Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 13, 2022 16:46:53 GMT -5
Yep, the wife and I are getting tired of moving the saw all around the barn to get it out of the way.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 13, 2022 14:16:32 GMT -5
Howdy folks, Still cleaning out my shop. Gonna sell my Covington ten inch saw if anyone is near enough to Kerrville, TX. It runs but is in need of a new drive pully as the existing one has the screw that holds it to the shaft stripped so it will not tighten. Needs a new belt too but it includes a brand new un- mounted one. Whole rig is mounted on a nice rolling table with built in drains for easy cleanout. Blade still has life in it and I have a couple of new blades I'll add in cheap if you want. Includes a couple of wheels I use for aharpening. Also will include my old Genie if you want. Needs a new base as the Texas humidity has bowed the old one and needs some new wheels. Both machines run, just checked them, and we can chekc them again to make sure. $150 for the two machines. You will need a pick up to haul it as, as I've said it's mounted on a table. Noticed in the pic the table is bowing a bit under the saws weight. Probably needs replacing too but it may hold up awhile still. Still have few rocks for sale cheap too. PM me if you are interested and I'll give you my phone number so we can set up a meet. Probably can't get together till next month though as we have some doctor stuff going on next couple of weeks. saw etc by lonerider652000, on Flickr
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 13, 2022 13:43:28 GMT -5
Just draw a triangle between Three Rivers, George West and Simmons City. Oil fields there full of petrified wood of all sorts, agates , jasper etc Easy roadside collecting in bar ditches. Look for county gravel roads with the most exposed gravel, especially after a hard rain. Short drive only 60-90 minutes.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 5, 2022 9:25:49 GMT -5
Howdy folks, Read Brians post on Royal Sahara Jasper (AKA Pebbles of the Nile), slabbing with interest, and it reminded me I finally found my last example of Owens Lake Jasper the other day. a tumble polished bola tie stone. A little background. A buddy and I were hunting paleo artifacts on an ancient gravel bar on the south side of Owens Lake in California, just west of Dirty Sock Springs. On the gravel bar we found evidence of Amerind knapping in the form of fragments of this interesting jasper. Definitely a picture type, high silica and polishes well. Definitely not sourced on the gravel bar as we found no cores or evidence of rough nodules. Fragments appeared to be off nodules with a chocolate brown exterior. Never gave it much thought as I was obsessed with artifacts and not hounding in those days but in later years, I went back just on a brief passing through visit and could not find the location due to so much new activity at the lake. Then, Royal Sahara Jasper appeared om the market and I was amazed at how similar the two materials appear. Both appear to be silica rich mudballs with nice picture jasper in the inside. I do remember the east shore of Owens lake south of Keeler had at the time large gravel bars as we hunted artifacts in the sand dunes just above the gravel bars. Those dunes and bars appear on Google maps to still be present and I've always wondered if that was the source of the nodules the ancient Amerinds used for knapping. Always wanted to go back there and chip some mudballs if I could find them but I'm sure I never will. Just thought I'd mention this again in case some intrepid California rockhound here on the board is in the area some time and wants to check it out Here's aa pick of the pebble fragment I tumbled. owens lake jasper by lonerider652000, on Flickr
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Sept 4, 2022 17:15:10 GMT -5
As a long time rockhound I have seen what commercial collectors and miners can do to gem and mineral sites and can see where the government is coming from in this case. However, in light of government closures of so many of our hounding sites, one wonders what comes next with the BLM etc. When they close the Cady Mtns or Lavic Siding and find themselves in need of funds will we see the development of more government "fee sites" using the same kind of excuse, so only folks with money can hunt rocks from these locations? Reason I question this tactic is I am old enough to remember when one could roam the deserts etc with their pop for free and rockhounding was a hobby even the poorest folks could enjoy. Not so much these days when access is becoming a major problem and the government is, to a great extent, at fault. I would think a better solution would be better enforcement to prevent commercial exploitation of sites and petrified wood type bag limits to extend the life of deposits. Most of the sites I've seen destroyed have been due to mechanical mining for money. Most rockhounds do limited digging and take relatively small quantities of material. A lesson in point would be the Baker Ranch t-egg digs. Private land in this case but a good example. It was a fee dig ( 15 cents per pound) and you got permission and went out and hand dug in a small pit. Went several times over the years and it was still a small dig, small pit, dug by hand. Then the Geode Kid took it over and plainly raped the entire location to a huge depth. I've seen places where commercial diggers did the same thing on government land. Enforcement should be aggressive and fines heavy in these instances. IMHO.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 16, 2022 15:50:00 GMT -5
Neat. I've not seen that type before. Is that Wyoming material?
