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Post by Peruano on Jul 9, 2021 15:33:40 GMT -5
For the mystery slab, I'd bet on a chalcedony with rind. I'm working on fairly similar material that I collected from the flanks of a small volcano in central New Mexico. It can work up nicely in an understated way. I just finished cutting a big block of variscite and have only worked on a couple of pieces so far. Alas mine was 1/3 variscite and 2/3 matrix. Here is the one cab that on my bench so far. There is more material.
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Post by Peruano on Jul 8, 2021 20:44:43 GMT -5
You may be able to shorten stage one processing, but smart money says don't eliminate it completely. Even rocks that appear to be smoothed by nature are rarely as smooth and blem free as we aspire to in our tumbling. As evidence of this, I learned in a pottery class which I was taking that smooth instruments could be used to burnish the soft clay of the outer surface of a pot during the finishing process (commonly potters use a silver teaspoon which can produce a velvet like surface on fresh clay). Trying to innovate, I grabbed some of the smoothest river stones that I had lying about in my workshop for the burnishing process. And not surprisingly the natural river stones although smooth to the touch did not perform as well as tumbled stones or for that matter the silver spoon. All of this is a long justification for some of stage one and then go on as you see fit. Cheers.
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Post by Peruano on Jul 5, 2021 16:59:16 GMT -5
Flints and chert can have fossils in them but the figures in your stone don't fall in the realm of fossil traces that I would expect, unless the curved arches are sections of shells. Cut it and look in side! Never fall in love with your rock so much that it keeps you from finding its true potential (so saith the sages).
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Post by Peruano on Jul 3, 2021 5:19:59 GMT -5
It looks like petrified wood and probably is.
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Post by Peruano on Jul 1, 2021 10:19:03 GMT -5
I have a pair of coopers on a nest in a large ponderosa near our house and standing sentry in other trees nearby. I feed at least two pairs of road runners and they pay a great deal of attention to the hawks. The roadrunners will come to the door, clatter their bills for hamburger, and gulp down one or two marble sized pieces of burger. Or if feeding young on the nest, pickup the burger and run off with it. But before they will even think about the third one, they cock their head and eye the sky presumably wary of the coopers hawks. Sort of like the rule of not having too many soldiers light their smoke off of the same match. No photos. I don't like to handle the camera and the hamburger at the same time.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 30, 2021 6:52:37 GMT -5
I think rockpicker has hit the mark. My first guess was dendritic opal. But browsing for parral agate came up with some that has that strong blue coloration making it a strikingly likely candidate. Check the photos on the Univ. of Nebraska agate site. snr.unl.edu/data/geologysoils/agates/agatesdatabase.aspx
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Post by Peruano on Jun 17, 2021 6:01:32 GMT -5
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Post by Peruano on Jun 16, 2021 13:36:51 GMT -5
Its hard to say without holding it in the hand and even then its hard to say for some pieces. There is nothing in the photos that tells me these are not pet wood so you get the final call. My first impression is that the things that look like growth rings in the first piece are a bit bold and irregular and more likely to be the circular pattern left from some sort of concentrically formed nodule. . . . but. . . . All are attractive and worth bringing home.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 16, 2021 13:30:54 GMT -5
I'll bite; is the clue the 14 written on the box making it a 14" blade or did I miss some other clue? Having a brand new saw is a real luxury. Enjoy it but keep it exercised (and dirty).
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Post by Peruano on Jun 16, 2021 13:25:30 GMT -5
Great stuff. Some Botswanas want to be pocket rocks and others gravitate to ornaments.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 15, 2021 9:19:43 GMT -5
The feature of adjusting bearing orientation for alignment is illustrated in my old saw (4th and 5th photos) in the DIY saw page. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/57778/ I've always complained that some big name saw fabricators have not offered such ease and precision.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 13, 2021 15:07:29 GMT -5
Put some oil in it and try it. Just maybe being flexed a bit with oil in the tank it will decide it wants to run quietly. Don't worry about the rust. It will be inhibited by the oil. Just do it.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 13, 2021 10:44:37 GMT -5
Not to take too much of a contrarian view, but my mind and other end quiver contemplating tractors. Somehow the thousands of hours between the ages of 10 and 21 engaged in mindless circuits back and forth across the rich farmlands of Illinois left me with a desire for other forms of activity. I'll walk up any hill you want me too, and even stand and watch the slow progress of a slab saw for hours on end, but other than singing a lot and becoming an accomplished driver at an age that most folks were playing hind and seek, I got an urge to avoid tractors. Most tolerable were chores that made it obvious where you had been (mowing or harrowing); and most tedious were the slow jobs like plowing. Now moving machinery from one field to another at 16 mph, that almost made the cut as fun, but it happened way to seldom. Go figure.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 13, 2021 6:40:22 GMT -5
I can't really see the pattern in your photos but the most likely candidate is what is often called Maryam Jasper, or Indian script jasper or coquina. At least the colors are close. Etsy has a million listings.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 13, 2021 6:23:18 GMT -5
Thanks for the details. I'm sure you have taught or stimulated to try a new trick or technique to a lots of us.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 10, 2021 8:04:22 GMT -5
Those feathery wisps occur in many chalcedony clusters (nodules) and appear to be the same as in oco agates. The description of oco agates implies a special fiber structure producing the structures so maybe it can appear in all forms of silica mineralizations. The quartz page author discusses ocos in the chalcedony section as well as the agate section (he does not consider them real agates). I think the ones you all depict here are "real" agates. Just thinking outload.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 8, 2021 13:27:51 GMT -5
Big chunks of feldspar floating in ?
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Post by Peruano on Jun 8, 2021 6:38:00 GMT -5
But they look great. Yes you can swim upstream, it just takes longer and you have to work harder.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 7, 2021 12:07:24 GMT -5
Nice blue fortifications.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 7, 2021 9:35:57 GMT -5
The parts on these HP machines are fairly standardized and the machines come apart, I bought one in pieces and with no real experience with this specific machine was able to make it work and even used 3 wheels where 2 had been originally intended. You are dealing with a local so I'd be tempted to look him/her in the eye and inquire (" is it all there?"). If so you and friends could resurrect the machine. You see folks asking $200 to $400 just for the HP saws and to have an arbor too would add some value if you are willing to buy the wheels to go on it. The models with the stands are indestructable, but the table mounts are easy to install on a strong work bench. Its a big unknown to you now but approached with a cautious eye you may have a winner (did I say negociate).
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