What should I buy to start testing my specimens...

[InfoHungryMom]

I have zillions of rocks/shells/fossils/pieces of bone, etc.   I am not a chemist, and I do not want to get into anything unnecessarily dangerous/toxic.  Also, I would love to possibly cut and polish rocks that I find fascinating.  What do I need for my “starter kit”, and can you/will you please recommend sources for these items that you work with, and that you like and trust (especially a source with great patience to answer the tons of questions I will have).

 

Thank you-

 

Karen 

[ynot]

There are several methods of polishing rock.

Tumbling polish, making cabicons or faciting.

Many people think they will enjoy doing lapidary but end up unhappy with it. The initial investment for the tools needed can be several thousand dollars (for a complete setup).

I would suggest joining a local rock club that has a lapidary shop and somebody to teach You the proper methods.

If You do like working stone, then You will have a better idea of what You need for Your shop.

Good luck!

Tony

 

PS. I ran My clubs lapidary shop for 10 years.

[caldigger]

...and if they have equipment for members use ( free or rental), you could save loads of $ by not having to purchase expensive tools before you know if you really enjoy it or not. 

[InfoHungryMom]

Thank you both-  I didn’t expect answers, especially so quickly and detailed, but everyone here has been wonderful to me, and you are both kind with wise recommendations.

 

I have done basic research on this for years, and I definitely want to do “tumbling polish”- making rough stones’ brilliant colors shine (I have amassed tons from beach combing).   I definitely am not interested in working with precious stones and faceting, nor do I want to make jewelry/cabs....  I want a pretty basic (but faster) tumbler, and “to buff stones and make them pretty!”  Basically the equivalent of putting a camera on “automatic” and “auto focus” (as you can see, especially from the pics my husband assisted me with!)

 

I will look into clubs, but I have a lot of autoimmune, “invisible”,  annoying conditions, and my husband is deaf.  It is usually better in our specific situation to hire someone who can work with our specific needs rather than join a club, but as I said, I will definitely continue to look (I have been unsuccessful for at least 5 years finding real assistance until now and TFF!)

 

Thank you-

 

Karen 

 

For example, rather than work with me as I had requested and he said he would, one professional gave me the two small polished stones on the towel in the center,.... as opposed to what I want to work with...  everything else!  This is a SMALL sampling of what I have been waiting to and ready to work with!  And... I LOVE working with stone 

 

 

 

 

 

[InfoHungryMom]

Fun!

[ynot]

There are many "tumblers" available and range from very cheap to pretty expensive.

They are very easy to use and will have instructions on using them to produce polished stones. No lapidary classes needed.

Make sure the capacity is large enough to hold at least a couple of cups of stone or You will have a slow production as each of the 4 stages can take 2-3 weeks.

I good rule of thumb for rock polishing-- if a drop of water beads up on the stone it will probably take a good polish, if the water soaks in then the stone will likely not take a polish.

 

[InfoHungryMom]

Great advice.... Thank you! I want to get a VERY LARGE, heavy duty tumbler for those exact reasons!  I am so glad you mentioned that many stones may not polish, and that is a great test!

 

I actually have a “rock” that I have been hoping someone who really understands minerals would talk to me about-  it absorbs ALL FLUIDS.  If I put even a few drops of water on it, it completely changes the shade/color.  

 

Here is a picture.... exactly what you said. This would crumble into sand instantly if tumbled!

 

I was walking on the beach in Ocean City, MD, and I saw “this thing”.  No one could figure out what it was until we broke it. (sea cucumber was the most common guess) It is extremely compressed sand, with a ton of “stuff” in it (undoubtedly “from every age and at the bottom of the ocean”) with large amounts of a green mineral that I think is found closer to New Jersey.  (I researched it a while ago- even took it to the Maryland Geological Survey...  no clues).  

 

My best guess, as with many of these unusual/indescribable “things” is because of all of the “beach replenishment projects”, all kinds of things are “unearthed/disturbed”.... this is fascinating to me though.... hopefully to someone else, too!

 

ynot-  Thank you again!

[caldigger]

Another good pointer when tumbling stones is you want to tumble rocks similar in hardness to each other. 

Otherwise, the softer ones will "polish" down to nothing before the harder ones are worked properly.

It also helps to grind/cut off sharp points and edges before the tumbling process as this helps to pre-shape the stone to start with a more rounded shape.

[Walt]

Last but not least, tumbling is noisy!  Especially if you are going to get a large heavy duty tumbler. If you live on acreage, great. But if you are tucked in tight with neighbors you want to make sure they are ok with the noise.  And putting the tumbler in the garage or a room will only dampen the noise. 

[ynot]

Your "rocks" pictured above look like pieces of stucco or grout.

Man made rocks.

[InfoHungryMom]

If you were given the gift of a lot of money and it was to be spent strictly for an incredible lapidary workroom, what would be “your dream set-up”?  What is “your go-to” lapidary equipment, supplies, and supplier?  Who offers wonderful customer service and will patiently assist a newbie and make certain they have all of the equipment they need, but not take advantage of their lack of knowledge and experience?  And unfortunately, we still live in a world where people will/would treat my husband differently than they would treat me, even though my husband has NO interest  in it.

 

Re:  “the rock”  I was just showing the color changes when it is wet, it absorbs  every drop of water and would probably fall apart if any pressure is put on it when it is wet. You made the excellent recommendation about not wasting time trying to polish rocks that absorb water-  this is an extreme of that.  I think it is interesting!  As I said before, I am guessing it is the result of a very strong mineral and sand replenishment- not “the Big Bang!”

