Carve and Polish Any Stone with a Dremel or Rotary Tool

[@ThatOpalGuy]

Thanks for continuing to encourage, and to provide affordable options for beginners. People can do this relatively inexpensively and they don't realize it. Of course, the material you cut is where the real expense is.

[@RoysRocks]

Yeah the better quality opals is where the wallet starts crying. But it always feels better once a stone or two work out.

[@chadatchison145]

Thanks for the video Roy.

[@RoysRocks]

No worries Chad.

[@nancycurtis7315]

Thanks Roy. I've got so many rocks here. Mostly interesting looking ballast from railway lines. If I had to transport train drivers, we could be waiting for quite some time, so I'd chuck a load of rocks in the taxi boot. Some tumbled really well. Rocks are just beautiful anyway. Okay, I'm strange...... LOL

[@RoysRocks]

Haha taxi fuel efficiency dropping rapidly with a boot full of rocks!

[@nancycurtis7315]

@@RoysRocks Called business expenses! LOL.. Rocks in head. Dogs, Jasper and Feldspar. Cats. 2 x Opals. 1 sapphire. Over 40 years. Always loved rocks of any type. Want to try and get shells out of Mt Gambier limestone. Got about 100 kg of it. Old manse from Dimboola.

[@offyarocka]

Very cool kit ✌😎✌

[@RoysRocks]

Gets the job done for me. 👌

[@dcallan812]

I have some Honduran opal, looks a bit like that rock but with glitter added. I really should do something with it. great demo video 2x👍

[@RoysRocks]

Yeah I have some as well but havent done much with it. It was tough to get so just kept it in storage until I get more to work on.

[@olmilfishrock]

Awesome video!! Great tip about getting all the scratches going the same direction before changing burs. When I started doing this with my flat lap it made a HUGE DIFFERENCE! 👍😎

[@RoysRocks]

Yeah it is a bit of a cheat code but anything that works is good in my books.

[@elishadoyle8191]

I recently just bought some pink opal and strawberry quartz that I'm going to try polish. I don't know how it's going to out but I'll give it a try 😊

[@RoysRocks]

Good luck. Never worked on any quartz but I'm sure it can't be too tricky. I might have to get some. Heaps of people like a variety of quartz.

[@elishadoyle8191]

@@RoysRocks I'm thinking of buying cherry Quartz too. It looks like a beautiful stone

[@josephcase3105]

Looks like a piece of limestone dyed by the ocean ... cause the whitish gray part on other side an grain structure ...I haven't watched video yet but indeed it does look quite grainy an may present a problem...guess I'm about to watch and see gl.

[@RoysRocks]

It does have a limestone feel but never seen it black (well I thought it was black to start with).

[@victorhopper6774]

wish i had and knew this when iwas a kid. grew up on a farm that was on a hill made of glacial stones. seemed like every kind of stone and fossil was in that dirt.

[@RoysRocks]

Wish I had fossils in the backyard. Instead I have a few square meters, mostly paved.

[@elishadoyle8191]

What are glacial stones?

[@victorhopper6774]

@@elishadoyle8191 stones carried by ice rivers and sheets.

[@stevenhoover9294]

Love the kits and glad I got some sintered bits from you last year. Any idea where to get the clear display boxes in the US?

[@RoysRocks]

Not sure where you could find them but they have to be there somewhere since Pulitzer uses them and is how I found out about them. They are suck a good box and I'll never use anything else for storage now.

[@bbisyy4u]

I did wonder about other stones. There is so many rocks at my parents place. I'm going to have to test some of the rocks there.

[@RoysRocks]

Just aim for the least gritty ones you can find and they should have a good chance of getting proper shiny

[@ElinHaugan]

The part you polished reminds me of the black alum shale we have here, but not in the rough 🤔🤷‍♀️ This is how I started my rock polishing jurney, just random free rocks I found while hiking 😊👌

[@RoysRocks]

Haha I never started with random rocks since I knew I was only interested in opal so white coober pedy potch for a year was my beginning 😂

[@ElinHaugan]

@@RoysRocks I did'nt even know about opals when I started cutting and polishing rocks 🙈😅

[@kenoathiog1156]

Very cool- totally different look polished than rough! I have some super green chunks of chrysoprase I’m keen to carve & polish- not sure whether the Al Ox or Cer Ox would be best… thinking, as in Jade & Opal, it is quite glassy so I’ll give the Cer Ox a go first

[@RoysRocks]

Chrysoprase is still SiO based so I would go with CeOx for sure.

[@kenoathiog1156]

@@RoysRockscheers thanks

[@elishadoyle8191]

I bought the bigger kit and I find it very useful 🎉🎉

[@RoysRocks]

Hopefully a lot of shiny gems in your future. 🙏

[@carroll-w7wxv]

I just found your channel and I watched a couple videos and looked over the list of the rest and noticed that you use rotary tools instead of lapidary saws or cabbing machines. Why did you decide to use rotary tools? I am liking your videos, looking forward to the next one!

[@RoysRocks]

Space is the main reason. I also have flat laps but don't use them on the channel yet as I have one set up outside and just use it for rough rubbing and flattening backs for doublets.

[@elishadoyle8191]

I'm the same. I live in a teeny tiny unit that they I have to pay waaaayyyy to much for and I use my dremel because of space and I can't afford a cab-king anyway 😢

[@stevenhoover9294]

Shale would be my guess also

[@RoysRocks]

Could be. Your guess is certainly better than mine.

[@josephcase3105]

Or my 2nd guess is shale

[@ThatOpalGuy]

maybe slate, but it seems too porous?

[@RoysRocks]

I though both shale and slate were made up of lots of slabs? Maybe I'm getting it mixed up with something else.

[@josephcase3105]

Slate an shale the main difference is heat an pressure slate is brittle if thin ..where I am in Kentucky the agates are found within the shale instead of basalt or ryolite ..there old fossils converted into agates like clams and corals ect.ect.

[@victorpashkevich8801]

basalt ? /

[@RoysRocks]

Basalt? As in can you carve basalt? I dont see why not though I havent done so myself. It is pretty soft and much softer than diamond so should be easy.

[@victorpashkevich8801]

@@RoysRocks I was referring to th rock you were polishing to me it look like basalt