gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 27, 2024 12:59:20 GMT -5
I've gone a hinting for that rock those are legit specimens how did you acquire did you hound them? gemfellerToo old for hounding, knees are gone. A fellow on another rock forum offered some rough Olympic several years ago. It's very fractured, like most Coastal poppy jaspers, but I was able to cut some usable slabs. I've lost track of the supplier but he seemed to have quite a bit of rough. I'll post his name if I run across it.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 26, 2024 20:10:38 GMT -5
His response, "It was found in a washout and split in two". LOL! That's what the guys on the Gembone Forum told me, and I argued with them! Occam's Razor rules: the simplest explanation is usually the right one. I'll go to my corner now.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 25, 2024 18:49:39 GMT -5
Bingo. Hxtal is a 100 year clear glass epoxy that is used to stabilize gem bone, it adds to the wearability and enhances polish. You can completely remove if you like simply by soaking in acetone. Since all of my bone is intended as lapidary rough. I sometimes treat pieces prior to them being sold to aid in the cutting process once received. If you just want the hxtal off the surface, You can scrape it off with a warm razor blade. Either way if you polish these bones this will help them more than harm them. Yep. Use it often, especially on gembone.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 25, 2024 17:29:28 GMT -5
Just guessing here. In opal terminology a "split" is generally a piece of boulder opal that's been split along a seam of precious opal, yielding two matching opal surfaces. I found a few examples of dino bone that looked like they'd been sawed (split) to yield two matching faces but I have no idea what the term "washed" refers to.
ETA: I think I've figured it out (I hate mysteries!!) In a gembone ad on Ebay I noticed the term "HXTAL Washed Split." I take that to mean that matching sawed "splits" of gembone have been "washed" with HXTAL. Ready to be corrected if I'm wrong.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 24, 2024 14:16:35 GMT -5
wargrafix It's hard to beat John Sinkankas's 3-book series "Gemstones of North America." At least one is in print on Amazon and one is better than none. Others may be available used.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 24, 2024 13:47:39 GMT -5
I am fan of the geology series by John McPhee. He's a great writer and makes reading geology a pleasure. Assembling California is a good one. LOVE McPhee's geology books. I've read all of them, some 2 or 3 times. He's an awesome writer too. I'll never forget his description of seeing Winnemucca at night from a distance: "Nevada looks good in neon." It does!
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 24, 2024 13:40:27 GMT -5
An amazing and lovely task ahead of you! There are some real beauties in that group. Makes me a bit jealous!
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 23, 2024 19:30:52 GMT -5
Some folks are terrified by the fact Tiger's Eye is silicified asbestos. They mask up. If that's a concern, do it. Some material does have loose fibers as realrockhound mentions. I avoid that type, and it's pretty easy to identify. Meanwhile, I've cut dozens upon dozens of TE cabs easily and with no problems at all. I must be unlucky because probably half of the ones I've cut tended to pull fibers. I have two preformed (one marra mamba) and I hope that they are problem free. Usae a 10-X loupe to inspect the rough. You can usually tell if it's "problem" material. Marrra Mamba's a little different than South African TE. It does tend to have looser fibers in some instances I've found.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 23, 2024 14:18:13 GMT -5
Some folks are terrified by the fact Tiger's Eye is silicified asbestos. They mask up. If that's a concern, do it. Some material does have loose fibers as realrockhound mentions. I avoid that type, and it's pretty easy to identify. Meanwhile, I've cut dozens upon dozens of TE cabs easily and with no problems at all.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 23, 2024 1:23:58 GMT -5
The whole stone just "flows" from one end to the other. That was my hope with that unusual pattern. The rest of the slab was blah.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 22, 2024 10:56:56 GMT -5
I really like the first two. It's pretty hard to find PNW poppy jasper without any fractures, great looking cabs. The black must be hematite? Thanks for sharing. Thanks for looking. Yes, fractures are almost always a problem with them. But I have one large slab that's entirely fracture-free. Haven 't started cabbing it yet. Not sure what the black is but it doesn't seem to be hematite -- it cuts far too cleanly!
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 21, 2024 17:33:04 GMT -5
People are wild. Not that it really matters much on my end, but I’ve had people steal pics of material I’ve posted and use it on their websites claiming as there own 😂 Wosre, I've had images stolen from my old website and offered for sale. People order and pay, and nothing ever arrives. I never realized how many dishonest people there are until the internet and cell phones arrived.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 20, 2024 19:28:42 GMT -5
Now I'm cutting again after a long layoff, I've been exploring some of my old stashes of rough. I ran across some Olympic Poppy Jasper slabs from Washington State I acquired a long time ago that I thought were long gone -- nice surprise! Here are a few of the cabs I've made so far. They have some healed fractures but no new ones. Thanks for looking. Pear Shapes Modified 'Tongue" Cushion
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 20, 2024 18:41:59 GMT -5
I actually really like it! Kind of reminds me of porcelain jasper, the soft colors and smoothness of the blending of the colors. I tend to love anything with those…. cracks, I can’t think of the word. I like it when fractures have refilled with other agatey material. It looks fun to work and I’d probably be trying to get both that pink and green captured all in one cab. Did you dig that or buy it? Ah, brecciated, thanks rockjunquie . It was purchased but I don't know where to get more.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 20, 2024 15:27:39 GMT -5
I totally love it! I love everything about. I think it has a lot of cool stuff going that works together. What are the spots? Are they metallic? Different strokes. Thanks rockjunquie. Under the loupe the spots appear to be non-metallic inclusions, probably iron oxide. I find the stuff subtly attractive. As you say, lots going on.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 20, 2024 14:31:01 GMT -5
This is Badger Hole Jasper from McDermitt, NV. I cut this test cab and can't decide whether it's worth cutting more. What say you, gang? It takes a great polish and has subtle tints of pink and green along with the "webby" patterns. It's hell for hard!
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 20, 2024 13:21:26 GMT -5
Really pretty. I have some polish flint as well that I bought long ago. I’m saving it until I’m really inspired and think I can do it justice. It’s such cool looking stuff and the slabs I have are quite large and I remember them being not cheap. Be gentle when you saw and cut it. I found out the hard way that it's quite brittle and can snap in half if too much pressure is used. It doesn't have the durability of agate or jasper.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 17, 2024 18:53:12 GMT -5
Those are the best Prairies I've ever seen. Anxious to see what you do with them,
As for capping the Dino Bone, I'd suggest you try Xtal first if needed. The stuff is really amazing on porous material. (Apply to both sides - takes a while to cure but worth it). You may have objections to treating rock and if so capping is a great option too.
ETA: My brain took a coffee break while I was typing the above. Search for HXtal, not Xtal. It's pretty expensive but a little goes a long way.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 16, 2024 18:05:27 GMT -5
There are SO many things which are "right" about that cab...not the least of which is the shape you chose works perfectly for that pattern!! Gorgeous!! Thanks. Coming up with the right shape while dealing with the fractured edge was the real challenge. I nearly lost the lovely whorls on the cab's "belly." But all turned out well.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Apr 16, 2024 13:19:46 GMT -5
I bought a couple of Polish Flint slabs several years ago. One of them had a wonderful pattern but it presented problems. The edge where the most interesting whirling lines appeared was broken and only a tiny amount of stone was left. Once I'd decided on a shape it took some very delicate grinding to both preserve the pattern and create an acceptably deep girdle. Here's the result and I'm pretty happy with it.
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