fishnpinball
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Post by fishnpinball on Oct 31, 2018 21:08:14 GMT -5
DSC01094 by ngboettch, on Flickr At my last rock club meeting, I was given a piece of "petrified wood" that the owner thought would make a nice cab. It was found in Nebraska. Imagine my surprise when I decided it was probably petrified whale bone. I have a couple of pieces to cut cabs with which means I will give him one. Do I offer him the piece back with the new designation and offer to polish the end if he wants it? If it is whale bone it would have been carried down by the glaciers. Is mammoth or some of the other mammals that were local a possibility also? How would I know for sure.
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agatemaggot
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Post by agatemaggot on Oct 31, 2018 21:28:07 GMT -5
I suspect that piece isn't Whale bone. I have / had several pieces of Whale bone I bought from a guy in California , I think, and Whale has such a small cell structure it is actually hard to see it. I suspect that the bone grew very dense cell structure because of the lack of gravity (?) in the water. The fellow I bought the bone from said he had a larger piece free of charge if I Wanted it but, it was pick up only ! I ask him why he couldn't ship ? He said it wouldn't fit in the back of a Pickup truck, he had to haul it in a large straight truck, but the price was right to the right person. I can't remember the name of the guy's shop but it can be Googled I believe . I gave the pieces I had to the neighbor lady for her Rock garden because of the small cell business, you almost needed a magnifying glass to make out the pattern. I have no Idea what you have but it has a lot going on in there, if that doesan't make a real kick A$$ cab, nothing will !
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fishnpinball
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Post by fishnpinball on Oct 31, 2018 21:39:47 GMT -5
I suspect that piece isn't Whale bone. I have / had several pieces of Whale bone I bought from a guy in California , I think, and Whale has such a small cell structure it is actually hard to see it. I suspect that the bone grew very dense cell structure because of the lack of gravity (?) in the water. The fellow I bought the bone from said he had a larger piece free of charge if I Wanted it but, it was pick up only ! I ask him why he couldn't ship ? He said it wouldn't fit in the back of a Pickup truck, he had to haul it in a large straight truck, but the price was right to the right person. I can't remember the name of the guy's shop but it can be Googled I believe . I gave the pieces I had to the neighbor lady for her Rock garden because of the small cell business, you almost needed a magnifying glass to make out the pattern. I have no Idea what you have but it has a lot going on in there, if that doesan't make a real kick A$$ cab, nothing will ! The piece is actually small, about 3/4 x 2 inches. Pictures I can find on the internet do show whalebone that looks similar and that match the colors. What made me second guess the petrified wood was the cab by stephan .
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Post by stephan on Oct 31, 2018 22:48:07 GMT -5
I suspect that piece isn't Whale bone. I have / had several pieces of Whale bone I bought from a guy in California , I think, and Whale has such a small cell structure it is actually hard to see it. I suspect that the bone grew very dense cell structure because of the lack of gravity (?) in the water. The fellow I bought the bone from said he had a larger piece free of charge if I Wanted it but, it was pick up only ! I ask him why he couldn't ship ? He said it wouldn't fit in the back of a Pickup truck, he had to haul it in a large straight truck, but the price was right to the right person. I can't remember the name of the guy's shop but it can be Googled I believe . I gave the pieces I had to the neighbor lady for her Rock garden because of the small cell business, you almost needed a magnifying glass to make out the pattern. I have no Idea what you have but it has a lot going on in there, if that doesan't make a real kick A$$ cab, nothing will ! The piece is actually small, about 3/4 x 2 inches. Pictures I can find on the internet do show whalebone that looks similar and that match the colors. What made me second guess the petrified wood was the cab by stephan . Most California whale bone I've seen/worked with actually has a rather large