Will This Huge Petoskey Stone Polish?

[@ChrisRocks-ki8fr]

Darn right I will be happy with it!

[@ChrisRocks-ki8fr]

Thanks again Rob! I don't think I would have the patience to spend 6 hours working on that. Great job and I am not surprised that a lot of people like the bottom.

[@MichiganRocks]

I’ll get it in the mail for you one of these days. Glad you like it. Thanks for letting me play with it. Luckily it was a beautiful day to spend outside.

[@jerrywiessner]

Great video Rob. Been watching for a few years now. In 1967 when I was 12 My dad and I found a huge Petoskey stone in some woods near Petoskey. We couldn't carry it, so unfortunately we took a hammer to it. My dad made lots of lower Michigan shaped pendants and broaches out of it. He always wanted to make an upper and lower one, but they were to fragile. Of coarse I helped him with some sanding, but mostly polishing on corduroy with aluminum oxide. Lots of memories.

[@MichiganRocks]

I have made some Michigan shaped fridge magnets, but not pendants. Sometimes I make the U.P. sometimes I don't.

[@vickilynn1204]

My favorite part of the rock was the bottom. Beautiful

[@MichiganRocks]

Me too.

[@ccccarriemchardy9216]

He will be stoked, it looks fantastic!.

[@virginiarocks]

Wow! I would imagine Chris will be very happy. That is lovely! Well done. Thanks for sharing, Rob!❤

[@jeffholmes1362]

Nice job Rob, I love the bottom , but a sample that large is bound to have issue spots. Well worth the time, thanks for sharing

[@MichiganRocks]

Overall, it was really nice, even with a few blemishes.

[@wyomingadventures]

Nice job Rob. I'm sure Chris is going to like it. I like your idea of making a vise to hold the rock while you work on it.

[@MichiganRocks]

My "vise" works sort of well, but it's not perfect.

[@sboydrocks9412]

What a huge task. No doubt you would love to be 12 foot tall and work on a cabbing machine twice the size you have and hold the stone in your 12 foot high giants’ fingers. I think it came out awesome and considering the size of stone and the tools involved- have gained an huge respect for the skills of sculptors and stone masons and the tools they have to use. Thanks for sharing Rob.

[@MichiganRocks]

That would have been a whole lot easier!

[@markhorn9239]

Holy Petoskey, Batman! Nice job!

[@kirar2180]

Lol, I might need to add this phase to my vocabulary

[@MichiganRocks]

Ka-Pow!

[@sunnycadwallader2873]

So interesting to watch the progression in polishing. Thanks for a great video.

[@JimFry]

Fantastic start to final. These are always a challenge and why I procure so many replacement wheels for my Genie.

[@MichiganRocks]

This was a little big for a Genie, but I wish I could have done it that way.

[@justjulee9135]

That was great! It had a beautiful shine!

[@EricTheCat]

That turned out really nice. Great work!

[@firechicken455adventures]

Way to make that look amazing. Chris will love it for sure.

[@lynettepavelich7540]

One of the nicest rock bottoms I’ve ever seen! That size of petoskey would make my day!❤️

[@arlycesuedel6518]

That's amazing! Such a beauty. Thanks for sharing your hard work!

[@dancrites453]

Okay... that was pretty cool. Amazing transformation! Thank you....

[@lindagrimmett6564]

That looks amazing! I really,like the so called bottom of the coral, where it grows from. Very nice!

[@RAM-Outdoor-Adventures]

You do incredible work with your polishing of rocks! Beautiful piece.

[@MichiganRocks]

Thanks!

[@milesnn]

Fantastic outcome. Thank you

[@jneihart2]

Excellent work Rob!

[@rebeccagoldberg-mv6cs]

So fun to see this. Great work.

[@Mgrucza55]

Hello from Erie pa ...our beach walnut creek and trout run is fun I love white stones but I love watching g you and your wife ❤

[@marybeth6272]

That one is a beaut. ❤❤❤ You should have shown his reaction to you giving it back. Love the video.

