elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 10, 2012 23:00:10 GMT -5
There is a new requirement to download the 2nd edition file that hasn't been there before. I am checking on why a person now needs to sign up to download the file.
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 10, 2012 18:44:21 GMT -5
I finished several domed specimens for my display a week ago. Two made it in. One got bounced and will probably go to the silent auction for my club. The graveyard point is my favorite. I saw the pink plume and had to chase it across the rough. It's actually not my piece. I found the chunk in our club's stockpile and polished it up to raise money to buy Agates III for our club's library. Trouble is, I really like it and will be bidding on the piece - and there's some people in our club who go crazy for pink. (The brazilian will also be going that direction to help buy the Zenz book.) So the pics: Here's the Whale Bone from our local beaches: And the Brazilian. Interesting, but not much contrast. I have more rough from this location that shows the banding much stronger...so back to the drawing board. Thanks for looking and listening to me prattle on. Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 10, 2012 18:28:49 GMT -5
Thanks for all the kind words!
Mel - I hope you like the display, there's quite a bit from your back yard sitting in the Mexican section. The Amethyst came from the Smithsonian Museum a couple years back. The paul bunyon was a "what the hey?" I bought in with a pile of slabs and when I dusted it off at home, I found it was polished.
Peachfront - I have four chances a year to display - the three local clubs and the county fair - so I've learned to keep my display relatively clutter-free. I know I have a chance to rotate my basic display every couple of months so I don't feel compelled to put all my stuff in it. It's also taken me 5 years to finally figure out how I like my backing. Next one is in April. I'm doing Thundereggs at the Conejo Club's show.
Paul, Karen loves her jeep, but we haven't taken it out to the desert yet!
Thanks again to all for you compliments.
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 9, 2012 23:04:40 GMT -5
Pretty stuff, all of it, but that last laguna is complex and the colors are exceptional!
Lovin' your cuttin'
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 9, 2012 1:42:57 GMT -5
My friend who did the chapinite also does knapping. His other case at the show highlighted his knapping. Thanks for looking. Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 9, 2012 1:40:57 GMT -5
Those are exceptionally nice.
Love the print at the end of the shafts!
My favorite is the one with the black curved horn at the bottom of the photo.
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 9, 2012 1:27:10 GMT -5
Helen,
If you check the hardness of the black druzy, you might find it to be calcite. If Christopher sent them, they're probably Hauser bed eggs (which is what they look like), and those are known for the black calcite crystals that can be found inside them.
Looks like you had fun opening them all.
My next display is going to be Thunderegg based. I love these things. Thanks for sharing your cuts.
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 7, 2012 0:56:57 GMT -5
Here's my two cases for my club's show this past weekend. I don't like the photos I stuck inside the cases - I forgot my two sided tape so I had to sort of jam them in. Eh - live and learn. I hope you enjoy. Lowell Domestic: International:
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 7, 2012 0:45:25 GMT -5
Very nice gift!
Love the Union Road Agates - they're rare these days!
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 6, 2012 0:43:13 GMT -5
For those interested - this was tentatively identified as Gabbs Opalite with opalized wood.
Any thoughts?
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 6, 2012 0:40:43 GMT -5
Chapinite is a nodular jasper that was fractured and then resealed with agate or chalcedony turning it into a brecciated jasper.
It was found originally on the Fort Irwin Military base by a guy named - I think - Roy Chapin. Later it was found at Siam Siding which is off Route 66. Another deposit was uncovered by Castle Butte west of Barstow. All this is Mojave Desert region.
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 5, 2012 22:45:35 GMT -5
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 5, 2012 22:27:12 GMT -5
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 5, 2012 22:18:47 GMT -5
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 5, 2012 22:12:21 GMT -5
Had a great show this weekend. Between waves of kids, I ran around and shot pictures of people's cases. I'll post a couple threads to keep them short. Here's a case of a material you don't usually see much of.
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Mar 2, 2012 9:59:24 GMT -5
I'm giving a heads up that my club's (Ventura Gem and Mineral Society) is holding its 50th Annual Show this weekend at the Ventura Country Fairgrounds in, uh, Ventura this weekend!
Come on up and if you're in SoCal and spend the day. We hold a nice show with good vendors, a very active kid's booth (which I'll be working), and a few dozen or more display cases.
If you're within driving distance, then take a day for some sightseeing and inside rock gawking and hawking.
Thanks,
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Feb 25, 2012 23:21:00 GMT -5
I find agates with the odd-shifted look to them out here in CA - Acton especially will often cough up a couple if I look hard enough. The way I understand it is that a gas bubble leaves a void in the basalt or whatever the host rock is, and before it fills with agate, seismic activity cracks the surrounding stone and shifts so the two halves are slightly off center. Then the agate comes in and fills it up and it looks like two offset halves. If you have a good one, cut it lengthwise and if there's banding inside, it will be conform to the odd shape of the stone and be more interesting then just a small rounded nodule. The other thing to do is polish the outer sphere and see if there's a bunch of eyes as Mel suggested there might be. I did this with a gobi-stone. Unfortunately I don't have an individual photo but I do have one from a display a couple years ago. It's the blue stone in the lower left. You can see the swirls on the stone thatturned out to be interesting eyes. Whatever it turns out to be, I hope its surprise outdoes the anticipation. Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Feb 25, 2012 12:23:07 GMT -5
That is incredible! I love that design!
I would like to ask permission to copy the write up of your technique and publish it in our club's newsletter. I think others would be interested in knowing this trick.
Thanks for sharing,
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Feb 24, 2012 3:30:22 GMT -5
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Feb 23, 2012 2:30:42 GMT -5
To all,
Thank you for you kind support. If it wasn't for this website, this project never would have existed. As said in the introduction, it is that so many people were willing to allow us to use their photos that we were able to do what we did. It's a testament to the generosity and good nature of most of the people who gravitate to this hobby.
Tim,
Presently the site that I use for file sharing doesn't provide much in the way of fast service. Because we went for larger files covering more states I knew I was sacrificing quite a bit of download time for less files. (I'd rather have 6 regional files than 11. It's just easier to use.) As these files only need to be downloaded once, I'm hoping people overlook that at present as I don't currently have a viable alternative.
Geoff,
The next volume will be for the Northwest, including the material from Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, and Alaska. It won't be done for a couple weeks. I think it might dwarf volume 1. We have a ton of new stuff to add.
Re:Alaska. I only have a single sample of a t-egg from Alaska with no other material, so any Alaskan material will be greatly appreciated. I only ask that the image be as clear as possible with good lighting. When I convert the source file (done on the program Pages) to pdf form, I lose much quality. The better the photograph, the less loss of quality in the conversion.
Please feel free to submit the photo on a board here and I will 'poach' it. Just PM me your name so I can give you photo credit in the document. I greatly appreciate the help. This index is only as good as the material collectors permit us to use.
Thanks again to all,
Lowell
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