Breccia (pronounced bre-CHE-a) is a funky type of sedimentary rock that’s actually composed of large angular broken fragments of other rocks that get cemented together by compression. Gemstone Beach (my local rock-hunting ground) is a source of many sedimentary rocks!
Breccia and conglomerate are very similar rocks. They are both clastic sedimentary rocks composed of particles larger than two millimetres in diameter. The difference is in the shape of the large particles. Conglomerate particles are rounded.
Easy right! Breccia = angular fragments. Conglomerate = round particles! Yeah nah! As JP mentions in his post here, angular doesn’t always mean brecciated because igneous rocks (remember igneous rocks are formed from melted rock deep inside the Earth) can have angular fragments too but not be breccia!
The stones in Batch 81 have come from the Gemstone Beach redo drawer. 31 are formally from Batch 74 (needed a redo), 8 were from Batch 73 that weren’t ready for polish, 7 from Batch 71 (mainly hydrogrossulars) that needed a redo, 9 from an unnumbered batch in the 3lb tumbler 4 that were ready for 220grit and 2 that were just in the drawer waiting for a batch to start Stage 2.
Also doing a tumble in this batch are some slices from some stones that I recently had a go at cutting. I’m looking forward to turning those ones into necklaces so I hope they tumble well and take a good polish.
Batch 81: 4lb Tumbler 2
Stage 2: 220grit
Number of Stones: 31+8+7+9+2=56
Weight in: 1042g
4 Tbspns of 220grit
No Borax added
Small ceramic media added
Days Tumbling: 10
Weight out: 873g – loss of 169 grams
Transfered to 3lb Tumbler 4: Stage 3: 400grit
Number of Stones: 52
Weight in: 885g
3 Tbspns of 400grit
1 Tbspn Borax
Ceramic media added
Days Tumbling: 12
Weight out: 792g – loss of 93 grams
Pre-polish Soap Tumble
Number of Stones: 52
2 tspns of grated sunlight soap.
Same ceramic media added
Time: 4 hours
Batch 81: Pre-Tumble
Batch 81: After Stage 3
Ready to Polish
Stage 4: Polish Mix
Number of Stones: 52
Weight in: 792g
Polish Mix (2nd use): Already mixed and used once before.
Plastic Pellets added for cushioning
Days Tumbling:
Weight out: 789g – loss of 3 grams
Polish Complete
Polished Stones of Interest: Batch xx
Batch 81 | 4lb Tumbler 2 | Gemstone Beach | Early August – 5 September
3lb Tumbler 4 | 22 September – 18 October 2024