sfilpansick
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2013
Posts: 2
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Post by sfilpansick on Apr 15, 2013 9:11:44 GMT -5
Hello everyone, I'm Steve; I'm 36, and live in the Greater Flint MI area. I was always interested in rocks and minerals when I was a kid, but never really did anything with it. Once my youngest daughter started to show quite a bit of interest in geology and lapidary, I decided it was time to get back into it, as a way to keep her interested, and give us a great way to spend some quality time together. We've been collecting rocks for about 4 years or so, and she's 9 years old now, so I decided to get her involved in the lapidary arts. We are members of the Flint Rock and Gem Club, and after almost a year of working on things at the club's classroom, I ended up buying some equipment from another club member. So now, we have everything we need to cut and grind cabs, a few nice tumblers (rotary and vibratory), and a vibrating flat lap. Now that we have the gear, I'm trying to get her (and her 15 year old sister) to start turning all of these pretty rocks into jewelry! I had been just drilling the stones to turn them into pendants, but last night I did my very first attempt ever at wire wrapping, and I think it turned out ok, so hopefully the girls will take an interest in that too! I'm looking forward to perusing through all of the great info on this forum, and finding new ways to expand our horizons even further! Anyway, thanks for having me!
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Apr 15, 2013 10:17:25 GMT -5
Welcome to the board Steve. I am also from Michigan and have an 8 yr old and 13 yr old (boys) that are into the hobby and we are members of the Macomb County lapidary society. our club is hosting a rock and gem show next weekend and my boys will by doing a question and answer booth about rock tumbling there both days. Its probably less then an hour from you. detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/eve/3727916952.htmlwhen you get a chance post some pictures of your work and the kids stuff too! We love pictures here. chuck
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Post by drocknut on Apr 15, 2013 11:06:24 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum. Definitely we love pictures here so post away.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 15, 2013 12:19:43 GMT -5
Hi Steve,
I'm Rob from Alpena. We don't have a club here, so I'm a little behind on my learning! I mostly tumble rocks, but I make a few cabs too.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Apr 15, 2013 12:31:10 GMT -5
Florida here, lots of sand here too.. not so much rocks.... My daughter, 9, and I are learning lapidary, tumbling, and minerals too... been at it for a little over a year now . the folks here are fantastic at helping out with answers to most questions and there are some stickies up for tumbling and what-not... so feel free to browse through the info, post pics & questions, and most of all... ROCK ON !!!!
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Post by talkingstones on Apr 16, 2013 21:13:02 GMT -5
Hello from NY! Sounds like you have quite a shop going there. Don't be shy about sharing photos of what you do! It's how we all grow!!!
Cathy
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sfilpansick
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2013
Posts: 2
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Post by sfilpansick on Apr 18, 2013 20:54:06 GMT -5
Thanks for the welcome everyone! I'll try to post some pics soon! For now, here's the wire wrap I did the other night... it's far from perfect, but here is my very first attempt ever at wire wrapping. Copper wire on a 1.25" green aventurine cab. I think after I do a few more (and buy some new pliers!), they should turn out a little nicer. I might like to watch someone that knows what they're doing too; for this one, I just looked at a few pictures and dove in! Attachments:
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RockIt2Me
has rocks in the head
Sometimes I have to tell myself, "It's not worth the jail time."
Member since December 2009
Posts: 668
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Post by RockIt2Me on Apr 18, 2013 21:20:44 GMT -5
Wow! Steve, great wrap.
Welcome from Arkansas!
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Post by drocknut on Apr 18, 2013 21:36:15 GMT -5
Nice dive, Steve. You did a great job on that wrap. I wouldn't have guessed it was your first. I look forward to seeing more from you. You might check out the tutorials on the wire wrap part of the forum. They helped me when I first started out although I got a hands on lesson from rockhobbit too.
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