Rock Tumbling Tips Hi Rockhounds, Imagine opening your tumbler for the big reveal and finding that your stones looked better three days ago. That’s what one hobbyist reported this week after moving a batch of banded calcite into its final polish. If you’ve ever pulled out a favorite piece and spotted a frosty patch on the edge, you know the feeling. From the community — when polish makes things look worse On November 10, a member of r/RockTumbling reported that their banded calcite had lost ground during the final polish, even though they’d cleaned the barrel and already had ceramic media in the load. One commenter wondered whether there were enough small ceramic pieces around the stones. That’s one possibility based on the photos, and the exact cause is still open. In a separate October thread, a collector reported that some Wisconsin quartzite pieces polished well while others bruised in the same batch. Read the calcite discussion · Read the quartzite discussion What a frosty ...
An Introduction to Lapidary Arts, Cabochon Shaping & Carving Amethyst The art of working with stones is called lapidary. However, it generally refers to small objects that were created using gem materials. So bigger ornaments or life-sized statues that were created with stones would not come under the wing of lapidary arts. Lapidary art is divided into four basic types: · Tumbling · Cabbing · Faceting · Carving However, lapidaries can be further divided into many other kinds. Some gem cutters treat it as a hobby, and are content with making basic ornaments as birthday and holiday presents for their friends and families, while others like to indulge in creating more intricate cuts and designs. Some people like to work only with the stones that they’ve...