[freeztar]

Originally Posted by maikeru

Well, I am quite well petrified and thoroughly and stubbornly stone-headed. I should've known that my early obsession with collecting rocks and minerals would lead to science.

Cool! Rocks were my introduction to science. My parents got me this really cool book on Geology in third grade and I've been hooked ever since. I contemplated Geology as a major, but had to go with Ecology as it includes a little bit of everything.

I can't remember everything that's in my collection, because I haven't looked at them in years. They're stored in boxes big and little under my bed and in my closet, but the rocks I have include everything from slag gathered by Utah Lake to agate, quartz crystals, and a small geode, IIRC. I might have a trilobite fossil as well. I have somewhere The Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals.

When you dig them up, take a picture of some.

Whenever I go hiking, I always spend an inordinate amount of time looking at the rocks and plants growing in them, which drives my father and brother nuts. I've always wanted to collect some fossils which might date from the time of Lake Bonneville. The mountains and benches here would've been islands and beaches at one time in the midst of that prehistoric lake.

Kinda like Lake Powell, huh. But bigger....

I've only collected fossils twice.
The first time was sheer accident. I was on a road trip with a couple friends traveling across the country for a month. We stopped in Kansas for a night and stayed at a state park. It was gorgeous and I, as always, spent most of my time crawling around and looking at the rocks. I found some great fossils there, three different kinds perfectly intact and without substrate.
The second time was in California. There was this awesome river that had huge rocks completely embeded with fossils. We tried, unsuccessfully to break some larger rocks, but they wouldn't give. So I walked away modestly with a few exemplary pieces.
And now that I think about it some more, I also found some fossilized wood in New Mexico and Wyoming.
And also some Dino fossils in Arizona...

If you head over to the northeast corner of Utah, you'll find a town called Dinosaur (although it might be just over the border in Colorado, can't remember exactly). There's bound to be some good fossil hunting around there.
Unfortunately I don't have first hand experience as we just passed through there on our way to somewhere else, so I got trumped by my two friends who did not want to visit the Dinosaur Museum, much less crawl around in the sweltering heat of summer.

There are some nice minerals to be found in Utah as well.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Turtle

Dremel (or MotoTool) are good; I find the little cut-off wheels work great for cutting out small stones. What was the problem that discouraged you?

Lots of things...
I had a real hard time finding a good vise that allowed adequate access. The one I settled with was ok for medium sized stuff, but impossible for smaller stuff. I also ran through those cutting wheels like they were going out of business (what a weird saying). I got a pack of diamond wheels and they would disintegrate before my eyes. Agate has a MOH rating of 7 I believe. Diamond is up there at 10, yet they weren't cutting it (). After burning through several wheels and only seeing a sight nick in the stone, I abandoned the effort. I also tried several of the other attachments with no luck. I still have it, but it's boxed up and hasn't been used in a few years (same with the tumbler).

Wire wrapping good. I developed a knack for making & twisting specialty wires, and they fit very well with unpolished/un-cut stones.

I'd like to check those out if you have some pictures (I'm assuming you've abandoned them in the quest for lightness).
I'll have to find the few I have and I'll post some pics of them, when found.

Nothing left to say except, "release the hounds!!!"

HOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLLLL!!!!

Rocks are so cool that simply sticking them behind your name makes you cooler. An example:
{your name here} Rocks!

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Lots of things...
I had a real hard time finding a good vise that allowed adequate access. The one I settled with was ok for medium sized stuff, but impossible for smaller stuff.

I have a small (3" long jaws) vise that clamps to the table top, and even so find it necessary to make small jigs to suit a particular piece. This may work as well for your larger vise.

Originally Posted by freezy

I also ran through those cutting wheels like they were going out of business (what a weird saying). I got a pack of diamond wheels and they would disintegrate before my eyes. Agate has a MOH rating of 7 I believe. Diamond is up there at 10, yet they weren't cutting it (). After burning through several wheels and only seeing a sight nick in the stone, I abandoned the effort.

