mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jun 1, 2012 18:55:57 GMT -5
And you did a great job too! Beautiful stone and wrap.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jun 1, 2012 18:52:40 GMT -5
Spencer opal triplets: Graveyard Point plume. This one is a 30 X 40 mm and is backed with basanite. One taken inside & one outside: Thanks for looking.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jun 1, 2012 18:44:38 GMT -5
Spectacular Bruneau cabs!
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jun 1, 2012 18:42:07 GMT -5
Very nice! That's high-quality chroysoprase! Great job on the cabs too.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jun 1, 2012 18:40:30 GMT -5
Great cab! Graveyard Point is hard to beat when you have the good stuff.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 28, 2012 12:20:53 GMT -5
Congratulations of finding some local material you were able to work with! My favorite of your local material is the polka-dot pyrite.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 28, 2012 12:12:35 GMT -5
Gorgeous cab! I love that stone!
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 28, 2012 10:23:22 GMT -5
Gorgeous cabs and materials! Is the Red Carey Plume still being mined? This should answer your question. This is a quote from www.triplearockshop.com/collection6.html:"The Oldtimer's (old agate scratchers) said that Carey Plume was the best in it's time. It is now considered an "extinct" material. A mining expedition in 1997 with three months digging netted only 78 lbs of low grade rough, which makes this considered extinct." If you want to buy the collection on the above link it is only $225,000 (but they will entertain offers). Thanks quailriver and talkingstones for your comments.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 27, 2012 9:50:57 GMT -5
How could you tell it was an Ellensburg??? Other than the hardness, I have a really hard time telling the difference between Ellensburg and other blues (from pix of course, I don't think I have any ellensburg) Good question, Helen! I've heard a lot of people say the same thing. The clincher for me knowing it was actually an Ellensburg Blue was where I found it. It was found within a half mile of the well-known EB claims, near Ellensburg, so I figured it was a pretty good bet that it was EB. Hub, I know what you mean about dancing a jig when you find a piece - that piece you found was really BIG for an EB! Thanks Jo, rockrookie, Pat, Stu, Randy, Toad, Diane, Dee, Helen and Hub!
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 27, 2012 9:27:41 GMT -5
Thanks Donnie, Don, John, Helen, Susan Cardiobill, Roller and hubrocks!
Helen, Susan, and Hub mentioned the plume specifically. I said earlier that this was my all-time favorite agate. I can't really explain it, but for me it's magic, mystical and mesmerizing all at the same time because it brings back great memories with my Dad and really good friends of the time when we found it. I like almost all rocks and lapidary work, but when you look at some of it and it brings back good memories, that is just the icing on the cake!
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 27, 2012 9:18:04 GMT -5
All are beauties & your photography skills are outstanding too! My favorite of this batch is the Chrysocolla in Quartz.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 27, 2012 9:13:15 GMT -5
Donnie, you are a "cabbing machine"! Cool cabs. My favorite is the thunderegg cab. The Montana moonstone is new to me - great shimmer in it.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 26, 2012 21:32:38 GMT -5
Nice set-up Donnie! Put a trailer hitch on it so you can take it with you. Actually, those carts work great - I've got my Genie setting in one.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 26, 2012 21:28:52 GMT -5
Those are definitely nice! I hope you are keeping some of them "as-is" for shelf specimens.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 26, 2012 21:19:06 GMT -5
Cool. I'm seeing birds too, especially the chicken in your second pic.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 26, 2012 21:13:25 GMT -5
Thanks Kurt (missed your comment on the first read) - Nice compliment from the "Layout King".
Thanks Toad, Jan, Gary & Pat - I'm glad you enjoyed looking.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 26, 2012 19:02:23 GMT -5
That's a doozy, Krystee! Great combination of super material and workmanship! I love blue agates. I know what you mean by keeping a high dome on them or the blue seems to fade out. I talked to the party that owns several Ellensburg blue claims and he said the same thing, so it's not just our imagination.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 26, 2012 10:38:15 GMT -5
Beautiful stones, superb craftsmanship. I truly love the plume! But I have a question, and please don't take this the wrong way, or as a personal attack. I've always thought OJ and kambaba were two different types of jasper. And kambaba is also called crocodile jasper? Please enlighten me. Thanks! Jean Jean, That's a really good point and I used to call all the orby stuff from Madagascar just "ocean jasper" Here's a site with some nearly identical kambaba jasper: www.spiritrockshop.com/Kambaba_Jasper.htmlHere's what I've been told by a person who sells the stuff (I've never been there so who knows for sure?): "Ocean Jasper is really, or was really 3 different stones or i was told, 3 different varieties of the same stone. If you have ever seen a lot of OJ, the stuff has a lot more than just 3 varieties in my opinion since it ranges from basically about 99% agate to 99% jasper and every mixture in between. I have seen slabs that are half and half, one half almost all agate and the other almost all jasper, that's a strange slab to see. Per accepted nomenclature, there are the 3 varieties, Ocean Jasper, Kabamby Jasper, and Kambaba Jasper. Go figure. They couldn't do better between Kabamba and Kambamby? Go to ebay to see the differences. The way this works is as the vein ran towards land, the stone changed from Ocean Jasper to Kambamby to Kambaba and at the end they were on shore digging down to get to the stone. The mine closed probably 3 to 4 years ago if i remember correctly, but who knows, they could still be picking up some leftovers. There is still a lot of this stuff around and some of the best i have ever seen is out there now." Jo, Thanks for the compliment. That OJ is definitely green, but I like it with the few red orbs on the lower left side of it. Yes the flower agate could have been painted by Van Gogh, or maybe Monet. Thanks cabjunky. That OJ was done for a friend who just lost his son and he was happy with the way it turned out. Thanks Stu. That's quite the compliment! I'm glad you liked them! Thanks Randy. I'm actually partial to the Carey plumes too. In fact Carey plume is my favorite of all agates. Thanks Ed. Caramba! Kambaba! Good one!
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 26, 2012 5:33:45 GMT -5
Did this one last weekend. It is an Ellensburg blue agate I found. The wrap is done with GF wire. This is the largest EB cab I've made - 2-inches tall. Domed on both sides - slippery little devil. Needed 2 more hands! Thanks for looking and for any comments.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 26, 2012 5:19:41 GMT -5
Ocean jasper (Kambaba), 2 3/4-inches tall: Flower agate. It's about 3-inches tall. Carey plume: This is the biggest one (almost 2-inches tall) . It is domed front and back. Front: Back & back lit: Another cab from the same piece: A little novelty piece (about 1-inch across) that I didn't dome because I didn't want to grind away the inclusions): Thanks for looking, Garry
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