Polishing Rocks with hand held Polisher/Sander - Part 2, a more detailed look 

glad you liked it robert, thanks for comment 👍

thanks for watching this one Delsa, nice to hear you collect rocks alongside you coins, youtube can be a handy tool for us collectors, cheers, kev

if you follow through my videos to the more recent ones, you will see i now use the battery rechargeable model, only half the weight and size, kev

glad you liked it steve, thanks for comment 👍

glad you liked the video david, thanks, kev

thanks for comment alice !

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-00-cFdaZw9M.html 💎💎🇧🇷🇧🇷

good one orpheous, hope you find the process as rewarding as I do

@@kevinnix6531 I'm hooked mate! I scored a set of 6 pads to start with and just ordered a set of 18 to keep me going lol. With my little rotary tool flex shaft diamond blade I'm able to cut up some beautiful little slabs and crystal clusters to set in the silver jewellery I make. Thanks again Kevin. Your videos have been a game changer for me!

glad you enjoyed video SRL, thanks, kev

Brendan Martin thanks for watching, the pads are soft and dont really hurt my fingers. I suppose you have a point though, gloves can be worn if preferred, waterproof gloves better. kev

hi delsa, thanks for watching video, glad you liked it. I am still a learner, its good for me to make the video, it helps me get better, cheers, kev

thanks for watching RC, would love to visit the geology of Arizona before too late !

hi John Schoenfeld , thanks for watching video, and thanks also for comment. (Most of the time) there isnt really any discernable difference between shaping and polishing minerals or petrified wood, the main thing is to enjoy doing it, (even your mistakes !) cheers, kev

hi James Mann , thanks for watching, I havent tried tumbling yet, but am certainly interested in trying it one day. Good luck with other techniques and skills, its a great hobby, very rewarding, cheers, kev

cheers randall

hi derek, yes i guess its like everything we do repetively, we get comfortable with the actions. I do know that there are lighter sander/polisher units available out there, I must look into that one day ..

Dolores Barlocco hello back ! thanks for watching, kev

and also good for polishing domed or uneven surfaces

hi larissapin , thanks for commenting, and good luck with your rocks hobby, youtube is one of the tools you can use to learn more, rocks are a great interest, cheers, kev

@@kevinnix6531 I Hope haverá you like a friend for It, thank you! You were a gentleman.

larissapin and you ! thankyou

that comment is stirring, it makes me imagine your property, where is thomas mountain located ? cheers for watching, kev

@@kevinnix6531 Mountain Center ca. Thomas mountain is next to Lake Hemet and gorgeous!

hi brad, a hard process to describe to an audience, as it can be adapted and performed in various ways, depending in the person, but hopefully it will give some people a starting point, kev

Southern Ontario Sasquatch glad you liked video, cheers, kev

FarmerJoeBob , thanks for comment, our facebook group has quite a few members from America and other overseas locations 👍

U do it Yahway I do it Mahway yes, i must learn tumbling as well, it looks fascinating, kev

faye Hermans , thanks for comment !

thanks for watching and commenting, hopefully has inspired you, very satisfying hobby, kev

John Kiryanoff , thanks john, your video on the river journey was equally entertaining, the soundtrack carried the atmosphere, i’m guessing you own a drone ! I recently purchased a mid level drone, but i am still mastering the skills, thanks mate, kev

Rick Crouch yes, i agree rick, the beauty is the simplicity, with minimal equipment the rock can be polished up and looking great. Thanks for comment, cheers, kev

Battlematt Stone hi battlemat, thanks for watching video, hope you can get some tips, cheers, kev

thanks shirine

Tinkerbell Blue yes, i often buy them signs when one catches my eye, getting a bit of a collection on the shed door now ! thanks for watching video, kev

lol

just sayin thanks for watching ! kev

hi Brunilda , thanks for watching and commenting, kev

hi melissa, its a case of trying out different rocks, some types are softer and easier to get the scratches out of, and polish. Others can be very hard, and take a lot more work to get good results. As you do morr and more, you get to learn which ones are best.

