Post by peachfront on Sept 13, 2010 15:49:02 GMT -5
Quick Update Folks: For now I'm closing this offer and putting the boxes that remain for sale on eBay since they're having their 10 cent auctions this week. No worries, I plan to offer more swaps soon. Thanks for looking, and thanks to everyone who swapped with me!
OK, here's another round of swaps I'd like to offer. As I said in my first post, I have a major problem with lack of space. Therefore, I don't want to trade weight for weight. I want to ship out a big box and get a little box back. I realize I'll be paying more for
postage than the other guy, and I don't care. It's worth it to me to make some space and maybe get some nice SMALLER items. Today I have four boxes I can offer. When you PM me about a swap, BE SURE to tell me which box you are interested in. Let me know
what you have to swap -- right now, I'm particularly looking for a polished cab or slab of Crazy Lace Agate with orange, pink, and/or red on it. Or really any kind of colorful
fancy Agate cab, maybe with a crystal vug on it? However, I'm open to other ideas. Each item will be shipped in a medium flat rate Priority Mail box with shipping/tracking information, at my cost of $11.40, and I will ship in the United States only.
Box # 1: Another containing 20 pounds Chevron Amethyst cutting rough
I already swapped the first two boxes of Chevron Amethyst that I posted, but hubby reminded me about that
rock table that had been eaten by the Trumpet Honeysuckle and, sure enough, there was at least 20 more pounds of this material lurking under the vines. I don't want to over-sell the material, it has a pretty color, but it's rather common and pretty inexpensive, so I don't want you to expect too much
just because of the word "amethyst." I THINK I was told that most of it came from India, but honestly I don't know. For those of you who don't know, Chevron Amethyst is not gem grade or (usually)
translucent. It is a light purple with white triangular stripes on it -- a chevron was a triangular shield,
I think. I think it used to wholesale around $2 a pound, and maybe it still does, please do your research to check current prices.
Here are some close-ups of some of the items in the box, shown wet to give you
an idea of how they polish up:
Box # 2-- 20 pounds of Nickel Silica cutting rough
I don't know much about this material, and I have not myself had the opportunity to cut it. Can't seem to find anything on google. Back in the day, the guy told me it would sell for $15 for a pound, but I have no idea, as I haven't found anyone else selling it. Do
your own research, and if you find out anything, I'd love to know about it. It's a red/maroon with sort of
silvery cast or streaks to it. The yellow in that photo is not going to be part of the pattern, it looks to be some kind of iron surface stain that is on a few of the stones, but I would
expect it to sand right off. Do not expect any yellow on your finished project! I will let the wet photos tell the tale:
Since supposedly it's worth more than the Chevron Amethyst, I would kind of like to
get a nicer offer for it, but I'm not real stressed about it. Tell me what
you have...or even if you're not interested in it, if you know something about it, tell
me where I can learn more.
Box #3 -- 10 pound single piece of carving Green Soapstone
This is an inexpensive carving stone, probably runs around $2 a pound in the rock
shops, although I haven't checked current prices. Any carvers out there?
Box # 4: 10 pounds of "Z" Grade Miller Mountain, Arkansas Quartz Crystal clusters -- this
is the box I offered before but it has gone unclaimed so far
I called it "gem tree" grade, because I used to use these guys as a base for making gem trees. Well, I no longer make gem trees, so I won't be using these. Also, some of them
are really too small for gem trees, unless you make really tiny ones. The quartz clusters
are dirty, have chipped or broken tips, or are otherwise just not that great for display
pieces. They definitely need to be cleaned. They might need to be trimmed, polished, or what have you. Some specimens might be OK as cheap school specimens. We dug these items
in 1993, and the best stuff was high-graded long ago, so don't expect too much. But if you can find a use for these crystals, I would be happy to pass them on. I don't expect
anything real fancy in exchange, let me know what you'd like to swap.
I'll try to put a close-up of some of the crystals so you'll get a better idea: