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Post by Cher on Aug 31, 2004 18:56:31 GMT -5
identify petrified wood? I have a couple of pieces that I thought maybe, but how can you be sure? Or can you? Is there anything in particular that you should look for? Can you find pet wood in gravel pits or only in rivers and lakes?
I have that great big chunk of it, and it's quite easy to tell that that is / was a tree but I'm wondering about smaller pieces.
[glow=red,2,300]~ Cher ~[/glow]
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Post by cookie3rocks on Aug 31, 2004 19:01:12 GMT -5
Cher, all I've gotten really does look like a piece of wood in the rough. Just REALLY HARD ;D Not very experienced with it though. I actually pulled some out early because I Wanted it to look like wood. Went through polish, just skipped part of the 600 grind. Made some pretty pendents. Good luck finding out from someone who knows more than me ;D
cookie
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Post by Cher on Aug 31, 2004 19:06:31 GMT -5
Where did you find it Cookie?
[glow=red,2,300]~ Cher ~[/glow]
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Post by cookie3rocks on Aug 31, 2004 19:10:48 GMT -5
I got some from a quartz trade from Llana. I think she picked it up on a rock hounding trip in TX Might be wrong, tho... cookie
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Post by Cher on Aug 31, 2004 19:34:53 GMT -5
Ok, thanks Cookie. Hey Llana ... where'd you find your pet wood?
Anyone else? How do you id pet wood?
[glow=red,2,300]~ Cher ~[/glow]
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Post by docone31 on Aug 31, 2004 21:19:17 GMT -5
Petrified wood, the wood rings will polish at the same rate as the majority of the stone. When I was in Portland Oregon, I found a lot of river rock that really looked like petrified wood however, when it was tumbled every other layer undercut. Opalized wood is harder to identify. Opalized wood is the longest fossilization of the woods and the grain is almost invisible. I facet opalized wood and it is harder than quartz to facet. Petrified wood will tumble very nicely. I have preformed shapes and tumbled them and they came out great. I have set these in silver and gold for pendants. One I overlaid turquoise cabachons with petrified wood boundary. Like Intarsia. I set this in silver and it looked great. Cookie, you have great cats. I saw the picture in members photos. You and the cats look very much at peace. When I get my old computer hooked up, I will send pictures of Ralph and Muffy, our Bengals. Also Kitty, the Serval. He weighs 58lbs now.
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Post by cookie3rocks on Aug 31, 2004 21:42:52 GMT -5
Doc, I would love to see that! 58 lbs.? How do you handle an animal that size that, as I understand, tends to go back to it's wild roots? Looking forward to pics!
cookie
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Post by docone31 on Aug 31, 2004 22:04:51 GMT -5
I have been Kitties buddy since he was 8 weeks old. He is not mine, but I was the only person he liked. He would jump into my lap and lick my chin raw! As he got older we would play rougher and rougher. He would draw blood. When we left Punta Gorda, we also left him behind. I miss him a great deal. I am not happy with his owner and I not only disagree with his treatment, so does kitty. But, they are bonded. I cannot begin to describe the privelege of being able to spend real quality time with an African Serval. When he purrs he is louder than a cougar. You are too young to remember NRPS. I am 50, what are you, 35?
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Post by BearCreekLapidary on Aug 31, 2004 23:07:48 GMT -5
Hello Cher, About the petrified wood ... You can find petrified wood in many places ... rivers, streams, dry creek beds, on the surface of the land, other people's yards ;D, buried in the dirt and gravel pits are a good source for petrified wood. I used to be a night maintenance supervisor at a sand and gravel plant in Henderson, Colorado. We actually pulled the petrified wood off of the belts going to the crusher, so it was not busted up and used for aggregate material. The owner of the sand and gravel operation had an entire driveway lined with the petrified wood that we recovered from the pits. His driveway was just over 600 feet in length and it was lined on both sides and in many areas was stacked in piles about two to three feet tall. We also sold it to local lapidaries and homeowners as decorative rock. Anyway, back to petrified wood. Not all petrified wood is easily identified or suitable for cutting or tumbling. Depending on the replacement process of the wood with silica, opal, jasper or minerals with ultimately yield a specific kind of petrified wood. As in highly agatized, opalized, etc. There is a bunch of petrified wood up north of my home, about 80 miles north ... but it has been replaced with calcite and it is basically a bunch of micro crystals and it does not really look like petrified wood ... but it is. Other than a specimen piece ... not much can be done with it. In time, you will be able to notice certain properties of petrified wood that will help you identify the material. A lot of petrified wood found in rivers or streams may have a rounded (naturaly tumbled by the river) appearance, that may not show any distinguishable charachteristics of the material. Others may have definite growth bands visible or other key give aways that will determine