scribblemuse
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2012
Posts: 10
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Post by scribblemuse on Aug 16, 2012 12:33:34 GMT -5
Hi all... I've learned a lot about my new obsessions by lurking on the board and wanted to share my latest and personal favorite agate find. This agate was in a local creek bed, which is much lower this year due to the drought conditions. The creek itself is an anomaly for our very flat area in Central Wisconsin, because it's located within the swath of land where the glaciers deposited their tills as they melted, and a bunch of other geological la-di-dah that I am still too ignorant to understand (but am learning). If you've heard of Powers Bluff, and know anything about the geological features there, it may help you know a little more about the area, because this creek is located in the same area a couple miles away. This agate is a perfect representative to everything that draws me in, and somehow makes me absolutely happy/joyful just to have and study, tho I know how that sounds very weird/stupid. I'm a newbie to the real appreciation/knowledge of this all, but for my very limited knowledge and experience, somehow this piece has every possible feature that an agate may have except perhaps pictures. The exquisite detailed bands, ribbons, and colors are obvious in real life, immediately apparent and shifts to a new color scheme with each turn in your hand. Yet the most amazing part, for me, is the fact that in its greatest dimension, it's less than an INCH! All "tumbling" is natural, via the river bed sand I'd assume. I'm not going to do anything at all with this, even in the spots with possible "imperfections" because this is already meaningful to me as-in, and I'd like to figure out how to use it in its natural state as a piece of jewelry, perhaps a pendant. However, I'm trying to figure out the best way to coat it with a protectant and make it appear "wet" all the time, I suppose a polish or perhaps a layer of enamel... all suggestions welcome. Sorry so long, but here are the photos: Edited: I can't get the photos to post directly into the msg, but here is the link to the album: picasaweb.google.com/100420850030522949337/SmallAgate?authuser=0&feat=directlink. If anyone has the time or care to repost any of the photos into the thread, feel free.
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scribblemuse
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2012
Posts: 10
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Post by scribblemuse on Aug 16, 2012 12:34:19 GMT -5
Well poop. Must have done something wrong. Just a sec and I'll read up on the board photo posting...
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Aug 16, 2012 12:58:18 GMT -5
welcome Alisha, that sure is a little beauty; it reminds me of ones from another area; wait a minute! it probably is!! :<)
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scribblemuse
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2012
Posts: 10
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Post by scribblemuse on Aug 16, 2012 13:03:50 GMT -5
lol itsandbits... I was wondering if there is any way to tell anything about the history of stuff found in the glacier tills. I know that most agates are named or divided by area--Lake Superior e.g. To be honest, I usually can't see what makes many of the "different" types any more special. To again use the LS example, I just am not seeing the special qualities from other agates with the same reddish tones? Ah well, I guess I am just happy I have such a glacier melt nearby. After growing up in KY hills and forests, I didn't even realize how slowly insane I was going in all this FLAT nothing! lol Then you drive down the road and you see some "normal" landscaping (normal for me anyway, who admits fully to being quite abnormal in many ways )
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unclestu
Cave Dweller
WINNER OF THE FIRST RTH KILLER CAB CONTEST UNCLESTU'S AGUA NUEVA AGATE
Member since April 2011
Posts: 2,298
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Post by unclestu on Aug 16, 2012 13:05:38 GMT -5
That is a real nice agate. Welcome to the forum. Do you have a photobucket account? That is how most of us post photos to the forum. It is a free. Just go to photobucket.com and sign up. I have a link to a video that shows how to do it all. I will look for it and post it for you if I can find it. Stu
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scribblemuse
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2012
Posts: 10
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Post by scribblemuse on Aug 16, 2012 13:07:06 GMT -5
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scribblemuse
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2012
Posts: 10
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Post by scribblemuse on Aug 16, 2012 13:09:52 GMT -5
Thanks unclestu... I do have a PB account that I used to use heavily, but lately have been trying to figure out a faster way to get photos online and am also transitioning to developing my own site with galleries there, so everything is pretty much in limbo. I become impatient with uploading, so was hoping that Picasa would be a better quick choice since I usually use Picasa for quick editing rather than going thru the hassle of PSP.
I'll prob switch back to PB, tho, because I just don't really like the Picasa albums for now.
