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Post by Cher on Oct 24, 2004 21:41:53 GMT -5
Yup, I found it today in a big way. Spent about 3 hours with the dremel carving on this stone trying to get it flatter. It's not flat but at least it's thinner. The black line is to show what I carved off. It was like a mountain ridge that sloped down to the edges.  You might wonder why I'm wasting my time on this but it's really a pretty cool stone. I think it's some kind of jasper but not sure. There's about 3 shades of red, the black and also some creamy yellow (pics don't show it very good). The weird thing is the lines, they are some kind of quartz I'm guessing. They don't show so well here but they are black and look really neat. It just felt like possible pendant - wire wrapping material so I couldn't let it go. It's got a lot of character and that's what I like.   Like I said, I'm guessing jasper but if anyone has any other thoughts, I'd be happy to know what you think. Thanks for looking. Cher |
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Post by cookie3rocks on Oct 24, 2004 21:47:44 GMT -5
Hmmm,
Almost looks like pet wood. I have no clue but look forward to seeing it polished. Intresting stone.
cookie
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Post by Cher on Oct 24, 2004 22:14:55 GMT -5
Cookie, I kind of like the odd shape but you know more
about pendants, do you think I should round it out?
Cher
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Post by rockyraccoon on Oct 25, 2004 0:00:25 GMT -5
i don't know what it is but i like it. are you going to tumble it?
kim
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Post by Cher on Oct 25, 2004 0:28:41 GMT -5
Oh yes. I need to decide if I want to try and round it out a little more, but either way, it'll be in the next load of 120/200, probably by next week. I've got a load of jasper and a load of agates going on their 2nd week now so won't be long.
Cher
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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 25, 2004 2:41:19 GMT -5
Hey Cher, I'm pretty certain what you have is orthoclase, a type of potassium feldspar. Comes in a variety of colours -- pink, red, white, maybe others, but I find the pink and red to be most common. It occurs in igneous rocks like granite, so you should have a lot of it in glacial tills in Minnesota. It is often mixed with quartz and mica, which also occur in granite. Has very strong cleavage in two directions, and has a hardness of 6. Be careful of the black veins, that's the mica, and it can flake off and form pits when you tumble it. Just have to try it and see. The white veins are the quartz, and although they are harder than orthoclase, they erode at the same rate when you tumble the stone, so you get a nice smooth stone. So you can judge my ID for yourself, here's some pink and some red orthoclase that has been through coarse grind. Note the white quartz inclusions and a few black mica lines also (which I usually try to avoid because of the risk of pitting - you can see a bit of a pit in the top left of the big reddish stone). The colours should be somewhat darker than the photos shows (darn fluorescent lights!), the pink orthoclase should be "fleshtone", and the red orthoclase should be darker, kinda like in your first photo, but not quite as dark as in your second photo.  And here's some rough that has been broken for the rough tumble. Note the very strong cleavage (smooth face) on one of the chisel-broken pink pieces. The red orthoclase should have similar strong cleavage, but I think the quarz inclusions mess that up.  Well, I could be wrong, but it was a good excuse to post some pics! |
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Post by Cher on Oct 25, 2004 11:25:37 GMT -5
Orthoclase ... so that's what that stuff is called. I have found some rocks that look exactly like that pinker stuff on the right. This piece seems really different than that stuff though. How about these, do you think this is Orthoclase?   Here's a close-up of this red one I'm working on. You can see some of the rough areas from me grinding on it but it's really pretty smooth. The white spots aren't quartz but seem to be the same material as the red.  Hee hee, long as we're posting some pics, what about this one. I'm assuming it's some kind of an agate but ... It's very purple, lots of banding. I thought at first the lighter stuff was quartz but it seems different. I've found quite a few pieces of this, sure wish I had a saw, I think it would be awesome slabbed.  Cher |
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phoenix1647
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2013
Posts: 186
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Post by phoenix1647 on Oct 25, 2004 11:40:26 GMT -5
Every rock has potential....even if we don't happento see it. In my opinion...you are not wasting time doint that....you are learning and experminting. Who knows what masterpiece is just waiting to be cut out of that rock....
Doing something you enjoy is never a waste of time.
Not sure what that rock is..but it does make the mind work hard to figure out what to do with it...hmmmm...busy minds..cure for alzheimers?
Pho
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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 25, 2004 16:42:08 GMT -5
Okay, I see what you mean. In your new photos, the stones on the left side have a lot of pink and red orthoclase in them, but the stones on the right are a lot deeper red. So maybe they aren't orthoclase afterall, in which case I have no idea. You could bust them and see if they have strong cleavage like orthoclase, but I doubt you want to do that ;D. Until someone comes up with a positive ID, I guess the mineral can be called cherite  . That last stone looks fantastic. |
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Post by Cher on Oct 25, 2004 17:30:34 GMT -5
Cherite huh? I like it LOL  ;D I like that last stone too, it's got great color in it. Someday I'll let it finish and see if it shines but for now it's in the "on hold" bucket. Thanks for your help, at least I learned what one type of stone is. Cher |
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Post by puppie96 on Oct 26, 2004 0:29:59 GMT -5
RS, when you mentioned this rock a few days back, I knew immediately what you were talking about and also that I've picked up lots of this in many different locales. The red rocks on the right also look like something I pick up locally which I just assume is a member of the jasper extended family. It's texture is completely different from the orthoclase, which seems to be much more granular. I've been wondering whether some of my mystery rock may also be orthoclase, only in different color combos.
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Malkavic
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since March 2004
Posts: 77
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Post by Malkavic on Oct 26, 2004 17:43:54 GMT -5
I'm not positive on the first few rocks... but that last one bears a strong resemblence to imperial Jasper... it usually takes on tones of purples, reds, greens, and blues... with the occasional sunset yellow-orange... ::smiles:: I love the stuff... it has orbs and bands and swirls that are amazing when polished up...
Billy
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Post by cookie3rocks on Oct 26, 2004 22:52:32 GMT -5
You sent me some Cherite! COOL! Now that I know the MOHS, I know exactly what to tumble it with. ;D
As for the one you shaped, I would tumble at this point, it's only going to smooth and shrink. Don't want it too small.
cookie
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Post by hermatite on Oct 27, 2004 14:20:08 GMT -5
Well poo...I'm bummed that the driveway stuff isn't any good for tumbling. Then again if it was, they might want more for it and that wouldn't be any good idea. It sill looks pretty cool though.
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;D I like that last stone too, it's got great color in it. Someday I'll let it finish and see if it shines but for now it's in the "on hold" bucket. 
