HarryB41
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2004
Posts: 605
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Post by HarryB41 on Dec 11, 2004 19:51:39 GMT -5
These are really great looking rocks! I went to my local rock shop today to buy some Tigereye, but the guy was completely out, so I have to wait to tumble something different then flint. He did have plenty of other stuff though.  Great job on these! Harry |
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Post by Cher on Dec 11, 2004 19:52:04 GMT -5
I wholeheartedly agree, although according to my brother, the valley is going to down. Subdivisions coming in, nothing at all like it was the last time I was there.  I'd still like to go back, it's been 12 years since we were there and I love it!! Always wanted to go pan gold or visit the sapphire mines. Cher |
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Post by puppie96 on Dec 12, 2004 4:52:06 GMT -5
Hi Everybody,
RS, thanks for the compliments! I like the brain rock too, and isn't it interesting how the bumpy thingies end up kinda like polka dots, but did you notice how much color it lost? That's not just the photography. I definitely haven't given up on the vuggy rock, in fact a lot of it is going right now in various stages, quite a bit of it being "redos." I got a lot of it polished, but then decided I wasn't satisfied with the shaping so I'm going after it again before I post photos of it. I still am doing the 2 sites separately from each other, so the stuff up here is from site 2, started out less vuggy and seems to shape up pretty quickly. However, there are plenty of vugs in plenty of the site 2 stuff, I think probably I took more solid pieces than not in my first run of it.
Pho, we have been picking up rocks in SE MO, south of St. Louis. If you look on a MO map, I-55 follows the river more or less. Where we have been looking is the area just west of I-55 -- the counties are St. Francois, Washington mainly. This is a major mining area -- lots of historical interest in that this -- besides furtrading and an outpost for points further west -- is one of the main reasons people settled here. The area called the "lead belt" contains lots of mines and quarries and much to search -- many minerals are in the area. There's a volcanic outcrop "St. Francois outcrop" in that area, something I never knew until I got into this hobby, it accounts for the presence of a lot of stuff including, probably, this agate which forms in the cavities in the ancient lava (that's one reason for the irregular shapes).
Hey, Pho, I'm giving you way more info than you asked for! In short, there are many creeks and rivers in that part of the state and they are all just loaded with great rocks. The stuff in these photos came from a really remote area -- the town we were looking for didn't even appear on a road map and we drove probably 40 miles out of the way trying to find it, and where we ended up I could find again, but never direct anybody to. I do think that this site is the most impressive so far, if only because relatively brief searching brought us home probably 100 pounds of rocks (boulders? they are pretty big) and the quality seems so good, and the preponderance of that beautiful lace agate is so exciting. But beware, I am still not sure how much of the rock we picked up will be this great stuff -- the rocks are really not too revealing on the outside -- these were attractive mainly because some crystals were visible. If you really do come to MO, hey, I'd love to go there again and/or other places, we'd be glad to take you. In any case let me know if this trip really gets into the planning stages, one way or another I should be able to direct you to the right area if not the exact spot.
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Rose
Cave Dweller 
Member since November 2004
Posts: 875
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Post by Rose on Dec 12, 2004 7:18:02 GMT -5
Those are great looking rocks Puppie ! So different to what you started out with. |
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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 Dec 13, 2004 1:37:12 GMT -5
RS, thanks for the compliments! I like the brain rock too, and isn't it interesting how the bumpy thingies end up kinda like polka dots, but did you notice how much color it lost? That's not just the photography. I definitely haven't given up on the vuggy rock, in fact a lot of it is going right now in various stages, quite a bit of it being "redos." I got a lot of it polished, but then decided I wasn't satisfied with the shaping so I'm going after it again before I post photos of it. I still am doing the 2 sites separately from each other, so the stuff up here is from site 2, started out less vuggy and seems to shape up pretty quickly. However, there are plenty of vugs in plenty of the site 2 stuff, I think probably I took more solid pieces than not in my first run of it. I thought maybe the colour thing was due to lighting or something, but since you say it is a real effect, that is very interesting that it loses colour like that. If you go to your first pic of the raw brain in this thread, and use your hand or whatever to cover up the top dimpled layer of the brain, then what is not covered by your hand looks pretty much the same as the polished brain photo. Now I know what you mean about having to be careful not to remove the colourful outer layers. I don't see any way to preserve that colourful outer-brain layer and still end up with a nicely shaped and shined stone. I guess that's what you've been asking about, pondering over, and dealing with for the past couple of months. I think they look great even with the outer layer gone, but maybe you've now come up with way work around this problem? |
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Post by puppie96 on Dec 13, 2004 2:58:10 GMT -5
RS -- I was just looking over a bunch of that rock that is polished. All the ones I didn't like are grinding again. Looking at the ones that I didn't put back into grind, I think I like them all the way they are. Many of them are shaped irregularly. Some are hollow. When they have wrinkles, there are often crystals down in there. So often there's the banding or other features at the edges of the holes. Their weird shapes often add to their coolness. I've been hesitating to post these because I know I'm in the minority about keeping the shapes and imperfections. I really do have to keep my eye on the outer shell thing, too, although something else interesting is that sometimes it's shell but often it goes all the way through. I've got enough re-doing that I believe I'll get a handle on this soon. I'd love to take a picture of it tomorrow, but time might be a problem. Soon as I can I will.
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Post by BearCreekLapidary on Dec 14, 2004 20:25:11 GMT -5
Hey Pup,
WOW ... Those are spectacular!!!
Very nice indeed.
I have to go now ... I can't seem to keep my mouth from dripping saliva all over my key board.
Now, I know what my Labrador feels like when he is watching me eat a flame grilled hamburger!
Thanks for the photo's,
John
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Post by puppie96 on Dec 15, 2004 0:47:01 GMT -5
Hey John, I'm glad you came around. These are much more solid than most and look to me like they would make nice cabs. I've got a huge variety of looks floating around in this stuff and more often than not I can't tell much from the outside.
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Guy
off to a rocking start
Want to expose my children to the world of Rocks!
Member since December 2004
Posts: 22
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Post by Guy on Dec 19, 2004 23:21:54 GMT -5
I just wanted to be one of the first to officially "respect" Pup
Way to go
And great looking rocks by the way!
Guy
a newbie!
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Post by puppie96 on Dec 20, 2004 5:02:21 GMT -5
Welcome to the board, Guy.
Thank you for respecting my new status.
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Post by connrock on Dec 20, 2004 19:18:32 GMT -5
Hey pup's lace is one of my fave's and you have some real pretty ones there. Tom  |
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I'd still like to go back, it's been 12 years since we were there and I love it!! Always wanted to go pan gold or visit the sapphire mines.
