|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 23, 2015 13:06:03 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 19, 2015 9:43:41 GMT -5
Tumbling some for txrockhunter. Lucky him, fine palms and woods. Palms-fine palms. Very nice agates and jaspers. Smorgasbord, and a bit different materials than Rio's. Seem less fractured as they may have travelled a shorter or more gentle path. Well rounded none the less. Jeremy, you are lucky to have this resource, and me to tumble them for you lol. Me a palm freak, want to heat treat some too, great candidate, palm. Bleached outer coating about gone, beauty starting to reveal itself. Glare from overcast bad. 12 pounds, few to no smalls: jamesp, I am very lucky that you are willing to tumble these and that I am blessed with the local resource!! I am really excited to learn the process and have an example of what good looks like. Thank you very much for the pictures and updates! I can send you more palm, so you can post pictures & instructions of the heating process. I am sure there are others that would love to see that thread!!!! - Jeremy
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 10, 2015 11:52:30 GMT -5
Trim off a piece on one of the ends,see if its marrow cells inside....As of now,I would say no,it's not a bone.... Cool rock though... I am just learning how to identify & research some of the fossils that I am finding, so thanks for the info! I will make a cut to see, but after your and Mel's responses I think you guys are right. I guess some times you just have to call it a cool rock and be satisfied with it......I guess that comes with practice! Jeremy
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 10, 2015 9:28:12 GMT -5
That's fascinating! Based on the location and the commonality, I would assume that this is a track filling. But, for curiosity's sake how could you "economically" find out if it is bone? Thank you for the response!
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 10, 2015 7:42:11 GMT -5
I found this out in Mountain Home, TX and thought it was some sort of animal bone. Mel Sabre52, this should be right up your alley if it's some sort of animal bone. Some of the rock on the inside, appears to be chert or flint like. Any ID help would be much appreciated!! Thanks for looking! Jeremy
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 9, 2015 12:25:17 GMT -5
SCORE!!! Fossils are my favorite of the rock world!!! If you score the death plate (deep line it),it will fracture where you score it..A few taps with a big hammer and it should break... I have a grinder with a diamond blade......would that be the weapon of choice or chisel and hammer? Thank you for the new terminology (death plate & deep line it)! It took me a minute to figure out what you were talking about, I'm a newbie. Thanks for looking! - Jeremy
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 9, 2015 10:15:52 GMT -5
Man you find cool stuff every where you go. Texas is a fine rock hunter's state. Am surprised at the rocks you are finding on the east side of the state. The crinoid limestone would make fine floor tiles. I am finding out how lucky I am, to live in Texas! So many possibilities within reach! Floor tiles would look pretty damn cool, but I was thinking coasters would be a cool place to start! Thanks for looking! - Jeremy
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 9, 2015 10:11:37 GMT -5
Wow, thanks for the neat pics Jeremy! I like the black and white stuff best of all as the contrast is so nice. There are a lot of colonial bryozoans and corals out there too so that last specimen may contain some of those. That last one looks like a good solid hunk of limestone too.....Mel Thanks, Mel. I love the black & white as well. I was really hoping to find some of the Pink and maybe I did, but haven't cut into any of it. When you were collecting from Lambert, were any of the colors mixed in the same area? Or, were the same colors found in different areas? I had to look up the Colonial Bryozoans, and I think I found something like some of the pictures. I will photograph and see what you think. Thanks again, for the help! - Jeremy
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 6, 2015 17:03:03 GMT -5
If speed is more important than precision. I have found the segmented blade, on my $79 HD tile saw, to work very well. If I am cutting rocks to throw in the tumbler, this type of blade really speeds up the process. It can chip some material like opalized wood, but seams to do really well on most agates. Like anything else, it may not be ideal, but it works for me. Good Luck!!!
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 5, 2015 13:32:47 GMT -5
I have never thought about walking construction sites to find points! There is a ton of development going on in Houston, so I will have to walk a few close sites! BTW, those agate chips are very cool! You have to wonder how they could transport so much material if it's not native to the area? They would have benefited from FRB's!
Thanks for taking the time to post all that great information!
