive enough!)

I was able to replenish my 220grit supply with 2kg for $39.50 (that’s 2x 1kg packets with $9.60 p&p). Batch 72 is using it currently. In the past I’ve paid $30.85 for 2kg of 220grit but had to pay $25.10 on top of that for postage!! So far Mr Grit’s silicon carbide grit looks exactly like the last remains of my old 220grit so I’ll keep you posted on how the Stage 2 tumble turns out.

All stones have come out of the readies drawer for Gemstone Beach. The QT12 has been getting lots of stones ready for Stage 2 since I’ve had it on repeating Stage 1 with F60grit. When the readies drawer has enough “ready for Stage 2” stones to make a barrel load they become a batch. Hence my blog post batch logs now starting at Stage 2.

Batch 72: 4lb Tumbler 2

Pre-polish Soap Tumble: 24 hours – the result was very grey and foamy so I’m glad I did this step before polishing.

Ready to Polish

4lb tumbler 1 started to leak around the lid at Stage 2 and this leakage got progressively worse as the stages continued with the polish stage having the worst leakage. Upon close inspection of the barrel, I can’t see why leakage is occurring other than the borax I’ve been adding causing the barrel leak due to a build up inside of it. The sealing around the lid is still quite tight although the metal lid goes on very easily and doesn’t need the firm push down my other lids need. I’m going to do the next batch in this barrel with no borax added to any stages and I’m also going to tighten the nut on the lid a little more firmly as well as keep a close eye on it.

I am really please with both my new grit supplier of 220grit (Mr Grit) and with this batch of stones. Apart from a couple of stones with blemishes, this batch turned out some really nicely polished up stones. Borax was not needed for the optional Stage 6 shine! It was also the 2nd use of this polish so that was great too!

Polished Stones of Interest: Batch 72

Batch 72 | 4lb Tumbler 1 | Gemstone Beach | Sometime in June – 30 August 2024