unclesamster
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2021
Posts: 15
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Post by unclesamster on Aug 24, 2021 18:20:29 GMT -5
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Post by perkins17 on Aug 24, 2021 18:29:38 GMT -5
Looks to be petrified wood. You could join a rock club to use their equipment and learn how to polish them perfect.
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Post by mohs on Aug 24, 2021 18:39:01 GMT -5
man that deceptive to i.d. fine grained- mafic is it metamorphic like gniess? or sedimentary ? that rind makes me think sediment but the color is dark have no idea let me know when find out was going to say prescriptive like travertine saw the onyx subject
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Aug 25, 2021 0:05:04 GMT -5
I don't want to harp on this to much but The first thing I tell new people in the hobby is to try and find a local rock club. Most have very experienced people and most have lapidary shops with $1000 of dollars of equipment that most of us will never have. They know where to go in your area to collect and are willing to help. I have a Masters degree in geology and taught mineralogy at the university level for two years. I learned more about minerals in six months from members of our club that I ever picked up anywhere else. Dues for most clubs are less that $50.00 per year and you will get way more than that in free rocks. Things are a little tight with Covid right now but things will open back up. Most rock clubs are full of old timers that have back yards full of rocks & minerals that we are happy to share.
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Aug 25, 2021 0:16:21 GMT -5
drop a little acid on the onyx sample if it reacts it is calcite and probably low grade Utah Onyx just not the best color. If no reaction it is something else That is all I can tell from the photos.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Aug 25, 2021 1:12:02 GMT -5
I don't want to harp on this to much but The first thing I tell new people in the hobby is to try and find a local rock club. Most have very experienced people and most have lapidary shops with $1000 of dollars of equipment that most of us will never have. They know where to go in your area to collect and are willing to help. I have a Masters degree in geology and taught mineralogy at the university level for two years. I learned more about minerals in six months from members of our club that I ever picked up anywhere else. Dues for most clubs are less that $50.00 per year and you will get way more than that in free rocks. Things are a little tight with Covid right now but things will open back up. Most rock clubs are full of old timers that have back yards full of rocks & minerals that we are happy to share. I'll second that! You need to listen to those old timers, they have so much knowledge to share. And so many of them are lonely, and would like nothing better than to bend your ear for just a bit. Many of them passed in the time I was in a local club.
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Post by Peruano on Aug 25, 2021 6:20:52 GMT -5
Listen to the old timers long enough and suddenly you "is one". Said kindly, of course.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,170
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Post by RWA3006 on Aug 25, 2021 7:05:19 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH unclesamsterI'm not sure what you have but I can tell you it's not rootbeer onyx. The rootbeer I'm aware of is found on the North side of I-80 just West of Dell. It is where the old Marblehead plant used to blast material out of the mountainside to make road base for the railroad and the construction of I-80. What the rootbeer onyx really is is cave flowstone that had formed in the many fissures within the limestone that was being blasted out of the mountain side. It was exposed up on the higher portions of the quarry. I also have a geology emphasis in my college education and I concur that some of these old rockhounds are a fountain of knowledge. It's my good fortune to know a couple of them too.
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Post by perkins17 on Aug 25, 2021 10:20:07 GMT -5
I don't want to harp on this to much but The first thing I tell new people in the hobby is to try and find a local rock club. Most have very experienced people and most have lapidary shops with $1000 of dollars of equipment that most of us will never have. They know where to go in your area to collect and are willing to help. I have a Masters degree in geology and taught mineralogy at the university level for two years. I learned more about minerals in six months from members of our club that I ever picked up anywhere else. Dues for most clubs are less that $50.00 per year and you will get way more than that in free rocks. Things are a little tight with Covid right now but things will open back up. Most rock clubs are full of old timers that have back yards full of rocks & minerals that we are happy to share. I'll quadruple that. You get piles of free rocks to work on and the "old timers" are very helpful and informative.
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unclesamster
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2021
Posts: 15
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Post by unclesamster on Aug 26, 2021 9:35:50 GMT -5
Thank you everyone for the input and advice about joining a club, that is a great idea. I looked into it when I first started, but was intimidated because I really still don't know much about the hobby and am not a social person. You all have changed my mind though. If they are half as nice as all of you have been, it should be a blast. My two best friends are my grandpas, so I should fit right in with the old timers haha. I didn't realize how many clubs there are around me. Surprisingly, there are several clubs that are all less than 30 minutes from me.
