Thank you for taking this on. I learn a lot from this site and would hate if it disappeared.

Simply lovely! The glow it has is incredible.

Love the "glow" these have.

What are bump wheels? Sorry, I really don't know.

That is some stunning material! 

That's it!  Whew! Thank you so much. I was losing my mind trying to remember what it was called.

Middle Age is starting to tell on me. I can't find a particular stone I am looking for and on top of that can't recall its name, so I can't even look it up. Can someone remind me of the name for the yellow and brown stone some people incorrectly referred to as Chinese writing stone or yellow line jasper? It is like lots of bright mustard yellow lines or crinoid looking curves, sort of like writing, covering a dark brown or maroonish matrix. It's very busy looking and undercuts like crazy. I think the name started with a "C," and now for the life of me, I can't recall the name. It's driving me mad. Please help!

Wow, what a beautiful lot of cabs. Simply spectacular! It's going to be hard to choose just one favorite. I LOVED many of them. Once again, I was out of state quite a bit and sick quite a bit so I have no entry, but I definitely plan to get back in the groove and submit for April.

Beautiful!

Came out great!

Thanks Bobby! That sounds like it would work.

I have been trying my hand at some Australian and other opal and can't for the life of me figure out how to get a decent picture of the finished stones. I admit I am using an iphone so maybe that is the issue? I've tried on a white, navy blue, and even on a black background surrounded by white paper, etc. etc. The best images were when held in my fingers, oddly enough. Much of the color doesn't show at all. It's like there is nothing there. The reds turn pink and somehow become less prominent than the greens when the opposite is true in the actual stone.  The greens sometimes turn into yellows. The blues and purples disappear or turn color also. And the background always looks a light grey whether it is actually a grey or an absolute ghost white. What gives? How can I get the pictures to pop more? Many thanks for any advice you can give.

I'm not sure if it was the same thing, but I saw a stone with similar pattern,but somewhat different color, referred to as "fireworks jasper."

Jool tool may be good for facing Ethiopian opal and some other softer stones, but my understanding is that it is nowhere near as good as a regular lapidary machine for grinding stones. Ebay often has used cabbing machines or flat lapidary machines for cheap. I've seen them as low as $200 or so including wheels with some life left on them. (They are listed under collectibles - rock and mineral - lapidary tools and click "used" and "lowest price" so cheapo items come up first. If you buy the expensive diamond wheels kit for Jool tool, just the wheels cost more than that, I believe.)

Sweet stuff!