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Post by stephan on Oct 30, 2020 22:13:09 GMT -5
miket They absolutely count as preforms without templates. I hardly ever use templates. I either draw freehand, or (especially with brecciated material) either snap along fracture lines or drop them onto concrete to find fractures, and then go from there. It’s a trick our shop steward showed me, and it nearly gave me a heart attack the first time he did it. I had a slab with 5 or 6 calibrated shapes. All were rendered useless. When my jaw hit the floor, he told me few of my cabs would have survived The trim saw, and those that did would have come apart with on the hard wheels, and then I would have been left with tiny, useless fragments. Better to get it over with. They look great. Eager to see what you do with them. I’m with Tela rockjunquie. Lovin’ the t-egg core!
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Post by jasoninsd on Oct 30, 2020 23:02:26 GMT -5
Yep. I'm with the general consensus. BOOM goes the Thunder!!! That one is something special! And i too have faith in you!  stephan - My jaw was about on the floor as I was reading about dropping them on the concrete. Then I realized that makes perfect sense to me! Great idea! Saves the heartache! |
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Post by stephan on Oct 31, 2020 0:21:43 GMT -5
Yep. I'm with the general consensus. BOOM goes the Thunder!!! That one is something special! And i too have faith in you! stephan - My jaw was about on the floor as I was reading about dropping them on the concrete. Then I realized that makes perfect sense to me! Great idea! Saves the heartache! Or gets it over with, at least. Sometimes it’s still painful to see a favorite pattern go. I do almost all my Stone Canyon (and cousins) that way. A lot of poppy jasper, too. |
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Post by miket on Oct 31, 2020 4:54:59 GMT -5
miket They absolutely count as preforms without templates. I hardly ever use templates. I either draw freehand, or (especially with brecciated material) either snap along fracture lines or drop them onto concrete to find fractures, and then go from there. It’s a trick our shop steward showed me, and it nearly gave me a heart attack the first time he did it. I had a slab with 5 or 6 calibrated shapes. All were rendered useless. When my jaw hit the floor, he told me few of my cabs would have survived The trim saw, and those that did would have come apart with on the hard wheels, and then I would have been left with tiny, useless fragments. Better to get it over with. They look great. Eager to see what you do with them. I’m with Tela rockjunquie . Lovin’ the t-egg core! Thanks Stephan....and thanks for the spooky Halloween story. Drop the slab. 😐 Just kidding, I'm going to have to tyr that. Might save some frustration! |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Oct 31, 2020 9:43:20 GMT -5
Nice preforms, miket! That last one is oooh-la-la! |
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Post by miket on Oct 31, 2020 9:58:57 GMT -5
Nice preforms, miket ! That last one is oooh-la-la! Thank you, ma'am! Hopefully I get some dremel time this weekend- I really want to get the vibe going!!! |
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Post by drocknut on Nov 2, 2020 13:13:28 GMT -5
The first one is most likely dendritic Burro Creek Opalite, especially if it came from drocknut who lives near Burro Creek. I wish I lived near Burro Creek but I do live closer to it than you do for sure. It's about an hour away from me. Yes, that is Burro Creek Material, I think it's a combination of Burro Creek Pastelite and dendritic opalite. |
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Post by miket on Nov 2, 2020 14:11:14 GMT -5
The first one is most likely dendritic Burro Creek Opalite, especially if it came from drocknut who lives near Burro Creek. I wish I lived near Burro Creek but I do live closer to it than you do for sure. It's about an hour away from me. Yes, that is Burro Creek Material, I think it's a combination of Burro Creek Pastelite and dendritic opalite. Thanks Diane. It was a beautiful slab! |
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Post by drocknut on Nov 3, 2020 17:45:53 GMT -5
I wish I lived near Burro Creek but I do live closer to it than you do for sure. It's about an hour away from me. Yes, that is Burro Creek Material, I think it's a combination of Burro Creek Pastelite and dendritic opalite. Thanks Diane. It was a beautiful slab! You're very welcome. |
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Post by pauls on Nov 3, 2020 20:52:07 GMT -5
The first one looks like an Opalite to me too.
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Post by stephan on Nov 4, 2020 10:38:29 GMT -5
Okay, this opens up a question that has bugging me for years. What exactly is opalite? Stuff like this:  IMG_3376_Dendritic opalite slab by Stephan T., on Flickr or the leveling lines in this T-egg:  DSC_1628_Small but dramatic Richardson's Thunderegg by Stephan T., on Flickr has been IDed as opalite. Best I can figure is that it contains material that once was common opal, and has either been infused with or replaced by anhydrous silica, giving it a hardness that is comparable to other micro-crystalline quartz varieties (agate, chalcedony...), while retaining the appearance of opal. Either that, or portions of it resemble common opal. However, if you look it up, the trade name opalite refers to a lab-created, glass-based opal simulant.  Don't mean to hijack the thread, just looking to see that Mike gets a proper ID (and I can learn something at the same time). We need a "can-of-worms" emoji |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2020 11:24:24 GMT -5
Okay, this opens up a question that has bugging me for years. What exactly is opalite? Stuff like this: IMG_3376_Dendritic opalite slab by Stephan T., on Flickr or the leveling lines in this T-egg: DSC_1628_Small but dramatic Richardson's Thunderegg by Stephan T., on Flickr has been IDed as opalite. Best I can figure is that it contains material that once was common opal, and has either been infused with or replaced by anhydrous silica, giving it a hardness that is comparable to other micro-crystalline quartz varieties (agate, chalcedony...), while retaining the appearance of opal. Either that, or portions of it resemble common opal. However, if you look it up, the trade name opalite refers to a lab-created, glass-based opal simulant. Both of those could be opalite (and likely are). "Opalite" isn't a mineralogical term (opal itself is not a mineral), but rather a popular term used to describe common opal: i.e., opal that is does not have "precious opal" play of color, or is not "fire opal" (opal with some transparency and attractive body color), etc. There are several types of opal, including opal that is completely anhydrous silica (opal-AG, opal-AN), as well as opal which contains cristobalite/tridymite. Hardness doesn't differ that much from agate in many instances (lots of variables in composition, hydration/dehydration, etc.). |
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Post by roy on Nov 4, 2020 12:02:17 GMT -5
again nice work the white plume is stinking water but not positive
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NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
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Post by NevadaBill on Nov 4, 2020 14:08:17 GMT -5
I cannot ID any of these but they all look like winners. I also like how you do not conform to a template. I think that some of those (concave) will be difficult to polish. But not too much for your Dremel skills.
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Post by miket on Nov 4, 2020 19:29:33 GMT -5
again nice work the white plume is stinking water but not positive Thanks Roy, I don't know how to tell them apart! |
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Post by miket on Nov 4, 2020 19:30:17 GMT -5
I cannot ID any of these but they all look like winners. I also like how you do not conform to a template. I think that some of those (concave) will be difficult to polish. But not too much for your Dremel skills. Thanks, I appreciate it! |
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