doublet83
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 118
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Post by doublet83 on Dec 9, 2016 20:04:53 GMT -5
I've noticed that on a few pieces, the tumbled stone did not have as vivid colors or as well defined banding compared to the rough stone with a flat face cut off.
Does tumble polishing a stone tend to be inferior to face polishing a specimen?
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Post by pghram on Dec 9, 2016 23:01:12 GMT -5
Tumbling is in no way inferior for polishing stone if done well. The colors & banding should be the same. Now, if you're talking about tumbling flat faces, then you need lots of smalls to effectively polish the flats.
Peace,
Rich
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Post by paulshiroma on Dec 10, 2016 0:37:01 GMT -5
x2 on Rich's comment. I've cut and then polished rocks on laps and tumbled. Both come out well. It's really more a matter of the rock and how it will display best.
You'll have fun either way.
Paul
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Post by orrum on Dec 10, 2016 4:54:15 GMT -5
Tumbling undercuts.
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Post by pghram on Dec 10, 2016 13:11:49 GMT -5
I agree. You can have undercutting in cabbing & lapping too, but you have much more control. Peace, Rich
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doublet83
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 118
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Post by doublet83 on Dec 10, 2016 19:35:03 GMT -5
I'm having trouble posting pictures here, even though I've done it successfully before using the same method, in the past.
I had a flat face polished specimen of a banded agate that broke into two pieces along a big fracture. I tumbled one of the pieces, and although the shine was good, the colors and definition of the banding was diminished compared to the face polished piece. Maybe that particular layer of the agate just had better color? Or maybe the flat face polish highlights agate's banding better? Not sure at this point, but thanks for the responses.
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