How to Polish Rocks with a Rotary Tumbler and Plastic Media

In this in-depth tutorial, I'll teach you to use a rotary tumbler with plastic media to polish rocks. I'm tumbling carnelians in this batch.

This is my third favorite method of tumbling. My favorite and second favorite methods are shown in these videos. I almost always start my rocks in a rotary tumbler and finish them up in a Lot-O vibratory tumbler.
Rotary tumbler followed by vibratory tumbler: https://youtu.be/ksrmpPZrAuU
Rotary with ceramics: https://youtu.be/dYGFal0e1WY

Recipe:
All measurements are for a three pound barrel. In all stages the water should be just below the top layer of rocks. I use a little less than that in the coarse grinding stage.

Coarse Grinding Stage
Run your rocks for a week at a time coarse grit to get all the imperfections out. This will take much more than a week if you want really good results.
3-4 tablespoons of coarse silicon carbide grit (80, 60/90, 46/70 or similar)

Stage 2
5 tablespoons of 120/220 or 220 silicon carbide grit
Run for one week

Stage 3
6 tablespoons of 500 grit aluminum oxide (you can use silicon carbide, but I prefer aluminum oxide)
Run for two weeks

Polish Stage
3 tablespoons of aluminum oxide polish
Run for two weeks or longer (I ran them for two and half weeks in this video)

Burnishing
This is optional and can be run between stages and after polish. The idea is to clean out any grit or slurry stuck in holes and cracks. If you don't have holes or cracks, this is not as important. I think the most important time to do this is between the 500 and polish stages.
2 tablespoons of borax
Run for several hours

– INSTAGRAM –
https://www.instagram.com/michiganrocksyoutube/

– MERCH –
http://teespring.com/stores/michigan-rocks

– THE ROCK SHED –
I buy most of my lapidary supplies from The Rock Shed. I don't make money from your purchases there, but I really think they have the best prices and the best service, so I feel good recommending them. https://rockshed.com

– AMAZON STOREFRONT –
I also have an Amazon storefront. This is where you can find other products you may have seen in my videos. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn't cost you extra. https://www.amazon.com/shop/michiganrocks

– SUBSCRIBE –
http://www.youtube.com/c/MichiganRocks?sub_confirmation=1
On Michigan Rocks you can join me on relaxing rock hunts in picturesque Michigan. I'll also show you how to polish rocks and teach you other lapidary techniques. New videos are posted every Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe now so you don't miss any upcoming videos!

0:00 Coarse Stage
18:41 220 stage
21:48 500 Stage
27:00 Polish Stage
30:23 Finished Rocks
37:10 Slideshow of Polished Rocks

#rocktumbling #lapidary

Видео How to Polish Rocks with a Rotary Tumbler and Plastic Media канала Michigan Rocks