barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Nov 2, 2019 12:17:18 GMT -5
Serpentine is absestos, i would not be grinding it
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Sept 28, 2018 22:07:21 GMT -5
Affordable is a term that means different things in different venues. Club sponsored rock shows usually have cheaper material than commercial sponsored shows or state fairs. The "local" stuff is generally cheaper than material that has to be shipped a long way. Montana agate is around $2/lb around SoCal but could be more expensive in the East Coast. Nameless agates, jaspers and pet wood are probably the cheapest all around material.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Sept 8, 2018 14:57:00 GMT -5
I put together a goodie box of mostly self SoCal stuff along with a list saying what is what. Hopefully it has arrived by now. One of the fun parts of the hobby is what is "common material" to collect in one part of the country may be unheard of a few states away. I guess it is not economical to take "common" material on the road. Best wishes on your venture.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Aug 26, 2018 19:38:22 GMT -5
Greetings from SoCal
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jul 27, 2018 21:51:45 GMT -5
A WHOLE bunch faster than the 10 inch unit I have in the garage ! You are right about OSHA, an inspector would go into Cardiac Arrest looking at that set up ! Harley Shhhh.... don't tell Paul, he works for OSHA. Haha barclayI know nothing! *scribbles furiously on a ticket book*
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jul 15, 2018 13:02:13 GMT -5
The design is very complex and cool. I am far from a pro at wire wrapping, but my first impression of the piece is that there is an awful lot of wire right near the focal point of the stone hiding the color flashes of the labradorite. The shape of the stone does not give you much in the way of "corners" to work with, but that is something you may want to consider in future pieces. Is the focus of the piece the stone or the wire wrapping?
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jul 7, 2018 22:52:55 GMT -5
Thanks for posting! Lots of good info.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jul 4, 2018 18:09:25 GMT -5
A friend of mine is taking care of her Aunt with what is most likely terminal cancer. i thought about sending flowers when she was in the hospital, but sometimes the hospitals restrict flowers due to the scent bothering people. So then I thought how hard could it be to make flowers out of stone. As long as I am making one for the Aunt why not make one for my friend. As you can tell thinking is not my strong suit Both of them like blue and purple and my friend's birthstone is amethyst. I got a good deal on lapis at Quartzsite so I had some reasonably priced blue material to work with. . After some searching I found a stained glass pattern of a daisy that I liked. The shape needed to be somewhat simple since i was going to be making 12 petals. I shrank it down to a reasonable size and printed it out as a template. Pending petals IMG_20180528_155719940_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr IMG_20180531_185942468 by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Next I cut out some half dollar sized tigereye pieces for the centers. IMG_20180602_111407894 by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Love that cerium oxide shine IMG_20180609_102803753 by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Next i glued the petals together and added a reinforcing ring to support the petals. I added a stem of grounding wire I bought at Home Depot. Acetone tool all of the letters off of the wire. The drawers on my jeweler's table held the wire upright. IMG_20180629_194600051_HDR by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Two flowers. IMG_20180629_165208815 by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Just before mounting. IMG_20180630_153214822 by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Flower #1 IMG_20180704_152038679 by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Flower #1 IMG_20180704_152032750 by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Flower #1 IMG_20180703_143223462 by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Flower #2 IMG_20180704_151855370 by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Flower #2 IMG_20180704_151849201 by Paul Clifford, on Flickr Flower #2 IMG_20180704_151843934 by Paul Clifford, on Flickr
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jul 4, 2018 14:28:40 GMT -5
I have recently started going beyond filling the setting with a stone. I am still firmly in the stick figure drawing camp I have no talent drawing so the stick figure gets me pointed in a direction (not necessarily the right one) and adjust and readjust the plan until I am happy with the result.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jun 27, 2018 22:09:04 GMT -5
I really love the copper mineral, beautiful range of color!
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jun 12, 2018 21:49:19 GMT -5
I went there over Veteran's Day weekend last year using the Gem Trails book as a guide. I got some nice opalite with a wine red background. I need to do another test piece of the good stuff i found. I had no problems filling a bucket.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jun 12, 2018 21:47:53 GMT -5
Comment submitted and i forwarded the link to my entire club to do so as well.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jun 3, 2018 17:19:18 GMT -5
One more. Mushroom rhyolite?
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jun 3, 2018 15:43:36 GMT -5
Looks like AZ pet wood to me.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jun 1, 2018 22:37:26 GMT -5
Thanks for the input, Mel. I think actinolite is the answer. Don't know what I'll do with it, let it collect dust, I imagine. Sell it as a specimen. Some specimens can bring some good money like this one: I have a piece about the size of a small cantalope gathering dust in the garage, maybe I should put it on ebay.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Jun 1, 2018 22:33:21 GMT -5
I have used it to fill pits and cracks in cabs and it came off when I throw it in the freezer to get the stone off the dop. Now I slowly heat it over my dop pot. It seems to tolerate heat more than cold.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on May 30, 2018 21:59:35 GMT -5
The green mystery rock looks like some actinolite i picked up in Cajon Pass.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on May 19, 2018 21:45:35 GMT -5
I love you researching this. Forced me to as well! The bulb cannot be used exposed. It produces visible light too. That visible light is pollution for seeing the minerals. To solve this manufacturers use a "band pass" filter that is black to all but the UV rays. Those are EXPENSIVE. Here is one at 2" x 2" at US$165. I'm sure light makers get a better cost, but still. It's the most expensive component by far. Keep after me! I like the challenge. 😎 There's a guy at work I see now and again. He's a physicist and I like to try to see how long I can hang on to his shirt tails. Its not normally very long. I'll run it by him and see if he has any ideas. Thanks
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on May 17, 2018 20:31:00 GMT -5
#4 - #7 i would call agate/jasper blends, i don't know the origin. #8, #15 and #17 i would call gold moss agates, #9 and #10 are marcasite, #11 is a chrysocolla/cuprite mix, #13 is mahogany obsidian. That's all I got.
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on May 13, 2018 17:46:34 GMT -5
Paul Bunyon?
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