How can you polish geodes rock and crystals at home?

Question

How can you polish geodes rock and crystals at home?

Answer 1

Use a Vibra-Lap Sander (or Vibralap Sander)

According to Lapidary Discounts:  http://lapidarydiscounts.com/LapSander.h...

"If you want to polish flat surfaces, like book ends and geodes, then you use a vibra-lap....

Vibra-lapping: To polish a flat surface, like a book end or geode, you use a saw to cut your flat surface, then a grinder to remove any burrs left by the saw, then a vibra-lap to polish.

A vibra-lap is a round pan that vibrates. You place grit and water in the flat pan and then place your rock in on the grit. It vibrates and grinds down the surface. When vibralapping, you complete the process in 3 stages--coarse, fine, and polish. Each stage takes 6-8 hours. You fill the pan 2/3rds full of rock, so if you are polishing geodes, usually you can do 3-4 sets at a time. "

According to Getting started in Lapidary:  http://www.rocks4u.com/gettingstarted.ht...

"If you want to polish flat surfaces, like book ends and geodes, then you use a  vibra-lap. If you want polished nuggets of tumbled stones, then you use a  tumbler, if you want to cut and shape rocks for jewelry or polish an end of petrified wood, then you use a  cabochon unit. The there are other more advanced methods of polishing, like making spheres, marbles, faceting gemstones, and carving.

Here is the differences explained:

Vibra-lapping: To polish a flat surface, like a book end or geode, you use a saw to cut your flat surface, then a grinder to remove any burrs left by the saw, and then a vibra-lap to polish.

A vibra-lap is a round pan that vibrates. You place grit and water in the flat pan and then place your rock in on the grit. It vibrates and grinds down the surface. When vibralapping, you complete the process in 3 stages--coarse, fine, and polish. Each stage takes 6-8 hours. You fill the pan 2/3rds full of rock, so if you are polishing geodes, usually you can do 3-4 sets at a time."

The above listed site recommends going here:  http://shop.rocks4u.com/index.asp?PageAc... for the equipment.

A Vibra-Lap polisher is a special kind of (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_orbi...  Instead of holding the sander to the surface, you are holding the surface in a pan.  You do this because it takes too long to sand the rock for you to hold it.  You also put water into the pan with your grit to avoid scratching the surface.  A Lapidary club would probably have one you might want to find one in your area and join them to get their help.

Lapidary is the art of making jewelry out of stones, in this case turning a geode into a piece of art.

The best way to open a geode is to use a diamond saw, but many people use a hammer.

According to Fascinating Facets Online Shop:  http://www.crystalcaves.com.au/winecoast...

"How to polish a geode

The most labor intensive part is the polishing of such a hard gemstone like AGATE. To remove the saw marks we use grit 80 of Silicon Carbide, to remove the marks that 80 leaves behind, we now grind those away with number 220 grit - the next grit is 400 or even 600! ...

Remember "Agate is harder than steel""

Bucknell University:  http://www.bucknell.edu/x20345.xml

Has an illustrated page on some of the equipment you will need to handle a Geode properly.

According to The Transition of a Rock to Art:  http://www.wired-artist-jewelry.com/TRAN...

"The "Wired Artist" Lapidary shop equipment includes:

20" and 10" slab saws, used to begin the Lapidary process.

A 10" trim saw for cutting the stones desired shape from slabs.

Two 6" grinding and sanding units for ~ grinding and sanding stones and Crystal butts.

An 8" Crystal Master flat lap ~ Used to produce the flat surfaces required for Intarsia and doublets.

A flat Vibra lap for making book ends and polished slabs.

Two tumbling units (seldom used).

And the usual array of dopping and cleaning equipment."

According to Learning Languages:  http://www.net-language.com/knowledgebas... vibralap is by far the best way to polish a slab or a flat-cut rock. You could use about a 24 inch machine and you probably could find one for about $200.00 used. If you look for a local lapidary club and join it (usually a $10 - $20 yearly fee) many of the members would be more than willing to help you get started. You could probably use their vibralap machine. It works by putting the slabs on a flat grooved surface with progressively smaller size abrasives over several days then putting them on a cloth with a polishing compound using the same vibratory lap machine. Alternatively a spinning flat lap machine could be used but would require a great deal of effort. A slab could also be polished in a tumbler which would be cheaper but not as sharp. At the local club you should look for someone that does a lot of this type of work and he/she would probably be happy to teach you. I have listed the URL of the Lapidary Journal's list of clubs worldwide for your perusal. Lastly, the Lapidary Journal itself is a woderful resourse. They probably have an article in a back issue on just that subject. You probably could find it and order it directly from the referenced website.""

Lapidary Journal:  http://www.lapidaryjournal.com/  May give you some leads.

Answer 2

They make turning machines to polish them.  It usually takes several days. If you're looking for something to just try out, the Discovery Channel store has a couple of different kits.  We bought one for my son for Christmas one year and it worked great.  You could also do a search for a local geology or rock/mineral club that may have facilities available, as well as knowledgeable members, to help.  We have a great rock club here in our area.  

Answer 3

If you don't want to spend a lot of money you can try this but it will take about a week.

You fill a jar about one third with sand. Then add the rest with water..make sure the jar is plastic. Duct tape the lid on after you add a few rocks. Shake the jar whenever you can. Whenever you're bored or whatever just start shaking it or kicking it around =]