Bob Ritchie of ME is our Shop Friend Winner of the Month (July 2008)with his fantasy jasper sphere.  Congratulations Bob on a fantastic sphere!  Bob wrote several notes concerning his new sphere project using fantasy jasper from Mexico. "Attached is the image of the fantasy jasper (from rough) I got from you last year. Now this was a challenge.  It was laced with fractures that threatened the piece, but I saw that at the outset, so it will be no problem."  "The stabilization worked perfectly and once it was round, there were no problems with the tender spots.  In fact, I can't even find most of them.  That is nice proof that stabilizing fragile rock early on in the working, results in the plastic repair being ground away leaving nice smooth rock." Bob wanted to advise others about diamond cutting tools for spheres: "The relatively new ones from Rare Earth Trading are so much better than anything else, and reasonably priced.  John Rowland, the operator, is a splended chap and very helpful.  His cutters work 3 to 4 times more rapidly than anything else and cut rounder as well. His site is http://www.rareearthtrading.com/product.php?cid=21&scid=65 Thank you Bob for your image of your recent new sphere and helpful lapidary tips! The difficulty of working with this stone and ending up with a beautiful polish made this project a sure winner!