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Expiration Date on Stones?
Issue: Issue 297.5
Posted Date: 4/1/2012
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I've made a table featured in a previous issue of Woodworker's Journal, and it looks great. All that's left for me to do is finish and polish. I've been told that I should use rotten stone to polish. So I went out and bought some stone and left it sitting out on my counter. It's been several months, but they still smell pretty fresh. How long do I have to wait for these things to rot? I just want to finish this table!
-Terry Joiner, Baldwin, Massachusetts
Tom Onman: You really didn't give us much to go on here. What kind of rocks do you have? Different rocks rot at different rates and create a different look when you apply them. I like to use granite. It starts to decompose after just a few weeks in the sun, and it doesn't smell too bad when you're applying it. If you're willing to wait a while longer, the best polish comes from from pumice, but that stuff can take years to properly decay. I have a bottle of 1922 pumice in my basement for special jobs.
Jodi Gives: While store bought stone rots just fine, why not take this opportunity and “go green?” I get all my rotten stone from my garden. Usually I can find some stone that's already got a bit of rot on it, and it works just as well as the store bought stuff for free!