|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 5, 2015 11:21:52 GMT -5
Big thanks to Mel Sabre52, for helping me locate some Crinoidal Limestone in San Saba, TX!!!!! I was invited to hunt at a lease in San Saba, not too far from where the Lambert Ranch is located. Mel loaded me up with all the information I needed to to have a successful hunt.....Thanks again, Mel!!!! I only found this material in a small area, but this is how I found the Limestone. These slabs were too big to get out with hand tools, so I had to take some of the smaller pieces.  This is the biggest piece that I could handle.....still had to get help, it's about 120 lbs. I have no idea how I'm going to cut it!  This is what all of the material in that area looked like. Really cool stuff!  I cut a few ends off (I only have a 7" tile saw), wanted to see how it cut and how well it would clean up. It polished right up with a few minutes of hand sanding. Looked way better than I expected!      And then there was this thing!?? It's got sporadic crinoids throughout, brown stalks going through it that look like petrified wood, Quartz or Calcite crystals coming through the surface and the yellowish / gold material. It's about 22" long and weighs about 30-40lbs. I cleaned off most of the surface dirt, so what you see is part of the rock. Any clues?   Thanks for looking! Jeremy |
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
|
Post by Sabre52 on Nov 5, 2015 16:49:54 GMT -5
Wow, thanks for the neat pics Jeremy! I like the black and white stuff best of all as the contrast is so nice. There are a lot of colonial bryozoans and corals out there too so that last specimen may contain some of those. That last one looks like a good solid hunk of limestone too.....Mel
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
|
Post by jamesp on Nov 5, 2015 18:48:20 GMT -5
Man you find cool stuff every where you go. Texas is a fine rock hunter's state.
Am surprised at the rocks you are finding on the east side of the state.
The crinoid limestone would make fine floor tiles.
|
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 9, 2015 10:11:37 GMT -5
Wow, thanks for the neat pics Jeremy! I like the black and white stuff best of all as the contrast is so nice. There are a lot of colonial bryozoans and corals out there too so that last specimen may contain some of those. That last one looks like a good solid hunk of limestone too.....Mel Thanks, Mel. I love the black & white as well. I was really hoping to find some of the Pink and maybe I did, but haven't cut into any of it. When you were collecting from Lambert, were any of the colors mixed in the same area? Or, were the same colors found in different areas? I had to look up the Colonial Bryozoans, and I think I found something like some of the pictures. I will photograph and see what you think. Thanks again, for the help! - Jeremy |
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 9, 2015 10:15:52 GMT -5
Man you find cool stuff every where you go. Texas is a fine rock hunter's state. Am surprised at the rocks you are finding on the east side of the state. The crinoid limestone would make fine floor tiles. I am finding out how lucky I am, to live in Texas! So many possibilities within reach! Floor tiles would look pretty damn cool, but I was thinking coasters would be a cool place to start! Thanks for looking! - Jeremy |
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723 
|
Post by Fossilman on Nov 9, 2015 10:17:36 GMT -5
SCORE!!! Fossils are my favorite of the rock world!!!
If you score the death plate (deep line it),it will fracture where you score it..A few taps with a big hammer and it should break...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2015 11:23:14 GMT -5
I want my bathroon counter to be made of the black/white limestone! Awesome!
|
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Nov 9, 2015 12:25:17 GMT -5
SCORE!!! Fossils are my favorite of the rock world!!! If you score the death plate (deep line it),it will fracture where you score it..A few taps with a big hammer and it should break... I have a grinder with a diamond blade......would that be the weapon of choice or chisel and hammer? Thank you for the new terminology (death plate & deep line it)! It took me a minute to figure out what you were talking about, I'm a newbie. Thanks for looking! - Jeremy |
|
|
|
Post by adam on Nov 9, 2015 13:32:13 GMT -5
Excellent material and cuts.
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
|
Post by Sabre52 on Nov 9, 2015 14:16:46 GMT -5
Jeremy, You're very welcome. On the Lambert Ranch the black and white deposit was separate from the pink and brown and a much smaller deposit. Second time we went, the black and white was pretty dug out. The brown and pink deposits were huge, further up hill and graded into one another. Very thick ledges though and really hard to break hunks off of them. The best crinoid sections in the pink and brown were sandwiched between layers with few crinoids so often the hunk you broke free was not all that good for cabbing. The pink was also more prone to having more porous and soft sections so I preferred digging the black. Saw one hard pink section that was really outrageous and about eight inches thick but no way to get into it in the time we had so C.B Lambert swapped me a slab for some trade material I had brought along. Most the deposits had limestone with only a few scattered crinoids. The really nice stuff was much harder to find. When my buddy and I road hunted a few years ago, that's the problem we had. We found lots of nice limestone and even limestone with death plate stuff on the exterior, but we didn't have much luck finding limestone with really nice distribution of the crinoids on the inside. Gonna have to drive up that way again maybe this winter....Mel
|
|
quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,359
|
Post by quartz on Nov 9, 2015 23:40:47 GMT -5
I've never seen a slab that big with that much going on in it, thanks.
