Axelorox Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Recently, I stumbled across a few sites selling lots with many small pieces of unpolished amber, with around 50 grams of it in total. How would one go about polishing such pieces anyways? I imagine a simple rock tumbler would be wear away too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 there are certain techniques that could be pressed into service in an attempt to process quantities of amber at once but the problem is that it is basically a soft material. you could not use a "standard" rock tumble-polishing method and grits. one of the tricks used in the fine polishing stages of regular rock tumbling is buffering the rocks with small plastic beads that also serve as carriers for the polish. but the techniques using amber would involve much finer and less abrasive media than normal. read up on it using search engines. obviously it's been perfected, in that amber necklaces made of small chips and beads are marketed commercially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOM BUCKLEY Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I've made numerous trips into NJ for Cretaceous amber and have thousands of BB to pea-sized pieces. I was looking for inclusions so I needed to polish a "window" to see inside the piece. I started with 400 grit sandpaper, then 1000 grit, then 1500 grit and finally....toothpaste. Of course, I wasn't trying to create a piece of jewelry, just trying to get a peek inside. Good luck ! Tom AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGIST STROKE SURVIVOR CANCER SURVIVOR CURMUDGEON "THERE IS A VERY FINE LINE BETWEEN AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGY AND MENTAL ILLNESS" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axelorox Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 Amber in NJ you say? I didn't know about it. Thanks for the advice everyone. I guess I'll do a bit of further research too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Here's a link or two! Also check this out. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Amber in NJ you say? I didn't know about it. Thanks for the advice everyone. I guess I'll do a bit of further research too. New Jersey amber is Cretaceous (93 MYO), and can have inclusions "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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