barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 28, 2013 21:25:40 GMT -5
I love that serape and flint! The serape reminds me of a lunar landscape.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 27, 2013 18:11:06 GMT -5
Off the top of my head Nipomo has inclusions of marcasite. I am not sure they are heavy enough for marcasite, but I will look at them again Jean.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 27, 2013 17:22:36 GMT -5
I thought of chineese writing stone, but the white crystals are a lot smaller and pretty uniform.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 27, 2013 11:32:09 GMT -5
Rockpickerforever told me that the Vista show was one not to be missed and she was right. Some of them I actually could figure out the names of. Here are some of the treasures I found. Picture agate Some kind of agate Jade Needles green agate Stromatalite Beatsmeite Verde antique marble Verde antique marble Tree agate (working around the quartz crystals should be fun) Kambala jasper An agate from Mexico (I forget the town) Firecracker jade (I know there has to be another name for this stuff) Plume agate Bunny agate (see the rabbit?) Some kind of agate Spiderman jasper Cool redrockite Graycloudrockite Indian paint stone Mushroom jasper Sparklyrockite Brecciated red agate Any Id help would be appreciated.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 25, 2013 21:59:45 GMT -5
Howdy,
I will be taking the family on a road trip to New Mexico this summer, not the best time to go running around in the desert. If anyone knows of some good and easy places to go I would love to hear from you.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 23, 2013 19:49:12 GMT -5
Wow Jean, you really have the eye. That pink dendritic and Trent agate will make great cabs.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 19, 2013 17:23:06 GMT -5
I got a bunch of new material at a rock hound's estate sale. These are sad occasions since one of us has died, but happy in a way because we have a chance to get material that was collected decades ago and may not be available any more. Anyway here they are: Banded onyx This one was darker than I hoped it would be but I love all those lines. Fossilized coral Thanks for looking
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 14, 2013 9:24:06 GMT -5
The bold lines on the last one really make it pop. Awsome job!
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 14, 2013 9:21:05 GMT -5
I am kind of new at wire wrapping so forgive me for asking a dumb question. How did you twist the wire? I love the effect. I love the way it twists, takes a break where it is bent, and twists some more.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 14, 2013 9:16:54 GMT -5
McDonalds-ite I hope it is low calorie Beautiful wraps.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 14, 2013 9:15:28 GMT -5
Is bronzite a form of marcasite? Awsome looking pieces.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 14, 2013 9:11:03 GMT -5
Beautiful stones! I love all the non-standard shapes. they really emphasize the uniqueness of the stones.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 11, 2013 19:32:39 GMT -5
It looks like some of that Lawsonite that Hand 2 Mouth sells. It is kind of like blue granite.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 9, 2013 18:56:01 GMT -5
I started out with some small trim saws, but it took forever to get things cut. I stumbled on the Harbor Freight 10" brick saw as in this link www.harborfreight.com/25-horsepower-10-industrial-tilebrick-saw-69275.html, currently on sale for $254.99. I got mine with a super saver coupon and paid like $189 a few years ago. I can use it for trimming and some slabbing. The blade it comes with is of course cheap, but 10" ok blades are available at your Home Depot or Lowes for around $80. You can of course spend more to get something designed for cutting rocks and not bricks. It uses water so you don't have to deal with oil. It has a stand with wheels, probably sold separately, which means you don't have to take up valuable table space. The sliding trolley the rocks sit on lets you make perfectly straight cuts. I added a pulley and weights to the trolley so if I clamp down the rock I have a semi-automatic slabbing saw. I still watch it while it is cutting. Trimming is very fast. It has two drawbacks: 1) it is noisy as hell. Earplugs are a must. I use military surplus ear muffs and of course safety glasses. 2) It draws a little over 15 amps so I have to run an extension cord to my kitchen to plug into a 20 amp. Around here most indoor/patio plugs have 15 amp circuit breakers. Overall I have been very happy with it. My real slabbing saw broke so I just finished cutting some more slabs on the Harbor Freight brick saw and they came out fine.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 7, 2013 9:40:42 GMT -5
Don't get discouraged. I would recommend that you try and get some obsidian to practice on for the following reasons: 1) It is cheap. 2) It is easy to get. 3) It is soft enough that you can progress through the grits at a reasonable pace without getting frustrated. 4) Scratches show up easily so you can see when you need to do more work on a particular grit. Agates are hard which translates into more time to make them look nice and potentially more frustration. Emeralds and ruby are on the top of the hardness scale so they will take more time to work. Obsidian will also tell you really quickly if you are pressing too hard. Hang in there We all started out the same way you are.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 3, 2013 19:46:54 GMT -5
I wonder if the purple one, #5 could be lepidolite. The whitish lines could be areas where it is not crystalized as well. Just a thought.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Apr 2, 2013 20:30:31 GMT -5
Those preforms will keep you busy for a while. You do great work. I have a piece of green Imperial that has the same kind of pattern as cab #2 and I had not given any thought that one half could be softer. Thanks for the warning. I learn so much reading other peoples adventures.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Mar 30, 2013 11:48:24 GMT -5
I have had good luck using a 10" Harbor Freight brick saw for trimming and some slabbing. My second lapidary machine was an Inland and I kept having problems with water getting in the motor. Somewhere on this forum I read that I wasn't alone. A friend of mine has a similar unit from Ameritool and loves it. Although they are small people may get frustrated messing with a swap top unit.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Mar 30, 2013 11:37:54 GMT -5
Beautiful rocks! You really lucked out. I prefer to let the rock get cut all the way through. That way when I put my template over it it lays flat against the stone. If you leave the nub it gets in the way IMHO.
|
|
barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
|
Post by barclay on Mar 27, 2013 22:33:06 GMT -5
I can see why, they are very beautiful and all different. Mother Nature's miracles of rocks :)
|
|