julieooly
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2018
Posts: 721 
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Post by julieooly on Oct 26, 2019 10:41:27 GMT -5
This came in a big lot of slabs and it looks like Morrisonite to me. I haven't been that excited about it because of all the weird lines in it but maybe I'm overlooking some cool material? It's a scratched up 6.2mm, polished slab with obvious fracture issues but lots of good material if people like the looks of it. I know stardiamond has a lot for sale in his shop, what do you all think?    |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Oct 26, 2019 11:09:41 GMT -5
Looks like Carrasite to me. Morrisonite's close cousin. Love that stuff!
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 26, 2019 11:37:21 GMT -5
Could be carrasite or morrisonite- hard to tell sometimes, but I'm leaning on carriste. I think it's a decent slab. There's some good cabs in there! People like the orbs. The lines could be "streamers" Are they solid or fractures?
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Post by stardiamond on Oct 26, 2019 12:34:37 GMT -5
I'll toss in Willow Creek and same opinion as rj.
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Oct 26, 2019 12:36:42 GMT -5
Yeah, Carrasite. Here's a face-polished piece we have - it's just over 8 x 6".
It does take a nice polish, so have fun!
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julieooly
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2018
Posts: 721
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Post by julieooly on Oct 26, 2019 17:59:21 GMT -5
Could be carrasite or morrisonite- hard to tell sometimes, but I'm leaning on carriste. I think it's a decent slab. There's some good cabs in there! People like the orbs. The lines could be "streamers" Are they solid or fractures? I'm catching a thumbnail on some of them but others are smooth as silk. So is both the right answer? |
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 26, 2019 18:25:54 GMT -5
Could be carrasite or morrisonite- hard to tell sometimes, but I'm leaning on carriste. I think it's a decent slab. There's some good cabs in there! People like the orbs. The lines could be "streamers" Are they solid or fractures? I'm catching a thumbnail on some of them but others are smooth as silk. So is both the right answer? Yeah, some are fractures. |
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Post by parfive on Oct 26, 2019 19:06:28 GMT -5
Give it a good smack on the workbench and you’ll find out what you have to work with.
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Oct 26, 2019 20:13:32 GMT -5
Don't give up on fractured slabs.
Look into Hxtal for stabilizing them.
Lynn
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julieooly
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2018
Posts: 721
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Post by julieooly on Oct 28, 2019 7:57:01 GMT -5
Don't give up on fractured slabs. Look into Hxtal for stabilizing them. Lynn Thanks I have some and have been experimenting with it for fractures and for softer materials. I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong with the softer materials? It seems like the Hxtal coats but doesn't penetrate much and when I go to cab the material I'm basically just sanding off the stuff? I also put it on a few cabs that had some surface pits hoping it would fill them in but when I went back to clean them up same thing happened. I'm hoping that stabilized doesn't mean "coated with stuff" cause that just makes the material feel like plastic. I just want to fill in some wee little areas to make the cab look better. |
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Oct 28, 2019 9:19:38 GMT -5
julieooly - I heat the slab or cab with a 100 watt lamp for an hour or so. It gets too hot to touch. Then apply Hxtal. Then continue with the heat for 3 or more hours. The heat seems to draw the Hxtal into the stone. It may take more than one application as I grind down the cab. Lynn
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julieooly
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2018
Posts: 721
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Post by julieooly on Oct 29, 2019 12:42:25 GMT -5
julieooly - I heat the slab or cab with a 100 watt lamp for an hour or so. It gets too hot to touch. Then apply Hxtal. Then continue with the heat for 3 or more hours. The heat seems to draw the Hxtal into the stone. It may take more than one application as I grind down the cab. Lynn Thanks, that's pretty much what I was doing. Learning curve for everything  |
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 463
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Post by jasperfanatic on Oct 29, 2019 13:17:09 GMT -5
I'm thinking Carrasite as well, and coincidentally have two that I stabilized with Hxtal a week ago and was going to cut into them today after giving it a week to cure. The small amount of morrisonite I have has been really stable, all the carrasite I have has not been however...but it sure is pretty.
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Oct 30, 2019 8:34:18 GMT -5
Yeah, if you want to stabilize it to so you can cab the patterns you want that would be good. It's been easier to find Morrisonite (grades vary widely) than Carrasite for some time now. If you want to pay the price, that is.
Here's a link to an eBay search for Carrasite:
Only a few results, while a search for Morrisonite rough returned 84 items.
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julieooly
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2018
Posts: 721
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Post by julieooly on Oct 30, 2019 8:39:08 GMT -5
I'm thinking Carrasite as well, and coincidentally have two that I stabilized with Hxtal a week ago and was going to cut into them today after giving it a week to cure. The small amount of morrisonite I have has been really stable, all the carrasite I have has not been however...but it sure is pretty. Will you post pics here when you're done? I'm interested on how to capture the lines. |
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 463
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Post by jasperfanatic on Nov 2, 2019 15:18:52 GMT -5
I'm thinking Carrasite as well, and coincidentally have two that I stabilized with Hxtal a week ago and was going to cut into them today after giving it a week to cure. The small amount of morrisonite I have has been really stable, all the carrasite I have has not been however...but it sure is pretty. Will you post pics here when you're done? I'm interested on how to capture the lines. Sure, once I get some cut I'll share. Coincidentally, an experiment today called for some Hxtal, and those Carrasite slabs I mentioned needed another dose, so I mixed some up. Since I seem unable to mix just the right amount and end up with extra, I dipped in to the "Needs stabilization" bin to finish it up and low and behold, 5 little slabs of Morrisonite. I'd forgotten that I did have a couple of chunks that were pretty fractured, so while yours still looks like Carrasite to me my statements about Morrisonite don't carry much weight any longer  |
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Post by stardiamond on Nov 2, 2019 16:14:40 GMT -5
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Post by Pat on Nov 2, 2019 17:40:03 GMT -5
No experience here, but would HOT STUFF help?
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