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Post by perkins17 on Aug 26, 2021 10:14:56 GMT -5
unclesamster, I knew next to nothing about lapidary besides tumbling before I joined the club. It is fairly easy to learn if you have good teachers.
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Post by HankRocks on Aug 26, 2021 10:53:14 GMT -5
Thank you everyone for the input and advice about joining a club, that is a great idea. I looked into it when I first started, but was intimidated because I really still don't know much about the hobby and am not a social person. You all have changed my mind though. If they are half as nice as all of you have been, it should be a blast. My two best friends are my grandpas, so I should fit right in with the old timers haha. I didn't realize how many clubs there are around me. Surprisingly, there are several clubs that are all less than 30 minutes from me. Just a word of advice, make sure the Club is open to new people. Almost all are as they are always looking for younger folks to join their ranks. I have heard of a Club or two that were very "un-friendly" towards any new members. That applies to any org or group. One other suggestion, almost all clubs(groups) are looking for folks to help out; Show setup, work days, etc, etc. I am not sure how pressed you are for time in your life, but it will put you in good graces if you step forward and volunteer to help out where you can. I will say that I do not belong to the local Club here in Houston. They are a very good bunch as I have interfaced with several of them at past Shows. The logistics of where I live and where they are located make it difficult to be involved. And as Groucho said " I would not belong to any group that would allow me as a member"!!
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unclesamster
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2021
Posts: 15
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Post by unclesamster on Aug 26, 2021 11:04:27 GMT -5
Thank you everyone for the input and advice about joining a club, that is a great idea. I looked into it when I first started, but was intimidated because I really still don't know much about the hobby and am not a social person. You all have changed my mind though. If they are half as nice as all of you have been, it should be a blast. My two best friends are my grandpas, so I should fit right in with the old timers haha. I didn't realize how many clubs there are around me. Surprisingly, there are several clubs that are all less than 30 minutes from me. Just a word of advice, make sure the Club is open to new people. Almost all are as they are always looking for younger folks to join their ranks. I have heard of a Club or two that were very "un-friendly" towards any new members. That applies to any org or group. One other suggestion, almost all clubs(groups) are looking for folks to help out; Show setup, work days, etc, etc. I am not sure how pressed you are for time in your life, but it will put you in good graces if you step forward and volunteer to help out where you can. I will say that I do not belong to the local Club here in Houston. They are a very good bunch as I have interfaced with several of them at past Shows. The logistics of where I live and where they are located make it difficult to be involved. And as Groucho said " I would not belong to any group that would allow me as a member"!! That’s very helpful to know. I will try to look into it before I decide anything then. I’m not looking for free stuff or to use people’s equipment. I refuse to borrow friend’s and neighbor’s tools. So I don’t think I would be a bother to a group as far as that goes. It would just be fun to learn more about the craft and to participate in rockhounding activities. Thanks for the heads up!
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Post by perkins17 on Aug 26, 2021 11:15:06 GMT -5
My club is VERY friendly towards new members but I understand some wouldn't be. I hope you have good luck with your club because they are super fun if they are good. I suggest you start off making cabachons. Those are probably the easiest way to learn.
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Aug 27, 2021 11:25:15 GMT -5
Most rock clubs welcome people as guests. Go to a few meetings or events and see if it is a good fit. This hobby is aging fast and any club that does not welcome new people will be dead fast. I give presentations to 15 to 20 rock clubs a year so I get to a lot of meetings and meet a lot of members. By in large rock people are good people. Yes there are always a few bad apples but most welcome new members and want to share what they have learned. Don't knock free rocks many of us have been collecting for years and love to pass on the wealth. Rocks are millions of years old and will out live us all. We need to find new caretakers for our collections. Some of us have material from locations that are closed or have been mined out we would love to share. As a geologist I have had access to mines and areas that rockhounds will never get near and I am happy to share and see people work with the material. Most clubs also offer field trips to collection areas you may not be able to find on your own or know what you are looking for when you get there.
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