|
|
|
|
Post by txrockhunter on Dec 7, 2015 17:10:03 GMT -5
Took a few pictures of some other stuff I found on the trip and a few closeups of the monster limestone thing. Thanks for looking! I think this is chert? I've never seen any with fortifications...  Another piece of chert.  Mel Sabre52, is this one of the "colonial bryozoans" that you mentioned earlier?  These are closeups from the monster piece of Limestone. The brown "stalks" appear to go all the way through the piece and I think they are some sort of Coral? Thoughts???  Close up of the "stalks".  This is the end of the "stalks" (hard to get depth of field with a cell phone). There are a 4-5 spots like this that have some sort of crystal / calcite, coming out of the limestone.  Thanks for looking! |
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
|
Post by Sabre52 on Dec 7, 2015 17:42:35 GMT -5
Wow Jeremy, awesome material! The stalk like stuff does have a coral look to it. The colonial bryozoans we found we kind of lumpy with kind of a fishnet structure when cut open. We never found any chert with fortifications but that look like what you have. Very unusual find there! Since limestone is basically calcite, calcite crystals are fairly common all through the hill country and fill lots of the voids, vugs etc. Your third pic may be bryozoans but appears to be cut lengthwise....Mel
|
|
jackangeline
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2015
Posts: 107
|
Post by jackangeline on Dec 30, 2015 13:19:30 GMT -5
Big thanks to Mel Sabre52 , for helping me locate some Crinoidal Limestone in San Saba, TX!!!!! I was invited to hunt at a lease in San Saba, not too far from where the Lambert Ranch is located. Mel loaded me up with all the information I needed to to have a successful hunt.....Thanks again, Mel!!!! I only found this material in a small area, but this is how I found the Limestone. These slabs were too big to get out with hand tools, so I had to take some of the smaller pieces. This is the biggest piece that I could handle.....still had to get help, it's about 120 lbs. I have no idea how I'm going to cut it! This is what all of the material in that area looked like. Really cool stuff! I cut a few ends off (I only have a 7" tile saw), wanted to see how it cut and how well it would clean up. It polished right up with a few minutes of hand sanding. Looked way better than I expected! And then there was this thing!?? It's got sporadic crinoids throughout, brown stalks going through it that look like petrified wood, Quartz or Calcite crystals coming through the surface and the yellowish / gold material. It's about 22" long and weighs about 30-40lbs. I cleaned off most of the surface dirt, so what you see is part of the rock. Any clues? Thanks for looking! Jeremy Nice finds. I am going to be in TX East part of the state (Houston area) for work this spring. I would like some advise and areas if possible to find some neat stuff.  Any advise would be helpful. Thank you, Carl |
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723
|
Post by Fossilman on Dec 30, 2015 17:17:26 GMT -5
SCORE!!! Fossils are my favorite of the rock world!!! If you score the death plate (deep line it),it will fracture where you score it..A few taps with a big hammer and it should break... I have a grinder with a diamond blade......would that be the weapon of choice or chisel and hammer? Thank you for the new terminology (death plate & deep line it)! It took me a minute to figure out what you were talking about, I'm a newbie. Thanks for looking! - Jeremy Sounds like the grinder would score the rock better.............. |
|
herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
|
Post by herchenx on Jan 2, 2016 13:21:36 GMT -5
Wow txrockhunter that second batch of photos is sweet as well. You've got nicely silicated stuff in that first photo, with quartz lined pockets and agate banding, very nice score. |
|
|
|
Post by toiv0 on Jan 3, 2016 18:07:54 GMT -5
Nice material, looks extraterrestrial and pic taken by the hubble...wow
|
|
|
|
Post by Rockoonz on Jan 3, 2016 19:42:54 GMT -5
I want my bathroon counter to be made of the black/white limestone! Awesome! In a recent trip to Richardsons Rock Ranch they had a sink cut out of a big chunk of death plate. A bit spendy for my pocketbook. |
|
Any advise would be helpful. Thank you, Carl