Esther Marygold-Lowe thanks for watching !

hi doug, good point you make, in our facebook group i have seen quite a few home made machines in various designs, people are quite creative, cheers, kev

its not the only polishing method around, but it is an option

Would like to talk to you 1 on 1.

hi karen, the soft diamond pads are quite flexible, you can just follow the curves on the rocks surface, it just taks a little juggling with the sander/polisher, it also takes a little arm strength, I rest from a large job often, take a break, have a cuppa, then back on the attack. Just be sure to spray the work surface with soapy water now and again. Its not absolutely critical if it dries out between sprays., kev

Krystal Skye Brisson , hi krystal, allthough i havent tried it, i would imagine the very basic steps are similar. keeping in mind the dremel has small attachments, so dont overeach, keep the pieces of petrified wood small. - decide what attachments you are going to use on the dremel. eg: sandpaper, or diamond abrasives, or other. (just make sure you have a set of them that start at a coarse grit, and gradually reach a fine grit.) - the most work is allways with the coarse grit, make sure you get as many scratches out as you can. (you may not get the very deepest ones out, but try, and leave them if you have to) - when you reach your finest grit, if your not satisfied with the shine, or glow, you can use a cream polish to enhance the final finish. you can choose from two types ... 1. cream metal polish (buy from auto shop) 2. cream wax polish just follow instructions on products hope this helps, thanks for watching video, cheers, kev

Yes dremels work very well

SolidGoldShows thanks for watching video ! yes, the old tats like to make an appearance on the screen, they try to steal the show ! kev

hi Travs Guide , thanks for watching and commenting ! there aren’t many rocks that dont look good cut in half and polished, the one in the video was just a rock found at the beach by one of our facebook group members, it really suprises you how nice they come up, cheers, kev

thanks tara

hi oneflyinggirl , thanks for watching video. Nice to hear you live in a place where the agatized wood occurs, Do you collect any smaller pieces ? I have a few chunks in my garden areas, but our wood is mainly just brown or grey rock, not a lot of agatization. thanks for comment 😉 kev

WoW!..ur so lucky!..petrified woods better than gold to me, have fun with it.

mark lewis , yes, certainly interesting stuff, ancient and beautifull ! kev

Kevin Nix yes I love collecting rocks.

thankyou 👍

hi chris, not being perfectly flat shouldnt be too much of a problem, as the wet diamond pads are slightly flexible, if you wish to flatten the surface more, try using velcro attached flat lap discs, I think I show there use in Part 3 ? They are available from THK diamond tools online, kev

hi Overling , thanks for watching, and thanks for commenting ! kev

thanks richard, kev

hi carlitosway60 , i ordered it from ebay, it was under $30 delivered, runs on USB chord, or, D size battery, thanks for watching video ! kev

Alisha Shalders , thanks for kind comment, I dont mind some criticism, can sometimes be benificial. Trying to bring an economical entry into polishing for those not ready to commit to more traditional polishing equipment, which can cost many hundreds, even thousands of dollars. Thanks for watching video ! cheers, kev

An it's perfect maybe even a pro couldn't tell the diff with that little stand in an up market store... I wonder how many hundreds with som fancy names u could sell it for the. Buy yr equipment, an then realise, yr hands on method u liked better.... I'm being silly now....

gayedawn1 its a lot safer to hold the sander in one hand, and hold the rock in the other, I hold the sander in the crook of my arm. If you have a sander that doesnt have the trigget ‘lock on’ switch, you may need to cable tie (zip loc, or zip tie), the trigger on, and use a seperate power board to turn the sander on and off. I have used a rubber mat to steady a rock, but it can slip and move, you have to judge each seperate rock yourself. I have never had to use a clamp device, so i cant advise on that sorry. Your arm will ache a little when you first start to polish, be sure to rest in between polishing until your muscles get used to it. Hope you can develop a technique that suits, kev

Kevin Nix...I'm 71 so probably not as strong these days. 20 years ago I took all the paint off my weatherboard house with a heat gun and sanded it back to the original before painting, so do have a bit of tool experience. The wet/dry grinder with multi speeds is a little heavier at 2.5 to 2.9 kgs but my club would not tell me how to partly polish larger specimens which I have. My dad was a tradie and even he had a run in with a grinder years ago. Safety is my main concern and I was worried about holding it like you do because of your expert experience and my age. . At the club when they saw slabs they use timber bits to clamp the rocks in place for stability and balance, that was one of my thoughts. Thanks for your video as there is no one else doing this only people using only their hands or dremel.