Jeremy
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 5, 2015 11:21:52 GMT -5
Big thanks to Mel Sabre52, for helping me locate some Crinoidal Limestone in San Saba, TX!!!!! I was invited to hunt at a lease in San Saba, not too far from where the Lambert Ranch is located. Mel loaded me up with all the information I needed to to have a successful hunt.....Thanks again, Mel!!!! I only found this material in a small area, but this is how I found the Limestone. These slabs were too big to get out with hand tools, so I had to take some of the smaller pieces. This is the biggest piece that I could handle.....still had to get help, it's about 120 lbs. I have no idea how I'm going to cut it! This is what all of the material in that area looked like. Really cool stuff! I cut a few ends off (I only have a 7" tile saw), wanted to see how it cut and how well it would clean up. It polished right up with a few minutes of hand sanding. Looked way better than I expected! And then there was this thing!?? It's got sporadic crinoids throughout, brown stalks going through it that look like petrified wood, Quartz or Calcite crystals coming through the surface and the yellowish / gold material. It's about 22" long and weighs about 30-40lbs. I cleaned off most of the surface dirt, so what you see is part of the rock. Any clues? Thanks for looking! Jeremy
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Oct 29, 2015 7:28:55 GMT -5
Great tools Jeremy. Mel mentioned root beer flint The flint was readily available where I found the tools. Some of the flint, or what I think is flint, was a translucent, blue-ish / purple. I was up there looking for fossils & found a bunch of large Gastropod fossils that were encased in that material.
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Oct 29, 2015 7:18:22 GMT -5
Jeremy, these are great! And that's awesome that the family is handing down finds ... very cool collection. Thanks, Paul! I am really glad that my Dad kept them! I also received my Grandfather's Agate Marbles "aggies", or what's left of them. I will post some pictures when I get a chance.
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Oct 27, 2015 12:42:06 GMT -5
Thank you guys ( Sabre52 & jamesp), for the ID and background on these! Below are a couple pieces that I found in Mountain Home, TX, just outside Kerrville. They looked like they have been worked, but thought I would ask those that have a great deal more experience than I do...... This is about 5" long. This is about 3" wide. After posting the arrowheads that I had found, my father sent me a collection of arrowheads that my Grandfather had collected when he was a boy. To the best of my Dad's knowledge, they were found in Kewanee, IL, in the early to mid 1920's. If anyone has any information about them, I would love to pass it on to my Dad! Thanks for looking! Jeremy
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Oct 17, 2015 11:24:53 GMT -5
I'm interested in building a tumbler, like the ones that jamesp built, with 6" PVC, and was wondering if this type of motor would work? I know very little about motors, but, being in the roofing business, I have free access to these type motors (roof top power vents). If it can work, any suggestions on set-up, would be fantastic! 3.4 amp shaded pole, 120V, 1000 RPM - Approx. 1/12 HP Thanks, Jeremy
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Oct 10, 2015 22:58:20 GMT -5
Needle in a haystack! I actually found the 2 arrowheads by accident, reaching for rocks. After I found out the value of the Scottsbluff Point, I started looking for them exclusively and found none. The shear volume of rocks makes it almost impossible to concentrate on one thing, but I'll keep looking.
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Oct 10, 2015 22:10:57 GMT -5
Found these 2 arrowheads, canvasing the San Jacinto River gravels. They happen to be the 1st arrowheads that I have ever found! jamesp#1 Front - I met a Flint Knapper at the Houston Gem and Mineral Show, who identified this as a Scottsbluff Point. It's about 2-1/2 inches long without the tip. #2 Front - Hadn't found this by the time we went to the HGMS, so I have no idea what it is. It is made of petrified wood, but it's construction pails in comparison to the Scottsbluff. It is about 1-1/2 inches long. #2 Back -
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Oct 5, 2015 12:42:07 GMT -5
Ok, well it might have been closer to 6-8 inches, but it was at least, 6". I wish I had something to measure it by! Here is a little video that I took, not that it help with the size, but it was laboring to get around. When I saw it, I kinda felt like this.....so the size may have been a little overestimated, but not by much!
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Oct 5, 2015 10:23:48 GMT -5
Spotted this caterpillar the other day and I haven't been able to ID. It was about 8-10 INCHES long and about as thick as my thumb. It was the craziest thing! I know things are bigger in Texas, but this was ridiculous! Thanks for looking! Jeremy
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Oct 2, 2015 11:35:08 GMT -5
Man, you have got it goin' on! Really looking forward to seeing how those turn out! Keep on posting the detailed steps.... It's like living vicariously through your experiment! I am much more of a feel guy and will never be that detailed (I would be a horrible geologist). Jeremy
|
|