Five weeks of grinding, followed by a week of polishing and I was eagerly anticipating the result.
However, things don't always go according to plan and when I opened the container it was obvious something wasn't quite as it should be.
During the grinding stages there is always a lot of sludge to dispose of and it is vital that this is done thoroughly otherwise any residue will negate the polishing process. I had been very careful, therefore, to make sure this was the case.
However, what I hadn't bargained for was the hardness (or otherwise) of the pebbles I was polishing..
Amongst the harder pebbles were some which were a little softer in composition and this caused them to break up during the processing. The particles which broke off in effect acted in the same way any grinding residue would have done. So, instead of being able to show you beautifully polished pebbles like my previous ones...
These ones were for the most part dull and gritty...
It's a hard lesson to learn when you've waited the best part of six weeks to see the finished product but all is not lost! I will go back one stage; removing the damaged and weak pebbles and repeat the last of the grinding and then the final polishing stages. At that point I hope to be able to show you the finished 'gems'!
Please note: I did say "Hope"!!
4 comments:
So sorry, but I also hope that all is not lost :) Diane
Bummer!
It's a shame but there are still some nice stones in there.
What a pity!.
I guess it's the timescale involved which makes it frustrating. Waiting patiently for weeks and then ....
I do an activity with kids at school where they put small pieces of about 10 different rocks into a container and shake for 5 minutes. They observe the rocks before and after. This certainly sorts out the softer rocks, which by then have been reduced to dust!
Show us some pics of what they look like after the next round of polishing.
Post a Comment