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Post by helens on May 24, 2012 13:09:18 GMT -5
Thanks for the link Helen. I just ordered # QUA1276 for my collection. BLAH! If you'd wait a bit, I would have sent you a piece way prettier (but probably not as big). Those are all fugly!
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Post by Bluesky78987 on May 24, 2012 13:53:20 GMT -5
Bubbles! I want to see pictures of bubbles NOW!!!
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Post by helens on May 24, 2012 14:51:24 GMT -5
OK! Here we go! This is Newbie box pix Part 2 (Don's donations are in photo 1). Donations first... Krystee sent a STUFFED SFRB of beautiful and varied tumble materials. I did not wet them, or they'd get moldy in the box, but you can see that even DRY, they are varied and awsome!: Susan (Bluesky) sent everyone a Rhodocrosite, as I mentioned on the other post. She says they're not gemmy... you decide, they look gemmy to me! I did not pull them all out of the little compartments, just the littlest round one I'm taking, which was wetted. It's so cute!! The rest are cab sized pieces, you guys are going to love em! One per person only please!! (send Susan something nice too if you can:P): Now for the BUBBLY Florida Agates!!! I may have to resize these because the file size is kinda big. Let me know if they aren't loading, there should be a photo below each colon. The 3pc group I am sending (for cutting into cab preforms sizes). These are the biggest ones I got, with ruler so you see how big they are: Here's first one closeup - see the bubbles and the colors?? They look like shiny black caviar (not beluga but maybe paddlefish caviar) and salmon roe: Second one looks JUST like shiny orange Salmon roe!!: Last one is the biggest, and the colors aren't as clear or vivid, but the bubbles are MUCH bigger and more impressive: It looks like it's got a film on it, so it may just wash off or polish off (I didn't wet them either, everything above is shot completely dry. Aren't they AWESOME? The COLORS are what makes it, she said the black color may come from manganese... but if you judge by every Florida agate on the net (google em), I haven't seen any in these crazy colors!! Florida agates are usually BLEH colors, so when I saw these I almost fell over!! I bought even MORE colors, but these were the absolute flattest (and biggest) to be able to cut up so everyone can have a piece. Plus, who doesn't want a piece of petrified coral that looks like it's covered in caviar?? OK, that said, here's one goody that I'm putting in for the next in line for the box, just for Jim (Wampidy) - a CARVABLE piece of Idaho Opal... with a thin precious fire layer that looks like it runs across the entire 1" rock. If you decide to cab it, you don't need to make a doublet, it's already thick enough below it to give you a nearly 1" diameter firey opal IF the color runs through the entire slice (the layer is transparent when wet, see it?). ORRR... carve it into an animal... ORRRR cut the opal out of the front, keep the back part to carve into an animal sitting on just the rock part, and you'll have a cabble opal AND a carvable opal with matrix:). It's VERY hard to shoot an opal layer, but you can see the green peeking out of the fire layer: Here's the full face view of it: Jim, do you see the curled up sleeping dragon in the bubbles:P? You can still take the opal with the fire out in front of it... and have the dragon AND the opal:P. I thought you might like this:P. Now not everything has been shoved in the box. This is the 2nd picture thread, and I do NOT know if it will ALL fit into the box now. If it does, and there's room, I will shove MORE in there. If there is no room, I'm going to have to take something out (probably my tumble/cab bag, the donations are going no matter what, as are the gifts). FINAL pictures of box before shipping will come Sunday, but these 2 pages of pix notes are GOING in the box for sure, if it will all fit. One more note... I have ALREADY posted your state on the front page of this thread. Tracking will not give your name or address, only which states and city it's traveling to and from. Everyone must POST the tracking number so EVERY participant can see the box progress. There is no exception to this. If the box poofs, we all want to know where and who did it. My FULL name, City, State and Zip Code are on my website, you can find it in 1 click at the bottom of every post I make. My personal email is also on my website. I'm not anonymous. If you need to be COMPLETELY anonymous (no city state - remember, ONLY that will show up on the tracking info, your full name will never be disclosed except to the shipper and me) for some reason, then please let me know asap, so I can drop you from participating in this box immediately. Thank you, I hope you're all as excited as I am:).
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Post by gingerkid on May 24, 2012 15:04:07 GMT -5
Looks like lots of fun, and I think you are doing an awesome job organizing the Newbie Rock Swap Traveling Box, Helen!! The botryoidal Florida agate is gorgeous!!
