StagandFinch

here's a few random stones of mine. I took all these pictures today. I happen to enjoy all of these stones more than diamonds :P

http://imgur.com/a/uzEFi

1. ebay can be hit or miss. Sometimes great deals, but more often than not just garbage. Also often very misleading pictures. I've been burned a time or two. I just avoid ebay completely now. To gauge whether rough is worth cutting isn't something you can learn overnight. You've got to handle a lot of rough and get a feel for it. But a dead giveaway is if the stone is too dark (doesn't pass the white paper test). There's noticeable inclusions, or if it's just too small.
2. Either get to a local mineral rock club and use their equipment. This was never an option for me. I ended up buying a used machine that I later upgraded. If you're interested maybe I'll sell you my old faceting machine I'm not using anymore.
3. I suggest practicing on either beryl or garnet. They're both relatively inexpensive compared to most rough but they cut outstanding gems and polish easily and predictably. It's worth it to spend a few dollars and potentially ruin a piece of rough practicing than spending hours slaving away for a stone that is worthless regardless of how much time you sink in.
4. Double check your index! Edit to 4. spend some time on gemologyonlin.com and also the book by Tom Herbst that was linked by Ise138.

can't forget tourmaline!

for me the biggest stumbling block to selling stones wasn't the faceting at all. It was the photography! It doesn't matter how beautiful your work is if you have crappy pictures. Get yourself a nice camera, it's a must if you want to take it to the next level.

Do you really have a giant stash?! Can I add a piece of rutile to my shopping list for when we meet up Tuscon? I'd love to cut something that can poop rainbows.