cell structure, and it tends toward being brown. I think there's a good chance that it is whale bone. I have had a couple of slabs of dino bone with miniscule cells. I have no idea what would determine that, although I'd guess that something that needs more support (large and terrestrial) would tend toward smaller cells and this more bone matrix. As I said, I don't know for sure. It just make sense to me. Possibly also which bone it is, and how much weight it supports? The one odd thing is that the cells on your piece are quite angular, which I haven't seen to that degree. I'm not saying yes or no, just that it's different than what I have. You may not be able to diagnose from what animal it came, but you'll be able to tell if it's bone or wood pretty quickly when you start grinding it. Rocks with organically-derived calcium (whale/dino bone, turitella agate...) has a distinct smell that wood doesn't have. Some whale bone (polished): IMG_8888_Morgan Hill whale bone heel-cut by Stephan Telm, on Flickr IMG_8549_Well-agatized whale-bone teardrop cabochon by Stephan Telm, on Flickr Cobbles/pebbles: IMG_8070_Whale bone (4/4) -- wet by Stephan Telm, on Flickr Petrified whale bone 2 by Stephan Telm, on Flickr IMG_1137 - Fossilized whale bone by Stephan Telm, on Flickr
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agatemaggot
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Post by agatemaggot on Nov 1, 2018 5:55:42 GMT -5
I wonder if the bone cells would vary from one specie to another ? The pieces I had were soft ball size to that of a basket ball. I cut mine in several directions and didn't get those kind of results. Yours is really nice looking, mine, not so much ! The stone I had was all the same color, greyish brown, like picture # 3 on the outside. What you have there is nice looking material .
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Post by Peruano on Nov 1, 2018 14:08:57 GMT -5
fishnpinballI'd like to see the specimen from the end and side, but I'm doubtful that it is bone. The way the pattern is so angular does not say bone to me at all. Could it be plant material? Palm and root material of other wood can vary greatly depending on whether you are looking at the cross section, longitudinal view or something in between. As to the size of the vacuoles in dino or whale bone lets just say there is a lot of variation. Many reptiles reorganize the bone as they grow and the vacuoles become bigger and bigger until they disappear and become bone cavities. Whale bone is indeed quite spongy in many areas and to a certain degree less ossified than the bones of terrestrial animals. However, in general bone should show rounded patterns, not so angular as depicted. So my suggestion is keep looking for an explanation as to what your specimen is or was. There is something call shrink wood that tends to have hexagonal and angular patterns distinct from most wood but still of a wood origin. Apparently its a result of the way the wood rotted before by invaded by the silica.
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fishnpinball
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Post by fishnpinball on Nov 1, 2018 15:05:40 GMT -5
fishnpinball I'd like to see the specimen from the end and side, but I'm doubtful that it is bone. The way the pattern is so angular does not say bone to me at all. Could it be plant material? Palm and root material of other wood can vary greatly depending on whether you are looking at the cross section, longitudinal view or something in between. As to the size of the vacuoles in dino or whale bone lets just say there is a lot of variation. Many reptiles reorganize the bone as they grow and the vacuoles become bigger and bigger until they disappear and become bone cavities. Whale bone is indeed quite spongy in many areas and to a certain degree less ossified than the bones of terrestrial animals. However, in general bone should show rounded patterns, not so angular as depicted. So my suggestion is keep looking for an explanation as to what your specimen is or was. There is something call shrink wood that tends to have hexagonal and angular patterns distinct from most wood but still of a wood origin. Apparently its a result of the way the wood rotted before by invaded by the silica. DSC01095 by ngboettch, on Flickr here is a picture of petrified whale bone from Alaska. Petrified-Whale-Bone-Esquimo-6-1 by ngboettch, on Flickr I didn't find shrink wood that was really similar but there was some pocket rot palm wood that was a little similar.
