How to polish a stone at home?

Rings with radiant gems and inlays, pendants, earrings, cufflinks and other jewelry with stones. Writing instruments, sculptures, columns and socles and walls of buildings. In all these examples, and not only in them, stones perfectly fulfill the role of artistic, sculptural and building frames, which serve as the main part for the artistic and applied composition. Stone lovers collect all the minerals, including ore rocks. For example: agates, jasper, silicon and transitional forms of these minerals. Today you will learn how to polish precious stones at home.

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Former beauty

We will restore the former beauty to the stone using the following materials:

1. Emery paper with different grain sizes.
2. Soft cloth or polishing wheels (for machining).
3. Special chemistry for stone.
4. Grinding wheels.
5. Sand.

All polishing is divided into stages, each stage will be described in order.

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Cracking or cutting

The cleaned and washed stones must be sorted.

Important! Experienced lovers who know their job, find in stone such planes of cuts through which you can see overflows of colors that resemble landscapes, and even portraits.

Before you begin work on the craft, you must:

• Crack a stone, remove all unnecessary.
• For splitting (preparation) of large samples, special devices should be made: a clamp with two teeth made of hardened metal or a vice in which two corners with victorious teeth are mounted.
• Stone is cut with special diamond wheels or diamond saws commercially available.

A machine for cutting, grinding can be assembled on the basis of an electric sharpener or an electric drilling device EZS-1.

Important! It has two shaft outputs, one equipped with cartridge 6, the other with an emery wheel or a special faceplate, with a diamond coating. The power of this device EZS-1 is 0.25 kW, the rotational speed is 2800 minutes.

Other electric motors can be operated for stone processing in the power range from 0.25 to 0.5 kW and rotation speed from 1500 to 3000 min. Installation of the device comes with the expectation that you will need to manipulate various disk sizes and tilt angles.

Things to consider when working:

• For the soundproofing of the machine, the bottom of the stand box and the support of the side table are upholstered with rubber or felt.
• A water tray is placed under the side table of the machine to regularly cool the cutting circle.

Important! In order to reduce friction, a soapy solution can be added to the water.

• A second water tray is installed under the faceplate.
• When cutting, the stone is fed along the guide bar, the position of which is regulated by the thickness of the plate of the workpiece that is going to be cut.
• Submission of stone - towards the rotation of the cutting circle, everything is simple here.
• Water for cooling the circle can also be served with a moistened piece of foam, which is held with the left hand at the side of the cutting wheel.

Important! With the right hand they feed the stone. It is better to hold large elements with both hands, and press the foam rubber together with the stone to the tool.

• For stability, an edge of an element of natural rock is preliminarily cut to obtain a supporting platform.

Important! Alternatively, you can also install the stone in a specially prepared cardboard box, pour it with cement and cut the stone together with the cement box after complete hardening. If you used this type of cutting, then at its end the cement is carefully removed.

• To cut a larger stone, it is incised, and three wedges of thin steel plates are driven into the cut grooves. The material is broken, carefully striking its wedges.

Important! In this way, it is convenient to cut elements whose size is slightly larger than the diameter of the cutting tool.

• If you have a cracked element of a valuable breed for you, then before cutting it, glue the defective places with epoxy glue. Cracks are circled on a wet surface with a pencil - so they are better seen.

Important! Before sizing, the stone must be dried so that no water remains in the cracks. This is done this way: it is heated over an electric stove, and after that it is cooled to about 60 ° C. Epoxy glue is applied to the hot material with a brush or a cotton swab, so it penetrates deeper and hardens faster. The stone becomes strong enough, and as a result, its cutting will turn out better.

At home, an ordinary grinder is also used, a stone disc. More precise processing of your item will require the use of a sawmill machine with a metal, preferably a moving platform.

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Grinding

When grinding, sandpaper (coarse grain) is used; in addition to paper, sand or pumice are used. This stage ends when you see an even horizon on the surface.

Important! Often you have to shoot 3-4 cm.

You can grind both manually and using, for example, an angle grinder (grinder).

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Polishing

Following grinding, it is time to polish and polish the stone. At home, in order to process the stone, they use special tools like polishes or waxes.

Most masters recommend using wax-based substances. The product is applied to the surface of the cobblestone and is rubbed with a cloth or polishing wheel until a shine appears.

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Surface treatment

Now it is necessary to cover the cobblestone with a protective and decorative agent. There are many products on the market with different properties: some - highlight the structure of the rock, some - give the material a “wet look".

The main thing when choosing is not to be fooled by prices, but to refer to your efforts not falling into the pipe, because a poor-quality tool can do this.

Important! Some substances in the composition can enter into a reaction and spoil the subject of your pride.

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Engraving

Engraving - possible when using the device for performing spot works, or when using a set of cutters for stone and hammer. In this case, upon completion of the engraving, it is necessary to polish the stone using an electric drill and nozzles for polishing.

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Stock footage

After gaining such knowledge, you are ready to polish the stone at home. Again, keep in mind the safety rules. If you are not confident in your abilities and you have never had experience, it is better to use the services of professionals in this matter. This process is quite time-consuming and complicated, so you need to prepare properly, and then start.