there are methods for polishing rough surfaces, I dont use a dremel much, but i’m sure that would be the best way, maybe a youtube search for videos on the subject could help, kev

Suenette Edwards , thanks for watching video, i use thick leather gloves. But if you have any doubts whatsoever regarding safety, there are various other methods used for polishing rocks. There are a lot of videos available on youtube to give ideas, cheers, kev

4 or 5inch I mean

hi ebony, it was just a beach rock, probably chalcedony, coloured with some other minerals, thanks for comment, kev

hi lorraine, i allways start with 50 grit, (or the lowest grit in your set), it also takes the most work of all the grit sizes, no scratches should be left after the lowest disc is used, (the rest of the discs are just for polishing the shine), kev

I just choose the most economic set, most of the different ebay suppiers are ok

@@kevinnix6531 thank you sir , that decided to me to by this set!! I see you on the next videos👍

dont usually use any compounds, I dont like the slight discoloration I was getting, I dont usually use anything now, just buff item until warm/hot on a stiched sisal wheel. If the item does need extra I will apply Autosol metal polish to the surface before buffing, it has a very fine grit cutting action, allmost like 20,000 grit, kev

@@kevinnix6531 Thanks Kevin. That's very helpful!

hi benjamin, i’m not real familiar with dremel work, the only thing you might try is the sandpaper discs that fit the dremel, you would have to start with the coarse grits and work thru to the finer grits. The coarse and medium grits could be a dry sandpaper, but i would suggest ‘wet n dry’ sandpaper (used wet) for the fine grits. A felt disc on the dremel could be tried for the final polish, kev

hi benjamin, I’m in the exact same position right now. just got my first dremel machine to pretty up some of my quartz and jasper found in the hills. the process i’ve been doing is first grinding down the rough edges and going over with a few different grits of sand paper then finishing off with a polishing wheel. they have came up looking real nice and shiny, but nothing really compared to the work in this video, I would love to reach this stage of rock work one day.

ebony pollard hi ebony, try to find the wet and dry sandpaper, usually dark grey coloured, wet the rock with soapy water when using it. Sometimes the lack of shine is due to not using the coarse grits enough, after using coarse grits the rock wont be shiny, but will be very smooth, like a “soapy” texture, only then should you move on to higher grits. Wet and dry sandpaper should be available right through as high as 1200 grit, which should provide a great shine kev

Kevin Nix will that work on rocks such as petrified wood that have a high quartz content and what I remember to be an 8 on the hardness scale? I have a diamond grinding attqchments etc but will sandpaper really work? Do you get the kind for metal or the kind for wood?

Benjamin Goulet as i said in my reply, use wet and dry sandpaper, i’m not sure what material its rated for. I also stated i’m not familiar with dremel work, but i have used wet n’dry paper on agates using hands only, no machinery, I wont repeat myself for other points, please just read replies above, cheers, kev

hi jaikram , no, no need to adjust speed, just stay a little bit higher than the lowest speed all through the process, its just a mix of the slow speed and pressure that polishes the rock, kev

@@kevinnix6531 Thanks, great learning video, stay happy.

thanks for watching, i use fairly inexpensive products avail on ebay, usually from taiwan, china or hong kong. Allthough I dont endorse products, you might have a look at THK diamond tools website, i use a lot of their lapidary tools.

Cheryl McMurray hi cheryl, a critical step that is probably not on the video is to work your lowest grit (whether it be 50, or 100 ) a bit longer than all the others. And then ALLWAYS dry the rock with a rag, or old towell is better, take it into the sun, or bright light, and inspect the dry surface carefully. You MUST be satisfied with the surface before you continue. It may mean repeating the lowest grit process again, if you do, ensure to dry and inspect again. I must find the time to make a follow up video, to include this tip, and a few others that i have learnt since making the last video. Note- sometimes you might have to make the decision to leave a deep scratch if it isnt viable to remove it, I make that call now and again. Hope this helped, also remember all rocks are different, hard, soft, dull, shiny, the more rocks you polish, the better you will get, cheers, kev

Thank You Kevin!

