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Stone Thirty is another Birdlings Flat quartzite.
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One side of Stone Thirty.
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Stone Thirty is just larger than a $2 coin.
I have found a number of these, with their typical white/light grey/dark grey/black layers and cloudy silica veins.
Stone Thirty in detail.
Stone Thirty in detail.
Stone Thirty in detail.
Stone Thirty in detail.
Stone Thirty in detail.
They have become a favourite, and I always look out for them when I visit Birdlings Flat.
Stone Thirty up close.
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Stone Thirty up close.
Stone Thirty up close.
The next Post in this Series is Stay-at-Home Day Thirty-One, Saturday 25 April 2020: Stone Thirty-One. The first Post is Stay-at-Home Day One, Thursday 26 March 2020: Stone One.
I was very excited when I saw your blog. I was in New Zealand in December and brought back 30 lbs of rocks from Birdlings FlatI alone! I have been tumbling the rocks for the last r weeks and am having trouble getting a good shine on the stones- they have been in the polish stage for two days with only a slight change in shine. I had them in a rotary for 4 weeks and in a vibe for a week. They are in the vibe now, I am going to give them more time.
How do you get such a good shine?
Hi Kay. Thank for your message. Where do you live? 30 lbs of rocks is a lot to transport somewhere! But I understand the desire to do so. Regarding polishing, I follow a standard tumble polishing set of stages. For smooth beach stones, I start with one week in 320 grit, then 5 to 7 days in a pre-polish tumble (5 micron tin oxide) then 7-9 days in pro-polish (1 micron tin oxide). I also do a soap tumble for a few hours in between stages, and about a day in borax as a final burnish. Does this make sense to you? With best wishes, John