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Post by pauls on Aug 31, 2020 1:02:38 GMT -5
A Queensland Agate, I'm not sure if this could be classed as Plumes or not, It's all I have. If it's not eligible I'm not at all concerned. There's a mark near the light reflection in the main photo, It's not a mark just some sort of reflection, this was really hard to photograph without reflections obscuring the details. I went to the coin shop and got myself a Quarter for scale.    |
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Post by jasoninsd on Aug 31, 2020 4:37:39 GMT -5
Boy, everybody has some great looking entries this month! Can't wait to see the voting results on this one!
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Post by orrum on Aug 31, 2020 8:11:29 GMT -5
Hey zarguy that's a great Holt Canyon cab and whoopee its double sided! How big of a hole do you drill? Do you use a hole drill? |
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Post by fernwood on Aug 31, 2020 8:39:40 GMT -5
ok so here is my entry. not sure about ID but it's from one of the west texas ranches. I had a small nodule that was filled with mostly quartz and small bit of red and black plumes in red orange agate. unfortunately a rather large pit showed up early on so I put it aside and went to start on the one other slice of this material. for the life of me I cant find that little rock. so went back to this one with pit and all. shaped and polished with my dremel. forgot to take pic of preform so stopped and took this pic of rough- I love this cab. |
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Post by fernwood on Aug 31, 2020 8:40:47 GMT -5
So many awesome entries. Voting is going to be very tugh.
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Post by victor1941 on Aug 31, 2020 10:38:15 GMT -5
HanksRocks, my wife and I went on several trips with Paul Wofford to three ranches and always exited on the highway south of the Woodward ranch. I also bought material from Paul, several rock shops in the area and rock shops in Odessa, El Paso, Las Cruses, NM. The ranches that I listed were collected by the person that lived on one of the ranches. He had permission to collect and as you know the ranches or parts were sold over the years and got new names. Paul also moved several times and ended up near the Austin area. A friend said Paul sold a lot of material-Bouquet plume and other plume slices to members of the Austin Gem And Mineral group. A very large number of older Austin rock hounds went on guided field trips and from what I've been told have buckets of this material. I went to one sale 6-7 years ago and bought several 5 gallon buckets of Walker red/black plume for $20/bucket. I was on time and an early bird got other buckets I would have purchased. El Paso also had a great shop that sold Needle Peak material collected by the Mexican migrants. I will finally end by saying that I have a very understanding wife.
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oldschoolrocker
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,578
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Post by oldschoolrocker on Aug 31, 2020 11:52:48 GMT -5
ok so here is my entry. not sure about ID but it's from one of the west texas ranches. I had a small nodule that was filled with mostly quartz and small bit of red and black plumes in red orange agate. unfortunately a rather large pit showed up early on so I put it aside and went to start on the one other slice of this material. for the life of me I cant find that little rock. so went back to this one with pit and all. shaped and polished with my dremel. forgot to take pic of preform so stopped and took this pic of rough- I love this cab. thanks fernwood! |
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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 Aug 31, 2020 13:12:20 GMT -5
Hey zarguy that's a great Holt Canyon cab and whoopee its double sided! How big of a hole do you drill? Do you use a hole drill? I drill a 2.5 mm hole. I use these bits -  You can get these on eBay, Wish, AliExpress, etc. About $5 for 20 if you find the right deal. I drill under water with a Covington variable speed lapidary drillpress. I start with a small bit - under 2mm. Then I use a 2.5mm twist bit to enlarge the hole. Then I bevel the edges with a cone shaped sintered bit on my Foredom. Take care Mr. Bill or Senor Billermo! Lynn |
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Tommy
Administrator 
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,981
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Post by Tommy on Aug 31, 2020 13:22:19 GMT -5
Wow this is an amazing lineup of gorgeous cabochons very befitting of an excellent theme  I look away for a few days and a serious selection of eye candy breaks out. Today is the last day to enter and the contest closes tonight, so anyone still working on one, get 'er done! haha |
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,981
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Post by Tommy on Aug 31, 2020 13:37:43 GMT -5
I went to the coin shop and got myself a Quarter for scale Now there is some dedication  I'm not even a collector but I love going to coin shops ... or pawn shops ... or antique stores ... or thrift stores... I think there's a pattern here. |
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Post by victor1941 on Aug 31, 2020 16:34:05 GMT -5
Bouquet plume 2 3/8 in tall by 7/8 in wide. About 3/16 in thick. This material was collected between 40-50 years ago south of Marfa, TX. I chose this shape to display the blueish hue of the translucent sections. Much of the time, this material undercuts in the soft areas, but this piece was fairly hard and had little undercutting. Preform was shaped on the flat-lap and finished in the vibratory tumbler. It appears to have some green in the plume area, but I am also color deficient in green and red. I had some others tell me the color. Front view-  Side view-  Preform-  Beautiful Plume formations-  Back side - (Crystal inclusion near top)  |
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 2, 2020 9:37:46 GMT -5
That was a really tough decision!
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Post by knave on Sept 2, 2020 10:44:26 GMT -5
Thanks for all the extra photo links and side shots... It’s a lot of extra work for you, but the results are great. Like Tela said, very tough decision. I’m still 2nd guessing. Lol
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,981
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Post by Tommy on Sept 2, 2020 15:14:58 GMT -5
Just FYI I'll get the September contest thread up by this afternoon or tomorrow morning.
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Post by miket on Sept 2, 2020 16:47:15 GMT -5
Very tough choice, indeed... Also, this was a great number of participants! |
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Post by jasoninsd on Sept 2, 2020 17:51:27 GMT -5
First of all, a super thank you to Tommy for setting up the collage and the extra links for the pictures! That was very helpful! Secondly, what a tough decision! I had to click on link after link time and time again until I could finally make my mind up! And like knave said, still kinda second guessing myself...but I'm comfortable with my final decision...although it was almost an eleven-way tie! Way to go to ALL the participants in this month's contest! There were 11 superb entries! Great job everyone! |
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Post by MsAli on Sept 3, 2020 20:54:16 GMT -5
Amazing group of cabs!
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julieooly
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2018
Posts: 721 
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Post by julieooly on Sept 4, 2020 19:46:23 GMT -5
Gosh that was a hard vote!!
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Jahic
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since September 2020
Posts: 139
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Post by Jahic on Sept 6, 2020 12:17:33 GMT -5
I’ve been lurking here for a long time. Looking forward to participating in the next contest.
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Post by knave on Sept 6, 2020 14:52:27 GMT -5
I’ve been lurking here for a long time. Looking forward to participating in the next contest. Welcome. Pm me your address and If you like I can share my bag of goodies from Tommy |
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I look away for a few days and a serious selection of eye candy breaks out.
I'm not even a collector but I love going to coin shops ... or pawn shops ... or antique stores ... or thrift stores... I think there's a pattern here.