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Aug 16, 2012 13:15:22 GMT -5
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unclestu
Cave Dweller
WINNER OF THE FIRST RTH KILLER CAB CONTEST UNCLESTU'S AGUA NUEVA AGATE
Member since April 2011
Posts: 2,298
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Post by unclestu on Aug 16, 2012 13:19:52 GMT -5
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Post by rockpickerforever on Aug 16, 2012 15:58:39 GMT -5
Hey, scribblemuse, welcome to RTH! If you still want to use Picasaweb for your photos, there is an easy way (http s vs. http issue). Shotgunner was having problems with posting from Picasaweb, so I went hunting and found the problem. The solution can be found on this thread from last May, reply #5: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=creationtime&thread=52686&page=1Nice agates! Looking forward to seeing more of your rocks and hearing your stories. Jean
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scribblemuse
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2012
Posts: 10
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Post by scribblemuse on Aug 16, 2012 21:18:59 GMT -5
Thanks again Stu, and thanks also for the Picasa tips, Jean. I just got home a few minutes ago from another trip to the creek where I found quite a few more agates and other questionables. Most things ARE a big question mark for me right now, but I just grab what I can carry and what is pretty enough to make me want to lug it. My current concern is that the low water levels of this particular site are not going to last forever, and it seems to be a hotspot for agates, amongst other pretty shiny things that I grab, so I'm just grabbing as much as I can for the moment. What turns out to be much less than what I really want or can use in my half-formed plans to carve and learn how to work stone in various other ways (including setting them up as really enticing/attractive specimen types) will go to my garden as highlights. So for now, I'll grab what I can in a greedy way and see what happens with it. Will do photos differently this time from this batch, or else (perhaps and also) use the instructions for the picasa use. Eventually I'll have the time to set up my site again and then I'll have to re-reevaluate it all over again, but since spare time is more precious than diamonds lately, it's not a huge concern... lol
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 17, 2012 19:36:53 GMT -5
Ms. Muse - Or should I call you Scribble? Cool rocks. It's fun seeing the material you can find in the middle of Wy. I grabbed a couple of your images to post for people to see directly, as you requested a few posts back. I didn't do them all as I wanted to check first with you. I hope you don't mind: ScribbleMuse's Material: Looking forward to seeing more of your material from that creek bed.... Lowell
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Post by roy on Aug 17, 2012 21:23:51 GMT -5
welcome! and that is one nice agate you found looking foward to seeing more
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scribblemuse
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2012
Posts: 10
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Post by scribblemuse on Aug 19, 2012 1:03:04 GMT -5
Lowell--I use the same screen name on all forums and such, so I'm used to responding to any variation of the name. I definitely don't mind posting the photos, and actually appreciate it. I really hate when I am researching something, follow a link to a board, and then the photos are not actually shown for easy viewing. Therefore, I usually try to do all I can do to post whatever pics I have for future possible searchers, but haven't had much time to do a lot more with them yet. It's been a crazy time lately for me, and photo organization has always been a very lacking skill of mine. It's one of those things that is always intended to be done, and yet is always sacrificed as a definitely lower priority. My daughter's bday was today/yesterday (8/18), and she just had major surgery on 7/19 that still has her in a wheelchair and requiring a lot of help and time (they had to re-shape her femur due to recurrent dislocations, requiring a plate and 10 screws after breaking and filing the femur to a different angle). It's been a very long month for all of us, but seems to be working out better the last week or so. These rock trips are probably the only thing keeping my sanity intact at the moment. Nothing like getting away from everyone and everything into true wilderness!
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Aug 19, 2012 15:41:57 GMT -5
The Powers Bluff area is about a county or two west of the eastern boundary of the Lake Superior Agate "Basin", but definitely within it. That is a Lake Superior Fortification Agate.
The way they to dress Lakers that are took big and valuable to cut is to first clean them in an acid bath if needed. That would be to get rid of the calcite and other stuff that is on that agate and makes it duller and lighter than the agate itself actually is. Are there any areas that are duller and maybe look like they have a kinda powdery finish (dry) that you can't get off when you scrub it with a brush? If it doesn't look like that, skip the acid bath. If you want to clean it though, try oven cleaner. Let it soak in that for a day. Then you thoroughly clean that stuff off and let it dry out for a few days. Lakers actually are porous - barely. Lastly you warm up some mineral oil, pretty hot, but not enough to burn you, and you soak the agate in that for a couple days. Don't keep it hot, just start it out hot and put it in a warm place. Then you wipe the oil off thoroughly til the entire surface is dry. It shouldn't give up the oil it has absorbed - it shouldn't feel oily, and I don't think it will stain fabric, but it will have a deeper, richer, waxier, more polished look than when you started. That is what they do with big Lakers, it should work the same with small ones.
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scribblemuse
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2012
Posts: 10
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Post by scribblemuse on Aug 19, 2012 16:11:44 GMT -5
Thanks for the tips, Daniel... I'd actually considered oven cleaner this week, but haven't yet tried it. This particular agate isn't dull in any area, so I don't *think* it would need an acid treatment. However, I have a ton more that would benefit, and for that, I attempted to use muriatic acid for the first time last night, and have almost decided to NEVER touch it again. I was not properly set up for it at all and ended up scaring myself from breathing in the fumes as I was trying to get it all situated. I dumped the two stones I think are agates covered with more white than my others (will post pics below of the "before" state), and they soaked for a while until I could figure out how to get them out. They've been soaking since in water, and I haven't gotten them out yet to see if they're any better... will post a separate thread about my cleaning attempts thus far, with various success.
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Aug 19, 2012 17:57:51 GMT -5
There are a lot of things that can be on the outside of an agate. Some of it you can get off, some not. Sometimes it's actually the agate. I was going to mention muriatic acid, but I've used it to acidify a swimming pool. It's dilute hydrochloric acid, but dilute is a relative term, it's still pretty dangerous if you're not careful.
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