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Nov 1, 2018 18:13:09 GMT -5
I too was thinking shrinkwood....Mel
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saxplayer
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Post by saxplayer on Nov 1, 2018 18:21:04 GMT -5
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fishnpinball
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Post by fishnpinball on Nov 1, 2018 18:26:48 GMT -5
I could think that it was shrink wood or something but I do believe a lot of the cell structure is identical to the whale bone from Alaska
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Post by greig on Nov 1, 2018 18:58:35 GMT -5
Great thread! Love the discussion. I have nothing to add, except what Aquachigger would call it: "samsquinch". ie. If it's a big unidentifiable bone, then it must be from a susquatch. ;-)
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Nov 2, 2018 9:54:37 GMT -5
Shrink wood and a nice piece a that...... Petwood it is..... Cell structures are more uniformed with bone..
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fishnpinball
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Post by fishnpinball on Nov 2, 2018 19:10:28 GMT -5
Sounds like the overwhelming opinion is shrinkwood. hope the cabs will be large enough to show some of the structure, though I do worry about the fact there are some pockets.
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NRG
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Post by NRG on Nov 7, 2018 22:22:30 GMT -5
Count me in for shrinkwood too! To my eye, California "whale bone" is dino bone without color. It looks like Utah Colorado material in every piece I have ever seen. And I see it often at shows here. My thought is it gets called whale bone by hobbyist due to its oceanic origin. I've never seen any science behind it's true origin. And I have looked. I am ready to be 100% wrong and if Sabre52 Mel does know for certain it's actually proven by science to be whale, I will recant. ETA The seller of the huge free whale bone is likely Rons Rocks. Dude is an encyclopedia of knowledge. Great guy indeed!
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agatemaggot
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Post by agatemaggot on Nov 7, 2018 23:01:22 GMT -5
Rons Rocks sounds very familiar .
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Post by MsAli on Nov 8, 2018 23:11:01 GMT -5
Count me in for shrinkwood too! To my eye, California "whale bone" is dino bone without color. It looks like Utah Colorado material in every piece I have ever seen. And I see it often at shows here. My thought is it gets called whale bone by hobbyist due to its oceanic origin. I've never seen any science behind it's true origin. And I have looked. I am ready to be 100% wrong and if Sabre52 Mel does know for certain it's actually proven by science to be whale, I will recant. ETA The seller of the huge free whale bone is likely Rons Rocks. Dude is an encyclopedia of knowledge. Great guy indeed! So I was checking out his website and nothing for sale. Found him on FB and it appears he passed away last year?
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NRG
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Post by NRG on Nov 9, 2018 9:56:41 GMT -5
Count me in for shrinkwood too! To my eye, California "whale bone" is dino bone without color. It looks like Utah Colorado material in every piece I have ever seen. And I see it often at shows here. My thought is it gets called whale bone by hobbyist due to its oceanic origin. I've never seen any science behind it's true origin. And I have looked. I am ready to be 100% wrong and if Sabre52 Mel does know for certain it's actually proven by science to be whale, I will recant. ETA The seller of the huge free whale bone is likely Rons Rocks. Dude is an encyclopedia of knowledge. Great guy indeed! So I was checking out his website and nothing for sale. Found him on FB and it appears he passed away last year? If this is true, then the hobby lost a great human. I'm sad now
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Post by MsAli on Nov 9, 2018 10:49:10 GMT -5
So I was checking out his website and nothing for sale. Found him on FB and it appears he passed away last year? If this is true, then the hobby lost a great human. I'm sad now Cant find anything on him so maybe he just went out of business?
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NRG
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Post by NRG on Nov 9, 2018 12:55:46 GMT -5
If this is true, then the hobby lost a great human. I'm sad now Cant find anything on him so maybe he just went out of business? Sabre52Mel, do you know if Ron has passed away? Can you check with Noel? elementary
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Dec 2, 2018 11:20:57 GMT -5
You guys gave me a huge scare. Ron has stuff posted on ebay: www.ebay.com/str/Rons-RocksHe only sells on ebay as far as I know. I sent him a message though so we'll find out for sure. Edited to add: Ron replied to my ebay message within 10 minutes. He has definitely not died. He did say he had been on vacation for 2 weeks though...
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