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Post by adam on Jul 20, 2019 19:39:46 GMT -5
Don't know if anyone else on a rocks forum care for tarantulas, but... tarantulas aren't that scary... at least not this species, Ephebopus murinus. It's native to the lowland forests of a handful of countries in south America. I been out of the rock game for a year or more... been expanding my sphere of interests. I accumulated too many rocks so I toned down my collecting and got into other hobbies like ferns... and insects... and tarantulas... no, I'm not mentally ill. lol. But guess what. I'm getting back into the rock tumbling hobby. Sometime this year... got to purchase more grit and rocks, and, of course, some plastic pellets... thinking of buying a trove of rough chrysoprase and see what I can do with them... maybe I will also try my hand at more amateur wire-wrapping. I probably won't ever be good enough to sell much of my creations but I'll try. Have fun, peeps. haha look at Chewy dance...
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Post by adam on Jul 20, 2019 16:56:25 GMT -5
It's 94 in my garage, and humid. No ventilation as all the doors face north and any breeze this time of year is from the southeast. I usually spend 2 or 3 hours a day in that heat. Don't run a fan as I don't have the spare electric. Three tumblers running and alternating between the 10 inch and the 24 inch saws. A lot of heat from those motors. Builds character!! Specific much? Maybe all the heat is going to your head. Maybe.
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Post by adam on Jul 20, 2019 16:16:02 GMT -5
The sun is killer today, all over the country...
Southern California has it the worst but here in Southern Kentucky it's not so bad... still very muggy and humid and sticky...
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Post by adam on Jul 20, 2019 15:49:16 GMT -5
Fine finish. Little to no flaws. 10/10. I guess.
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Post by adam on Jan 23, 2019 21:10:11 GMT -5
I like both but the bubblegum agate piece is definitely my favorite of the two--it kinda' resembles Kentucky agate.
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Post by adam on Jan 22, 2019 21:15:17 GMT -5
#7 is my absolute favorite I love the strawberry jelly-red quartz center.
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Post by adam on Nov 21, 2018 9:31:05 GMT -5
In my opinion, you might want to consider a 6". Anything with housings or parts above the level of the saw table is inconvenient, and the direct drive motor on the Hi-Tech isn't my favorite option. Thanks, hummingbirdstones2 . Most of my stockpiled slabs are small. 3-4 inches at most on the longest side. Is that too big for 4" saws I'm considering? I'm just playing around with this as a hobby...and in addition I'm a cheap-assed SOB. (My wife's pet name for me.) So I'm looking for the cheapest solution without ending up with something unusable. heh. I don't even have a trim saw, yet, due to the fact buying a trim saw is like paying on 5 different bills or more at once. Yet, some members on RTH have 5, 6, or more saws at their disposal. It gets old, having to send rocks to someone just to have them rocks cut into slabs. Yet, buying a trim saw would be a massive chore and to keep that saw in good condition would be strenuous. Heck, I don't even have room for a saw. Sucks.
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2 Slabs
Nov 3, 2018 20:32:27 GMT -5
Post by adam on Nov 3, 2018 20:32:27 GMT -5
Way over priced 😂 The blue mountain is beautiful Ditto. Good deal too.
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Post by adam on Nov 3, 2018 20:30:51 GMT -5
Fluorite is soft and scratches with a pocket knife blade. Does this stone scratch with a pocket knife blade? (Kentucky has fluorite deposits) ETA and I see a cube in one of the original pictures. ETA x2 Bottom right side looks like a cube to me. Chert… definitely. Fluorite is a more western Kentucky occurrence than central and eastern Kentucky.
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Post by adam on Nov 3, 2018 20:29:32 GMT -5
Nice chert nodule. I've found stuff just like that before, but never in violet. Mostly dull colors. The nodules are pretty common round here. We also get the Kentucky agate.
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Post by adam on Oct 14, 2018 19:24:16 GMT -5
Got around to taking some photos of some rough beauties. Flesh pink botryoidal chalcedony on one side, milky white quartz crystals on the other. www.flickr.com/photos/163078198@N03/43501097330/in/dateposted-public/If this isn't botryoidal chalcedony, then I was thinking smithsonite, but it really might just be a unique form of chalcedony. www.flickr.com/photos/163078198@N03/44404003205/in/dateposted-public/Partial agate geode. From Madison County, KY, I believe(not amazing by any means, but not bland enough to go unposted) www.flickr.com/photos/163078198@N03/45267692872/in/dateposted-public/Cluster of red, tiny quartz crystals which may contain smaller idk minerals. www.flickr.com/photos/163078198@N03/44593699404/in/dateposted-public/Will receive some malachite and chrysocolla in the mail this week, will get around to tumbling them and will post results. Have never tumbled soft stones before, and never worked with these particular stones(I'm as excited as a kid in a candy shop). Oh wait, one more piece of eye candy. Not much for Kentucky agate, but hey. I found it a few weeks back, now I'm tumbling it down, hoping it'll take a fantastic polish. www.flickr.com/photos/163078198@N03/45276213332/in/dateposted-public/
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Post by adam on Oct 14, 2018 11:04:01 GMT -5
Uhgh gorgeous
My pendants I make with tumbled stones, they pale in comparison with this fine art.
