Good morning,

after reading the very useful reply about grinding options, I'm asking
for help deciding how to tackle the rocks I've been picking up around
my yard and neighbourhood, here in the north of St. Lucia, West
Indies.

They are, I believe, mostly red-yellow jasper, chalcedony or milky
quartz. They easily scratch glass. I have some pics here (
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2278716...7619773039586/ ) if
that helps, the jaspers shown aren't the best ones I have, but my main
collection got 'stored' by the yard guy who used them to prop up some
concrete slabs. I figure they're safe there for now. I know they're
not 'valuable' in terms of rarity, but they're worth making into
jewellery because they use local materials, which in these islands is
not something you find often! Most as small pieces 1/2-4", some are
big rocks.

My budget is very limited, and not much is readily available here so I
have to import from the US mostly. I want to be able to cut smallish
pieces and polish them - I'd prefer not to get the overall rounding
that rotary tumblers give (I haven't used one, that's what I read). I
think I'd like to cut pieces, grind off edges and surface bumps and
polish surfaces - so I don't mind a bit of topography being left in my
pieces, I'd like to bring out the beauty of the rocks but I don't need
smooth oval cabs.

I have a dremel, I've ordered some diamond coated cutting wheels which
I hope will cut small pieces but that's all I have right now. I can
get the hardware store tile cutters, I can get diamond wheels for them
locally, I can also get the grinders you talked about in the last
post. No polishers available locally.

Any guidance as to tools, attachments, etc that I could at least start
with while I save up for better equipment? And what would you
recommend for better equipment for me to aspire to owning? Also,
recommendations on good starting books - we don't have gems here and I
don't expect really to use gems other than maybe ones I buy ready for
use. So I'm really looking for guidance on getting my rocks into shape

many thanks

Finola