NDK
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Dec 17, 2021 7:33:23 GMT -5
Those are cool cabs Jason. Local material deserves a nod once in a while.
You guys are nuts LoL. I'm good doing one or maybe a few in one sitting. I've never kept track but probably only done like 4 in one day. I suppose if I dopped them all I could knock out half a dozen. Maybe I'll have to challenge myself one day.
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Post by Peruano on Dec 17, 2021 7:45:14 GMT -5
If this was Jeopardy and I was going for the big money on naming the rock that you showed us in the unpolished state, I would be torn between saying quartzite and chert. Quartzite often has that textured surface(even when fine grained within) and often has stripes/layering and other color differences that are somewhat blurred (not the crisp lines of an agate). Chert could show such lines and orbs and again usually more likely to be blurred (not crisply defined). But . . . this is not the great show where everybody is glad to look foolish for a prize they don't need so, I'll just say they are gorgeous rocks once they pass through your hands. Quartzite gets a bad name but its a great lapidary rock if you are willing to stray from the path and wander in the meadows of nature. Merry Christmas.
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Post by holajonathan on Dec 17, 2021 15:03:57 GMT -5
Peruano I agree, with the caveat that some quartzite polishes like jasper (smooth and shiny), and some polishes like sandstone (grainy and pitted). I find both around my house, and it's often hard to tell how it will behave until I take it to the wheels. As you say, it often has a bit of crust on it that bares little resemblance to the inside. One unscrupulous Ebay seller has been selling boxes of Utah quartzite as "Imperial Jasper."  Calling a very fine grained quartzite "jasper" isn't too far of a stretch. Jasper is a pretty flexible term, and quartzite is a silica-based rock. But "Imperial Jasper" is a so-called porcelain jasper from Mexico. It does not come from Utah and it is definitely not quartzite. From what I have heard, some of the Utah quartzite is high quality, but Imperial Jasper, I can assure you, it is not.
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 17, 2021 21:59:01 GMT -5
I don't know what kind of rocks they are- I'm too blinded by the shine!! Seriously, you're killin' it!
I think my top was 17 in a day- alllll day.
Thanks Tela!  Well...I'm glad to know what my target number is! LOL Those are cool cabs Jason. Local material deserves a nod once in a while. You guys are nuts LoL. I'm good doing one or maybe a few in one sitting. I've never kept track but probably only done like 4 in one day. I suppose if I dopped them all I could knock out half a dozen. Maybe I'll have to challenge myself one day. Thanks Nate! Challenge accepted! LOL I suppose if I had absolutely nothing else going on...and no distractions...and had gotten some sleep the night before, I might be able to knock out over a dozen. But the moment is started feeling like I "had" to get to a number, it would seem more like work with a quota! LOL If this was Jeopardy and I was going for the big money on naming the rock that you showed us in the unpolished state, I would be torn between saying quartzite and chert. Quartzite often has that textured surface(even when fine grained within) and often has stripes/layering and other color differences that are somewhat blurred (not the crisp lines of an agate). Chert could show such lines and orbs and again usually more likely to be blurred (not crisply defined). But . . . this is not the great show where everybody is glad to look foolish for a prize they don't need so, I'll just say they are gorgeous rocks once they pass through your hands. Quartzite gets a bad name but its a great lapidary rock if you are willing to stray from the path and wander in the meadows of nature. Merry Christmas. Thanks for chiming in on this! Interesting you'd say chert or quartzite. I thought the chert Prairie Agates we have out here acted/reacted more like flint...like how it creates "shards" when it's worked. This definitely wasn't like that. I didn't realize we had quartzite out here. So that very well may be a possibility. Well...I'm definitely willing to "stray" from the path...been doing that all my life! LOL - Merry Christmas to you as well. Peruano I agree, with the caveat that some quartzite polishes like jasper (smooth and shiny), and some polishes like sandstone (grainy and pitted). I find both around my house, and it's often hard to tell how it will behave until I take it to the wheels. As you say, it often has a bit of crust on it that bares little resemblance to the inside. One unscrupulous Ebay seller has been selling boxes of Utah quartzite as "Imperial Jasper." Calling a very fine grained quartzite "jasper" isn't too far of a stretch. Jasper is a pretty flexible term, and quartzite is a silica-based rock. But "Imperial Jasper" is a so-called porcelain jasper from Mexico. It does not come from Utah and it is definitely not quartzite. From what I have heard, some of the Utah quartzite is high quality, but Imperial Jasper, I can assure you, it is not. I'm still learning...or at least trying! LOL - That's why "jaspers" and "prairie agates" just seem to be catch-all terms for just about anything! LOL |
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