sdrockgal
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since December 2016
Posts: 87
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Post by sdrockgal on Mar 8, 2017 13:43:00 GMT -5
I saw this in fb today. .50 lb for petrified wood. Is it a good deal?
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vera
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2016
Posts: 259
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Post by vera on Mar 8, 2017 13:59:57 GMT -5
It could be. Good deals also depend on the amount of the shipping charges and/or the convenience and your ability to collect your own. Because of my location that would be a good deal if they were sending it at actual shipping cost and through the least expensive venue.
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sdrockgal
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since December 2016
Posts: 87
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Post by sdrockgal on Mar 8, 2017 14:10:16 GMT -5
This is about 5 minutes from my house, so I don't have to worry about shipping charges. Does petrified wood break up easily? I have small tumblers, and no saw. I'm not familiar enough with it to know how much I would want to pick up.
Thanks for the feedback.
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Post by captbob on Mar 8, 2017 14:34:08 GMT -5
Buying rough rock is SO much easier when you can put eyes on the pieces. Even buying with pictures through online venues can be iffy at times. I don't "do" pet wood, but if you are familiar with what is "good" wood, being able to go right to such a collection and pick the pieces that you believe are superior specimens is a huge plus what you shouldn't pass up.
50ยข a pound for any lapidary quality material sounds like a good deal to me. Pick the best. Alternatively, just because there is a LOT of something, doesn't mean that it is good quality. Eyes/hands on is the best way to go. Up to you to decide if there is material there that you would like to work with. Nothing to lose by going to look it over.
Again, I don't play with pet wood, so I am not familiar with how easily it breaks into smaller pieces. Can't imagine that pet wood would be tough to break up for tumbler food. Many wood aficionados here, hopefully some will chime in.
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vera
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2016
Posts: 259
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Post by vera on Mar 8, 2017 14:37:40 GMT -5
I do not know a great deal about petrified wood and there are probably different types, but I have had some in a 3 pound barrel since the first of the year and they seem to be extremely hard. Mine barely have the corners rounded even though I keep recharging the grit. It was pretty easy to break up with my 24 ounce hammer. I had it on a very large, hard milky quartz stone to give it a good solid base to break it.
In your case, since it is so close to home, I would at least get a several barrels of the stuff to experiment with and if you enjoy working with it you could always go back for more. The reason I would get more than one barrel to start with is to make up for the loss and end up with a full barrel of material for the polishing stages.
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Post by HankRocks on Mar 8, 2017 16:11:18 GMT -5
It's difficult to tell in the picture, it looks a lot like what I would call landscape rock. Most of that is too soft for tumbling or cabbing. Like I say, difficult to tell unless you look at it in person. The only clue that stands out to me is the porous look to the outside of the pieces and that's not a real tell.
May I ask where this is?, that might be a clue as to the quality of the wood.
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sdrockgal
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since December 2016
Posts: 87
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Post by sdrockgal on Mar 8, 2017 16:23:38 GMT -5
It's in central South Dakota. I know I pull quote a few chunks of pet wood out of the pastures but it doesn't quite look like that picture. It's more like this: I know this isn't a great picture. Better in person.
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fireforged
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2015
Posts: 215
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Post by fireforged on Mar 8, 2017 17:26:51 GMT -5
I think .50 a pound is a good deal if you can go and pick your own rocks. You need to look for the "pretty" ones that are also relatively hard. Twenty pounds of rough is a lot of tumbling. Give it a go and spend ten dollars. Let us know how it turns out.
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Post by wigglinrocks on Mar 8, 2017 18:45:12 GMT -5
If ya go to look it over , give it the screwdriver scratch test for hardness . If it is decent stuff you could pick up a little extra for trading stock .
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Post by wigglinrocks on Mar 10, 2017 22:27:34 GMT -5
This is about 5 minutes from my house, so I don't have to worry about shipping charges. Does petrified wood break up easily? I have small tumblers, and no saw. I'm not familiar enough with it to know how much I would want to pick up. Thanks for the feedback. Time for an update . How many tons did ya haul home ?
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sdrockgal
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since December 2016
Posts: 87
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Post by sdrockgal on Mar 10, 2017 22:29:19 GMT -5
I plan on getting ahold of them this weekend. Work got busy and we got snow so didn't have a chance to go digging. I will update soon!
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Post by wigglinrocks on Mar 10, 2017 22:34:22 GMT -5
You can send all that snow north or south , don't send it east . Good luck with the wood .
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osuguy0301
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2015
Posts: 203
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Post by osuguy0301 on Mar 11, 2017 6:32:43 GMT -5
I like tumbling petrified wood as long as its solid. If its soft, its a pain to tumble. I have had some pieces of softer pet wood, and all it seems to do is keep opening up cracks and crevices in the stone during the 60/90 stage. Being able to get your hands on it is definitely a plus. At 50 cents a pound I don't see anything wrong with taking a flier on 10 or 20 lbs for $5-$10. Absolutely pick out what you think are the best pieces though.
Jake
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,169
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Post by jamesp on Mar 11, 2017 8:03:18 GMT -5
Solid is prerequisite for tumbling as mentioned. Color and pattern is important. Lots of drab colored wood which may be fine depending on personal preference. Fine colored well silicified wood is much harder to find. Fine patterns are cool regardless of color. Best to judge where weathered layer is broken off to see innards. Here is some fairly colorful Texas woods for comparison. Most findings were not so pretty. Had to be picky... www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/sets/72157673525247354
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 11, 2017 15:00:22 GMT -5
.50 cents a pound on any material is a steal!!!!!!!! Doesn't matter if its shipped or you pick it up yourself!! GIT R DONE!!!
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