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Post by gmitch067 on Sept 14, 2017 19:26:46 GMT -5
Is this Copal… or Amber? Whatever… It was masquerading as a Jasper and I only found it at the completion of a 1-week tumble in 80 grit along with a little over 10 lbs. of Desert Jasper. So, I do not know what it looked like in it’s rough form, and it was probably a LOT bigger! It is also probably guilty of “bin-hopping” before The Rock Shed scooped and bagged my Jasper purchase (thank you Rock Shed for the added treat!!!). When I emptied my QT12 barrel and transferred the load to a wash drum full of water, instead of sinking with the jaspers, the darn thing was doing the back-stroke and going down like a goose down feather in a slight breeze (a Forest Gump moment!) – it almost floated! So... I guess it's SG is close to 1. It is also super soft and easily worked with sanding. Before shifting to the sheets of sandpaper I hit a section using a 400 grit sanding disk, cut out to fit atop a dremel felt wheel - run at the lowest speed. It melted the stone with the friction! I left it in the shape I found it in and hand sanded it with 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000, and finally 5000 grit silicon carbide wet/dry sand papers. Unless somebody spots an error in classification, I will polish it by hand stropping it across wet leather – and my fingers with Tin Oxide (I do not want to use the dremel to polish it because that too might melt the stone). Here are some pics (it is approximately about 2" long by 1" at it's base in size, with an uneven width between 1/4" to 3/8"): Back-lit with white light (Hmmm... Looks like I need a manicure...) : Side-lit (and a little above the stone) using a hand held UV flashlight:
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 14, 2017 20:21:13 GMT -5
Looks like amber to me, but I don't know what copal actually is. What did it smell like when it was hot?
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Post by MrMike on Sept 14, 2017 20:29:15 GMT -5
Won't a hot needle penetrate copal & not amber?
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Post by gmitch067 on Sept 14, 2017 20:31:09 GMT -5
Looks like amber to me, but I don't know what copal actually is. What did it smell like when it was hot? I was wearing a respirator so I could not smell it. Sorry.
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 14, 2017 20:33:14 GMT -5
Looks like amber to me, but I don't know what copal actually is. What did it smell like when it was hot? I was wearing a respirator so I could not smell it. Sorry. You can still rub it on your jeans til it's hot and quickly give it a sniff. Amber might still give you a distinctive smell. I'd say do a hot pin test, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to do that.
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 14, 2017 20:33:54 GMT -5
Won't a hot needle penetrate copal & not amber? I think it would penetrate amber. I'll have to do some googling.
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Post by fantastic5 on Sept 14, 2017 20:35:16 GMT -5
I'm guessing amber. Copal shouldn't be florescent. Try a drop off acetone. Amber will be unaffected but copal will get sticky.
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 14, 2017 20:36:16 GMT -5
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Post by gmitch067 on Sept 14, 2017 20:56:21 GMT -5
I'm guessing amber. Copal shouldn't be florescent. Try a drop off acetone. Amber will be unaffected but copal will get sticky. I will have to go to the hardware store tomorrow to get some acetone. (I am going to Lowe's anyway to checkout a SkilSaw 7" Tile Saw that Tela recommended in another thread)
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Post by gmitch067 on Sept 14, 2017 21:13:42 GMT -5
Thank you Tela! Both links have given me some valuable information regarding Amber recognition. Gotta go try some of the tests!
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Post by fantastic5 on Sept 15, 2017 7:15:34 GMT -5
I have always loved amber. I have several pieces of jewelry made with it. I've just never collected or worked with it myself. I do have one piece that was collected near the cost on one of the Carolinas and cabbed by a friend. I just have not yet set it.
I also have an African Trade Bead necklace, which I believe is actually copal. It just looks and feels so different than my amber. When I first bought it, I didn't know about copal, but did more research on the trade beads and that was how I found out that most are actually copal.
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Post by fernwood on Sept 15, 2017 8:06:05 GMT -5
Nice find.
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Post by gmitch067 on Sept 16, 2017 14:33:58 GMT -5
Did some tests... 1. Acetone does not touch the stone, 2. The stone gave off a pleasant earthy odor when it got warm from buffing... there was no harsh chemical smell noted. 3. When placed in a large cup of tap water, the stone settled to the bottom. When I added a tablespoon of salt, the stone floated. 4. My finger nail could not scratch the stone's surface. 5. The stone fluoresces under ultraviolet light (black light) 6. Uncertain on being able to hold a static charge... My cat bit me when I got too aggressive rubbing his fur with the stone (I don't think he shares my enthusiasm...) 7. I will not stab my (supposed) Amber with a hot needle or light it on fire! That is cruel! Sooo... I think I have me some Amber! Yippiii! Thanks Tela!
