Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 7, 2022 23:41:20 GMT -5
I'm hoping it does get changed to any material. August is a skills challenge so I've already changed the wording of the contest as follows: Obviously if the theme is calling for a specific material like the majority of them do, then that's what the material needs to be.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 7, 2022 20:28:55 GMT -5
I will bid $50 because I NEED that piece of MHPJ ... Y'all understand right? BTW, when Paul says he's gonna be adding more stuff ... it's about to get real up in here
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 7, 2022 19:25:53 GMT -5
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 5, 2022 15:49:38 GMT -5
Oh sorry! Yes Bolinas - Avila has an entirely different awesome material - search for Avila Rhyolite aka: deedeeite.
I try not to overthink the convulated rules ... At Pescadero State beach you can walk 20 yards to the south and pick up agates freely. It makes no sense. Best time to pick at Pescadero is always during a minus tide after a winter storm has cleared out all that stupid sand covering the pebbles layer.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 4, 2022 17:17:56 GMT -5
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 4, 2022 17:14:08 GMT -5
Hi! Thanks for all of that information! I find it all very helpful! I'll search for obsidian someplace else... I'm in Petaluma, and have found great rocks for tumbling at Wrights, Schoolhouse and Pinnacle beaches and the beach at the end of the trail at Shorttail Gulch. I hope to drive up the coast to the Ft. Bragg area, as I saw some videos of people collecting nice rocks off the beaches up there. In Petaluma I haven't found much. There's some old train ballast near where I work that looks like it consists mostly of crushed rock from the Russian River perhaps? I have found some nice jasper and maybe even some jadeite there (I'm still learning how to identify rocks, so sorry for the lack of knowledge!). I'm just loving this hobby, and am looking to add a larger tumbler (maybe a Lortone QT66 of QT12) and a vibratory tumbler, sometime in the future! Sounds like you've got the beaches down already but there's one more you haven't mentioned - Agate Beach down in Avila is definitely worth a visit. We were there a couple months ago and found a lot of the little oil agates. Of course we left them there because picking them is posted to be illegal ... wink wink
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Tommy
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Test
Aug 4, 2022 11:57:49 GMT -5
Post by Tommy on Aug 4, 2022 11:57:49 GMT -5
Looks great! Welcome to the forum.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 4, 2022 10:40:50 GMT -5
Thanks! I'm looking forward to discovering places to rockhound in our neck of the woods! I love the coastal beaches, and have found some nice rocks out there. Do you have any resources on other places that may be interesting? I was planning a trip to Berryessa to look at the jasper on the shoreline, and was thinking a quick trip up to Morgan Valley/Knoxville could be interesting. Plus, I heard there is obsidian to be found around the Glass Mountain area north of St. Helena. I absolutely love this area. Even more so now that I'm discovering the widse variety of beautiful rocks that help make this landscape so amazing! Hi, sounds like you are aware of most of the potential spots - we have a favorite dog swimming spot at the very northern top of the lake and there are a LOT of rocks to look at as the lake gets low but I've never found anything I wanted to drag home and cut. From a tumbler's viewpoint this might be a different story. We have not been up to Knoxville but we keep talking about it. Not sure exactly where to go once we got up there. Someone on a FB group was chatting about finding jasper or onyx in the OHV area but he wasn't too specific about where. I have a chunk of Manhattan Mine lace agate that came from the original gold mine there - but that has been completely strip mined and turned into a lake and nature preserve now. The road cut at Glass Mountain is kind of a gnarly place to play and not worth a trip to Napa by itself. It's basically an unclimbable almost vertical ash wall with pock marks around the base where others have dug, and a steady stream of cars roaring along on Silverado Trail. It's fun to look at - I drive by there all the time but I've never seen any obsidian peeking out even after a heavy rain and I've never gotten my nerve up high enough to go there and dig. The appeal of plain black obsidian riddled with bubbles just isn't strong enough I guess lol. The hills on both sides of the valley are laced with volcanic glass. I have a source of nice tumbler size chunks of black obsidian directly opposite glass mountain, 2-3 miles across the Napa valley but it's on the grounds of a very exclusive winery and my access is limited but I can casually pick up a few pieces and put them in my lunch box. I've heard of obscure mineral type rocks to be had in the creek between Conn Creek and Frogs Leap wineries. Starting just up from Caymus there are definitely access points but for whatever reason I've never walked it. What area of Sonoma County are you? It's a pretty huge county lol.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 4, 2022 9:26:16 GMT -5
I bought my daughter a Chicago Electric double barrel tumbler for Christmas last year because she was interested in shiny rocks whenever we saw them at the store. I always wanted to get into tumbling as a hobby and thought this would be a fun way to do it. Well, she has lost interest and now I'm hooked. The CE tumbler died after a couple months (of course) and now I'm running a Lortone 33B and loving every second of it! Whenever I'm at the beach, river, or even walking around behind the building I work in I'm always scouring the ground for new roughs to try and tumble! Welcome from Napa!
