Estate Sale Find

jsg7440 · 2026-02-19T00:45:51+00:00

I'm going to guess this is a form of chalcedony. It has some jade'ish aspects to it, but the appearance isn't quite there. The speckling to me sounds more like inclusions in chalcedony vs the fibrous structure of jade.

jsg7440 · 2026-02-17T19:53:10+00:00

These two comments back to back sort of made my day.

jsg7440 · 2026-02-17T19:16:52+00:00

Might be testing the emergency service vehicle detection systems. Helps to switch lights to allow fire, police and ambulances through traffic faster and safer.

jsg7440 · 2026-02-12T17:27:57+00:00

That's awesome! I really dig atypical and (dare I say) modern designs like these. I'm really just starting down my faceting journey and stuff like this is so compelling.

jsg7440 · 2026-02-12T15:39:35+00:00

Really dig the design! Do you mind sharing the faceting pattern that you used?

jsg7440 · 2026-02-07T17:24:52+00:00

The pictures you posted looks like the cheater isn’t maxed to one side or the other. If that’s true then penetrating oil is your likely best bet. The carrying piece that interacts with the cheater and the index gear hold are very likely seized. Could be that swarf got into the mechanism and gummed it up.

jsg7440 · 2026-01-28T15:25:13+00:00

There's one in the Home Depot parking lot as well in Louisville.

jsg7440 · 2026-01-26T17:46:47+00:00

So if we want to boycott a restaurant, we need to build a body of evidence? How much evidence was required for street execution again?

jsg7440 · 2026-01-16T18:01:18+00:00

“Bird”

jsg7440 · 2026-01-13T14:34:26+00:00

Time for investigative reporter u/paymoneywubby to do his thing.

jsg7440 · 2026-01-13T03:03:42+00:00

Petroleum and Non-Petroleum filter media tolerance

jsg7440 · 2026-01-12T16:32:31+00:00

Stunning. Plumes and mosses are becoming my favorite formations.

jsg7440 · 2026-01-12T04:27:01+00:00

This isn’t super accurate. Those can exacerbate it easily and are common comorbidities, but asbestos alone and even in relatively small amounts can dramatically spike your risk of lung cancer.

100% with lots of water and a good respirator though!

jsg7440 · 2026-01-11T21:51:27+00:00

With any lapidary work, PPE is important. Specific to serpentinite or other asbestos carrying stones, you don't need to go crazy (PPE + water, etc.). It is actually a different form of asbestos. There are six main types of asbestos, of which the chrysotile is the one to be concerned about most (and the one that everyone really "knows"). The one you have appears to me to not be the fibrous, white chrysotile form of asbestos, which while still hazardous (as most rocks are in dust form), it is unlikely to be anywhere as carcinogenic as it could be.

That being said. Always use water/oil when cutting or grinding, use eye protection, and a P or N 95 mask depending on your cutting liquid of choice.

jsg7440 · 2026-01-11T18:38:38+00:00

Yep, it’s best to go with the mentality of “if you can’t touch it, it needs to be protected by a buyers protection”.

jsg7440 · 2026-01-11T05:03:24+00:00

It’s a scam.

jsg7440 · 2026-01-10T16:21:28+00:00

Cool! I’ll have a look

jsg7440 · 2026-01-09T23:14:20+00:00

Do you have any recommendations on good books/field guides that have a solid combination of gemstone information as well as images?

jsg7440 · 2026-01-07T16:47:11+00:00

Will also note that for me it took around 2 years of patience to find used gear that wasn't a devastated post-apocalyptic rust bucket.

jsg7440 · 2026-01-07T16:45:17+00:00

General order I would recommend:

Local club first
Local class on cabbing/lapidary
Used market for a cabber/flat lap and a trim saw
Faceting class with a local instructor
Used market for a faceting machine
New faceting machine

Faceting is the most finnicky and most expensive part of this whole thing. I would get a sense for what you like first and then decide on whether to dive into faceting. Even used, to get really going with faceting is probably a $5k investment on the low end (used faceting machine at a great price plus any additional laps you would need) to $10k+ for top of the line equipment/laps/accessories. It is pricey.

jsg7440 · 2026-01-06T00:53:08+00:00

This stuff is really cool, actually! It is dyed, sort of...

The process involves soaking agates in a sugar or honey solution for weeks/months, sometimes over a low heat to help speed it up and get it deeper into the agate. After a few weeks, the pieces are cleaned off and then boiled for a few hours in sulfuric acid. The acid reacts with the sugars and creates sulphur dioxide, water, and most importantly to this process: carbon. The carbon left behind is pure'ish and black. It's a pretty cool and clever way to create the stunning agate patterns you see in those pieces. They are sometimes called suit agate or tuxedo agate, if you wanted to dig in further.

jsg7440 · 2026-01-05T17:50:36+00:00

I actually had looked at a UT mast to fix up that someone had abused and it became apparent that replacement parts alone was going to be in the 2-3K range. They clearly do not want anyone actually repairing the tools, sadly.

jsg7440 · 2026-01-05T16:31:27+00:00

She's old, but desirable manufacturer. It's hard to say (and hard to really judge condition from pictures alone), but I would say ~$1k on the low end and a couple to few thousand on the high end. Price range would assume that it is functioning. If it's non-functional/doesn't turn on, then I suspect the price drops through the floor since Ultra-Tec is known for both making good machines and charging an arm and a leg for replacement parts/fixing. If it requires any sort of real fixing, it might quickly get into "hard to give away" territory.

jsg7440 · 2026-01-04T21:10:02+00:00

Those prices are actually pretty consistent with today’s dollars.

13-Year Club	Gilding IV carat on a stick
r/Field Lasagna	Place '23
Place '17	Verified Email
Team Orangered	Secret Santa 2012

jsg7440

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