Batch 83 are Connor’s stones probably collected from Gemstone Beach. Connor is a friend’s grandson and every now and again friends ask me to tumble stones or I offer to tumble stones for others which I love to do.
The more I tumble, especially local stones, the more I can tell if a stone will tumble well. Quite often I have to gently break it to people that this stone or that stone won’t tumble very well and it’s best to leave it as it is. This batch is the pick of the stones that Connor picked up and the ones that I hope he likes when they come out of the polish!
Quite a few of Connor’s stones are sedimentary. People really like the smoothness of these stones I think, plus when they are wet they are really smooth and shiny and that’s what catches people’s attention. Sedimentary stones are a little softer than something like quartzite, jasper or granite. They often end up losing over a quarter of their original size throughout the various grit tumbles. More often than not they can skip the first very coarse stage too. These ones, however, weren’t quite smooth enough to do that so instead of F60grit, I’ve started them in 80/100grit.
I am also keeping these stones together too unless they are really still banged up and potentially damaging to the other stones in the batch. To help compensate for keeping them together, I’m tumbling each cycle a few more days than I usually do.
Batch 83: 3lb Tumbler 3
Stage 1: 80/100grit
Number of Stones: 44
Weight in: 823g
3 Tbspns of 80/100grit
1 Tbspn Borax
No media added
Days Tumbling: 15
Weight out: 666g – loss of 157 grams
Not a close inspection but they all appear to be ok.
Stage 2: 220grit
Number of Stones: 44
Weight in: 666g
3 Tbspns of 220grit
1 Tbspn Borax
Plastic pellets added for cushioning
Days Tumbling: 12
Weight out: 556g – loss of 110 grams
Still keeping together – noticing some really cool looking ones!
Stage 3: 400grit
Number of Stones: 44
Weight in: 556g
3 Tbspns of 400grit
1 Tbspn Borax
Plastic pellets added
Days Tumbling: 10
Weight out: 495g – loss of 61 grams
Adding in the 600grit tumble because I am not exactly sure where these stones came from and because I’m keeping them altogether as a batch.
Stage 4: 600grit
Number of Stones: 44
Weight in: 495g
3 Tbspns of 600grit
1 Tbspn Borax
Ceramic media added
Days Tumbling: 7
Weight out: g – loss of grams
Pre-polish Clean
2 tspns of grated sunlight soap
Plastic pellets added for cushioning
Days Tumbling: 24 hours
Batch 83: Pre-tumble
Batch 83: After Stage 2
Ready to Polish
There were some stones in this batch that I would not normally let go through to polish but I really wanted to keep this batch together for Connor. He’s been patiently waiting for the stones to come back to him, checking in with his Nana regularly to see if they are finished yet!
Despite some still having pits and/or gouges I am pretty pleased with the polish result overall. I do think that the extra 600grit stage is making a difference. It was also pleasantly surprising to see the 4th use polish do just as good a job as a new mix too!
Stage 4: Polish Mix
Number of Stones: 44
Weight in: 446g
Polish Mix (4th use)
Ceramic pellets added for cushioning & making up the load.
Days Tumbling: 12
Weight out: 446g – loss of 0grams
Stage 4: Burnish
Number of Stones: 44
2 Tbspns of borax + water
Days Burnishing: 3
Polish Complete
Polished Stones of Interest: Batch 83
Batch 83 | 3lb Tumbler 2 | Gemstone Beach & or surrounding areas – Connor’s Stones | 13 September – 16 November 2024