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 3, 2022 11:55:44 GMT -5
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 3, 2022 11:54:48 GMT -5
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 3, 2022 11:33:39 GMT -5
There have been fordite and bowlerite entries in the past. I liked the jeepite. ... and glass. I don't mind including alternative materials as long as it fits the theme (ie: an "agate" theme needs to be agate material) and it requires the skills of a lapidary artist to turn it into a cabochon. I will probably tweak that rule again so that it reads like this that I just wrote ^^
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 3, 2022 11:29:08 GMT -5
@msali parfiveTommyI deleted my Jeepite entry when I realized it didn't meet the entry requirements for the July contest. It can hardly considered a rock cabochon! My bad The rock requirement for August seems to have been dropped so maybe I will try again😁 Thanks brotherbill, that's what I was afraid had happened but I understand and appreciate that you were respecting the stated rule. In my opinion it was gorgeous work by a talented lapidary artist and deserving of a spot in the contest. As a general rule I try to not micro-manage the contest and let the voting members make those kinds of decisions. Over the years we have had other non-rock materials entered and allowed to participate in the vote and it's been in the back of my mind for while now that I need to make a bit of a change with the wording.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 3, 2022 10:04:31 GMT -5
Thanks Tommy , BUT I can't take credit for doing the matched gift certificate twice. Actually last month, it was agatewhisperer that offered the gift certificate from The Rock Shed, & his generosity inspired me to do a similar one, with a different company.
So I have to give credit where credit is due - thank you agatewhisperer . Good Luck everyone- have fun with the curves.
Patty
Oops... my brain crossed that up with you winning two contests in a row. Thanks for the correction and the generosity. Edited to add: I have fixed it in the contest post above.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 3, 2022 9:51:43 GMT -5
Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum cabochon contest where your cabochon making skills, creativity, and material will be put to the challenge. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to enter regardless of cabochon making experience, skill level, or machinery and methods. This contest is about having fun and challenging ourselves to step outside our comfort zones and learn and grow, while dazzling the community with our beautiful rock creations. August 2022 RTH Cabochon Contest, Contest Theme: Curves! as chosen by our back-to-back contest winner for June, Patty liveoak. Contestants are asked to create a cabochon of any size, shape, or material that contains both a concave and a convex curve (inside and outside) - that's it, easy right?
Links to all of the original front and side submission photos can be found below the photo collage. All of the original contest submission posts and responses have been removed from view during the voting period in order to remove as much of the popularity contest aspect from the voting as possible. All original content will be replaced in this thread at the close of voting. We sincerely appreciate all the feedback comments we get and want to continue to improve the contest as we go so keep 'em coming! Photo Links: Cabochon 1 - frontCabochon 1 - sideCabochon 2 - frontCabochon 2 - frontCabochon 3 - frontCabochon 3 - sideCabochon 4 - frontCabochon 4 - sideCabochon 5 - frontCabochon 5 - sideCabochon 6 - frontCabochon 6 - sideCabochon 7 - frontCabochon 7 - sideCabochon 8 - frontCabochon 8 - sideCabochon 9 - frontCabochon 9 - sideCabochon 10 - frontCabochon 10 - sideCabochon 11 - frontCabochon 11 - side Prize:For this contest, Patty has generously purchased a $20 gift certificate for the winner and the vendor Cutting Edge Supply Co. has matched it to make it a $40 prize. Thank you Patty and Cutting Edge Supply Co. for your generosity! Contest Format:The chosen contest theme serves as the primary criteria for voting. The voting period will occur for approximately seven days around the start of the following month. The winner of the contest will have the opportunity to choose the theme of the contest occurring two months after the contest they won (ie: June winner chooses August theme). At the beginning of the voting period, a voting poll will be added to this thread and all contest submission posts and responses will be hidden from view in order to help insure a level playing field. All original content will be replaced in the thread at the close of voting. Contest Period:August 3rd thru 31st at 11:59pm PST Voting Period:Approximately Seven days beginning around the first few days of the following month. Entry Requirements:Participants are asked to follow the contest theme in the creation of a hand-shaped, jewelry-ready cabochon or set of cabochons. For the purposes of contest consistency, a cabochon should have a visible dome on top and a flat backside. Variations on dome heights and girdle styles are permitted and ultimately it's up to the voters to decide if the contest criteria has been met. Entry cabochons must be made entirely by the member, within the contest month and feel free to let us know about the piece including how you shaped and polished it, and what