Batch 74: Gemstone Beach Readies

Batch 74 stones came from the Gemstone Beach readies drawer having previously tumbled in F60grit in the QT12 barrel. As the 12lb barrel is so big it lends itself well to tumbling stones in Stage 1 over and over again until they are ready to move onto Stage 2 hence needing a readies drawer!

This system seems to be working well for me. As a barrel becomes free for a new batch of stones, I can easily see if there are enough Stage 2 readies to make a batch that I can track as a group without having too many needing removal for redo and to abandon to the garden pots!

These Gemstone Beach readies starting in Stage 2 are also using the new supply of silicon carbide 220grit from Mr Grit mentioned earlier in this post.

Batch 74: 4lb Tumbler 2

Stage 2: 220grit

Number of Stones: 120
Weight in: 1700g
4 Tbspns of 220grit
No borax added (forgot)
Plastic pellets added
Days Tumbling: 10
Weight out: 1493g – loss of 207 grams

Stage 3: 400grit

Added one stone from the readies drawer

Number of Stones: 120+1=121
Weight in: 1557g
4 Tbspns of 400grit
No borax added
Plastic pellets added
Days Tumbling: 6
Weight out: 1442g – loss of 115 grams

Took off tumbler 1 day early b/c I was going away for a couple of days.

Stage 4: 600grit

Number of Stones: 121
Weight in: 1442g
4 Tbspns of 600grit
No borax added
Ceramic media (small) added – don’t know why I changed from plastic to ceramic for this batch.
Days Tumbling: 10
Weight out: 1300g – loss of 142 grams

87 of the 121 stones were ready for polishing. 34 need a redo or have finished their tumbling journey (now in garden pot resting place).

Pre-polish Soap Tumble: 24 hours

Batch 74: Ready for Stage 2

Batch 74: Ready to Polish

Ready to Polish – Transfer to 3lb Tumbler 3

As there is not a full load, Batch 74 completed the polish tumble in a 3lb barrel.

Stage 5: Polish

Number of Stones: 87
Weight in: 802grams
Polish Mix (2nd use) Already mixed.
Plastic Pellets added for cushioning
Days Tumbling: 10
Weight out: 802grams

Stage 6: Borax Deep Clean

2 Tbspns of borax for 4 days

Polish Complete

Polished Stones of Interest: Batch 74

So many beauties in this batch – it was really hard to narrow it down to the usual 3-6 that I post. After much thought I’ve included them all this time!