free4rms
freely admits to licking rocks
My little pet walrus
Member since January 2007
Posts: 839
|
Post by free4rms on Mar 30, 2009 8:59:33 GMT -5
Awhile back I managed to make a terrific score on eBay. It was a rather large chunk of fossil peanut wood from the Kennedy Ranges of western Australia, and this stuff is getting rarer all the time. These pieces of wood washed into the ocean where they were attacked by Teredo worms (actually bivalves) that bored into the wood. These are commonly referred to as "shipworms". When the wood became riddled with burrows from the worms, it eventually sank, and the holes became filled with radiolarite, a form of common opal. Once fossilized, the light colored worm burrows tend to look somewhat like peanuts when you cut into the wood, especially against the black to dark brown wood color. Here is a photo of the wood I bought: I started cutting, grinding and polishing right away, and the first few pendants were mediocre, but nothing to write home about. Here are a couple photos of the first two: Well, after the first few attempts, I headed back to the slab saw and sliced a few more off the chunk. And you know... you would think that after all these millions of years, once the wood fossilized, all the worms would have been dead a long time ago. Wrong!! I was stunned to see one of the worms right there on the freshly cut slab! Well, something this amazing just had to be converted into a freeform... so off to the grinding wheels I went. As the freeform started to take shape, a song kept running through my head... "Jose Cuervo, you are a friend of mine..." ( You do remember that tequila drinking song, yes?) Then it dawned on me that the "worm" in the slab reminded me of the little worm that is often found in the bottom of some brands of tequila. Now, since I sometimes name pendants or freeforms that I really like, I decided to name this one "Tequila" (have I really lost my mind, or what?) Here is the finished product, worm and all. What do you think?: Well, since I can't get rid of that song in my head, I think I will see if I can find Mr. Cuervo and see if he will join me in a shot to celebrate. I may even let him have the worm if he is brave enough... Vance
|
|
|
Post by Titania on Mar 30, 2009 9:16:07 GMT -5
Vance, those are all stunning, but the little worm is really cool! How did you find that material to work?
|
|
|
Post by catmandewe on Mar 30, 2009 9:29:41 GMT -5
OK THANKS!!! Now I am gonna be singing that song all day at work!
I don't drink anymore, but eating the worm don't sound so bad, especially if it is peanut flavored.
Nice cabs............................Tony
|
|
|
Post by Bejewelme on Mar 30, 2009 9:42:56 GMT -5
Vance: Holy crap that is cool!!!! Isn't the worm at the bottom of the Mezcal bottles? Not that I know anything about tequila or Mezcal!!! Awesome cabs!!! Thanks for sharing that little story!!!
|
|
free4rms
freely admits to licking rocks
My little pet walrus
Member since January 2007
Posts: 839
|
Post by free4rms on Mar 30, 2009 10:30:18 GMT -5
Uh oh... am I going to have to rename this freeform "Mezcal"? Maybe not... here is what I just read about that little worm:
<<Strictly speaking, mescal is a generic term meaning any distillate of the many species of agave (or maguey) plant, tequila included.
So, maybe I won't have to rename it after all. Ok all you hard core drinkers... someone set the record straight!
Thanks for the Mezcal question, Amber.
|
|
free4rms
freely admits to licking rocks
My little pet walrus
Member since January 2007
Posts: 839
|
Post by free4rms on Mar 30, 2009 10:33:13 GMT -5
Titania: The peanut wood is hard enough that it works really well, and it takes a beautiful polish. I don't know if this is true with all peanut wood, but the piece I bought had a lot of fractures in the rind. Once you get a half inch or so towards the inside, it becomes more solid. When I cut out this preform, I really spent a lot of time babying it along so there would be no chance of it breaking. I used as little pressure as possible and really took my time.
Vance
|
|
|
Post by stonesthatrock on Mar 30, 2009 10:38:29 GMT -5
those are really cool looking.
|
|
MikeS
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2009
Posts: 1,081
|
Post by MikeS on Mar 30, 2009 13:36:20 GMT -5
those are awesome...is the white part opal? It sure looks like it....
