tumbling fire agate

[mamabear]

I have had this piece of fire agate for many years, & am wondering if tumbling would damage it?

 

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[coinshooter]

Tumbling should not damage fire agate (it's very hard material at 7 on a scale of 10), however the main
point is to bring out the fire which accomplished by using a diamond grinding polisher/shaper.
You should proceed very cautiously with lots of water, shaving off a little at a time until the fire starts to appear.
Don't go too deep or you will lose the fire. Once you get close it's time to polish.

 

[fossil_femme]

I have had this piece of fire agate for many years, & am wondering if tumbling would damage it?

hi mamabear...

tumbling could definitely damage it. "coinshooter" sounds like he knows what he's talking about.

i found a nice piece of botryoidal fire agate and was told by a lapidary friend that it should only be worked on by a professional.
i decided to just leave it as is, rather than risk damaging it. like you, i've had mine for years now.

would like to see a pic of yours, if you feel like posting it.

 

[mamabear]

thanx for the replies. modem died & havn't been online for awhile. sorry it took so long for response frome me. I think I will just try hand polishing. cuz the fire is showing already.

 

[Arid-Zone-A-seeker]

Hey, Foss,,, If you can see the fire like most way across the stone don't tumble it. The fire is in thin layers. If you can see just a tiny edge then you might try it. The Tip: Go out in the full sun and take a bowl of water and we the stone, and check it. keep it wet and keep turning it. That will give you a good idea of what is happing with the rock. Fireagate is boytrodal so you have to follow every dip and bump when working it. If you just tumble it you could take the fire off the bumps. I do tumble most of mine before i work it. then do the sun thing. If we ever thaw out i will send a photo of some rough safe for tumbling.
You guys can go to wwwfireagatehead.com to see some great fire, and to get some grinding kits. He is a great kid in Safford AZ.