|
|
Post by puppie96 on Jan 3, 2005 0:34:41 GMT -5
Hi! Here are some more MO rock experiments. Some of these might have turned up in other shots, but most are new. First, a largish group of rocks with some pretty patterns.  Now here's a smaller group with one of my favorites in the middle, because it has all those little red circles and some have blue bands too. But, it seems very thin on the surface -- you can see matrix in some of the crevices but I am afraid to grind it more. The color combo is, so far, unusual in this rock.  Now here are some you guys could maybe help with. As you can see, I got a lot of rock that seemed to be a dull brownish/black matrix rock but full of all kinds of inclusions of crystals and agate, some with pretty patterns. Much of this I smashed up with a hammer, I had larger rocks of it. As you see, the dark matrix rock polished beautifully and is often very pretty. It is sort of brittle, though.  I pulled a couple of my favorite singles from this group, so you could see why I like it so much!   The next one is another photo of the blue or gray lace agate I've posted before, just a different selection.  Okay, it looks like I might have messed up some of the sizing on these, so I'll stop and continue later or in another post after I check this out! Thanks for looking! Happy New Year! |
|
|
|
Post by puppie96 on Jan 3, 2005 0:40:24 GMT -5
Yep, my sizing is messed up. Oh well. It got confusing. Continuing, here are a few more of the group and individual shots.   And, shots of some of my faves:     Thanks again for looking! |
|
|
|
Post by stoner on Jan 3, 2005 0:58:46 GMT -5
Hi Puppie. Happy New Year to you. Those are some really nice stones. Are these part of what you find near where you live? Nice banding and colors. Thanks for sharing.
Ed
|
|
|
|
Post by puppie96 on Jan 3, 2005 1:31:59 GMT -5
Yeah, Ed, it's more of the local rock I picked up in October. And more is coming along!
Thanks for commenting, happy new year.
|
|
rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
|
Post by rollingstone on Jan 3, 2005 1:41:39 GMT -5
Hey Pup,
I was wondering when more photos of your local lace agate were coming. You certainly have some interesting patterns and colours there, including some with eyes! We've talked previously about my bias for nice, round, vug-free stones, so you already know I like those ones the best. Although I must say some of the vuggy ones do have interesting shapes... how that one in the fourth pic from the bottom didn't break apart while tumbling is some kind of miracle!
You mentioned on your last batch of these stones that they lost a lot of colour as they ground down. I saw that effect in the last batch, but these ones seem different, they still seem quite vibrant and colourful.
Cool stuff, thanks for posting the pics, I look forward to more!
|
|
|
|
Post by puppie96 on Jan 3, 2005 2:48:53 GMT -5
Hi RS,
I've sorta decided that I can't defeat the vugs, so I should work with them. The irregular shapes are kind of growing on me, especially when the openings are surrounded by that fine banding. Wow! What you can't see much in the photos is that many of those cavities are lined with crystals. Also, they are much shinier than they appear in the bad light conditions today. I could see a really pretty display of the swiss-cheesy ones, some of them, as you said, look so delicate it's amazing they didn't break.
I've been noticing that many agate photos, polished or not, didn't remove or disguise the vugs or "crystal caves." And how about those beautiful pieces that bearcreek posted a couple days ago -- he sliced several with the hole in the middle and crystals inside the hole.
The "eyes" would be those little circles?
About features grinding off -- if you look at the closeup of the big rock that's kind of crescent shaped with a rind outside in gold colors, banding, and white drusy quartz inside, you can maybe see that on the outer surface there's a caramel colored coating that's partly worn off -- some of the rocks seem to have just that type of surface stuff, which has nice looking pattern, and then not much underneath if it grinds off. You can't see it in the picture I don't think, but that rock has a gold colored "belly button" right where all the drusy's intersect in the middle. It's kind of shallow and I didn't want to lose it by grinding it off, it's interesting. Around those pesky vugs is often the best banding and of course during the grinding as you try to get rid of the vug those edges grind away.
Do you have any idea what that brown/black stone is in the one pic? I've got a bunch of it with veins and vugs of good stuff running through it. I've never seen any pictures like it, that I can recall.
Here's an interesting observation. I'm reading a Missouri Geology book I got for Christmas and it talks about how so much of the state is full of caves, sinkholes, and springs because we've got so much limestone. It hit me that each of these vuggy rocks is a miniature version of a cave, formed the same way, only the solid part of the rock would be the passages -- all these rocks were formed by sediments that deposited in the dissolved areas in the stone, which later weathered away. A cave is just a big old vug!
