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Post by HankRocks on Feb 7, 2021 8:59:12 GMT -5
Have a great day Jim, look on the bright side, at least you're not getting older!!
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 6, 2021 13:45:13 GMT -5
Peruano I tumble Pre-forms and larger slabs. Everything is in the Rotary(Model B) until the Polish Stage, then UV-18 Vibratory. My Coarse stage consists of 60-70% slabs and 30-40% small trim scraps and pebbles. I also add maybe 2 or 3 cups of used slurry." They are there for cushioning and for as an aide for grinding. At cleanout I do notice a few of the slabs "stuck" together and decided it's impossible to prevent and probably does not affect the outcome significantly. My theory is that as long as there is unbroken down grit available, it will be between slabs and will be grinding as the slabs move, even if slightly. In polish and pre-polish stages any grit between the flat surfaces are doing their job. Even "stuck" flat surfaces are moving with all the grit in between doing it's work. One other thing I do that as the load decreases as it progresses from stage to stage, I backfill with previously polished smalls. Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 6, 2021 11:29:49 GMT -5
Nice specimens and I really like the bouquet agate. Tell me about your light board please. The Lightboard is an older model my wife bought several years ago at one of the Craft Stores, on sale I am sure. This one is an Autograph LightTracer. Looked it up and they are now made with LED's and some had light level controls, etc. My wife used it off and on over the last few years. I knew she had it but I had to have one of those Homer Simpson "Doh"!! moments and realize it would be great for slabs. jasoninsd I think that freeforms could be used more, especially when preserving as much of a nice pattern as possible. Technically I cut the Bouquet incorrectly, conventional wisdom says to cut along the bottom or in this case the flat side. Oh well on the other hand I collected it, I can cut it whichever way I choose!! Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 6, 2021 7:05:22 GMT -5
Been trying to keep the saws running, here's a small sample; Dug this one out of the Rock Garden, Needle Peak Moss. The Moss in the rock is very fine, like thread or spiderweb; IMG_2497 by Findrocks, on Flickr Here's the same piece on the Lightboard showing the thread-like moss; IMG_2500 by Findrocks, on Flickr Another one from the Rock Garden. This one was collected summer of 1979 north of Napa Valley on the side of one the highways south of Clear Lake, maybe 175? I was on assignment in our San Francisco office for 3 months, penthouse apartment on the edge of North Beach/Fisherman's Wharf overlooking the bay. It was a "tough" assignment! Carried about 30 pounds of this stuff back in my suitcase. This Obsidian is interesting with the gray streaking and it has small inclusions scattered through it. IMG_2494 by Findrocks, on Flickr A piece of Obsidian from one of the acquired collections. Should make interesting pieces with the two different color zones; IMG_2493 by Findrocks, on Flickr Lajitas Mesa - East. Collected in the 90's. None of this material looks very attractive on the surface, but can yield surprises. I left the rest of the rock un-sliced and will polish as a geode. Would like to make one large pendant out of this piece. It does have a bit of the Iris effect going on; IMG_2489 by Findrocks, on Flickr Bouquet Agate, probably from the ME Ranch south of Marfa Tex. Will go free-form with these to preserve as much of the pattern as I can. IMG_2488 by Findrocks, on Flickr Thanks for looking Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 3, 2021 7:45:17 GMT -5
I really don't see anything bad with the results. It appears that most of the material took a very high polish. Pits here and there, no big deal for me and as you say the more you remove the smaller the rock gets. That and some rocks as noted, are just prone to having pits. In my case the only rocks I take to perfect roundness are river-tumbled where the pre-grinding has already been done by nature, or it's a really nice specimen that might end up in "The Cabinet".
If you want to remove some of the white residue, you might try pre-soaking them for a few hours and then do another soap run. I do my soap runs(UV-18) with the water just covering the rocks.
Good Job, let's get some more rolling!!
Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 2, 2021 14:46:00 GMT -5
Peruano Do you have any idea what the t-bracket is called? ....never mind, I just went and asked Google and several options came up. I did buy 3 different night-lights to play around with, unfortunately attaching the slab was going to be the problem. It appears that the t-bracket may be the way to go. One thing about using polished slabs, they would show off nicely in non-light conditions. Fortunately I have been building a decent supply of them. Thanks Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Feb 1, 2021 7:36:39 GMT -5
stephan Technically, a decent amount of the material is from places that are on the "Old Stock" list. That would include material from Woodward/Walker ranches, East and West Lajitas Mesa complex, most all was donated to the Big Bend Ranch State Park, at least 3 different ranches south of Marfa - Singleton and ME and ?. Epidote from Calumet mine area, heard it's been closed off. Not sure of the Lake Emma area above Animas Forks - very nice Rhodonite. etc, etc. The closing of most of the Lajitas Mesa complex was a real bummer. There's a hill right off the river road with several large exposed veins of agate 3 to 5 inches wide, mostly moss. The slab of Lajitas Mesa Jasper I posted, gone. On my last Spring hike before the transfer found a nice small vein of black plume set in light blue agate. Did not have the tools to properly work it more. was going to come back in the Fall with better tools but as it turned out we were too late. Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 31, 2021 21:40:09 GMT -5
Some of the pieces have been in there for 30 years and have been covered by newer material. Finding one of those covered pieces is kind of like finding it for the 2nd time!!
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 31, 2021 19:50:07 GMT -5
After being in this hobby for 13 years or so, I finally sold my first cabochon. I've always considered this a hobby, just for fun, and to make some shiny things for my daughters. I have to thank my beautiful Miss Ali for the inspiration to make the leap. Without her inspiration I wouldn't have thought to do it. MsAli So my first ever sale is a Bat Cave Jasper cab. I Also cut 2 more. This one I decided to cut the opposite of a "normal" bat cave cab. (please excuse the lint on the cab) And lastly this funky teardrop. At first I didn't care for this because of the matrix on it, but Ali liked it. After looking at it again I decided to finish it and I'm glad I did, as it's pretty dramatic. Thanks for looking! Very nice! You do realize that you have lost your amateur status?
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 31, 2021 9:01:34 GMT -5
Cut this one a couple days ago. Anyone care to name the material? It's not at all what I would have expected; IMG_2484 by Findrocks, on Flickr It's Petrified Wood. Not sure of the origin. Don't believe I have ever seen any this colorful and this agatized. Except for the bark on some of the outside the inside grain has been completely replaced with agate. I think I am going to have to dig around in the Rock Garden a bit more! Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 30, 2021 18:32:47 GMT -5
Love that last Woodward agate but got to say I'm a bit pissed that I visited the ranch a number of times and Frank Jr never sent me over to that side of the road for some of that material....Mel I was hoping you might be one of the folks who had seen it before. Can't remember the exact circumstance as to why he sent us over there. We took a right out of the gate onto 118, drove maybe a 1/2 mile or so and turned left. I remember the material being on the east slope of a north/south running hill. There were several pieces laying around. It might be that may not have even know it was there or if he did find it maybe he never cut it. Just not sure. One has to wonder how much material is laying around on various ranches in the Big Bend area that have never been collected. Has to be some amazing material. Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 30, 2021 8:47:31 GMT -5
Sweet! I love that you know where stuff comes from. The last one is amazing! I have never seen anything like it. Since it came from a seldom collected place it may be an original. As best I can remember the pieces were concentrated on the one slope. Since we were concentrating on finding biscuits with Red Plume we really did not give this one much thought. Maybe some of the old-time West Texas collectors might be familiar with this material.
