Post by sparkles on Nov 22, 2008 16:19:29 GMT -5
Hey there Rock Buddies!
I have been hoarding a couple of nice Brazilian Agates for quite some time now, waiting for the “right moment” to do something with them. I noticed that this particular example had an interesting patterning showing and so I wanted to be sure that I had the right equipment to do it justice rather than just smashing it for my tumbler. The time arrived last weekend....
As you can see the stone was most interesting with an Onyx variety banding showing at one end, it must have come from a weathered deposit somehow as there is little evidence of the original external chalcedony layer and there was no sign of the parent matrix, so I can only assume that this stone has lost some of it’s outer material, however it was complete and so I was looking forward to some nice stripped patterns when I eventually opened it up. So it was on to the tile-saw to see what I had.
I cut 2 slabs and left two thick heels, and the patterning caught me somewhat by surprise. I was so excited when I saw the inside structure, I’ve never cut such an exciting stone before, I was super chuffed with the results. I have sent a slab to a close friend and decided to polish the heels for my collection.
As you can see the two halves were quite different when exposed. The smaller half showed excellent Onyx banding and a lovely quartz filled pocket in the middle of the banded bubble at the top, it was such a pleasure to work with, I really had some fun. I’ve managed to launch a couple of stones from my polishing lap, so I now mount these chunks on oversized dops to make the shaping process easier. I ground the faces on the steel laps, and then smoothed and sanded them on the soft diamond laps to create the shiny surface.
The larger heel contained the highlight for me though, I couldn’t believe the Quartz filled Geode pocket that opened up, with several perfect 6 sided points showing, and that brilliant 2 phase growth formation in the Agate body - this rock is on proud display now - I can’t imagine I will ever tire of seeing it. ;D
It was a privelage to cut this particular specimen, and the amazing patterns that I found show so many of the Agate formation processes, it’s a wonderful textbook stone. I’ve learned a lot from it, and hope you enjoyed seeing it too.
Cheers,
Sparkles.
p.s. Sorry for the “dusty” pics!
I have been hoarding a couple of nice Brazilian Agates for quite some time now, waiting for the “right moment” to do something with them. I noticed that this particular example had an interesting patterning showing and so I wanted to be sure that I had the right equipment to do it justice rather than just smashing it for my tumbler. The time arrived last weekend....
As you can see the stone was most interesting with an Onyx variety banding showing at one end, it must have come from a weathered deposit somehow as there is little evidence of the original external chalcedony layer and there was no sign of the parent matrix, so I can only assume that this stone has lost some of it’s outer material, however it was complete and so I was looking forward to some nice stripped patterns when I eventually opened it up. So it was on to the tile-saw to see what I had.
I cut 2 slabs and left two thick heels, and the patterning caught me somewhat by surprise. I was so excited when I saw the inside structure, I’ve never cut such an exciting stone before, I was super chuffed with the results. I have sent a slab to a close friend and decided to polish the heels for my collection.
As you can see the two halves were quite different when exposed. The smaller half showed excellent Onyx banding and a lovely quartz filled pocket in the middle of the banded bubble at the top, it was such a pleasure to work with, I really had some fun. I’ve managed to launch a couple of stones from my polishing lap, so I now mount these chunks on oversized dops to make the shaping process easier. I ground the faces on the steel laps, and then smoothed and sanded them on the soft diamond laps to create the shiny surface.
The larger heel contained the highlight for me though, I couldn’t believe the Quartz filled Geode pocket that opened up, with several perfect 6 sided points showing, and that brilliant 2 phase growth formation in the Agate body - this rock is on proud display now - I can’t imagine I will ever tire of seeing it. ;D
It was a privelage to cut this particular specimen, and the amazing patterns that I found show so many of the Agate formation processes, it’s a wonderful textbook stone. I’ve learned a lot from it, and hope you enjoyed seeing it too.
Cheers,
Sparkles.
p.s. Sorry for the “dusty” pics!