[@MichiganRocks]

That would have been fun, but I needed a video for this week and I didn't have time to send it out to get Chris's reaction in time.

[@butchgarner3911]

Nice! that thing looks amazing, great job! thanks for sharing!!

[@googleuser859]

Fantastic job, well done!

[@rhondavoelzke812]

I really like how the bottom turned out!

[@Nikkisavage100]

Hi Rob, a great job, love that stone

[@deadiemeyers1661]

I have become quite smitten with Petoskey Stone. Loved seeing this brought to such a beautiful condition.

[@MichiganRocks]

They're pretty common around here, but I still get excited when I find a really good one.

[@DurpVonFronz]

Daaaang, that turned out awesome Rob!! The bottom was unreal kewl looking, so didnt think it was going to look like that at all :)

[@MichiganRocks]

That's what the bottom of a Petoskey stone looks like, but I don't usually get to polish any as big as this one. Bigger is better in this case.

[@kittyfruitloop8264]

I love Petoskey stones! I was born in charlevoix. Your accent makes me homesick. I live in GA now.

[@MichiganRocks]

Charlevoix is a nice town too. When I was in high school, my parents owned a 22' Sea Ray with a cuddy cabin. We would take little three day trips in the boat and stayed in Charlevoix more than once. One time we were there when there was a concert at the Castle. My parents let us walk from the harbor to the castle to attend the concert. I can't believe we got away with that.

[@nancymcshane3501]

Surprised at the pattern on the bottom! Great job! Went to one of the big Gem Shows in Franklin, NC today. Saw lots of rubies!

[@MichiganRocks]

Rubies are fun.

[@janehelbert7551]

It turned out great!

[@Brenda-sk6ev]

Great job - I'm jealous of all of the boys you have!!. It turned out beautifully!!

[@markattardo]

Wow, that's awesome!!!

[@vlogsnorth]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing.

[@bebecatanzaro9362]

That’s your best effort, ever! The bottom is fascinating 🥰

[@easterazali9237]

It looks really beautiful Rob how kind of you to spend 6 hours polishing it for your friend , God bless you 💖

[@MichiganRocks]

He got a rock and I got a video. I spent about the same time making this video as I usually do if you count the time on the beach as part of the video. He was nice enough to offer me something to do for a video that I don't normally get a chance to do. Everyone wins!

[@easterazali9237]

@@MichiganRocks and we got to watch and enjoy your video , how good is that as we Aussies say 😊

[@MichiganRocks]

@@easterazali9237 We say that too.

[@I_wish_I_knew_something]

You know it will, one way or another!

[@kirsiselei8703]

That turned up great👍❤️

[@meteorock]

Very fast and very beautiful.

[@joniangelsrreal6262]

👁👁 Happy to drop by Wow ….quite spectacular … 6:16

[@lamerex4]

Now that was fun!

[@donnalantz7981]

Well now I know I need to get both kinds of grinders. LOL I have a few really big rocks I would love to see if I can polish someday. 1 is quartz and I'm not sure what else. It's really big but I love everything about it. I love learning from your videos. Thank you so much. That Petoskey turned out super I think.

[@MichiganRocks]

I have done more puddingstones than anything with that grinder. It works pretty well.

[@johnrau6568]

Have you ever put a large Petoskey stone in a form and covered in epoxy? Wondering how that would look. Great video Rob

[@MichiganRocks]

Nope, I have only used epoxy resin one time, and that was to make a top for a desk I made for my son. I made the whole desk, including the top out of cedar, which is way too soft to make a good writing surface.

[@cory546]

Looks great 😊

[@EmHeg]

Hi there! Really appreciate your videos - was just gifted a tumbler for Mother's Day and I'm preparing to start my first couple batches. Today, I found what I think is a bunch of Serpentine which seems to be about a 5 or 6 hardness.. I know it's softer than suggested for newbies but I was advised that as long as I tumbled just the Serpentine together and keep my expectations low, it might actually turn out nicely 😆 Would appreciate any tips for better success, thank you!