What is the green and white rock on the end of your work bench? And what are going to do with it?

Linda bower , hi linda, thanks for watching video, the green/blue rock is Blue Chalcedony in Jasper. Its from Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. It has been cut up into slabs and sold. If you need to get this type of rock and many similar to it (and you live in Australia), then take a look at the Facebook group “Mackay Fossils and Rocks”, similar materials are advertised for sale on that group regularly, cheers, kev

bullshitdave good tip dave !

Girl2skate I’m on the East Coast but I’d love to purchase a nice polish panties from you. I’ve been wanting to get myself a piece of mookite 💜🙏🏾

Chalcedony. He mentioned it at the beginning that his friend found it in a crevis.

Brandy, i think it was a peice of water worn chalcedony, one of my facebook group members found it on the coast here in Queensland, Australia

hope your cutting is going well, it’s addictive, be sure to follow through and polish a few up as well ! I got the display stand from ebay, if you search you will find one, (smaller) kev

@@kevinnix6531 Thanks Kev, yes I have just received my polishing pads in the post. Thanks for the reply Kev, and thank you for sharing your video's. Cheers Kev

hi dan , I dont use any polish or wax, I like just the friction of the wheel to do the job. In saying that, since I made the last video, I have discovered that 4”/100mm felt wheels fit on to my sanders spindle (via angle grinder nuts), I run these at minimal speed, barely wet, with Tin Oxide powder applied. This gives a mirror finish, to top of your polishing processes. cheers, kev

Jim Magill , thanks for watching, yes, still have all fingers 😎

He has fingers because I noticed the fingertips of his leather gloves are GONE!! :))

Dagmara K.Lesiow hi dagmara, thanks for watching video, usually just a couple of minites in each grit size. Make sure to turn stone around to different angles within them few minutes. After the very first grit, the lowest grit, dry the stone with a rag or towell and inspect for scratches remaining, if you see scratches, either work on them some more with the low grit, or, you might accept them if too deep. (many pieces i have accepted a deep scratch and left it there) kev

I count stokes I count to 27 back and forth is two I do this across the whole polishing surface with the three areas going of the pad start with the top of the pad like a half inch of the pad sticking up over the material do the 27 stokes across the surface u are polishing then repeat but using the center of the polishing pads basicly imagine the pad is a number 0 if u put a line across the middle of the zero thats the center area of the pad and ur line of movement as well 27 times. Do it one more time with the bottom area of the pads some types of stone don't always call for 27 stokes with all 3 pad contact areas I've come to feel how that it's ready to switch pads early when u can feel ur self sliding over the surface of the material real smoothly

hi Rick ' , thanks for watching and commenting ! kev

Ash.Asher , yes, i own one of them, but never used it on rocks yet, i've seen some great youtube videos on them though

Love, love, love this sonh.just heard last night 11.30.17, I about died. Great song, great story..

great name bill ! thanks for watching

hi johny, yes, its an easy process, and very interesting to do, each rock is different, cheers, kev

dish washing detergent, use at same rate as when you wash the dishes

thanks kev

thanks for comment 😎

Kendra Taylor , thanks for watching kendra, cheers !

thanks for watching video ! البدايه كالنهايه kev

hi richard, its just a volcanic mix that has chalcedony, quartz, and other minerals, found on the coastline

Igor T i’m not sure, but its approx 1500rpm, (no.2 setting on a sander that is variable between 1000rpm and 3000rpm)

I think full speed works the best it's harder for the pads to hang up or drag uneven

on my angle grinder i use 4”/100mm dry diamond blade. on my wetsaw i prefer to use 9”/225mm wet diamond blade

hi Marcelo, thanks for watching video, sorry I cant answer your question, my only language is english, cheers, kev

Enfim um brasileiro, convido-te a conhecer a minha coleção de pedras ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-00-cFdaZw9M.html tenho três vídeos relacionados e mais de 130 postagens

hi No One , thanks for watching video, and comment. I purchased the saw second hand, it is a tilers and stoneworkers ‘wetsaw’. I just changed the blade from a thick tilers blade to a very thin lapidary blade. It is a great saw, has served me well, some people dont like it, but it gives me complete freedom when cutting, cheers, kev

yes, everything is kept wet to reduce any dust, or, masks are worn if a dry process is required, thanks for comment, kev

