I cannot imagine trying to use a hard steel disc or wheel for anything other than course grit sanding/shaping. ie 100 and 220 grit hard wheels on my old Crown. Not saying it can't be done. Just that I don't want to do it.  I have a 600 grit Crystalite wheel sitting on the shelf that I Removed from a Ring Leader a while back. If I ever get to it I will try to trade it off.

I have to make that yearly pilgrimage to the Yellowstone River. Might wander south a ways and lurk around Northern Wyoming. Can never have too many Montana Agates.

:)

The last red and black flame cab I made was backed with Basanite and had quite a bit of really small pitting. I can live with the pitting. It is still kicking around on my bench waiting to be mounted.......Springtime is a few months off up here yet. Dealing with a mild case of 'cabin fever' 

Great rock Vince! My favorite flame is the red and black. I think I still have a few slabs stashed somewhere around here. Pretty hard to come by. A person almost doesn't want to cut it up.

I have done it with and without a silver bezel. Both ways work. I still use Rio Grande grind able epoxy. A couple thoughts........Be careful to not cut the inset hole too deep. Slightly bevel the bottom of the hole away from the stone and cut a tight fit. The hole can be enlarged to fit easier.

Hi Neal........Locally we have volcanic deposits called Geyserite. It usually consists of Tuffa, Ash, Rhyolite and cooked Argillites. Throughout there is Agate, Jasper and Opal. Plant matter including silicated limbs and leafs is pretty common through out. I think the hot springs probably had something to do with the plant preservation.

Good questions. I have an old HP 6" trim saw that does the job but you can also start out with a tile saw equipped with a Lapidary blade. Draw the out line of your cab and use a straight edge to mark your trim saw lines. Get as close to your shape as you can leaving room so the blade kerf does not mess up your cab. Trim up corners and such freehanded. Then use your grinder to get down close to your cab shape. I have a Gemini 3 ring saw that is good for cutting shapes (hearts, crosses etc.). I started out with the standard diamond blade which worked really well but my tendency to be a bit heavy handed broke it in short order. I bought the Mega blade which is a little thicker, slower and doesn't maneuver  as well as the standard blade but I haven't broken it yet. (4 or 5 years) Good luck with your trimming! :)

Nice, personable website! Great presentation and reasonable prices. I have lucked on to a few pieces of Bloody Basin over the years. Don't really know how it manages the migration to Montana. Occasionally I get a nice plumey chunk which gets horded.

I had a similar experience with Rutilated Quartz last spring. I was using a 6 inch Crystalite RingLeader . Running 100 and 220 3M diamond belts the surface of the cabs were coming out with a frosted look from thousands of micro fractures on the surface. Shaft speed is a very positive 1725 RPM. Went to the 8" machine with a shaft speed around 1250 and had no problems with either Diamond or Silicon Carbide Belts. All of the belts are well broken in. Occurrences like this are not very common.

I have a big old DP vibrating lap. I got everything together to run it, polished 1 batch of faced rocks, 1 batch of slabs and traded it off.    I have had pretty fair luck using Bobby1's dry sanding/polishing method on big slabs. Its a little work but does a pretty nice job.

Talk to Tony Funk .  http://idahorockshop.com/   He will ship you a saw.

What a beauty!!! I would probably be debating with myself about polishing for display.

The last few slabs I got came from MaryAnn (Stones that Rock). I haven't seen her around for a while. Living in Montana you just don't see Flame Agate at the shows. There is always some for sale on Ebay but the nicer pieces are pretty spendy.

Looks like Mexican Flame to me too. One of my favorites. It seems to be getting harder and harder to come by. I have been hoarding bits and pieces for years. Occasionally I cab a piece for a treat. :)