MikeS
|
|
181lizard
Cave Dweller
Still lurking :)
Member since December 2005
Posts: 2,171
|
Post by 181lizard on Mar 30, 2009 13:53:48 GMT -5
Bejewelme got it right! It surely is Mezcal...horrid stuff!LOL
THAT is an awesome pendant. Great Job. I love peanut wood.
|
|
free4rms
freely admits to licking rocks
My little pet walrus
Member since January 2007
Posts: 839
|
Post by free4rms on Mar 30, 2009 13:55:34 GMT -5
Yes, the white part is a common opal... no fire, but a nice ivory-to-white color. The color of the wood ranges from black to shades of brown, and quite a bit of it is translucent, ranging from a dark root beer color to light caramel.
Vance
|
|
adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,777
|
Post by adrian65 on Mar 30, 2009 14:14:33 GMT -5
Beautiful cab! Yes, the worm is there!
Adrian
|
|
|
Post by Tony W on Mar 30, 2009 14:44:21 GMT -5
Really nicely patterned cabs! Cool story too. Tequila has the worm or used to...at least the bottle that nearly killed me as a kid had one Tony
|
|
|
Post by frane on Mar 30, 2009 17:50:41 GMT -5
All of the cabs are beautiful! That last worm is great! Fran
|
|
highplainsdrifter
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2008
Posts: 1,266
|
Post by highplainsdrifter on Mar 30, 2009 23:06:21 GMT -5
Very nice cabs and great material. I love the worm.
HPD
|
|
|
Post by Woodyrock on Mar 31, 2009 0:53:43 GMT -5
OK, now aside from the cabs being really great, the 'worm' is in mezcal not tequila, but then you see all tequila is mezcal but not all mezcal is tequila. The rule of thumb for drinking....and enjoying either one the liquid in the bottle should be clear like water. If you think mezcal is rough stuff, you bought cheap stuff. Try a shot of Encantado for a real treat. Woody
|
|
|
Post by texaswoodie on Mar 31, 2009 6:29:40 GMT -5
Man, I do like Peanut Wood! Great looking cabs and the worm is killer.
Curt
|
|
|
Post by NatureNut on Mar 31, 2009 6:48:42 GMT -5
I loved reading this post! Just too cool! Thanks everybody. Excellent! Jo
|
|
steelandstone
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2008
Posts: 500
|
Post by steelandstone on Mar 31, 2009 21:18:55 GMT -5
Those cabs are awesome. The last one is really a show stopper.
|
|
181lizard
Cave Dweller
Still lurking :)
Member since December 2005
Posts: 2,171
|
Post by 181lizard on Apr 1, 2009 19:02:32 GMT -5
Vance...if'n ya want to get real fancy on the name...you could call it Anjeo. (awn-yeah-ho) That's good, usually barrel aged tequila & it has a nice caramel color...like your pendant!
|
|
|
Post by Bejewelme on Apr 1, 2009 22:59:26 GMT -5
Vance: I have been thinking about this poor worm and found this! I may not know rocks, but I do know my tequlia and mezcal! So here is a little story about the worm!
THE WORM Many mezcals will contain a "worm" (sometimes more than one) in the bottle. This is a marketing gimmick. The worm is actually the larvae of one of two kinds of insects. The most common type is the larvae of the agave snout weevil. The "red worm" or gusano rojo is the caterpillar of the Hypopta agavis moth, one of the several kinds of "maguey worm". The worm is found on the agave plant. The originator of this practice was a man named Jacobo Lozano Páez. In 1940, while tasting prepared agave, he and his partner found that the worm changed the taste of the agave. (Agave worms are sometimes found in the piña after harvesting). Brands of mezcal that contain the worm include 'Oro de Oaxaca', 'Gusano de Oro', 'Gusano Rojo', 'Monte Alban', and 'Dos Gusanos' (so named because each bottle contains two worms). When a worm is included this is known as 'Con Gusano', which means 'with worm.' Aside from its consumption with mezcal, the maguey worm is considered a delicacy in Mexico and can be found on some restaurant menus. The worm is harmless to consume and it is believed in certain traditions that doing this is beneficial to the spirit and locks in the vigour of mezcal. The use of the worm is exclusive to mezcal, the Mexican standards authority, NOM, prohibits adding insects or larvae to tequila.
|
|