Demon Axc that is Mookaite, its a rock found in Western Australia, nice lapidary rock, here is a link to more info ... www.outbackmining.com/mookaite cheers, kev

Kevin Nix thank you very much for the reply and link. I found some in my yard and was wondering what kind of rock it is. Though I'm not in Australia I guess it was brought here

Demon Axc - If you live in the U.S. the stone could be what is known as horse creek chert, which is highly saught after $$$ by flint knappers and lapidary folks!

bones&stones 65 yes, it is also prized here in australia, and it IS a type of chert, thanks for reply ! kev

Haji Gulam Muhamadi hi haji, you could join a facebook rocks group, that is an easy way to post photos and get help with identification, there are many groups to choose from, kev

hi ty, I dont use anything on the bench grinder buffing pad, but you can use a metal polishing compound if you wish, (these compounds come in different colours/strengths, beware the colour doesnt lodge on the rocks cracks or cavities), kev

amarildo gonçalves hi, thanks for watching video, and cheers for comment, kev

glad you liked it, kev

If you have the time, I'd love to see a video of my stone polishing

I use a normal rotary sander, with 4”/100mm velcro attachment. (the attachment usually comes with the diamond pads kit) important that attachment fits the thread on the sander (mine is 14mm) - most diamond pad kits on ebay have either 14mm attachments, or 5/8” attachments

thanks gatorcreates !

hi Ronnie Trimble , yes, most certainly ! I would allmost say you can use this method on all rocks except the most porous, or most sandy or crumbly. I have polished maybe 50 different rock types like this (a guess at that number 😉) thanks for good comment ! cheers, kev

Kevin Nix awesome! Thanks so much. Your video was so helpful and I’ll be making my first raw stone purchase this week!! Fingers crossed for a good outcome!

Ronnie Trimble , good luck with everything, you will make mistakes, and your early efforts will improve as you go on. Dont be scared to practice on rocks you can get for free, (I did), there are usually nice rocks around most beaches. If you are a facebook user, try joining our group, ‘’mackay fossils and rocks”, it is an easy way to communicate with others in this hobby, and questions are welcome. kev

Kevin Nix thanks so much! Going join now!

JOEL RUBIN hi joel, yes, certainly, there are many youtube videos covering that skill as well, kev

hi 7, as you may know, rocks have different hardness, some are really hard and can only be poilished with assistance from polisher or similar equipment. Softer rocks can be polished using wet and dry sandpaper (by hand), using soapy water, work your way through all the grits, from rough, thru to fine grit smooth. It gives you reasonable finish, kev

@@kevinnix6531 yes i remember when i was younger i was working in a firm where they carve toombtones and i had to use 7 different diamond grits. i just recentlly become a fan of gem hunting. i live above a silwer mine in a small town of slovenija started colecting jasper quartz and cinobarite we have that in abundance here. and things went so far now i want to make my pendants and mybe sell them and im just thinking do i buy a thumbller or i can do it manually i guess boot things needed for different stylle of work or as you said hardnes of material. Bt considering the prices i think is better if i buy small crystalls and work on them. and than as a hobby polish the ones i find and keep them for mysellf.will see its on im addicted i just wish i found this earlier in my life bt as they say newer to late for new things. Time to go rockhounding and watch wideos by night. tx

hi 7 lateralusaint , sometimes its good to visit a local lapidary club, (if possible), you can get ideas of which way you wish to go ahead in this hobby, there are so many different choices and methods, kev

@@kevinnix6531 yes thank you . i just aplied for the onlly lapidary club i found in Slovenia. After i figured out what it means). thank you for this. they have meetings diggings gemshows and u can also learn about cuting and polishing. so thanx very much. i wish i suceed so this can be my main income.

Grass if your wondering grassguy 420

Zamplify Riiight. It’s called a sisal thanks lol

stitched sisal wheel, its originally for metal cutting back, but ideal for final polishing of rock, kev