Odd blends of science and aesthetics, here.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cher on Jan 3, 2005 10:24:29 GMT -5
WoW Puppie, you have some gorgeous rocks there!
Incredible banding in them and beautiful colors.
Cher
|
|
|
|
Post by docone31 on Jan 3, 2005 10:34:03 GMT -5
What is really fascinating, is, when the big asteroid smacks us and insects become the prime species, all the beauty, and beauty to be yet uncovered will all become homogenized.
I doubt, insects will ever become lapidariasts and we will have been the only ones, unless other species before us did the same.
I never cease to be amazed at the beauty that comes from beneath our feet.
Great photos.
|
|
|
|
Post by creativeminded on Jan 3, 2005 11:03:30 GMT -5
There are a couple of those stones that look like a dragon head to me. those are some pretty rocks.
Tami
|
|
|
|
Post by krazydiamond on Jan 3, 2005 15:28:56 GMT -5
you are so lucky to have local rock that is so interesting, some of the banding looks like Mexican Lace! you must have to really scrub the vug out them each stage to get such a nice shine to them.  very nice stuff, took a while to laod all the images, but was well worth the wait! KD |
|
|
|
Post by connrock on Jan 3, 2005 19:10:50 GMT -5
Great finds Puppie!! And a very nice job of shinin' um up too!! I have a friend that gave me 2 , 5 gal buckets of rocks she got out of the Mississippi River in MO. Looking at you first photo start with the biggest rock right on top. Starting with it as 1 count down around the left side to the 5th rock. On the bottom half of that rock where it looks like the "matrix" wore off is what's called "druzy quartz".  This is what it looks like before it was eroded away. If you look at some of your rocks carefully and try to picture in your mind what it would look like cut in that area you might be surprised what you'll find!! I cut some of mine and was amazed at how they looked!! Tom |
|
|
|
Post by puppie96 on Jan 4, 2005 0:49:59 GMT -5
Drusy Quartz: Tom, the rock at the top of the first photo (the big one) is also in the 4th and 5th photos of my second post. The lower (interior of the circle) part where it is white, I thought is drusy quartz. It's columns arranged side by side, sort of, but not exactly crystals, more rounded columns stuck together. From what I gather (and please correct me if I am wrong) drusy quartz refers to quartz that has grown on the surface of some other rock and can look a lot of different ways. The crystalline stuff on your rock looks a lot like the insides of many of the holes in my rock, which I assume is drusy quartz like the white parts of the big stone.
No doubt someone that knew what they were doing, could cut beautiful pieces from this stuff.
KD, I wondered when somebody would ask about the washing! I'm surprised I don't have more trouble. The vibe has helped a lot, since it can agitate the stones with soap and water quickly, so I put it through a couple of wash cycles before putting it in polish. I've had holes that continued to drip dirty water though and gave me a nasty surprise! Once or twice I seemed to get contaminated polish but since the vibe only takes 2 teaspoons a run, who cares? I just washed it off with soap and water and ran it again, and it worked fine.
Nice that people are so interested in this lowly, unnamed, and weirdly shaped local rock. It is full of surprises.
|
|
|
|
Post by rockyraccoon on Jan 4, 2005 1:27:20 GMT -5
even with the vugs you have some beautiful stones there. those would drive me absolutely crazy though. i'd probably end up with no stones at all trying to get them smooth or just stop and set them aside to think on the issue lol. i have one now that the vug just finally wore all the way through and now it has an open hole and i thought well won't need to drill that one lol.
kim
|
|
rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
|
Post by rollingstone on Jan 4, 2005 2:24:09 GMT -5
Pup, yes, the eyes are the circles, especially noticeable in the big red rock on the left side of pic #4. I think that make the stone "orbicular" (as in orbs) ... jargon, jargon.
|
|
|
|
Post by puppie96 on Jan 4, 2005 3:28:18 GMT -5
Yup, Kim, they do drive me crazy, I'm certifyable by now.
A couple of these showed up in back yard rock, I worked 'em hard to get them smooth, and then realized I was grinding off the good stuff.
On the other hand, some pattern seems to go all the way through and some not. Now that I've done some of this and I've got a bunch more and I'm not scared of trashing it (I can get more) I'm letting it grind longer and trying not to look too often, just see what happens if I let things take their own course.
As a side note, I can't even begin to estimate how long it's going to take to tumble all the rock I've got. In addition to all this local stuff from a variety of places I've got more collected rock from Wyoming and South Dakota as well as some really cool rocks I bought from Shawn and great flintridge that Donwrob traded with me. (Where are you, DON? We miss you!)
|
|