challenges it presented. Please identify the material if you know what it is or let us know if you don't. Alternative materials are allowed as long as they are in keeping with the theme (ie: "agate" theme = agate material), and the material is such that it requires lapidary skills to transform it into a cabochon. Cabochons may have a hole(s) drilled but nothing attached to it. Photo Requirements:Three photos minimum are required including one non-backlit, non-glamourized or filter manipulated photo showing the cabochon directly from the front (if posting more than one front photo please indicate which one you want used). Also include a photo taken at as close to 90 degrees angle as possible showing the side of the cabochon so we can see the shape of the dome and girdle if it exists. The third required photo is of the preform or slab you started from. If you do not have all three of the required photos post what you have and let us know. Photography Notes:For size perspective it is helpful to include a photo alongside an object such as a coin or fingers. Until the conclusion of the voting period please do not post on any area of the forum, photos of your contest entry that has been turned into jewelry which includes the stone after it has been set, wrapped, or had any kind of bail attached. Back-lit photos are permitted as extra photos especially when the stone contains interesting features that do not photograph very well, but they will not be used as your front featured photo requirement. We don't want the competition to turn into a photo contest but also recognize that it is in your best interest to make sure your front and side photos are as focused, bright, and colorful as possible because these two photos will be cropped and presented in the voting collage. A highly zoomed in front photo is not as desirable as a more zoomed out photo that is well-focused on the stone and allows enough background for cropping to a square 300px x 300px and the side photo for cropping to 300px high x 100px wide. Voting Criteria:Please judge each entry based on the following while keeping in mind that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the difficulty levels of material vary as do photography skills and equipment. An exceptional example of creativity and skill might not always be flashy and bright, and we owe it to every participant to do our best not to allow it to become a photography contest. 1) How well was the theme challenge of the contest theme met? 2) How well did the shape of the stone meet the general contest requirements, or any special theme-based shape requirements? 3) General appearance, beauty, artistic creativity. 4) Photography - is there a direct and focused front shot and a direct and focused side shot for voting purposes? If a tie vote occurs, a new voting poll will be launched for the period of one day and will include only the stones that were tied for the lead. Community participation:As always on the forum, polite and respectful dialog and encouragement is very welcome in the form of 'likes' and comments. Advice or direction from the community is welcome only if the contestant has requested it. Members are welcome to enter work-in-progress photos but if the final photos are not added before the conclusion of the contest, the piece can't be included in the voting. Thank you to everyone who participates by entering and or commenting and encouraging others. We sincerely appreciate all the comments and feedback we get and want to continue to improve the contest as we go so keep 'em coming!
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 3, 2022 8:24:18 GMT -5
I hope you do - I feel it's a challenge for all of us to make a certain thing & even if you don't make the deadline, it's still a challenge non the less & no fun if you don't show it Patty.... in HOT Florida who understands these things -------Get an exhaust fan :-) Patty, in case I have forgotten to say it, thanks for the great contest theme! I was nervous at first because I know it's definitely a departure from my own comfort zone but it turned into a really unique and awesome contest.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 3, 2022 8:06:49 GMT -5
I checked every post in the thread and it's not there now. Must have been deleted.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 3, 2022 8:02:49 GMT -5
toiv0 happy birthday sir! I hope you have the day off today and get to play with rocks at some point.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 2, 2022 23:43:17 GMT -5
Nope, I double and triple checked it.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Aug 2, 2022 17:09:54 GMT -5
I love cleaning the garage because it always turns into a cutting rocks day heehee. Nobody minds me hanging out in the garage all day cutting rocks because the garage is also getting cleaned It's a win win. This is a piece of Burro Creek that I think I collected. It's also possible that I stole it out of the back of AzRockGeek's truck. Either way we'll call it self-collected The rind looked like this and it came from the general vicinity where purple agate happens - as does an unusual white tube agate. A field created window showed purple so it got dragged home and earned a spot among the rocks patiently waiting their time on the saw. So without further a-doo. I ended up getting three good sized slabs out of it and they are VERY solid, barely any pitting and no cracks.
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