Western NY Explorer Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I find tons of horn coral, and it appears to have a crystaline structure inside. So I put some rocks in my tumbler and figured I'd throw a half dozen horn corals and see what happens. The first phase runs with rough grit, and goes for a week. After a week I washed the stones and the horn corals are gone. Not a trace remains. I guess I had to learn the hard way.LOL Tim the Western NY Explorer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Russell Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Wups a daisies! Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel59 Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 If you just put in some Horn Coral in there by itself and not run for the entire week wonder what it would look like. Also maybe try the next grit not the rougher one... Might get something nice from it... I once ran some quartz with some rubies and the quartz disappeared almost just tiny pebbles left .. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Maybe try polishing by hand. Sorry for your loss... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kehbe Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I find so many crinoid stems and segments that I thought I would polish some in my tumbler. After just one week with first stage grit, the crinoid stems were all but gone! Some of them were worn down to three sided with a prism shape. Kind of neat really! Worth mentioning also, when I opened the barrel, it was very,very foamy with a consistency not unlike whip cream! A reaction between the stems and the grit/water I suppose. It was really strange! I have tumbled a lot of rocks and this was the first time I had ever seen anything like it! I haven't gotten around to it but i am thinking I may try a handful with stage three grit and only tumble them for a couple days! I sure didn't realize they are so soft. It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Charles Darwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squalicorax Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 The aluminum oxide in your tumbler will wreck the calcified skeletons of your horn corals. Try some powdered limestone or baking soda to get a nice polish 1 My Flickr Page of My Collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/79424101@N00/sets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Russell Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 That's a great suggestion squalicorax. Would using a rock tumbler work in removing matrix as wee? Within reason? I actually have one, and never thought about it. Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Western NY Explorer Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 I like squalicorx's suggestion, I think I will try tumbling with powdered limestone or powdered dolomite. I will try running it in 6 hour increments and see what happens. Thanks for all the input. Tim the Western NY Explorer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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