Holiday Gift Ideas
Agate Gifts
Why not give a gift this year that will help your loved ones learn to appreciate Lake Superior Agates? Lake Superior Agates are the pride and joy of the Lake Superior region and can be found in Minnesota, Western Wisconsin, the Michigan UP, and even as far south as Iowa.
Agates of Lake Superior Playing Cards
This gift makes the perfect stocking stuffer! Each card has a different photo of an agate on it.
Rockhound Puzzle
Assembling a puzzle is a great family activity for the holidays. While this puzzle isn't about Lake Superior Agates, it has several types of beautiful rocks to enyoy.
Agates of Lake Superior
This hard cover book, Agates of Lake Superior: Stunning Varieties and How They Are Formed, will make a great book for the coffee table.
Rock Tumbling
Rock tumbling is a fun hobby for adults and children. It is not only educational but children love to see the results at each stage. Rock tumbling can also teach patience, as you typically allow about a week for each stage. If you do not have enough rocks to get started, pick out a Stone Mix
Rock Tumbler
Consider starting with a rock tumbler with two barrels, such as this one sold on Amazon.com.
Lortone 33b Double Barrel Tumbler.
Having two barrels allows you to have your stones at two different stages. For, example you can use one barrel for new rocks to see if they are worth ongoing polishing, and the second barrel to run the rocks through the four stages of polishing.
Tumbling Grit
Your rocks are tumbled with four stages of rock polishing grit, starting with a course grit and ending with a polish. You can buy a set of grits as a package.
Tru-Square Rock Tumbling Grit, No 304.
After these four phases, run your rocks through a fifth stage with Ivory Soap and water.
Plastic Beads
When you use your rock tumbler, make sure to add plastic beads such as these:
Thumler's Tumbler 320 Plastic Tumbling Beads 1/2 lb(8 oz)
These plastic beads protect your rocks from cracking in the tumbler. The beads can be reused. Be sure to rinse them thoroughly between polishing stages. It is very important that not one grain of grit be carried forward to the next stage because it will scratch your rocks.
