Look up how to test hardness with normal things around the house. Mohrs Hardness is what you want to google. Tumble rocks with the same hardness together. If you don't have enough to fill the tumbler, you can add ceramic media. The sample rock you had already had several cracks in it. And by pounding it with the tools you had, it probably put more micro cracks that will show up later and fill with grit/polish. I'd recommend a good wet tile saw. I've gone a long time with my little 4" one from Harbor Freight. You'll need a diamond blade to go with it. With a 4" saw, will only be able to cut 2", but you can turn carefully larger rocks as you cut to get all the way around. Then with a chisel and an EASY tap you'll be able to break them without more undesirable cracks/micro cracks. A diamond blade can't cut flesh, so it's really safe to use. I touch mine all the time while it's running just for the heck of it. I just recently upgraded to a 7" wet saw and got a lapidary blade for both, and discovered that I prefer a diamond blade over a more expensive lapidary blade. If you'd like ideas of how to do flat-laps using Harbor Freight tools, just let me know. Enjoy the journey! www.nps.gov/articles/mohs-hardness-scale.htm
Thanks again for the great info! We are still in the beginning stages and learning. I plan to start getting more equipment but I'm definitely going to take the "buy once cry once" approach and save up for some nice equipment as we build our arsenal. I started with the harbor freight tumbler and it is a decent setup but I have my sights set on an extreme tumbler rebel 17 because I find that when I am done sorting through my rocks after stage one, I rarely have enough to fill one barrel of my lot-o double-barrel tumbler and never get enough to fill both barrels so it's taking a long time to get to the last 3 stages. Maybe some of these videos will help me score a sponsor someday to help get some new equipment! Hehehe Thanks again for the feedback!
Look up how to test hardness with normal things around the house. Mohrs Hardness is what you want to google. Tumble rocks with the same hardness together. If you don't have enough to fill the tumbler, you can add ceramic media.
The sample rock you had already had several cracks in it. And by pounding it with the tools you had, it probably put more micro cracks that will show up later and fill with grit/polish. I'd recommend a good wet tile saw. I've gone a long time with my little 4" one from Harbor Freight. You'll need a diamond blade to go with it. With a 4" saw, will only be able to cut 2", but you can turn carefully larger rocks as you cut to get all the way around. Then with a chisel and an EASY tap you'll be able to break them without more undesirable cracks/micro cracks. A diamond blade can't cut flesh, so it's really safe to use. I touch mine all the time while it's running just for the heck of it. I just recently upgraded to a 7" wet saw and got a lapidary blade for both, and discovered that I prefer a diamond blade over a more expensive lapidary blade. If you'd like ideas of how to do flat-laps using Harbor Freight tools, just let me know. Enjoy the journey!
www.nps.gov/articles/mohs-hardness-scale.htm
Thanks again for the great info! We are still in the beginning stages and learning. I plan to start getting more equipment but I'm definitely going to take the "buy once cry once" approach and save up for some nice equipment as we build our arsenal. I started with the harbor freight tumbler and it is a decent setup but I have my sights set on an extreme tumbler rebel 17 because I find that when I am done sorting through my rocks after stage one, I rarely have enough to fill one barrel of my lot-o double-barrel tumbler and never get enough to fill both barrels so it's taking a long time to get to the last 3 stages.
Maybe some of these videos will help me score a sponsor someday to help get some new equipment! Hehehe
Thanks again for the feedback!