[@MichiganRocks]

Worst that could happen is that you waste a little time and learn something. I have learned a lot by just trying things.

[@CHBT2021]

Such a pretty rock afterwords. I don’t think I could do such a favor for a friend without pranking them first. If I were you I’d meet up with the owner and hand them a similar rock but palm sized and say “there ya go buddy… it took me two days but I shined it up nice for ya” haha.

[@MichiganRocks]

I have a brother in law who once replaced the turkey in his mother's oven on Thanksgiving day with a Cornish hen. He says she was really surprised when she opened the oven to check on it.

[@Algorhythmz]

Beautiful!

[@darkwood777]

Spending the whole day on your feet grinding away at that rock gives a man a chance to think.

[@MichiganRocks]

I was listening to podcasts about geology, so I was thinking about geology.

[@manisteerocks7092]

very nice job!

[@jeffreydemeter3819]

Helpful video! Was wondering about best way to polish large petoskey rocks. Have a question on polish. Do you have experience using Zam when finishing a petoskey stone?

[@MichiganRocks]

Yes. Zam works well on them. I don't have a large buffing wheel to use it with big rocks though. I usually use it with a little felt wheel on my Dremel.

[@othername1000]

I think this is going to be good.

[@salishseaquest7952]

Rob, did you weigh it post-polishing? Just wondering how much stone you removed..... Finished polished rock was amazing!

[@girlonaswing9439]

That was fantastic!!! I probably have the smallest Petosky stone.🫣

[@MichiganRocks]

Yep, I was going to mention that, then completely forgot to. It lost four pounds, about a third of its weight.

[@salishseaquest7952]

@@MichiganRocks WOW! That is amazing to remove that much and you were able to maintain the integrity of the stone and its beauty. Well done! But then you are the expert when it comes to the Petoskey Stone -- lots of practice over the years.

[@saw_dust__5131]

hi, you probably wouldnt remember me lol but i was in one of ur math classes in like 2020ish, glad to see your still doing youtube and that its going well, do you still teach math?

[@MichiganRocks]

I don't remember anyone by the name of Saw Dust 5131. I retired in 2020. They sent us home for Covid, and I never went back. I did start teaching at All Saints Catholic School last year. I just teach one math class with only three students in it. It's a pretty easy day!

[@saw_dust__5131]

@@MichiganRocks nice, im glad ur doing well!

[@JimFry]

Rob, it was great to stumble into you at Swede's today. What are the chances?

[@MichiganRocks]

Oh, now I recognize your avatar. I talk to so many people here that I've never met in person, it's hard to keep everyone straight. It was nice to see one in person for a change. Sam and I had a really good day out and found lots of rocks, mostly tiny agates and carnelians. I found one of the best agates of my life. It was mostly green, really green. You'll see it in a video one of these days.

[@danwertz6143]

Hey Rob I really enjoy your videos I live in central Michigan and was wanting to know where you think the public place is to find petoskey stones

[@MichiganRocks]

There are a lot of places to find Petoskey stones. Find a rocky beach south of Harbor Springs on Lake Michigan or south of Rogers City on Lake Huron or go inland between those spots and start looking. The key is to walk a long way away from where other people walk. The one in this video was found on the beach right in Petoskey.

[@danwertz6143]

@@MichiganRocks thank you for responding I really appreciate it

[@ruthchapman3847]

Very cool

[@amitamodzelewski3425]

My family is heading to the east side if the state for a week, I was wondering if you could recommend any beaches for rockhounding. We are going to stat camping near the Ausable River primitive camping, then going north along lake Huron. Any suggestions we love to add a couple of rocks from each trip to our rock garden.

