metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 23, 2016 7:08:43 GMT -5
Haha - you just couldn't plan for that!
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 23, 2016 2:46:31 GMT -5
What a brilliant page. Your finds are unbelievable!! Thanks - I appreciate the time it must have taken to put the page together.
It has put me in mind to sort out some of the Carboniferous limestone fossils I've found over time. There were a few that looked familiar on your page.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 23, 2016 2:43:16 GMT -5
Really good finds - especially the first one!
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 22, 2016 16:11:49 GMT -5
Check out the diamond shank bits at Cookson's here
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 22, 2016 15:03:15 GMT -5
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metalsmith
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Member since October 2012
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 22, 2016 14:26:50 GMT -5
I see you're in Ayrshire, Scotland. The Burn Anne Agate page of Agates of Scotland refers to a location where Agates can be found not very far from you in Wikipedia might help. Also, Kendal Minerals on ebay is reasonably local for you though I don't know whether they have a shop with a footprint. Hope this helps
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 22, 2016 14:10:44 GMT -5
Hi guys, just wondering if anyone can point in the right directions. I'm looking to drill some of my stones, agates, jasper and the like. Where in the UK is the best place to get some, don't want to spend loads as i'm still new to this and don't want to bugger things up. Probably 1mm or slightly smaller, maybe up to 1.5mm Many thanks in advance Tiger Hi Tiger welcome to the forum from a fellow UK resident. It is usual to say hi in the Welcome section of the forum. Can you clarify - you say you would like drill some of your stones and then ask for where to get some. Is that drill bits or additional rock material? Manchester Minerals might offer a good start. Personally from painful and not entirely successful experience, I'm not a fan of drilling. For the harder agates, drilling should be done slowly and under water with a diamond bit. Others on the site might also have more to help.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 22, 2016 9:58:59 GMT -5
I was really pleased to find this thread and enjoyed a good read. Congrats on the successful brood and release and so well documented. I used to breed butterflies as a kid, from tortoiseshell to small coppers. Not much and not for many years. I don't recall they had invented Painted Ladies this far north back then (I blame global warming...)! In the garage I had a stool draped in muslin with larval food plants. I still chase them (butterflies, not stools) round the slopes now and again (and again and again). Here's a pic from my album - this is the Scarce Swallowtail butterfly. Not that it is necessarily scarce if you find the right bush! The geologists among you might be familiar with the location - the River Vis which gave its name to the Visean - the gorge was filled (if you knew where to look) with ammonites that define the horizon around the globe. I digress... a photo of a Scarce Swallowtail then:
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 21, 2016 18:22:43 GMT -5
Didn't even know they had variscite! Nice Chas Thanks Shotgunner ... Mr Shotgunner even! Apparently it is found in Queensland and north of the mining town of Meekatharra in Western Australia. See also Wiki, Mindat, Outback Mining and the Rock Shop (Aus)Suddenly I'm feeling rather lucky to have picked up even the small sample I managed to acquire
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 21, 2016 16:20:14 GMT -5
Sweet! I like #2 in the 'Don't knows'. Also, the Carey Idaho Tube agate is lovely.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 21, 2016 16:10:51 GMT -5
Beautiful work re plastic ... that's why I'm here: buck the trend, keep it real! I think that's why most of us are here. But public perceptions of value have been so skewed by cheap "plastic" imitations it's increasingly hard to overcome the "flash for the cash" syndrome. Cheap plastic and "bling" Not to mention cheap labour.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 21, 2016 16:07:53 GMT -5
Cut something (not Jet) for a change! Cab 1 Cab 2 Cab 3 Finale: three facetted flat-buff Variscite cabs
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 21, 2016 15:07:31 GMT -5
Beautiful work
re plastic ... that's why I'm here: buck the trend, keep it real!
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 21, 2016 14:51:00 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum. I've picked up a few plume agates from Hungary that are similar to your last. I love the Orpheus agate... stunning! I'm just polishing some Hungarian agate cabs ... pictures (much) later
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 20, 2016 16:34:56 GMT -5
Nice one Tims. You'll be up and running in no time!
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 16, 2016 16:07:46 GMT -5
Happy Orrum-day!
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 16, 2016 13:53:09 GMT -5
Cool! Thanks everyone for the feedback. So I slabbed up the whole rock and I'll see what she wants to do, I might be able to trade some cabs from it for some slabs. It's really crumbly it'll need to be stabilized for sure, the slabs just pop in half at the slightest pressure. the gem silica bits leave little vugs inside but they're mostly close to the edge. So I live in Colorado and an old time rock meister I know put this comment on my FB post: "Beautiful Colorado Turquosie great hard as well - by the color and fracture it is from the gambling town used to pick up off the sidewalk about 37-38 years ago." I'm just wondering whether the two minerals, chrysocolla and turquoise might be occurring together and / or whether this might contribute to a local name e.g. Colorado Turquoise? In the same manner as Herkimer Diamonds. +/- turquoise as per Herkimer - diamond. Any thoughts on this?
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 16, 2016 11:26:31 GMT -5
There's a good description of the characteristics of pitchstone here: linkThe sample in discussion above appears to be Type 2, with small phenocrysts of (I assume) white orthoclase feldspar - there are some right-angles visible in the fracture faces. How big are they (the white crystals)?
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 16, 2016 11:15:56 GMT -5
Great wraps! It's not a million miles off, but I agree with comments re the bail.
Sieber agate is a kind of slag and I've recently found a piece of volcanic material which has a skin of glass that looks like Sieber. It has put me on to the potential of slag; there's an abandoned mine many miles away I might get chance to try this theory out on some-day.
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metalsmith
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Post by metalsmith on Oct 16, 2016 4:53:25 GMT -5
I'm thinking a lathe might be the way to go here otherwise it would be difficult to achieve the uniformity. Does anyone make these already?
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