johnnyu
starting to shine!
Member since January 2011
Posts: 27
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Post by johnnyu on Jan 8, 2011 21:04:40 GMT -5
Hope this works - I'm brand new to this forum and thought I'd share a picture of a very unique piece of what I'm calling Spiderweb Jade. I've found two large pieces of this over my time off work during Christmas. I've never seen anything like them - they are definitely nephrite jade over what appears to be serpentine. The colors don't come through well - there are webs of white, green, and turquoise. This piece is 163#. Hope you like the photo!
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Post by gr on Jan 8, 2011 21:09:54 GMT -5
Gonna need a big sawfor that one! Would love to see what's inside that little 163 lb baby
Gary
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johnnyu
starting to shine!
Member since January 2011
Posts: 27
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Post by johnnyu on Jan 8, 2011 21:09:57 GMT -5
Here is the second piece. It is much smaller at 89# and is primarily green nephrite over serpentine. This one has a nice cap of jade that spreads into the spiderweb.
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Post by gr on Jan 8, 2011 21:11:28 GMT -5
Oooh, it did work and welcome to the site. think ur gonna like it here!
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Post by tandl on Jan 8, 2011 21:27:00 GMT -5
Thats cool, you got any cuts of this type of jade ?
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johnnyu
starting to shine!
Member since January 2011
Posts: 27
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Post by johnnyu on Jan 8, 2011 21:40:42 GMT -5
These are way too big - even for my 18" saw! I'd have a hard time cutting into them even if they fit my saw - they are so unique and I haven't seen any others. If anyone has seen this type of jade I'd sure like to get some more information on them. I've done some online searching and haven't found any information on them. I am seriously curious about what they look like inside though!!! Johnny
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Post by tandl on Jan 8, 2011 22:17:06 GMT -5
I thought maybe you had cut a smaller one you had found .
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Jan 8, 2011 23:26:34 GMT -5
Nothing a sledgehammer can't fix lol... Just kidding!
Everything you've shown is awesome, welcome aboard!
Nate
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johnnyu
starting to shine!
Member since January 2011
Posts: 27
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Post by johnnyu on Jan 9, 2011 12:41:32 GMT -5
I'll keep looking for smaller pieces that can be cut - so far the only two pieces I've found are these two large ones. I've actually tried the sledgehammer tactic on very large jade pieces I've found and it doesn't work well at all. Nephrite is the strongest natural material known (area under stress/strain curve) and because it is fibrous in nature it ends up turning to powder if hit very hard. The only good way to get inside is to cut it with a diamond saw. Old timers say when they find jade in large pieces they would heat it up to very high temps by building fire under it and once it is red hot they douse it with cold water causing cracking.
I know of several pieces in the 4-10 ton range but heating up a rock in a river bed using fire is kind of difficult when its in the water! If I ever get the chance to try it I'll take some pictures.
John
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juzwuz
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2010
Posts: 526
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Post by juzwuz on Jan 9, 2011 14:32:31 GMT -5
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johnnyu
starting to shine!
Member since January 2011
Posts: 27
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Post by johnnyu on Jan 9, 2011 17:42:36 GMT -5
Juz - thanks for the tip on Dexpan. I checked out the amazon site and some of the comments and it sounds like you may have a great idea! Sure is a lot better than superheating a rock and then throwing cold water on it - that sounded pretty dangerous to me. This stuff just might work - I'll give it a shot this summer when the rivers get low again. Take Care! John
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