...makes for a heap of stones.
Yesterday I washed and sun dried the stones. And then I began to sort and grade the stones. 
Lake Superior Agate:
My 'Minnesota Mix'. Small stones of agate and jasper (etc.) to be used to tumbling rough. 
Colorful Quartz:
Jasper and Dark Agate:
Still a lot more to do. When I finish this up, I have more buckets to clean and sort. 
I pull the bigger chunks of Lake Superior Agate out. It doesn't tumble polish well. I use it for gifts and trading.
I sort by type of stone as I showed above. Then I will resort by grade. The 'gem grade' go into my personal buckets that I will not sell or trade but I have gifted much of it in years past.
I also sort some by size. I use wire mesh to size grade. I lay the mesh on top of a bucket and I pour the stones onto the meshes.
I use a 1/4th inch mesh to pull all the tiny stones out. I save those in a jar. Someday when I have enough of the tiny Lake Superior Agates to make a load, I will tumble polish them and use them in art.
And so, I have been taking the time to put my collection into order. It's quite a job. I'll probably work at it for a week.
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Band-Reflection
3 months ago
2 comments:
That's so cool! I love rocks! Reminds me of when I was young... I would wander around the gravel roads looking for cool rocks! Then bring them home and wash them with soap and an old toothbrush to make them "shiny!"
Hey, you can still do it! I got back into hunting rocks when my youngest child was 2. I loaded her and her baby gear up in the 'strolly' and off we went. She still likes rocks. I started trading and got a collection started for her. She has pieces from all over the world!
It's a nice way to get outside and get some energy burned off. Kids like it too.
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