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Post by captbob on Dec 5, 2019 12:59:53 GMT -5
We need to head down to Zapata. There was about a 5 acre industrial storage lot covered with Rio's in Zapata that I asked permission to collect on. Perfect, big cobbles. The owner looked at me as crazy and denied me dang it. Again, I should have thought to hand over some greenbacks !! Bet $40 would have filled my car 3 times over(600 pounds). I also got rejected from entering the largest quarry for 100 miles up and down the Rio there. I asked around and found out he owns Zapata NAPA. He had no interest in letting me in his quarry. Would not accept a signed legal release, greenbacks, not nada. It was perfect, located right in the large bend of the river in prime agate dumps. Next time I will try again. *cough**cough**cough*
no... I do not have a cold
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 5, 2019 19:55:33 GMT -5
Very few people collect there because of fear of drug trafficking dangers. Which is blown out of proportion because you can't pee behind a tree without getting caught by a DEA officer not to mention the blimps with cameras watching constantly. Two murders in 10 years as opposed to Atlanta with 4000 murders in 10 years. James, those are only the two reported widely on the media. Most never see the light of day.
The cartels don't always leave evidence behind, although they do frequently flaunt deaths and murders to "make a point." How many more bodies are just left out in the desert?
So I guess people that go there despite the drug trafficking dangers. They are either very brave, or stupid. Or perhaps just lucky. I don't think I am enough of any of those three things to 100% enjoy a trip there for those fantastic rocks. (Just have to live vicariously through the exploits of those that do go there. And their generosity!)
Just like shark and gator attacks in tourist rich Florida. Such attacks rarely make it to the press. It's cool Jean. It is all about the lake. At Zapata the lake is 20 miles long and 1 to 3 miles wide. The US side of the lake is essentially a safe zone from traffickers. No way drugs are being trafficked across that heavily policed lake. I collect at the mid point of the 20 miles and am certain no traffickers are crossing that wide lake. not brave, not stupid Even if a fishing boat crosses the center point of the lake they get a border patrol escort to the closest customs station. All's good. North or south of the lake where the river is 100 feet wide you can smell them in the bushes. No way I'd collect there. Not to mention it is desolate. I would fear the people in the US involved in the trade. They recieve, they are the ones in a new pick up truck, they are the ones with the arsenal. No surprise if many of the people involved in the drug trade live in Zapata. But I think they do their business elsewhere.
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Dec 5, 2019 20:01:09 GMT -5
We need to head down to Zapata. There was about a 5 acre industrial storage lot covered with Rio's in Zapata that I asked permission to collect on. Perfect, big cobbles. The owner looked at me as crazy and denied me dang it. Again, I should have thought to hand over some greenbacks !! Bet $40 would have filled my car 3 times over(600 pounds). I also got rejected from entering the largest quarry for 100 miles up and down the Rio there. I asked around and found out he owns Zapata NAPA. He had no interest in letting me in his quarry. Would not accept a signed legal release, greenbacks, not nada. It was perfect, located right in the large bend of the river in prime agate dumps. Next time I will try again. *cough**cough**cough*
no... I do not have a cold
We got to make another trip Bob. Got to. Make sure you arrange a longer visit than the last trip .
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 316
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Post by whyofquartz on Dec 6, 2019 9:38:46 GMT -5
Do you want Fries with those Agates? For some reason I ate at McDonalds a lot Henry. Each day I would walk a new row down the rock beds pretending to look at my cell phon. 3 agates per trip. James, i can get you Devine Chocolate agates without having to rob the Hamburgler. there are probably other agates in my area but I don't yet know a my Jasper from an Agate in the ground
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 6, 2019 11:35:56 GMT -5
Maybe there are gravel beds sorrounding the candy store in Zapata Texas whyofquartz. Welcome to this forum. Great place to learrn about agates and jaspers.
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 316
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Post by whyofquartz on Dec 6, 2019 13:31:54 GMT -5
i'll post a picture of chocolate Agate when i get home, it is pretty aptly named
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 316
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Post by whyofquartz on Dec 6, 2019 19:34:54 GMT -5
What i have been told is Devine Chocolate Agate
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Post by RocksInNJ on Dec 6, 2019 22:33:13 GMT -5
So divine that somebody took a bite out of the bottom of it. Lol.
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Post by 1dave on Dec 7, 2019 6:50:47 GMT -5
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Dec 7, 2019 10:48:10 GMT -5
What i have been told is Devine Chocolate Agate That looks like a material sought after by modern arrowhead knappers whyofquartz. Is this from north Texas ?
