Skipper
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 258
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Post by Skipper on Oct 7, 2004 1:17:45 GMT -5
so, I'm talking to someone at church about my rock tumbling hobby and a lady overhears and says "I have a big bucket of rocks in my backyard you can have if you want." Well, who knows what it will be , but of course I'll come by and look. I had high hopes, but knew it could be box of junk. So when I get there, the story is...she helps run a group home for kids. 2 boys lugged this crate of rocks home one day. They got it from a back alley where a family was throwing out stuff from a parent that had passed away. Apparently it was his entire rock collection. Anyway, she was concerned the boys would start throwing the rocks at each other, so she traded them 10 bucks for the box and then it went to her basement for 8 yrs. Then to her backyard for the past 2. That's when I showed up. It was middle of winter here in Canada and the darn crate was frozen to the ground. So, I moved rocks by hand into my own bins and immediately saw lots of obsidian and agates. Well, from the pix below, you can see there was A LOT! I filled 2 bins, probably 30 lbs each. There are a lot of rocks I don't recognize. Some have been too soft too tumble. There were actually a LOT of dinosaur bone chunks (fossilized) in it. They are ugly brutes and are sitting in my garage (anyone interested?). So, I'm working my way through these guys with some nifty results. I have another thread on the next page which shows some of the obsidian from this batch. 1 of 2 buckets:  In the lot was a bunch of crystals. At first I thought they were quartz, but they are too soft. Quartz can really scratch these guys up. Any ideas? They are very clear when wet.   |
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Post by rockyraccoon on Oct 7, 2004 2:52:17 GMT -5
lucky you skipper! boy y'all find some great stuff.
kim
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Oct 7, 2004 3:29:18 GMT -5
Those crystals look a lot like the gypsum crystals that can be collected a bit south of you, in the Aldersyde and Chain Lakes areas (see "A traveller's guide to geological wonders in Alberta", produced by the Provincial Museum of Alberta, 1998). Gypsum crystals are extremely soft and can even by scratched with your fingernail. Maybe that's what you have, maybe not?
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agatenut
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 127
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Post by agatenut on Oct 7, 2004 6:48:02 GMT -5
Hey skipper,
The crystals also look like they could be calcite crystal pieces. The surest way to tell is by getting the clearest piece and placing it over some typed letters. If you see the letter "doubled" (it's called "double refraction") then it IS calcite. Mohs hardess of 3. Quartz' hardness is 7 so it easily scratches calcite. They do look awesome though, whatever they are. keep em!
ralph
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Jackpot
Oct 7, 2004 13:01:32 GMT -5
Post by Cher on Oct 7, 2004 13:01:32 GMT -5
WOW Some of the people on this forum have been so lucky to get stuff given to them. What a great find!! Those crystals look really cool, so even if they are soft, can they be tumbled at all or would that just mar them up?
Cher
PS ... where's that other thread?
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Jackpot
Oct 7, 2004 13:22:02 GMT -5
Post by llanago on Oct 7, 2004 13:22:02 GMT -5
Sheesh, what a neat haul! I'm jealous! Can't wait to see what you do with them.
llana
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Jackpot
Oct 7, 2004 20:23:55 GMT -5
Post by BearCreekLapidary on Oct 7, 2004 20:23:55 GMT -5
Hey Skipper,
How big are the Petrified Dinosaur Bones pieces ... if you are serious ... I might be interested.
How lucky are you any way ... did you go out and buy yourself a lottery ticket? I think I would have ;D
Enjoy,
John
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Skipper
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 258
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Jackpot
Oct 7, 2004 22:12:25 GMT -5
Post by Skipper on Oct 7, 2004 22:12:25 GMT -5
I'll check for the double-refraction on the weekend. A moh of 3 sounds about right - very soft stuff.
John (BearCreek). Yes I'm serious. Contact me direct at skipper@ca.ibm.com. I think a trade may be in order. I'll take some pix on Saturday.
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Jackpot
Oct 9, 2004 17:14:36 GMT -5
Post by connrock on Oct 9, 2004 17:14:36 GMT -5
Hey Skipper,,,,Nice HAUL!!! A few years ago I was walking the southeast shore of Lake Ontario looking for rocks when a young woman asked me what I was doing.I told her and she said that her dad was a "rock nut" and had passed away. To make a long story short the next day we met and she gave me ALL of her fathers rocks!!!I would guess the total weight was around 100-150 lbs. The real kicker was that there were even opals in the haul!!I offered to pay her but she wouldn't take a dime for them!! When I got home I sorted them all out and put the best of the best aside.I cut them and worked them on my Genie. I sent them to her and she was soooooooooo happy that someone enjoyed them as much as her dad!! I guess in a way she figured her dad still lives on through his rocks!! Tom  |
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Jackpot
Oct 9, 2004 17:32:36 GMT -5
Post by krazydiamond on Oct 9, 2004 17:32:36 GMT -5
so, like, Tom, leave it all to ME in your will...ok?
KD
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Jackpot
Oct 11, 2004 18:35:20 GMT -5
Post by connrock on Oct 11, 2004 18:35:20 GMT -5
Geeeeezzzzz KD,,,,, I don't wanna die yet!!! Tom |
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Jackpot
Oct 11, 2004 18:59:59 GMT -5
Post by sandsman1 on Oct 11, 2004 18:59:59 GMT -5
hahahaha yea KD quit rushing the man will ya hes havein fun hahahaha too friggin funny---i allready told my daughter dont just throw out all my stuff go through everything and sell it i was looking for something the other day and i opened a box from my closet and it was full of knives and stuff from my head days pipes and roach clips and rollin machines there was a brand new switch blade in there even,, i gotta get all the stuff like that and put it in the safe at the shore all the head stuff will prob be colector items by the time i die and right now i know i could sell the swithblade for 75 or 100 i got stuff packed away i havent seen since i moved 3 or 4 times ago hahahaha who knows whats there
that was a very lucky day for you skip way cool looking crystals
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Skipper
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 258
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Jackpot
Oct 20, 2004 0:00:54 GMT -5
Post by Skipper on Oct 20, 2004 0:00:54 GMT -5
Here are some of the rocks in the bucket:  Not a great pic, but here are some of the rocks that I have finished polishing. There are others I've done. Some didn't take a shine at all. Some almost completely disentegrated. It's kinda fun to test different types of rocks to see if they will shine.  |
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deepsouth
fully equipped rock polisher
He who rocks last rocks best
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,256
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Jackpot
Oct 20, 2004 3:09:19 GMT -5
Post by deepsouth on Oct 20, 2004 3:09:19 GMT -5
Hey Skipper , nice Jackpot you got there. I can't complain either , had my own little haul lately ;D
Yes it is fun to try out the many different stones and see what comes of them.
Have fun
Jack
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Jackpot
Oct 22, 2004 9:55:17 GMT -5
Post by creativeminded on Oct 22, 2004 9:55:17 GMT -5
The rock fairy was definately good to you with that find.
Have fun.
Tami
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