Post by Trylobyte on Dec 18, 2003 1:02:58 GMT -5
I just pulled another load of beach agates outa the grinder, and I gotta say...they're pretty cool. Mostly 1/4" - 1/2" with a few larger ones that I scavenged out of the bottom of the bins.
I highly recommend these stones for beginners:
Some say you can skip the first (40/70 or 60/90 grit) phase, but I always give 'em a week just to clean them up and make a good base for the following stages.
Throw a couple of larger (1" - 1 1/2") chunks in just for fun.
I bought about 25 lbs from a place called Facets down on the Oregon Coast, and I highly recommend their stock. Ask for the small stuff. I also just placed an order with Kingsley North for some "Lake Superior Select", and I asked them for the smallish ones. They were glad to oblige, and I'm interested in seeing the product. Later in the day Facets called me and said they had "13 1/2 lbs of small agates" and they remembered that I liked the small stuff, so I stocked up on that too. I get the impression that these small agates are much less popular than the biggies, and largely ignored. Both Facets and Kingsley North seemed relieved that someone was actually going to take this stock off their hands. So I'll be rockin' and rollin' for, well, at least a month. ;D
Agates for all my friends!
I highly recommend these stones for beginners:
- They're beautiful all shined up, and have nice depth and clarity, color and inclusions.
- They're tough as woodpecker lips, so they're pretty forgiving of poor rinsing and pre-polish washing.
- They respond very well to the standard 4-phase session with standard grits.
- They start out nicely rounded from the beach action, so they don't need to be flogged into submission with multiple weeks of rough grind.
- They're fairly cheap (about $3-4 dollars a pound, maybe a little more for some really good stock).
- They make nice candle holders.
Some say you can skip the first (40/70 or 60/90 grit) phase, but I always give 'em a week just to clean them up and make a good base for the following stages.
Throw a couple of larger (1" - 1 1/2") chunks in just for fun.
I bought about 25 lbs from a place called Facets down on the Oregon Coast, and I highly recommend their stock. Ask for the small stuff. I also just placed an order with Kingsley North for some "Lake Superior Select", and I asked them for the smallish ones. They were glad to oblige, and I'm interested in seeing the product. Later in the day Facets called me and said they had "13 1/2 lbs of small agates" and they remembered that I liked the small stuff, so I stocked up on that too. I get the impression that these small agates are much less popular than the biggies, and largely ignored. Both Facets and Kingsley North seemed relieved that someone was actually going to take this stock off their hands. So I'll be rockin' and rollin' for, well, at least a month. ;D
Agates for all my friends!