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 316
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Post by whyofquartz on Dec 7, 2019 10:58:14 GMT -5
So divine that somebody took a bite out of the bottom of it. Lol. Well someone may or may not have not had the patience to wait and buy a slabing saw and someone or may not have tried to use a hammer and some harbor freight cold chisels to open it, and this hypothetical person may have given it a gentle tap, or two, with a 12lb sledge and split it in three major pieces. I have a sliver of this that i polished
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 316
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Post by whyofquartz on Dec 7, 2019 11:04:40 GMT -5
What i have been told is Devine Chocolate Agate That looks like a material sought after by modern arrowhead knappers whyofquartz . Is this from north Texas ? I can see why they would want it, it is sharp as glass. This chunk is from the booming burg of Moore in South Texas, a 'blink and you'll miss it' flyspeck on the IH35 corridor between San Antonio and Laredo(or between Devine and Pearsall if you want to be more specific or have The falconguides Texas rock hounding book)
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reeniebeany
starting to spend too much on rocks
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Post by reeniebeany on Jan 13, 2020 10:57:12 GMT -5
Noob noob here... Most of the intro stuff seems to say mix of rock size, not to exceed 1/3 of the barrel size. Is that just a rule of thumb? From looking at other pictures in the forum it also looks like people do batches of very similar size chunks as well.
If you put one big guy in, are the other ones still a mix of sizes, or all roughly the same? Do you still need to deal with volume ratio? I am guessing weight ratio is still important?
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 316
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Post by whyofquartz on Jan 13, 2020 13:34:16 GMT -5
Noob noob here... Most of the intro stuff seems to say mix of rock size, not to exceed 1/3 of the barrel size. Is that just a rule of thumb? From looking at other pictures in the forum it also looks like people do batches of very similar size chunks as well. If you put one big guy in, are the other ones still a mix of sizes, or all roughly the same? Do you still need to deal with volume ratio? I am guessing weight ratio is still important? Pretty new myself but the idea of 2/3-3/4 full still applies, I can fit a stone the size of an onion in my tumbler but the rocks i put in with it are going to be smaller. if i have what i consider to be a standard distribution i will have 3-4 stones the size of golf balls, 10-12 the size of cherries, and fill it with stones small enough to fit through the neck of a soda bottle. I may include 1 stone the size of a racket-ball, and by size i kind of mean mass, if you could roll the rock up like playdough. And honestly i may be wrong and i don't stick to this religiously, it is more of my ideal. I am working on sorting my rocks into buckets so i can better regulate my recipe, if you will, and figure out the best ratios. but basically a 3lb tumbler holds 3lbs, either a 1.5lb rock and 1.5lbs of gravel, or 3lbs of dice sized rocks or somewhere in between.
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reeniebeany
starting to spend too much on rocks
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Post by reeniebeany on Jan 15, 2020 18:41:15 GMT -5
Thanks!
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Post by RocksInNJ on Jan 16, 2020 1:07:14 GMT -5
Yea, like mentioned above, you want to fill you barrel 2/3 - 3/4 full of rocks. This includes any ceramic or plastic media you may be using.
You can put one big rock in at about the size of the the radius of the width and same with height of your barrel. Then you’ll want a mix of rocks and/or ceramic/plastic bead media to fill to that 2/3 x 3/4 mark. These rocks should include small 1/2”, some 1” or so and some larger up to 3” rocks. It all depends on the size of you barrel, but those numbers should work well with most size barrels. The small rocks are really important, as those are the ones that will be in the most contact with all of the other rocks, and help to carry the grit into crevices and such.
Then you’ll fill your barrel with water up to the very bottom of the top layer of rocks, and then add your grit and tumble away. Do note, if this is the first coarse stage, you’ll want to run it for 5-7 days, I’d say 7 if your new and then check your rocks. This stage could take several weeks to months alone depending on the hardness of your rocks. If they’re not rounded and smooth, you’ll want to rerun them for another 5-7 days, with a total clean out and repeat the above until they are ready. You can pull the ones that are ready and add some new ones to keep the level at 2/3 - 3/4 full.
Also you want to try to keep similar types of rocks together. Never runs softer rocks with harder ones. If you scratch them with a nail and it leave a white line, they’re to soft and usually not worth tumbling, until you become more experienced.
Hope this was of some help and best of luck to you.
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whyofquartz
spending too much on rocks
So, Africa is smaller than I expected...
Member since December 2019
Posts: 316
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Post by whyofquartz on Jan 16, 2020 13:17:05 GMT -5
I my be getting too big for my britches here but i think i have seen enough rocks now to disagree with the assertion that this is chert. The piece I have shown is broken, not cut. The fracture pattern (concoidal i think?)of the Devine chocolate looks different than the chert pictured. Also the transparency, it is hard to see in this light but it can pass a some light which the chert does not seem capable of. Now this does not mean I am certain it is an Agate since I believe a defining characteristic of agate is banding and this has no bands. I have recently found some rocks that look almost exactly like the chert pictured though.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jan 19, 2020 1:52:37 GMT -5
Most chert has biological matter in it. Fossiliferous critters, often small and even microscopic. Often occurs in oval nodules. Looks like root beer chert.
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smellyprimate
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2019
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Post by smellyprimate on Feb 3, 2020 13:07:43 GMT -5
Very nice! I have pulverized many smaller and very nice specimens trying to polish a larger rock in a 40# tumbler. This post and the responses confirmed my suspected error and the fix: just one big rock and porcelain filler media! Thanks and well done!
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Post by knave on Feb 3, 2020 13:35:12 GMT -5
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