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Because Photobucket has been ending free third party picture posting.

When I worked for a prospecting firm back in 1980 we did find gold not too far from there in Marathon county (if I remember correctly in the vicinity of hwy M). But what I saw of that was in white quartz.

Larry C.

Couldn't find the issue of Gems & Gemology that had the article on heat treating zircon. I'm thinking it was either one of the 1984 or the 1988 issues. I believe I have also seen some of these old Gem & Gemology issues archived online somewhere. Possibly on the GIA site. So it may be worth doing an online search.

However there are a couple of pages on heat treating zircons in Kurt Nassau's book GEMSTONE ENHANCEMENT. According to Nassau not all zircons can be heat treated. But of the reddish brown ones that can, they are to be heat treated in a kiln, surrounded in charcoal (to create a reduction atmosphere) at about 1000C for a few hours. This reducing treatment turns some red-brown zircons blue, turns some colorless, and some off-color. The clear and off-color stones can then be heated again to about 900C, this time with access to oxygen. This oxygen rich treatment can turn some of the clears to yellow, orange or red. And some of the off-color stones may remain off-color but can be re-treated through either or both processes. Also he suggests that a very slow cooling after the oxygen rich treatment may be beneficial.

Looks like Pyrite and Chalcopyrite to me. Trace gold does sometimes occur with both. What area of WI did you find it in?


Larry C.

The 1/2 hp motor on my Lortone 18" saw was dying so I started looking around for a replacement. Normally I'm a big proponent of salvaging used motors for lapidary equipment. But since it's starting to get tougher for me to get down on the floor to do maintenance or to replace motors on the bigger saws I decided to look into buying a new one. Found a Dayton (model 20VD08) 1/2 hp Capacitor Start/Capacitor Run motor on sale at Zoro Tools for $169 w/free shipping which was only about thirty dollars more than a new standard split-phase 1/2 hp cost. And since the CS/CR motor's specs showed it only pulls about half the amps as the standard 1/2 hp split-phase I figured it would easily save the cost difference on the power bill.

Received the motor in good shape and very fast delivery (always have gotten good service from Zoro Tools). Installed it on the saw and tested it and everything seemed fine. Later when running just the 18" Lortone alone I noticed a clicking sound after I started the saw. It clicks about every 5-7 seconds until the saw blade starts engaging the stone but once the motor gets under strain it does not click nearly as often but yet still does some randomly. (And yes I've checked the pulleys to make sure that they are tight). I had not noticed the clicking the first couple of times I used the new motor on the saw but I had other saws running at the time too so the sound of those may have drowned out the clicking sound.

So my question is: Is it normal to be able to hear the capacitors on a CS/CR fractional hp motor kick in and off when running and is it normal that they should do this so frequently (5-7 seconds) when not under heavy load?

Larry C.

I agree about using Hxtal. It's an optical grade, water clear epoxy with a similar Refractive Index to glass. So it optically works well on agates too. Just first have to make sure that ALL of the oil residue is out of those cracks in the slab.

Larry C.

Thanks! And yeah wing nuts would seem more convenient but standard nuts are what came on this LS14 saw (See drawings in Operator's Manual). There's only 3/4" between the inside edge of the threaded vise posts and the inside edge of the top vise bar so wingnuts large enough to fit and tighten sufficiently probably would have protruded out too far and would have been in the blades path when cutting close to the vise bar like is done when halving geodes and thunder eggs.

Larry C.

Update 7/12/2017 This saw is sold. Thank you!

Lortone 14" Drop Saw model LS-14.


I have a used Lortone 14" drop Saw model LS-14 for sale for $650. This saw was part of a group of equipment I purchased from the heirs of a deceased rockhound/lapidary. (In addition to the photo shown here, nineteen more photos showing other views and details may be viewed on my flickr page:
www.flickr.com/photos/quailriver/ )


This saw has it's original blue Lortone factory paint and does have some paint chipping and paint bubbling but is in overall good condition. The on/off switch has been moved from the back of the motor service plate to a switch box post mounted on the left rear corner of the saw so that the saw operator doesn't have to reach across in front of the saw's blade, or oil spray, to turn the machine on and off. Also a separate switch has been added to the switch box for the oil circulating Teel pump (see photos). And a drain plug has been added to the front left side corner of the oil pan.

A circulating Dayton electric motor Teel pump delivers oil through vinyl tubes to the blade rather than having the bottom of the blade submerged in oil like traditional saws do. So the oil mist/spray is not as bad as it would be if the bottom of the blade were submerged in oil. But since there was never a hood included with this Lortone saw design it is noisy and also is best used outdoors or under a shelter away from anything that could be harmed by oil mist. To use indoors you will need to fabricate a hood.

This type of drop saw tends to get love-it/hate-it reviews. Some swear by them while others swear at them! RTH member Mel's description of his final experiences with this model saw read like a scene from The Exorsist, while RTH member Phil was so found of this model saw that he did his own (with Lortone's permission) post Lortone production series of copies of this saw.

The Lortone LS-14 saw is designed to be used for both slabbing and for trimming slabs. In testing I found that as long as the blade is kept well dressed, this saw cuts through most rocks much faster than auto-feed slab saws but that the cut surface was not as smooth. The rock vise stays stationary and the blade/motor/belt assembly is on a movable track, so this saw worked well for cutting open geodes, thunder eggs and other nodular stones that are difficult to mount and cut in a traditional saw. (A scanned copy of the operator's manual can be viewed in the archives on Lortone's web site. www.lortone.com/pdf/LS14_Instructions.pdf )

I have tested this saw and the motor, the bearings, the oil circulating pump and everything else all work properly. It comes complete and with a circa 1980s New-Old-Stock, never used, 14" MLS (Minnesota Lapidary Supply) diamond blade. Blades with the MLS logo were special made by both Star Diamond and by MK Diamond for MLS. Not sure which of those two made this one.

Without any packaging materials this saw weighs approximately 105 lbs. So local pick-up in the High Point/Greensboro area of NC would be ideal. But if you wish to purchase this saw and have it shipped, then once it's paid for I will happily drop it off for you at your choice of a local UPS Store or Fed Ex Packaging Store so you can have it professionally packaged and shipped at your own arrangement and cost.

If you would like to purchase this saw then PM me your email address and I will contact you to make payment and pick-up arrangements. Or if you are planning to purchase the saw and have it shipped then I will send you a Pay Pal Invoice for the purchase price only. *Remember, the purchase price shown here does NOT include the packing and shipping cost which will be done by your arrangement and your cost at your choice of a local UPS or a Fed Ex packaging store. I will drop the saw off at whichever local packer/shipper you choose as part of the sale but from there arrangements will be your responsibility.

I will likely be listing this saw on other venues too. So the first person to contact me with a commitment to purchase get's priority. Thank you!

Larry C.

Mel is correct that this type of Sunset Agate was from Richardson's Ranch. The info I had was that it was a relatively small deposit and was mined out in the 1970s. I was lucky enough to acquire 60+ lbs of rough of it when the Charles & Margaret Humenik collection/estate was auctioned off in Canton, Ohio a few years ago. The Humeniks began collecting back in the 1950s and would travel and vacation for a month at a time each summer digging and collecting lapidary materials, fossils and mineral specimens at locations all across the country. Over the decades they amassed a huge and impressive collection that was auctioned off after they both had passed. Fortunately they had labeled everything in the collection. There were materials in that collection I had never seen before nor since.

Larry C.