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 30, 2021 6:25:05 GMT -5
Benathema I think you will probably struggle with more and more chipping, especially along the fracture lines, as you continue to tumble. You could load up on all smalls and extra slurry with the tradeoff being a much reduced grind rate. It's just the nature of some rock, in this case a Jasper, they are just not going to hold together well. I had a an attractive piece of Jasper about 2 pounds that I took two slabs from and they are brittle as heck, I could almost break them with my hand. It ended up in the erosion control bucket. I have way too many better rocks that will tumble well to spend time on ones that will not. I go with the Kenny Rogers song. It's not that I do not like challenges, I choose to avoid frustration when there are so many more rewarding opportunities. I save the challenges for the things in life that cannot be avoided and must be dealt with, that and keeping my fleet of old equipment running. Just fixed(hopefully) the 20inch Vib Lap that had decided it was a noise maker; loose motor mount and a worn counterweight. I do have a 4 pound piece of piece of Petrified wood that I have in the queue that appears to be nice and solid with no fractures or deep pits. Hopefully I can start it in a month or so. Good luck Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 29, 2021 22:43:38 GMT -5
I have been trying to use the 24" saw as much as possible during cooler weather. Here's some of the material I have been cutting. Parrot Wing, or so I was told. IMG_2470 by Findrocks, on Flickr This Moss has two different color zones, should make nice pendants, Mexico?; IMG_2472 by Findrocks, on Flickr Another Moss with some light color patter inclusions, probably Needle Peak IMG_2474 by Findrocks, on Flickr Unknown. Will have to cut around some of the fractures; IMG_2475 by Findrocks, on Flickr Lajitas Mesa area - West Texas IMG_2478 by Findrocks, on Flickr More nice Moss, different color than what I normally cut, not sure of location; IMG_2479 by Findrocks, on Flickr Not sure what this is called but know the exact location. East side of highway from the old Woodward Ranch. My brother and I were sent there by Frank Jr back in the late 80's, early 90's. One slope had several pieces of this material and I brought 3 larger pieces out. Sure with I had brought more; IMG_2481 by Findrocks, on Flickr Should have some more pictures in a few days Henry
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 29, 2021 20:50:53 GMT -5
Man, it shows how old you are when you can rememeber a lot of collecting sites now gone Jeez, here are just a few offhand. Horse Canyon Agate, a huge RV park and subdivision now. Howardite- he old pink and gold stuff Alibates Flint. State Park now Canadian River Plume- pvt ranches Baker Eggs. if it's still open it's all commercial now. How I used to love digging there. Big Diggins.. Deming rock club and I've heard they high grade it before others are let in on field trips Berkeley Hills Thundereggs.. Built over Old red and white Hornitos Jasper, exhausted Flora Claim Hornitos Jasper buried? exhausted Hornitos Cosmos, Strawberry and small orb veins. New home on top of the deposit Sierra Hornitos brecciated Jasper. Still occasional finds but main pit exhausted and what's left under claim As mantioned above Indian paint Rock is now in Seath Valley Park Edison Palm Root Under a college Youngite gone as far as i know. Dryhead Agate.. pvt rch closed. Man that was an awesome dig site! Dulcote Agate from Great britain Austin Blue Agate. was always rare? if any left Union Rd Agate. Missouri.. uptown now Needles Blue.. again always has been scarce? Paisley Plume from SE CA exhausted Owlhead Mtns/ Owl Hole Plume and sagenite unsure if accessible due to increased size of Death Vally Park Nipomo Marcasire and sagenite, CA. Mostly private less ya trespass Pope Valley Poppy Jasper.. all pvt ranches Lead Pipe Springs T-eggs. military Reservation Hog Canyon Jasper. Near Parkfield. pvt Ranch Stone Canyon jasper from the JV ranch at Parkfield. The Varrians let some of us in for a fee once but i think it's closed now. Bicycle Lake Plume- military reservation Santa Cruz Island Plume. park, closed California Tiger eye..mine closed Webb Rch poppy.. Had a ranch near there 14 years and never found a local who knows where it is Mulligan peak Agate, AZ.. beautiful but access??? questionable Merlinite. psilomelane plume from AZ Rose Jasper and Spiderweb jasper from Heppner, Ore? Rose Agate from Ludlow, CA...gone as well as some incredibly weird moss/plume from there Carey Plume, OR Summit Prarie and Eagle Rock Plume, OR? Woodward Ranch Plume etc but there are similar areas open Palm sites near Choke Canyon in Texas.. Don't know of any fee sites still open Oaxaca Travertine/Ocean wave Dolomite in Mexico. Heard Chinese have the claim Layton Rch Rose Agate, Okla...closed or worked out? Snake River dendritic, Idaho??? Probably lots more that don't come to mind too. *sigh* I was going to hit the "Like" button for this post, but thought what's to like about all these places closed to collecting.
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 27, 2021 7:55:37 GMT -5
People thinking outside of the box, reinventing the mousetrap. You don't know what is going to work until you try it. Be sure to watch the newest show on the DIY Network, "In the kitchen with James." Does that mean I get to work with one of those 30 year old hard bod actresses to replace my wife and have my way w/her ? If so in like flint no pun intended ! Jim, yeah you go with that idea.....You didn't by any chance hit your head on one of those beams during one of your construction projects did you?
