Discussions

💬 Home 🔎 Search 📅 Latest

╳Discussions

💬 Home 🔎 Search 📅 Latest

Groups

Recent Images in Discussions

GeneralPolishing Beryl Crystals

8th Mar 2013 16:48 UTCDavid Walsh

I'm looking to find out the best way of polishing Beryl specimens I found recently. Most of these specimens are no longer than an inch and I tried very carefully with a Dremel tool and the polish that came with it. The Dremel and polish didn't work as I expected. I've researched Rock Tumblers/Vibrators but don't want to risk breaking these already fragile pieces. I found a way of extracting the Beryl using my vice as opposed to hammering around it. I have found many of the Beryl pieces don't end up intact, I can see cracks in them using a magnifying glass. How is one to extract smaller pieces of Beryl intact? Should I focus on finding larger pieces? I'd like to find some nice pieces and polish them up for display around my home.

David

8th Mar 2013 17:08 UTCSteve Hardinger 🌟 Expert

Why does everyone want to polish their specimens? Why not irish them or russian them?

8th Mar 2013 23:04 UTCSteve Federico

Hey David if you used the polish that came with the dremel it might not be the right kind.I looked up Beryl in the book: Gem and Lapidary Materials by June Culp Zeitner & it listed the following as good polish for Beryl.Tine Oxide,Linde A,cerium oxide,or 50,000 diamond.It also said that cleavage and heat sensitivity are not a problem.Hope this helps you.......Steve

9th Mar 2013 01:57 UTCTim Jokela Jr

Might shake more fruit from the tree by posting in the lapidary section.

Beryl polishes nicely, but you have to have relatively solid, crack-free material to start with. Experience will tell you what's good and what's leaverite.

Life is too short to polish rocks with a dremel.

Look for a local club and see if any folks in your area are doing lapidary. Make friends, and see if you can get some lessons on how it's done.

You can build your own machine, but about $1,000 will get you a cabochon grinder that will last for a very long time, and provide countless hours of fun.

Or cut a flat face with a diamond blade, and then polish with a flat lap.

Either way, it's a series of steps, from coarse grit to fine polish; the only easy, instant polish is to coat it with lacquer or something similar, if you like the look.

10th Mar 2013 01:06 UTCJames Christopher

A diamond blade on the Dremel, and carefully cutting around the aqua in 2 parallel lines, then breaking out the matrix between the cuts is what I have had luck with in the past.

11th Mar 2013 18:31 UTCDavid Walsh

James,

Thanks for the info, I'll try the diamond blade for the smaller pieces. I really want to find larger pieces, 5+ inches in diameter. maybe the larger pieces won't be prone to having as many cracks and be easier to work with.

David

11th Mar 2013 22:08 UTCSteve Cantiello

HEY! Be careful the dust is very toxic.Wear a mask when you polish that.Linde A works great for beryl.

11th Mar 2013 22:38 UTCDavid Walsh

Steve,

I'm glad you mentioned that, I haven't done any real polishing yet and noticed when I was cracking a few pegnatite rocks to extract the Beryl, there was a little dust. I used a small brush to brush away the sediments that was created when I cracked a few rocks. I did pick up some masks from Lowes, I figured any dust that was floating around as a result of brushing it away wasn't good, I was holding my breath most of the time.

16th Mar 2013 06:39 UTCKeith Compton 🌟 Manager

David

I think that we would all like to find 5" diameter Beryl xls and I know that if I did I certainly wouldn't be polishing them

Cheers

Mindat.org is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: April 16, 2024 14:03:48

Go to top of page