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 16, 2017 14:48:35 GMT -5
Did some tests... 1. Acetone does not touch the stone, 2. The stone gave off a pleasant earthy odor when it got warm from buffing... there was no harsh chemical smell noted. 3. When placed in a large cup of tap water, the stone settled to the bottom. When I added a tablespoon of salt, the stone floated. 4. My finger nail could not scratch the stone's surface. 5. The stone fluoresces under ultraviolet light (black light) 6. Uncertain on being able to hold a static charge... My cat bit me when I got too aggressive rubbing his fur with the stone (I don't think he shares my enthusiasm...) 7. I will not stab my (supposed) Amber with a hot needle or light it on fire! That is cruel! Sooo... I think I have me some Amber! Yippiii! Thanks Tela! Great detective work. Looks like a nice big piece, too. Nice find!
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monna0000
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since May 2016
Posts: 243
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Post by monna0000 on Oct 12, 2017 15:43:26 GMT -5
From my point of view it does not look like amber, but not sure that the Baltic amber we find here in Denmark Will look the same as yours?? We get a lot of amber on the beaches and from what i know 1. If a piece of amber was put in a tumbler with grit 80 and 10 lbs of jasper I'm pretty sure it would be gone after a couple of days 2. Not sure if it's the photo that cheats but we use Uv light to pick the amber up from the Beach and it looks a lot more like phycadelia than it it looks like from your photo. 3 if you rolle in your hands you Will clearly smelter it. 4. Easy Way to ID is the weight, it's almost as light as rotten dry Wood. You Will always be surpriced how light it's
Not sure if it helps you or if we can compare.
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monna0000
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since May 2016
Posts: 243
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Post by monna0000 on Oct 12, 2017 15:48:36 GMT -5
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Post by gmitch067 on Oct 12, 2017 17:41:19 GMT -5
From my point of view it does not look like amber, but not sure that the Baltic amber we find here in Denmark Will look the same as yours?? We get a lot of amber on the beaches and from what i know 1. If a piece of amber was put in a tumbler with grit 80 and 10 lbs of jasper I'm pretty sure it would be gone after a couple of days 2. Not sure if it's the photo that cheats but we use Uv light to pick the amber up from the Beach and it looks a lot more like phycadelia than it it looks like from your photo. 3 if you rolle in your hands you Will clearly smelter it. 4. Easy Way to ID is the weight, it's almost as light as rotten dry Wood. You Will always be surpriced how light it's Not sure if it helps you or if we can compare. The specimen I found must have been a lot bigger to begin with. My QT12 drum was pretty much full of Desert Jasper - 80-grit SiC, and enough kitty litter to produce a good slurry. It ran for 7-days. The remaining stone is very light - which along with the slow sinking in water DID surprise me enough that I felt I had something other than Jasper. It did smell nice when I buffed it across my sweatshirt. I do not know what to compare it with... just smells "clean" (definitely not like burned motor oil... LOL!) The UV light illuminated it, but I did not notice any wierd refraction... there were some bands progressing lengthwise from the broad base to the narrow top (flow lines?). There was only a little debris within the stone (no dragonfly... sorry). I have put the stone aside for now - did not polish it yet. If it IS Amber, I want to have a little bit more experience under my belt before trying to cab and mount it. P.S. Cool nails! I have to try that out on my Daughter!
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,782
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Post by gemfeller on Oct 12, 2017 18:42:01 GMT -5
I have amber from the Dominican Republic in that general color range. These pieces aren't polished, just sanded on my Genie to about 600. They're easy to polish on 1200 and 3K Novas.
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Post by gmitch067 on Oct 12, 2017 22:12:05 GMT -5
I have amber from the Dominican Republic in that general color range. These pieces aren't polished, just sanded on my Genie to about 600. They're easy to polish on 1200 and 3K Novas. They do have a beautiful color. I wonder if the one I have will remain dark or if a polish will bring out a more vibrant color?
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,782
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Post by gemfeller on Oct 13, 2017 0:22:55 GMT -5
I suspect it'll remain dark. I have darker rough pieces the same as yours and experience tells me they'll stay rather dark unless they're cut thinner to allow more light to pass through. But a polish will make even darker hues more attractive. If you wet the stone and put it on a sheet of white paper a couple of feet under a light bulb, you'll see what it will look like in normal light after it's polished.
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