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 26, 2021 15:38:27 GMT -5
I bought the slab for $22, about 6 months ago. Now it seems all the Palm Root available Is either “ Flame free?” Or a different color all together. These sell real fast... As fast as i make em’ For sure, So if anyone knows where to get some good palm root slabs? PM Me and i will make it worth your while Paul Paul, is this material strictly an Indonesian material? I have found some similar small pieces years ago near Lajitas in West Texas. It all dark and has the "big eyes" but none of the lighter colors. Got a pendant stone somewhere made from it. My filing system leaves much to be desired. Have another interesting larger piece that I have held off slicing as it has most of the bark and the root stem on the bottom. I will see if I can get the photo department off it's butt and get a picture to post.
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 23, 2021 19:51:43 GMT -5
There is some fantastic Jasper in Morgan Hill. Specifically I know not where. And I don't even know if any of it is left actually. Due to the massive concentration of people in the zone, it is unlikely that there is a whole lot left. But almost no doubt there is some. Bill, you are correct about the "massive concentration in the zone." The biggest problem with some of the old locations is they have now been built over to accommodate all the peoples! Mel Sabre52 used to tell stories of how some of his favorite Morgan Hill poppy jasper locations have been obliterated, are now large tracts of houses. The fifties and sixties were a very popular time for rockhounding, rock collectingd and lapidary work in Southern California. Many large aerospace manufacturing businesses (here in San Diego, General Dynamics, Rohr, just two of them), had their own family-friendly rock clubs. They went camping on field trips, held meetings (cocktail hours, lol), and had rock shops/equipment for the members to use. Those days are gone forever. There are still locations and new material being found, but they are few and far between. Less and less land available to hound on now (thanks, govt.), and when someone does find something good, the word seems to always get out. In order to protect it, the location gets shut down. If it's not shut down, hordes of people descend on it with heavy equipment and clean it out. I have seen it happen out at the Hauser Geode beds. This is the very reason rockhounds protect the location of their favorite hounding sites. Some areas have more material than many rockhounds can use in a lifetime. Stick with places like Bill has mentioned, Mojave desert, Cady Mtns, Barstow, etc. Love and recommend the Zzyzx book! That's one advantage(disadvantage) to most of the collecting in Texas, all the good material is on private land. It does keep the supply at these good locations plentiful. Unfortunately those places are subject to the whims of the landowner and new any new owners that come into the picture. See Singleton, Walker, Woodward, etc....
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 23, 2021 19:35:55 GMT -5
Thankfully we both seem to be getting softer or more forgetful in our older age. But always stay close to the adage expect the unexpected to avoid surprises ! As experimentation proceeds forward always avoid using the the favorite dish rag no matter how trashed it looks. There exists a serious bond with that particular dish rag. Tupperware is another cherished item that can get your extremities chopped off if found in the lab. James, don't forget about the red cutting board you stole borrowed from the kitchen when you made your King Kong grinder. You are great at locating and reapproprating "building materials," but you need to stay out of Denise's kitchen, if you know what's good for you. Because the plastic board was used as safety equipment to protect the extremities, I guess that was okay. Edit to add - For anyone wanting to see the six Eleven! pages of jamesp 's King Kong grinder build, click HEREJim, way to take one for the team!! Sacrifices for Science regardless of the risk to personal safety are always appreciated. I do seem to remember a tumbler barrel welding incident........
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 18, 2021 19:34:35 GMT -5
I'm a little late for the party - I always seem to miss the cool threads lol. Here's a peek at my most precious slab and the only slab I own that I can promise I will never cut up. It's not just the rarity but also the totality of the pattern including the colors can never be captured in a way that would justify cutting up the slab. Pope Creek poppy jasper - Pope Valley Napa County in the vicinity of Lake Berryessa. It is thought this material originated on Snow Mountain to the north. It's a big slab at approx 9" x 8" When everything settles down and I get another Napa trip on the schedule, I may have to book an extra day to do some collecting! Hey!, Rocks and Wine go well together.
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