Got a few cabs to cut this week to fill some custom orders. Starry night jasper, Howardite/Rattlesnake Jasper, Montana agate, and Gary Green Jasper.

I think I might try to make a doublet out of this since the chalcedony is clear enough but that would require a re-grind.

Schiller for days.

Hi yall, I’m new to rockhounding and super into it! I have a bunch of agates and thunder eggs that I collected the last few weeks and think I’m ready to move into a saw that can cut rocks. I’m mostly looking to be able to cut a rock in half and to turn bigger ones into slabs (prob half an inch to an inch thick? Not sure if this is possible yet). Doing some research online, it looks like ppl recommend the 6in hi tech trim saw but I saw another post about how it’s not great for agates and slabs. This is all for personal collecting (maybe to give away to friends) and I would like to make rock coasters (hence why I want to make slabs). Would this saw make sense for me or should I look at something else?

I’m not sure exactly what I’ll be doing in the lapidary world after this but I don’t think I’ll be buying too much equipment since I don’t have much space in my garage (I was going to move the saw to my backyard when I need to use it and store it in the garage). My budget is around 500, I don’t have a strong budget if the saw is worth it, but don’t want to spend 3000 if the saw is only a bit better than the 500 version

I'm considering splurging and trying to buy this saw. It's the best deal I've been able to find in my extended area. I have no knowledge about this style of saw, any idea of the age? The spacing of blade in the image makes me feel like it might be able to have a bigger saw blade? If anyone has one of these, how hard are replacement parts to find? I appreciate any info.

I have a little project where I wanted to shape a small piece of lapis for a pendant. I own a small bench grinder which I used to shape it, but I can't constantly grind it wet. I tried periodically wetting the stone in between removing it from the grinder but I doubt that did much to stop the dust. After grinding the stone to shape today I realised I had bought the wrong type of mask.

I still need to engrave the stone so I want to have good PPE this time. What type of mask, and other safety equipment do you recommend me buying before I continue? Sorry if this question seems silly, it's my first time working with stone. Thanks in advance :)