|
Post by broseph82 on May 10, 2015 22:41:31 GMT -5
What kind of "poker" do you use when hunting for pet wood?
Going to Louisiana this summer and I want to find some good sized pieces of pet palm wood. Everything I read someone says to use something to poke down into dirt/sand to hear the clink and then dig. What are some good items to use?
Thanks
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,709
|
Post by Fossilman on May 11, 2015 0:21:52 GMT -5
Hard copper lightening rods and rebar work-I have both...Mine are four footers,with a point on one end...
|
|
|
Post by gingerkid on May 11, 2015 10:46:31 GMT -5
broseph82, have you and Tonya heard of the Alabama pet wood that is covered in quartz druzy? I think it's found in Macon County. Maybe when you return home, you could look for it, too? I have a framed specimen of it that has beautiful smoky quartz and citrine druzy.
|
|
|
Post by broseph82 on May 11, 2015 13:11:23 GMT -5
broseph82, have you and Tonya heard of the Alabama pet wood that is covered in quartz druzy? I think it's found in Macon County. Maybe when you return home, you could look for it, too? I have a framed specimen of it that has beautiful smoky quartz and citrine druzy. It comes from Brilliant, AL. A guy in my club said he has a huge crate full. I want to be able to cut stuff and not just look at it. Have enough specimens laying around.
|
|
|
Post by jakesrocks on May 11, 2015 13:32:19 GMT -5
Poker ? Best tool is that stuff that's a little larger than a highway flare. Has a fuse & goes bang. Loosens up the soil and leaves a pre dug searching hole.
|
|
|
Post by orrum on May 11, 2015 13:38:26 GMT -5
LOL Don!
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,709
|
Post by Fossilman on May 11, 2015 16:13:31 GMT -5
Poker ? Best tool is that stuff that's a little larger than a highway flare. Has a fuse & goes bang. Loosens up the soil and leaves a pre dug searching hole. BOOM Baby!!!
|
|
ash
spending too much on rocks
Prairieville, Louisiana
Member since July 2012
Posts: 361
|
Post by ash on May 16, 2015 9:48:03 GMT -5
What kind of "poker" do you use when hunting for pet wood? Going to Louisiana this summer and I want to find some good sized pieces of pet palm wood. Everything I read someone says to use something to poke down into dirt/sand to hear the clink and then dig. What are some good items to use? Thanks Been many years since I have done that, but basically what we used, and I still have one, is a handle of some kind. A handle for a hoe or shovel works well. Cut the bottom in an X an inch or two up so that when you look at the bottom you see an X. Go get a rod about the size of your pinky finger, or maybe a bit bigger, and grind a point on the end. You don't want it too big because you will get fatigued shoving it in and out of the ground. Take the other end and shove it into the the center of the X that you cut on the bottom of the handle. Put a couple or three clamps on the cuts and crank em down. Now you are ready to go! If you are going around Toledo Bend or Jasper TX areas looking for Pet wood, you will do much better, in my opinion, if you can find areas that are sandy, that's where the wood is. When you find it you find it, that place is lousy with the stuff. Finding Palm was hit or miss for me. It might be a challenge to find land to access as it's all posted. I'm sure the locales know the spots, but they probably ain't tellin. I do seem to remember that we used to find more around trees for some reason, maybe they pulled it towards the surface? Ash
|
|
ash
spending too much on rocks
Prairieville, Louisiana
Member since July 2012
Posts: 361
|
Post by ash on May 16, 2015 9:53:41 GMT -5
Also, the place in Brilliant AL where the wood was found is a reclaimed coal??? pit. The man who owned it died years ago and his family stopped allowing access. I don't know if that has changed but I don't think that it has. The stuff from Brilliant that I found was not preserved very well so not sure about cutting, certainly could not tumble or polish. The draw on that material is the crystals. I still have a couple pieces that I did not give away including a log that is about 2' long and big enough that I can not pick it up. It is probably full of druzy, but I kinda hate to break it up. I would have picked up more had I known that the place would become a no-go zone. I think that it was locked up a year or so after I went so I was lucky to even get a chance to go. The Memphis club used to go there pretty often I think. Funny thing is that place was pockmarked with huge long holes where big ole logs had been removed.
|
|
|
Post by broseph82 on May 16, 2015 10:17:20 GMT -5
What kind of "poker" do you use when hunting for pet wood? Going to Louisiana this summer and I want to find some good sized pieces of pet palm wood. Everything I read someone says to use something to poke down into dirt/sand to hear the clink and then dig. What are some good items to use? Thanks Been many years since I have done that, but basically what we used, and I still have one, is a handle of some kind. A handle for a hoe or shovel works well. Cut the bottom in an X an inch or two up so that when you look at the bottom you see an X. Go get a rod about the size of your pinky finger, or maybe a bit bigger, and grind a point on the end. You don't want it too big because you will get fatigued shoving it in and out of the ground. Take the other end and shove it into the the center of the X that you cut on the bottom of the handle. Put a couple or three clamps on the cuts and crank em down. Now you are ready to go! If you are going around Toledo Bend or Jasper TX areas looking for Pet wood, you will do much better, in my opinion, if you can find areas that are sandy, that's where the wood is. When you find it you find it, that place is lousy with the stuff. Finding Palm was hit or miss for me. It might be a challenge to find land to access as it's all posted. I'm sure the locales know the spots, but they probably ain't tellin. I do seem to remember that we used to find more around trees for some reason, maybe they pulled it towards the surface? Ash Yep we are hitting the Toledo bend area. Thanks for the write up!
|
|
cdfcal
having dreams about rocks
Member since June 2011
Posts: 59
|
Post by cdfcal on May 16, 2015 11:22:58 GMT -5
Hi, The best thing I have found for a ground probe is a stainless steel whip antenna. Just cut to 4' and sharpen the small end, threaded end makes good handle. They are very smooth and small diameter, easy to push in and pull out. You can actually tell different material just by the thunk!
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,709
|
Post by Fossilman on May 16, 2015 13:04:15 GMT -5
Hi, The best thing I have found for a ground probe is a stainless steel whip antenna. Just cut to 4' and sharpen the small end, threaded end makes good handle. They are very smooth and small diameter, easy to push in and pull out. You can actually tell different material just by the thunk! I bet easier to carry around too...........I might have to try that idea...Thumbs up
|
|