[Jewelry making - Article 00008] - Re: [Orchid] Polishing Amber

[Martin Designs]

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>     I would like to know some effective ways of getting a polish on
>     Amber. I have pieces finished down to 1200 grit diamond.

    If you have it worked to 1200 diamond you're very close to a polish,
    especially if you're using Nova wheels.  Just take it on gently
    through the 14,000 stage with plenty of water coolant and voila --
    polish.  I've polished a lot of Dominican amber that way.  But be
    sure you're working real amber; kauri gum is a different animal.  Not
    long ago I took on a repair job in cheapo imported Sterling with
    kauri as a Big Favor for a friend.  A rubber wheel slipped while I
    was polishing the bezel and it instantly cut a groove in the "amber."
     It turned into a horrible job.  I finally resorted to using a very
    fine diamond hand file for shaping and prepolish because rotary tools
    melted the stuff, then Simichrome on a cloth for a hand-buffed
    polish. 

    I've never tried tumbling amber.  If I did I think I'd experiment
    with some of the dry compounds like Vibra Dry (vibrating tumbler
    only).  One recipe for soft materials (2-4 Mohs) calls for a sequence
    of 600-1700-8000-25,000. Amber has such a low specific gravity the
    rough shaping operation may be a challenge. If the pieces are quite
    angular you may even want to start with 400 grit. 

Rick Martin


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