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 16, 2022 15:48:10 GMT -5
Like them all but that Priday plume WOW!
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 3, 2022 16:50:41 GMT -5
Really nice! I vote for that Brazilian.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 2, 2022 16:46:22 GMT -5
Northen Mexico stuff, probably Laguna or Agua Nueva. The pink and blue one especially, looks like a Laguna.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 31, 2022 14:58:54 GMT -5
Neat information James. I have a little of the Savannah River material in my rockpile. It is really interesting stuff. I had some pretty colorful examples, but the general stuff seems kind of cream/goldish with black centers. Never tried to knapp any but it looks good for that.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 27, 2022 16:37:59 GMT -5
These are actually chert but around here everyone calls them types of flint. Pedernales chert (really looks like pet wood sometimes) Edwards blue flint (actually black to gray, not blue), root beer flint, and what we call tortilla flint that occurs in flat pale seams and is really fun to knapp. Some of the pale stuff has been heat treated or burned over by fires. Some of the camp sites really show a lot of heat-treated flakes that can be quite colorful but the dark gray seems the most commonly worked as it comes in huge nodules and veins. One of our creeks actually has a crossing we ride across composed of a huge vein of the Edwards blue and one campsite is right by a vein about 10 inches thick that has plainly been worked.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 26, 2022 16:29:32 GMT -5
Lots of brecciated jasp-agate at Lavic all right. I've hunted there many times. To me it looks atypical for Lavic, more like Franciscan Formation breccia. If I had to guess, I'd say Parkfield, Creston, Stoney Creek, or Squires ranch for your examples. Also all California sites.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 25, 2022 15:29:25 GMT -5
Oh yeah, anyone who has not visited Darwin Dillons flickr site (Dardilrocks) and looked at is pictures is really missing something. He is the real authority on south Texas pet wood and Rio Grande agate. Visiting him at a gem show really gave me the bug that's for sure.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 25, 2022 13:39:12 GMT -5
That marcasite is a beauty!
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 25, 2022 13:32:01 GMT -5
Awesome material!
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 25, 2022 13:30:25 GMT -5
Very nice. Are those last three Squires Ranch material from near Coalinga or the African stuff? Very nice brecciated jasper!
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 4, 2022 13:08:43 GMT -5
Any fortification agate and all fossils that polish especially George West wood, and palm root and fiber from California and Texas.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Jun 26, 2022 10:24:35 GMT -5
Very cool post! Years ago we made a big trip to that same area and used four bys and trail bikes to go all over. Found several t-egg sites and lots of the opal t-eggs on several hills even west of Opal Mtn. Problem was the matrix was super thick and the centers really small. Did not find any with fire and we cracked open a lot. Flat wore ourselves out cracking them open. Found one t-egg site where the centers were botryoidal purple agate similar to Lead Pipes Springs material but horrible hard rock mining removing anything from the basalt. Fun area to explore and we found petroglyphs all over the place in several canyons too. Was a real test of four-wheel drive even way back then.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Jun 23, 2022 18:18:38 GMT -5
Ooh, cut that green and gold plume the other way. Yall chopped across the plume ends. Should show great plume cut parallel to the tips.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,471
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Post by Sabre52 on Jun 22, 2022 15:47:42 GMT -5
Wow, love the shapes and the materials. Have you heard about the big Montana Agate sale in San Jose, CA. His pics look great and $6 per pound seems very reasonable. Montana rockshops were charging that price many years ago.
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