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Post by digdug on May 24, 2012 15:11:35 GMT -5
Helen, you mentioned about the elensburg blue to the disdero finding its way up here by fault or glacier movement. I wonder how that Florida bubble agate made its way also? Nice Stuff! I have picked it up out here, except one thing the orange to red is less transparent-glassy compared to your bubbles. Almost identical in looks ;D
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Post by helens on May 24, 2012 15:23:53 GMT -5
Todd, I was thinking that about yours too... I'll start another thread in a bit with all the specimens I bought today... you can see the colors! These are Florida agates from RIVERS... they all come out of hollow rocks buried deep in the river muck (well, there's probably not as much of them left since people have been digging em for a few centuries).
Some are encrusted with fossils too (like the first one above). Others are like mini caves... in COLORS. Lets not talk about this here, this is for the swap, but I'll start a thread in the Specimens section and we can talk about bubbles to our heart's content:).
Will take me a bit, gotta resize the pix, my camera is a pain because the smallest possible size I can shoot would stretch the page 2 screens, so they all have to be substantially resized before uploading:(.
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Post by digdug on May 24, 2012 15:28:05 GMT -5
Cool!
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xXxAlisha91xXx
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by xXxAlisha91xXx on May 24, 2012 16:06:30 GMT -5
Seeing the pictures has me so excited for this! Thanks to everyone who has added to the box and to Helen for planning all of this Those bubbly agates are really cute! Pretty cool that they're from Florida. Maybe you have something to go rockhounding for now! LOL
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deedolce
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2006
Posts: 1,828
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Post by deedolce on May 24, 2012 19:33:09 GMT -5
Wow, what FUN!!! Dang, I love the idea of sending a cab sized piece to everyone in the group! I have a big chunk of Labradorite too (one of my favorites!), but no way to slab it yet. Certainly not in time for the start of this round. ...but if you decide to do another round, I'd be ready then for sure.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2012 19:37:29 GMT -5
OOOOOk, Am I safe in assuming that you want 14 pieces out of those 3 bubbly ones? hahaha That looks like a real challenge. I have a really skinny blade that I can put on my trim saw. At the very least I will get 13 for everyone down the line because I hate to cut them so small that nothing can be done with them. Women seldom wear one ear ring. lol
This is going to be an awesome box. Maybe I will just keep the box and send everyone one thing out of it. lol Jim
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Post by Bluesky78987 on May 24, 2012 19:44:51 GMT -5
Thanks Jim, we appreciate your sawing up services!!! (We love you for things besides your saw though, we swear!)
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Post by helens on May 24, 2012 19:45:52 GMT -5
How thick is your blade Jim?? These are 12" worth of linear inches, 1 of which can be cut in half to make 2 1/2" x 5" slabs. It should easily make 14 good sized cabs... ? I don't know... looked to me like you could cut all 3 in half horizontally (6 pieces), then 2 of them in half vertically (10 pieces) and the biggest in 1/3 (14 pieces). Or you don't think it will work like that??
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Post by helens on May 24, 2012 19:57:32 GMT -5
Other idea... cut ONE of the small ones into 4 pieces (quarter em, the 2 small ones are reasonably square). Your pick, since you are first pick, and so Pat and Sue will get 2 of those. Then, TonyTerner can cut the remaining 2 and pick. There's definitely 14 cabs there, but if it's too weird to cut, then just cut 1 for you, Pat, Sue and Tony. Then Tony can pick which he'd like to cut, and have a choice of the cut one or the last slab from your cut. Kap is 3 after him, and he can cut the last one. I spaced this way for a reason (and a just in case, so every 3 people or so, there's a pro-cutter along the box route) .
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Post by kap on May 24, 2012 20:24:58 GMT -5
Helen they are not rocks dug up in rivers they are AGATIZED CORAL the ones with the bubbles are called botryoidal they can be collected in Fla. and Ga. A lot of the Savannah River Agate I dig has the "bubbles" also
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Post by helens on May 24, 2012 20:43:47 GMT -5
Ok ok:). Agatized CORAL dug up in rivers...!!! Actually, she does dig them in rivers near the Georgia border, so you guys probably have these too in Georgia??
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Post by kap on May 24, 2012 21:43:27 GMT -5
Yes they are found in the south Ga rivers
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Post by kap on May 24, 2012 21:51:54 GMT -5
What are you saying I am going to cut? the Coral? This is the first I heard of me cutting something. Keith
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Post by helens on May 24, 2012 21:55:31 GMT -5
I'm sending 3 pieces of the coral (as shown), and Jim said he didn't think he could get 14 pieces from those 3 pieces. So I said, well pick the piece you like best, cut it into 4's and send it on... Tony can cut the next one and if he doesn't want to, you can cut the 3rd:)
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2012 22:05:34 GMT -5
Keith - You will not have to cut anything. I am up to the challenge and I have it covered. No problem. Jim
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Post by kap on May 25, 2012 7:22:44 GMT -5
No problem I was just not sure what was going on and wanted to be on the same page with everyone and that I had not missed something(I have been told I don't read all the posts) . Keith
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