[Walt]

40 minutes ago, InfoHungryMom said:

What is “your go-to” lapidary equipment, supplies, and supplier?  Who offers wonderful customer service and will patiently assist a newbie and make certain they have all of the equipment they need, but not take advantage of their lack of knowledge and experience?

Sorry, but the answer is still your local rock club.

[Sagebrush Steve]

3 hours ago, InfoHungryMom said:

If you were given the gift of a lot of money and it was to be spent strictly for an incredible lapidary workroom, what would be “your dream set-up”?  What is “your go-to” lapidary equipment, supplies, and supplier?  Who offers wonderful customer service and will patiently assist a newbie and make certain they have all of the equipment they need, but not take advantage of their lack of knowledge and experience?  And unfortunately, we still live in a world where people will/would treat my husband differently than they would treat me, even though my husband has NO interest  in it.

 

Re:  “the rock”  I was just showing the color changes when it is wet, it absorbs  every drop of water and would probably fall apart if any pressure is put on it when it is wet. You made the excellent recommendation about not wasting time trying to polish rocks that absorb water-  this is an extreme of that.  I think it is interesting!  As I said before, I am guessing it is the result of a very strong mineral and sand replenishment- not “the Big Bang!”

 

From what you have said, your needs look pretty basic.  If you are not interested in faceting and not interested in making cabochons for jewelry, then you mainly will want a rock tumbler.  You may also want to buy a diamond trim saw so you can cut down your raw stones so they are all of similar size before you put them in the tumbler.  It’s not a good idea to mix very large stones together with small stones, and like @caldigger said, they should all be of similar hardness.  When I was growing up my family owned a lapidary store and we sold a lot of rock polishing equipment.  One of the manufacturers we sold a lot of machines from was a company called Lortone.  It has been many years since I worked with them so I can’t tell you anything about their quality today, but here is a link to their catalog:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1783/4633/t/4/assets/Lortone_2018_Catalog_2.pdf?10471844508820322427

 

If you want a large tumbler check out their commercial tumblers.  For a trim saw you could get by with a fairly simple 6” model.  I would get the thinner .020” thick diamond blade.  And you mentioned something about a “fast” tumbler.  Sorry, but tumbling is a slow process.  You will need to tumble the stones in at least 4 different grits from coarse to fine, finishing with an oxide polishing compound.  You need to polish for a week in each grit, 24 hours per day.  And you need to get the stones absolutely clean between each step.  You don’t want any residual coarse grit left over in the tumbler when you are polishing with fine, it will dull the finish.  This is still a lot faster than Mother Nature, who takes thousands of years to end up with something similar!

 

[InfoHungryMom]

Wonderful info!  Thank you!

 

Is it difficult to clean the grit off?  

 

And yes.... what I want to accomplish should be pretty simple, although I had no idea it takes so long!  I have collected beautiful rocks, but because I have had to wash them in bleach water, or because the ocean/river/sea “didn’t complete the job”, I would like to learn!  

 

Have you ever sanded rocks or shells and then coated them in mineral oil?

 

Thank you for the info and links!

 

Karen 

[Sagebrush Steve]

8 minutes ago, InfoHungryMom said:

Wonderful info!  Thank you!

 

Is it difficult to clean the grit off?  

 

And yes.... what I want to accomplish should be pretty simple, although I had no idea it takes so long!  I have collected beautiful rocks, but because I have had to wash them in bleach water, or because the ocean/river/sea “didn’t complete the job”, I would like to learn!  

 

Have you ever sanded rocks or shells and then coated them in mineral oil?

 

Thank you for the info and links!

 

Karen 

As I recall, soap and lots of water did the job.  One thing to think about is how to dispose of the used grit.  You don’t want to pour it down the sink.  We drained as much water as we could, let the remaining sludge dry out, then threw it in the trash.  I don’t have any experience coating rocks with mineral oil, sorry.  

[Pagurus]

1 hour ago, InfoHungryMom said:

Have you ever sanded rocks or shells and then coated them in mineral oil?

 

I've only polished rocks on a wheel, or with a tumbler, and as others have said, tumbling is a rather slow process. Many rocks will not polish well, or not at all. After a while you'll learn the different kinds of rocks. You probably already learned about igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, but you might want to look them up again to help you out a little.  In the meantime, if you are looking for a quick way to make your stones look shiny you might try experimenting with floor polish, or polyurethane from a hardware store, or maybe even a clear nail polish. I wouldn't want to use them on any "prize" specimens, but if you just want shiny beach rocks it might be worth a try. 

[InfoHungryMom]

Awesome advice.   Caldigger, Walt, and ynot, I absolutely will try to find a club that makes sense for me/us if possible, at least to try-out lapidary and get tips from others. Sagebrush Steve- great catalogue.  I need to figure out if starter tumblers will be relatively sturdy and “idiot proof” .  If so.... I would probably buy 4- one for each grit and weekly gratification!  (Why do I always hear “RTFM” in my head? ) Pagarus, the sanding and mineral oil is recommended with shells... but I will definitely do more research...

 

Steve, I have set-up a “fun laboratory” and have to clean and work with draining water/bleach water, etc. but not sand.  Dare I say I enjoy it?  The proverbial “men are from Mars, women are from Venus” does not apply in my family.  I’m definitely Martian!  

 

Thank you all- lots to look into and get excited about.  If I can finally figure out what is a “beach found fossil” and what is “just geologically interesting”, so I don’t start grinding up important fossils, I will be set!  (Oh yeah... and the small issue of finding time and energy... )

 

Thank you ALL!