Opinions....

[Steve1236]

I'm going out to my fire agate spot tomorrow or the next day and there's a section of fire agate chalcedony on the mountainside that doesn't have fire but I think it's pretty cool looking, what's your guys and gals opinions, should I spend a lot of time digging for pieces like this to cut and cab or move on?

 

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[smokeythecat]

I'd call it a fancy lace agate and keep it for sure.

 

[Steve1236]

Fancy lace agate it is, thanks smokeythecat, so should I find more of it?

 

[Steve1236]

Another one from the same area...

 

[antmike915]

I say go for it, cool looking stuff.

 

[DDancer]

Its pretty attractive stuff so Yes I'd dig it.

 

[Steve1236]

I had to work Monday so I never got out there, but its ok, it's still reaching 100 degrees out there but next week should cool off a little, here's a couple cuts from the last one I showed and another I cut into..

 

[ArfieBoy]

Very cool finds! It is beautiful! If it were me, I would keep looking for more! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Steve1236]

Thanks ArfieBoy, this stuff is kind of cool looking, here's a few more shots...

 

[T.C.]

Thanks ArfieBoy, this stuff is kind of cool looking, here's a few more shots...View attachment 1871521View attachment 1871522View attachment 1871525

Beautiful stuff!!

 

[Steve1236]

I had an idea and I need some opinions on it, I was thinking of buying some cheap 50cent 12inch tiles, some gorilla tape to cover the stones and use some strong loctite to stick it to the tile then just go 1/4 inch by 1/4 through the whole stone, the tape will maybe keep the stone from shattering if it had a big hidden crack and I can keep the back of the tile against the rim of the sliding table to keep it straight every time and hopefully more parallel, any thoughts?

 

[DDancer]

The tape wont keep it from breaking up under the saw unfortunately and the tape will also gum up the blade. You can epoxy the stone to the tile and use the tile as a strait edge for more uniform cuts. Epoxying the stone to the tile may also help stabilize the material and help prevent break ups. I've never tried so these are just my thoughts. Removing the tile and epoxy later may be delicate work depending on how stable the material is.

 

[Steve1236]

Awesome, thanks for the tips DDancer, Im super glad I asked before doing it and gumming up my blade, I kind of want to try that really strong outdoor/indoor all purpose loctite in a tube, it's only 8$ a tube and it's unbelievably strong stuff and I could do a lot of stones from just one tube, epoxy is more expensive and I wouldn't be able to do as many stones, I know the loctite will leave ugly stuff to the bottom of the slabs but I could grind it off in seconds with my dremel attachment ya know, I'm not really trying to save the whole stone slab, if the material is wow type of agate I'll just preform the broken pieces, I was just trying to avoid big chunks from flying and making me mess up the cut. Thanks again DDancer, I didn't even think about the gumming up of the blade.

 

[Steve1236]

Here's one I really want to cut, I found a small section with this blue purple and white chalcedony/agate with wild colorful inclusions, I've never seen it before so I thought I'd share, oh and if anyone knows the name of this type agate please let me know.

 

[Steve1236]

I've been to busy lately to get cutting but I was able to do few this afternoon and I thought I'd share, I'm not sure what to call these agates, if you got any names I'd be super appreciative, thanks...

 

[islamoradamark]

Those look nice id hang out in that area a while never know might show up

 

[Kray Gelder]

Really pretty material! I'd pack out as much as I could carry.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Beautiful material.

 

[Clay Diggins]

I had an idea and I need some opinions on it, I was thinking of buying some cheap 50cent 12inch tiles, some gorilla tape to cover the stones and use some strong loctite to stick it to the tile then just go 1/4 inch by 1/4 through the whole stone, the tape will maybe keep the stone from shattering if it had a big hidden crack and I can keep the back of the tile against the rim of the sliding table to keep it straight every time and hopefully more parallel, any thoughts?

Dop wax. Cheap, effective, reusable and the right material for the job.

 

[Steve1236]

Awesome, thanks Clay!