lapidary1234
spending too much on rocks
"If you like rocks you can't be all bad!!" ~ old timer quote
Member since October 2021
Posts: 293
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Post by lapidary1234 on Sept 26, 2024 20:48:50 GMT -5
lapidary1234 - Great entry for the contest! I think that price qualifies!  Well, judging by the comments from my other post I probably should have entered the circular cab but I didn't take a before photo...boo! |
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Post by jasoninsd on Sept 26, 2024 20:50:13 GMT -5
lapidary1234 - Great entry for the contest! I think that price qualifies! Well, judging by the comments from my other post I probably should have entered the circular cab but I didn't take a before photo...boo! Yeah...that was a freaking beauty!! |
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goldfinder
Cave Dweller 
Member since December 2020
Posts: 273
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Post by goldfinder on Sept 27, 2024 13:45:44 GMT -5
Alright, here's my entry for this month. I honestly had no clue what to enter until I started roughing out this preform of crazy lace. I saw couple times where Jason mention crazy lace as a qualifying material so I figured I might as well enter something to bump up the number of entries. I honestly got the rock for free when picking up a old 18" HP saw. Whenever I buy lapidary equipment I always ask if they have any rocks they want to get rid of, nearly 100% of the time there is good stuff nearby. It helps if you rock back and forth scratching you arms and ask "got any rocks" lol, like the rock addict you know you are lol. Anyways, the guy I was buying the saw from said a family member had already picked up all the rocks in the collection, but proceeded to look around and point out a pile of rocks outside the garage. It was mostly gravel and garden rocks but underneath it was a large interesting looking rock. It was dark outside and the rock was very dirty and had moss and lichen on the outside like it had been sitting there for a few decades. It looked like some kind of jasper or agate but a small area gave indications of possibly crazy lace. I told him what I thought and he said just take it and do something with it, they were clearing everything out to sell the house. It ended up being a 50lb chunk of this crazy lace, I don't think it's the best stuff but pretty decent for being free. Probably worth a few dollars a lb, much higher grade laguna lace at Q was $5 a lb for reference.   I didn't take a pic of the slab but this is the roughed out preform after the hard wheels.  Here is the sister slab.  Neat theme and great entries this far! |
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Post by jasoninsd on Sept 27, 2024 16:37:48 GMT -5
goldfinder - Great choice on the material...and superb entry!! Really nice reds in that chunk!!
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Post by chris1956 on Sept 27, 2024 19:05:11 GMT -5
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lapidary1234
spending too much on rocks
"If you like rocks you can't be all bad!!" ~ old timer quote
Member since October 2021
Posts: 293
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Post by lapidary1234 on Sept 27, 2024 21:06:48 GMT -5
goldfinder its funny how that works huh? I recently responded to an ad on marketplace about some agates. Turns out the guy collected some stuff in NM. They were just your average run of the mill (mostly chalcedony) agates. Then he started showing me some petrified wood that fluoresces. Then I noticed a box at the end of the shelf that had some nice red lace laguna. I said "you're holding out on me, this is the good stuff over here!" He chuckled and mentioned he bought it at the quartzite show. When asked if he'd sell it he said sure but ill need a bit more money for it...how does $5/lb sound? I said, sounds good to me! Got 3 big chunks wishing 4lb in total! One big piece is in my 12lb lortone as we speak. Anyways, love your cab! Nice pattern capture, girdle and polish! We've got some great contenders this month for sure!
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goldfinder
Cave Dweller
Member since December 2020
Posts: 273
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Post by goldfinder on Sept 27, 2024 23:01:00 GMT -5
goldfinder - Great choice on the material...and superb entry!! Really nice reds in that chunk!! Thanks Jason! That Montana you cut is quite a ripper as well! It's a top notch beauty! lapidary1234 Thanks! Wow you got a great deal, and didn't have to travel all the way to Quartzsite lol! Going there really opened my eyes to what true wholesale prices are. It's crazy how much variation there can be in pricing of material online between different suppliers. |
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,495
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Post by realrockhound on Sept 28, 2024 10:21:36 GMT -5
goldfinder - Great choice on the material...and superb entry!! Really nice reds in that chunk!! Thanks Jason! That Montana you cut is quite a ripper as well! It's a top notch beauty! lapidary1234 Thanks! Wow you got a great deal, and didn't have to travel all the way to Quartzsite lol! Going there really opened my eyes to what true wholesale prices are. It's crazy how much variation there can be in pricing of material online between different suppliers. Youre about one of the only other people I know that uses “ripper” in describing things. Outside of hearing aussies use it. Glad to see I’m in good company. |
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goldfinder
Cave Dweller
Member since December 2020
Posts: 273
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Post by goldfinder on Sept 28, 2024 15:03:30 GMT -5
Thanks Jason! That Montana you cut is quite a ripper as well! It's a top notch beauty! lapidary1234 Thanks! Wow you got a great deal, and didn't have to travel all the way to Quartzsite lol! Going there really opened my eyes to what true wholesale prices are. It's crazy how much variation there can be in pricing of material online between different suppliers. Youre about one of the only other people I know that uses “ripper” in describing things. Outside of hearing aussies use it. Glad to see I’m in good company. Haha yeah I guess I never really thought about where I acquired the word. My mining buddy and I would use it all the time. Maybe we picked it up from one of the Aussie gold shows or something lol. |
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Post by Rockoonz on Sept 28, 2024 21:27:33 GMT -5
Here's mine for September, a piece of Brazilian I had been looking at. The slab   The Cab   On top of a mirror, if the slab was thin it might be kinda cool as a doublet.  |
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rocknrob
has rocks in the head
If Costco only sold slabs in bulk...