[@MichiganRocks]

Sure. Harrisville State Park (smallish rocks) Sturgeon Point Lighthouse Negwegon State Park (walk north about .75 miles to get to the rocks) Partridge Point Park just south of Alpena Rockport (great spot for fossils on the beach, in the old quarry. Also sinkholes behind quarry) 40 Mile Point Lighthouse

[@maryseaman312]

Does the pattern go all the way from the bottom to the top? You have just finished the 400 grit, and it sure looks like you could go all the way through. Have you ever sliced one of these up into slabs?

[@MichiganRocks]

Yes, the pattern goes all the way through. It's fossilized coral, so the coral grew from the bottom to the top and it's all preserved. I have sliced many of these into slabs, but never one this big.

[@maryseaman312]

@@MichiganRocks It turned out really great. You made your friend very happy.

[@bluearchon2002]

Hey Rob! I just got into polishing large rocks and I'm about to buy that wet stone grinder on Amazon. How do I know what RPM setting to use for each stage? Thanks in advance if you happen to reply. Love your videos!!!!

[@MichiganRocks]

I'm not sure. I usually use it on the fastest speed, but some people commented on this video that I should go slower and the pads will last longer. But then it will take longer to polish. I'm self taught with this machine, so I don't want to steer you wrong by just making up answers. If you go to my Amazon storefront in the description, you'll find a quick connector for your hose. You need that to hook this up. It should come with it, but it doesn't.

[@bluearchon2002]

​@@MichiganRocks thank you for the advice Rob! It was most helpful. I finished my first practice rock last weekend and it went really well. Made some good mistakes that I learned from. I went up 6k grit and I'm looking to get a little more shine. What's your recommendation for aluminum oxide or any other techniques I can use?. You've inspired me to polish a rock that I've had since a kid and it's been a goal of mine ever since polish it so thank you!!!

[@MichiganRocks]

@@bluearchon2002 Buy good aluminum oxide from The Rock Shed or Kingsley North (links in the description). Another thing that works really well is Zam. It's a hard paste with grit in it. You need some sort of buffing wheel to use it. I use a felt wheel on a Dremel.

[@Philip-gn8wx]

Please forgive my ignorance but, what is a Petoskey stone?

[@MichiganRocks]

It's a fossilized coral. It's also the state stone of Michigan.

[@mattgohlke8216]

Are these diamond pads?

[@MichiganRocks]

Yes.

[@soul_adventurist]

Nice!❤

[@carlzatsick8405]

Good morning Rob, I don't know how to access your store front Can you help ? Thank you Carl Zatsick Farmington Michigan

[@MichiganRocks]

Sure, but first I have to give the obligatory statement: As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases. www.amazon.com/shop/michiganrocks

[@AlexVas999]

Its strange i have found a so called Petoskey stone here in Hungary on the coast of the Danube.

[@MichiganRocks]

It's probably a similar fossilized coral. There are coral fossils found in a lot of places all over the world.

[@AlexVas999]

@@MichiganRocks well, it looks exactly the same as your stones in the video. If you have an email address, i'll make a picture and send it to you.

[@MichiganRocks]

@@AlexVas999 I'd love to see it.

[@AlexVas999]

@@MichiganRocks i'll be sending the pic as soon as i got home from work buddy. Im curious about your opinion. 😉

[@AlexVas999]

@@MichiganRocks just sent you the email with the pictures.

[@jenniferbutcher8393]

🤩🤩🤩

[@12nvr4get]

You ever want to see a real huge petoskey stone hit me up. I'll calab and you can keep the biggest stone you find from my yard. I got 600lba worth already in a pile. More to go

[@MichiganRocks]

Thanks, but I have plenty of Petoskey stones. I polished one about half this size that is in my shop. I'm more into quality than quantity. Thanks again for the offer, though.

[@jimknarr]

Do you think it would have been shinier if you had used your cab machine for the final touches? Did Chris ever say which side of the state he found it (Petoskey side or Alpena side)?

[@ChrisRocks-ki8fr]

It was found in the Petoskey area. That is as far as I am willing to go. 😁

[@MichiganRocks]

Yes, I can get them shinier on my cab machine. This rock was just way too big to use the cab machine though.