Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Oct 28, 2014 13:59:08 GMT -5
Howdy folks, had this totally black Rio Grande agate cobble sitting around for a bit. Just had to see what is inside. Turned out to be black and gold plume and the neat thing is, I know exactly where this cobble rolled in from. Got some vein hunks of black and gold plume from Ojinaga, Mexico at a rockshop in Terlingua, Tx about 30 years ago. Anyway, took cuts at various spots and orientations and here are the pics: First, for comparison, slices from the vein hunk I bought. Cobble cuts, this first one with lots of dense golden plume and cut across the black: Largest cut a mix of both: Finally, cut across the tips of the golden plume and good orientation on the black:
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Post by captbob on Oct 28, 2014 14:23:34 GMT -5
Very Nice. Do you cab all these slabs you cut?
Last night I found & read your Poppy Tale threads (5 of 'em) that you posted back in June. What grand rockhounding adventures and such a variety of rocks! Almost enough to make one want to live in California. Almost.
ETA: Been meaning to ask; what kinda saw do you have? You seem to be able to cut some pretty good sized slabs for a 10" saw.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Oct 28, 2014 16:06:06 GMT -5
Bob, One of my big failings as a rockhound is my hatred of cabbing. I love hunting rocks and love cutting them open to see what's inside even more. I get so bored though, sitting in front of a set of wheels sweating my arse off and getting wet. Dang the cabbing process is just sooooo dang slow. I probably cut five hundred slabs per year and make like 50 cabs *L* and I'm so lazy, I finish most of those in a vibe tumbler. I do cut cabs in batches of about 30 at a time though as that's the best way to do them in the vibe. That being said I have several thousand slabs so I will never come close to catching up *L*.
I use a Covington 10" slab saw. It's not nearly as nice as my old Beacon Star was and has a much smaller vice. My largest slabs are maybe 2 3/4 inches deep by maybe 4" or so long but I cut a lot of small one cab wonders. If you think of it, you usually have to trim your preform out even if you have a huge slab like I used to cut on my old 20" HP so nothing wrong with a small slab that is already almost totally trimmed right from the saw. The old saw did 3 X5 inch easy because the vice was larger and the space in front of and in back of the blade was longer.....Mel
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Post by pghram on Oct 28, 2014 21:18:24 GMT -5
Nice plumes, and black & gold too :>)
Rich
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Fossilman
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Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,709
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Post by Fossilman on Oct 29, 2014 9:04:08 GMT -5
Beautiful.................
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Post by roy on Oct 29, 2014 9:25:21 GMT -5
Holly smokes Mel nice one
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gemfeller
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Member since June 2011
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Post by gemfeller on Oct 29, 2014 10:14:38 GMT -5
Pretty stuff, Mel. Thanks for posting.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2014 14:48:50 GMT -5
My box is due here soon! Maybe manana. Can't wait!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,561
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Post by jamesp on Oct 29, 2014 15:12:38 GMT -5
Ya gotta stop posting that stuff Mel. If i lived where you do my wife would divorce me. the first slab is very unique. the black plume is pretty common there. Some of the bigger cobbles were black plume. Down at Lake Falcon the cobbles are smallish. 4-8 inches on hill tops(old river bends) and 1-4 inches on the slopes. The gravel pit down the road had a huge pile of large cobbles pushed to the side, rejects, they were caliche covered. Next trip those will be pursued. Looks like they were the rejects from about 10 acres dug 10-20 feet deep.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Oct 29, 2014 17:58:30 GMT -5
Yeah James, I go through that caliche covered stuff at the rockyard. Really hard to spot good agates but at least in the oversized pile, if you do find one it will be a big'un. I still find it odd that as the quarry gets further down into the pit, the agates get much more rare. My friends who have the kids I'm helping out say the good stuff on the ranch they hunt is all over the surface of the hills and all along the roads but the geological surveys say the Uvalde Gravels ( Rio grande Gravels) are in many places a hundred feet thick or more....Mel
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Oct 29, 2014 19:09:15 GMT -5
Yeah James, I go through that caliche covered stuff at the rockyard. Really hard to spot good agates but at least in the oversized pile, if you do find one it will be a big'un. I still find it odd that as the quarry gets further down into the pit, the agates get much more rare. My friends who have the kids I'm helping out say the good stuff on the ranch they hunt is all over the surface of the hills and all along the roads but the geological surveys say the Uvalde Gravels ( Rio grande Gravels) are in many places a hundred feet thick or more....Mel I sampled 0-3 miles from the river. Gravel was everywhere but the agate was way more common along the river. For the most part within a 1/2 mile. I was puzzled. If I looked at satellite and related it to hill tops and it matched findings of cobble rich hill tops I was hunting. 100 acres of this ranch was turned with a 6 foot disc plow. Lot of surface rocks on the slopes,but the hilltops had deeper deposits. Never mind the geology, found the honey hole and went to collecting. Several slopes were rich in wood. Another mystery. Next time water will be sprayed on it somehow, helps to see the patterns and colors.
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azgnoinc
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 484
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Post by azgnoinc on Oct 29, 2014 19:28:22 GMT -5
Those are some great cuts, that material is pretty sweet!!
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