michaelc
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2024
Posts: 5
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Post by michaelc on Mar 22, 2024 22:10:06 GMT -5
Hello everyone! My name is Michael. I am new to rockhounding, rock tumbling, and making crafts with rocks and have been looking for a community to share my progress with as well as ask questions when I have them. I currently serve in the military so I move around a lot but am currently in the Fort Irwin/Barstow, CA area. I got into rock hunting as a hobby for myself and my two kids and my wife really enjoys it as well. My biggest interest with rocks is going to be turning them into dice (I play dungeons and dragons which use multiple dice that have different number of faces). The obvious place to start was a 6 sided dice as it is just a cube and boy did that open Pandora’s box for me (no pun intended). I became overwhelmed with how much I didn’t know (had never heard of a lapidary and gosh if they weren’t so expensive I would have one in my garage already). But eventually I plan to invest more time and money into the hobby. For now I have a rock tumblr, a Dremel (as most of my stone working projects are on the smaller scale and I can’t invest in a lapidary just yet) and some few other odds and ends in the way of tools. the below picture is to see if I figured out the cloud photo sharing thing but also to see if anyone can tell me what kind of rock (or mineral? Not really sure the difference) this is. looking forward to seeing all your work and learning from you as well as sharing my projects as I make them.
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Post by vegasjames on Mar 22, 2024 22:47:41 GMT -5
Welcome Michael from Southern Nevada.
You are in a great area for rocks. All sorts of great stuff all around the Barstow area.
Your rock looks like it could be dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate).
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Post by rockjunquie on Mar 23, 2024 5:36:24 GMT -5
Welcome from Virginia! And, thank you for your service.
Congratulations for getting Cloudinary up and running so fast.
Nice rock! Not sure what it is but the poster before me is a go to guy for ID.
Always make sure you use water and a mask when grinding by hand.
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
Posts: 1,722
Member is Online
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Post by khara on Mar 23, 2024 6:02:11 GMT -5
Welcome! Cool hobby to share with your family. And I love your dice idea. I’ve also thought of this but haven’t done it yet. I hope to see some pictures soon of your projects!! 🎲
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Mark K
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,576
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Post by Mark K on Mar 23, 2024 8:27:17 GMT -5
I remember Irwin well. SUPPOSEDLY we were the first ones to kick the hell out of OP4. I seriously doubt it is true though.
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michaelc
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2024
Posts: 5
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Post by michaelc on Mar 23, 2024 21:46:58 GMT -5
Welcome Michael from Southern Nevada. You are in a great area for rocks. All sorts of great stuff all around the Barstow area. Your rock looks like it could be dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate). Thanks for the dolomite suggestion James. I definitely love this area and the different rocks I’ve already come across since being here
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michaelc
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2024
Posts: 5
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Post by michaelc on Mar 23, 2024 21:50:09 GMT -5
Welcome from Virginia! And, thank you for your service.
Congratulations for getting Cloudinary up and running so fast.
Nice rock! Not sure what it is but the poster before me is a go to guy for ID.
Always make sure you use water and a mask when grinding by hand.
Thanks for the advice! I definitely always use a mask while grinding. I enjoy woodworking too and have inhaled far too much saw dust in the past to ever start a project without a mask. Water though, is that just to keep the particles from becoming airborne or does the water do something else for the stone?
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michaelc
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2024
Posts: 5
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Post by michaelc on Mar 23, 2024 21:51:53 GMT -5
Welcome! Cool hobby to share with your family. And I love your dice idea. I’ve also thought of this but haven’t done it yet. I hope to see some pictures soon of your projects!! 🎲 Thank you! I have my first attempt at a six sided dice i will upload soon. Not the greatest in terms of preciseness but it was really fun and a great way to get a feel for working with stone:
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michaelc
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2024
Posts: 5
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Post by michaelc on Mar 23, 2024 21:53:45 GMT -5
I remember Irwin well. SUPPOSEDLY we were the first ones to kick the hell out of OP4. I seriously doubt it is true though. Hi Mark, I am sure (and certainly hope) OP4 has had their bits kicked many times before and since your time at Irwin. But it’s good to hear you gave them hell while you were here. 😂
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 24, 2024 0:33:07 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona!
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Post by Rockoonz on Mar 24, 2024 0:35:51 GMT -5
Welcome from AZ
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Post by rockjunquie on Mar 24, 2024 4:45:04 GMT -5
Welcome from Virginia! And, thank you for your service.
Congratulations for getting Cloudinary up and running so fast.
Nice rock! Not sure what it is but the poster before me is a go to guy for ID.
Always make sure you use water and a mask when grinding by hand.
Thanks for the advice! I definitely always use a mask while grinding. I enjoy woodworking too and have inhaled far too much saw dust in the past to ever start a project without a mask. Water though, is that just to keep the particles from becoming airborne or does the water do something else for the stone? It does several things. It lubricates, improves the life of your abrasives and keeps the dust down.
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Post by liveoak on Mar 24, 2024 6:17:03 GMT -5
Welcome from NW Florida. Look forward to seeing your progress on making dice.
Patty
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Post by jasoninsd on Mar 24, 2024 12:24:38 GMT -5
Hey Michael! Welcome to the forum from South Dakota!
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Post by opalpyrexia on Mar 24, 2024 13:19:16 GMT -5
Welcome from Washington.
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titaniumkid
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2023
Posts: 177
Member is Online
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Post by titaniumkid on Mar 24, 2024 15:20:03 GMT -5
Hi Michael! It's great your whole family enjoys this
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Post by manofglass on Mar 24, 2024 17:46:53 GMT -5
Welcome from Michigan
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ctxtumblebug
having dreams about rocks
Member since August 2023
Posts: 56
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Post by ctxtumblebug on Mar 24, 2024 19:09:35 GMT -5
Welcome from Texas and thank you for serving for our nation. I served in the US Army for nearabouts 30 years and I've pulled 28 rotations in the box at NTC. There are indeed lots of neat rocks to be found near Fort Irwin and throughout that entire region.
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,587
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Post by dillonf on Mar 24, 2024 20:04:05 GMT -5
Welcome
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dshanpnw
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2020
Posts: 892
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Post by dshanpnw on Mar 24, 2024 20:21:10 GMT -5
Welcome from Washington and thanks for your service.
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