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Post by adam on Oct 14, 2018 9:41:15 GMT -5
Keep that precious beauty un' under lock and key! Don't you ever lose that thing! It's too marvelous to misplace! I've done that a couple times myself...
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Post by adam on Oct 14, 2018 9:38:28 GMT -5
Nice deep red and orange shades, nice shaping, too. Fantastic.
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Post by adam on Aug 15, 2018 13:51:25 GMT -5
Pretty, but I'll pass on even staring at it. I'm too poor too look at this rock.
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Post by adam on Aug 12, 2018 8:07:52 GMT -5
They skipped the Carboniferous. Wow.
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Post by adam on Aug 9, 2018 9:17:19 GMT -5
Hello all, I just recently moved to Arizona and am interested in learning more about rockhounding. My father has been an avid rockhound for years...I think it runs in the blood because I've always been interested but never seemed to be in the right spot. And now I am! I am looking forward to reading threads and soaking up some knowledge. lol can I move in with you I always wanted to live in Arizona. not being too serious, but I'd do anything to live in Arizona, at least live there for a while.
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Post by adam on Jul 23, 2018 7:07:06 GMT -5
I'm not keen on the geology of areas outside Kentucky, but #2 looks like fossilized coral, or sponge. I'm leaning more toward it being a sponge. Looks like specimens I brought home a few weeks ago from a river cutting through Devonian age strata.
#5 is definitely agate. Looks like it has a volcanic origin IMO, and not sedimentary. I could be wrong.
#6 looks like red jasper with a couple veins of agate in it, should be a good piece to tumble.
#7 looks like citrine, not carnelian. The surface is a dead give-away. Carnelian without any crystals would have more of a glossy appearance. Looks like any visible crystals on the specimen were weathered away. I don't know about putting it in a tumbler, though, as it may look more pretty the way it is.
The others, I'm not so sure.
Edit: pics #3 and #4 are the same, right? Some of the visible crystals could be pyrite. That's all I got.
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Post by adam on Jul 13, 2018 15:24:44 GMT -5
How big is your biggest saw? I need some rocks cut. If you're into cutting rocks for others.
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Post by adam on Jul 12, 2018 6:22:11 GMT -5
wialleycat That's about the only place you will find decent rocks in Lexington, home of limestone and bluegrass. All the creeks around here are littered with crinoid fossil plates, so that can be found easily. For rocks worth picking up, you have to drive 30 minutes to an hour south. Then you can collect geodes, fossil coral, chalcedony and possibly (but probably not) the elusive, rare KY agate. The tricky part is finding public land or obtaining permission from a land owner where the hounding is good. We all struggle with that part though. If you want to look at rock formations and arches, you can visit Natural Bridge State Park. There aren't any good lapidary rocks to pick up there, so you wouldn't be tempted to break any rules. It's some nice scenery though. Just be ready for our Summer heat and humidity. ETA - If you do happen to make it to Red River Gorge/Natural Bridge, you should definitely stop off at Miguels Pizza on the way out. Yummm. My back porch, as well. Just kidding--I put all my "meh" rocks there. Garage Rocker didn't mention Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. I think it should be open in the summer. The Cumberland River created the falls I don't know how many millions of years ago, but it's true spectacle, and it has nice big boulders at the bottom of the falls where people can climb up on and other cool formations, all surrounded by forest. They also have a gift shop where they sell rocks and other knick-knacks and ice-cream, too. You can find the falls in Whitley County, you can get there from I-75 and from other routes. Here's a link: www.parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/cumberland-falls/things_to_do.aspxAlso, in Rockcastle County is the Kentucky Country Music Hall of Fame and the famous Renfro Valley, a quaint little place on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains, is a nice tourist spot , and they both sit adjacent to each other, and are easily accessible from I-75. You won't see no falls here, but they do have country music performed by local musicians at Renfro Valley and some small gift shops, and Lake Linville, man-made lake, is less than half a mile away from that. Laurel County is also nice, the city of London, KY has Levi Jackson State Park, but no rocks there, and is more civilized than either Rockcastle and Whitley Counties. Levi Jackson State Park is lesser than some other state parks, but still, it's a cool spot with more than a few ponds where anyone can feed the ducks, with woods around the park and gazebos to camp at/barbecue/relax at. All these places are in the Appalachian Mountains region. I gotta go for now. Hope I gave you some ideas.
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