that it is petrified wood. I have a bunch of petrified wood and I'll get some photo's posted tomorrow that can help show some of the many differences of this material. Like anything else, the more you learn about the subject and the more you physically handle various pieces of petrified wood, the better you will become at identifying them in their natural state. My son, gets really ticked, when we go rock hounding ... as I can spot a good stone that he just walked over and be 15 to 20 feet away. It's just that I have been gathering stones since I was a child and I have an eye for many different kinds of stone. It's just something that you will acquire, the more you do it I'll get some photo's for you, tomorrow. I know that I have some agatized and opalized pieces and a couple pieces of Blue Forest Petrified Wood (from Southwestern Wyoming) that look so much like a dried stick ... you would honestly think that you could put a match to it and it would catch fire! Hope this has been of some help, John
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Post by cookie3rocks on Aug 31, 2004 23:30:50 GMT -5
Doc, I'm 45. Allways been funny about my age in that I feel, at 45, my life experience demands some respect. However, NRPS isn't ringing a bell Hello! I'll hold my hands above my head so you can toss it at me again. Sorry to drift from the subject matter Rosebud cookie
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MoonStone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 202
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Post by MoonStone on Sept 1, 2004 1:28:10 GMT -5
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Post by Cher on Sept 1, 2004 10:17:31 GMT -5
No problem Cookie ;D I like cats too.
Thanks for all your replies. I think pet wood is so interesting and hope I'll be able to learn to identify it.
[glow=red,2,300]~ Cher ~[/glow]
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Post by BearCreekLapidary on Sept 1, 2004 14:57:12 GMT -5
Hello Cher, I got some photo's of various pieces of petrified wood, to show you some of the differences to identifying them. It just takes a little time and an eye for the charchteristics of Petrified Wood. This piece was found in a gravel pit, it has a rough exterior that can be a little difficult in telling what it is. The glossy exterior is a key indicator ... it doesn't take much to be able to identify it as a highly agatized piece. Now, if you are trying to decide as to whether it is a Pine or an Ash ... that's a whole other ball game! This is a piece of Blue Forest Petrified Wood (from Southwestern Wyoming) and it is partially covered with chalcedony. The best pieces of this material are totally encapsulated in a light blue chalcedony. So, you won't see any of the trademarks, that help you with you identification process. This is a piece of Blue Forest Petrified Wood as well, without the chalcedony exterior. It has some excellent wood grain details ... like you could take a match and set it on fire. These are river tumbled pieces of p/w - both show a lot less details. They are there, just not readily visible. Again, the glossy exterior was a key element for further investigation. I will often take my rock hammer and knock off a small flake to see what the interior looks like. If it is worth keeping ... it is mine This is a gorgeous piece of Texas Palm Wood. See how the dark, smooth exterior of this piece hides an absolutely gorgeous interior. This is a nice chunk of Opalized Wood, again, the exterior hides a beautiful interior. This chunk is from North Dakota. It has a very smooth and irregular exterior. I believe that it was once a river tumbled piece. The end of the piece shows the cell structure very nicely ... without the aid of a loupe (magnifying glass). This beauty has a white crust on just about the entire piece. It too came from a gravel pit, and the crust first appeared to be a huge conglomerate until it was turned over and you can easily see the wood grain texture. This piece has a gorgeous limb knot on the side. I love pieces like this, as they can often have the most gorgeous patterns inside where the limb starts to grow outward. I hope that this might have been of some help. It all comes down to time in the field or examining petrified wood first hand ... after a while it will come naturally to you and you won't even think about it Next time you go to a rock shop or similar place where they have a lot of petrified wood ... just look at all of the different pieces and see what they offer. Before long you'll be pointing them out to your husband from 15 to 20 feet away and he'll just scratch his head and wonder how in the world does she do that Enjoy, John
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Post by Cher on Sept 2, 2004 7:02:39 GMT -5
Thanks John, those are some great pictures. I am amazed at a couple, I would not have thought them to be pet wood. I wish I had some rocks shops around here that I could browse through. Thanks again for the super pics, love that piece on the bottom with the knot.
[glow=red,2,300]~ Cher ~[/glow]
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Post by BearCreekLapidary on Sept 2, 2004 10:02:23 GMT -5
Hi Cher,
I know what you mean.
It is just a matter of seeing the many different aspects of the natural states of various petrified woods.
Before you know it ... you'll be recognizing them without a lot thought ... it'll just come naturally.
Have a great day!
John
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