Member since May 2024
Posts: 613
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Post by rocknrob on Sept 29, 2024 14:58:02 GMT -5
Here's some more common, cheap material. Polkadot agate. Feelin kinda cute, might cab it later  Heheh, don't tell Highland Park Lapidary. I think I saw them trying to sell some Polka Dot Agate for something like $40 a pound in one of their auctions. That's a Nice cab-in-the-making! - Rob |
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,495
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Post by realrockhound on Sept 29, 2024 15:03:31 GMT -5
Here's some more common, cheap material. Polkadot agate. Feelin kinda cute, might cab it later Heheh, don't tell Highland Park Lapidary. I think I saw them trying to sell some Polka Dot Agate for something like $40 a pound in one of their auctions. That's a Nice cab-in-the-making! - Rob Pretty silly considering I can go out to the mine and get it for around $2lb no joke. One thing I do know is materials and their prices. I cringe when I see people selling it at inflated prices and people paying for it because they don’t know any better. |
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rocknrob
has rocks in the head
If Costco only sold slabs in bulk...
Member since May 2024
Posts: 613
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Post by rocknrob on Sept 29, 2024 15:23:10 GMT -5
Heheh, don't tell Highland Park Lapidary. I think I saw them trying to sell some Polka Dot Agate for something like $40 a pound in one of their auctions. That's a Nice cab-in-the-making! - Rob Pretty silly considering I can go out to the mine and get it for around $2lb no joke. One thing I do know is materials and their prices. I cringe when I see people selling it at inflated prices and people paying for it because they don’t know any better. Maybe they thought they could mark it up because of the giant bonfire that was called Central Oregon was still going on. Has the weather calmed the fires down? I know we haven't really gotten much more than 2-3 inches since the beginning of September in Kitsap County. |
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,495
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Post by realrockhound on Sept 29, 2024 15:34:51 GMT -5
Pretty silly considering I can go out to the mine and get it for around $2lb no joke. One thing I do know is materials and their prices. I cringe when I see people selling it at inflated prices and people paying for it because they don’t know any better. Maybe they thought they could mark it up because of the giant bonfire that was called Central Oregon was still going on. Has the weather calmed the fires down? I know we haven't really gotten much more than 2-3 inches since the beginning of September in Kitsap County. most of those fires are out now. As far as them marking it up, I dunno what they pay in shipping to obtain it. But they still have it over inflated. Predatory practices. You can go on eBay and get it for cheap. |
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Post by Rockoonz on Sept 29, 2024 16:28:59 GMT -5
Heheh, don't tell Highland Park Lapidary. I think I saw them trying to sell some Polka Dot Agate for something like $40 a pound in one of their auctions. That's a Nice cab-in-the-making! - Rob Pretty silly considering I can go out to the mine and get it for around $2lb no joke. One thing I do know is materials and their prices. I cringe when I see people selling it at inflated prices and people paying for it because they don’t know any better. They started allowing people back into the pit, I think it's like $20 admission, all counted towards what you get at $4 or $5 per lb, neighbors, friends and frequent diggers get discounts as well. I remember when I took the club there for the first time years ago, $1/lb if I recall from Dale, and I think it was $2 for the general public. |
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,495
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Post by realrockhound on Sept 29, 2024 16:45:14 GMT -5
Pretty silly considering I can go out to the mine and get it for around $2lb no joke. One thing I do know is materials and their prices. I cringe when I see people selling it at inflated prices and people paying for it because they don’t know any better. They started allowing people back into the pit, I think it's like $20 admission, all counted towards what you get at $4 or $5 per lb, neighbors, friends and frequent diggers get discounts as well. I remember when I took the club there for the first time years ago, $1/lb if I recall from Dale, and I think it was $2 for the general public. no admission. Just pay for what you dig. It’s hit or miss who they allow down in the mine. |
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Post by chris1956 on Sept 29, 2024 20:28:10 GMT -5
Here is my official entry. Since jasoninsd abandoned his own Prairie Agates, I decided to make a cab from a rock he gave me and enter it. It polished really nicely and the white dots are reflections of lights (I need to get a light box). The background you see is a large piece of petrified tree bark with what I think is petrified poison ivy (crossed pattern) on it. Good to know that stuff has been iritating humans and animals for ages. First photo is the size comparison with the penny.  Original slab:  Full on and edge shots:   Chris |
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Post by miket on Sept 29, 2024 22:11:12 GMT -5
Sorry, I'm switching things up at almost the last minute! I've found lots of rose quartz and never have cabbed it- so here's my entry. Tommy , please use this one sir! The rock, a few slabs and the cab. Of course it looks better in person- I couldn't out-smart my phone to capture the true pink color. 🙄     |
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2022
Posts: 3,172
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Post by rockbrain on Sept 29, 2024 22:39:09 GMT -5
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,495
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Post by realrockhound on Sept 29, 2024 23:04:35 GMT -5
My entry is some Lavic Crossing Jasper I picked up on my journey to Quartzite earlier this year.    Nice looking stuff. Looks almost identical to some of the rim jasper I’ve collected. |
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