I never tried the diamond wheels, and the quick 'using up' of the wheels is just the nature of the beast. (There's gotta be a good reason to sell them in packs of 50! ) Slow and steady wins that race. I recently found a different type, although I'm not sure if they're new or not; they are a bit bigger in diameter and have an added ingredient that makes them last 10 times as long as the standard wheels.

Originally Posted by freezter

I also tried several of the other attachments with no luck. I still have it, but it's boxed up and hasn't been used in a few years (same with the tumbler).

I find the grinding wheels useful; they go as quickly as the cutting wheels, but get the job done. I used them in the trades to cut holes in ceramic tiles when installing bath fixtures and they beat any so called 'ceramic' bits for standard drills. They do a dandy job grinding rocks to shape. I also use the buffing wheels a lot; be sure & get some jeweller's rouge to use with them (it comes in a variety of grits).

Originally Posted by freezmeister

I'd like to check those out if you have some pictures (I'm assuming you've abandoned them in the quest for lightness).

I have only 1 example of some twisted wire, the rest as you say, I abandoned. I have attached a scan below. The piece is all copper & constructed of 2 double-strand twists of round wire twisted into a forged flat wire.

Originally Posted by freezyton

I'll have to find the few I have and I'll post some pics of them, when found.

HOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLLLL!!!!

Rocks are so cool that simply sticking them behind your name makes you cooler. An example:
{your name here} Rocks!

HOOOOOOWWWWWWLLLLLL!!!!

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by Turtle

I find the grinding wheels useful; they go as quickly as the cutting wheels, but get the job done. I used them in the trades to cut holes in ceramic tiles when installing bath fixtures and they beat any so called 'ceramic' bits for standard drills. They do a dandy job grinding rocks to shape. I also use the buffing wheels a lot; be sure & get some jeweller's rouge to use with them (it comes in a variety of grits).

The grinding wheels were better indeed, but not as precise and a B**** for cutting.
I bought a set of micro bits off ebay to drill some holes through some tumbled stones to make beads, but I succeeded in splitting every stone I put under the bit. My Dremel's RPMs are variable between 7,000 and 14,000 (IIRC). I tried both speeds on a variety of specimens, with no success.

[maikeru]

Originally Posted by freeztar

Cool! Rocks were my introduction to science. My parents got me this really cool book on Geology in third grade and I've been hooked ever since. I contemplated Geology as a major, but had to go with Ecology as it includes a little bit of everything.

I've always had this niggling little feeling that small boys are the missing link between Neanderthals and modern humans, because they collect so many rocks and pebbles. Neanderthals collected them for hand-axes, hammers, and flint spear heads. We do it because the rocks are funny, shiny, or pretty. Just a slight change in purpose.

Well, maybe ecology won't tell you how rocks and dirt form, but it teaches a lot besides those. Mmm, the interconnectedness of all things, living and nonliving. Ecology's also excellent for understanding things in microbiology, human physiology, immunology, cancer, and a lot of other biology fields, I've come to realize.

After a lot of rocks and complaints from my folks, I started growing plants in big pots at my parents' business, got my first microscope which allowed me to watch amoebas and parameciums in pond water, and watched way too much Nature on PBS, which I think warped my brain with too much lion and elephant coupling live on TV. It's irreparably damaged my moral compass.

When you dig them up, take a picture of some.

I'll do that. And I'm thinking about taking pictures of a lot of other things, like the terra preta indoor garden. Just a warning, but the oreganos and mints scare me. They've gone wild. I still haven't cleared all the pots yet, as I mentioned I would in the terra preta forum. Just a few so far. My mother's really addicted to fresh herbs, so I've gotten complaints about my drastic solution to nuke the pests and begin anew.

Kinda like Lake Powell, huh. But bigger....

Yes, only much, much bigger.

I've only collected fossils twice.
The first time was sheer accident. I was on a road trip with a couple friends traveling across the country for a month. We stopped in Kansas for a night and stayed at a state park. It was gorgeous and I, as always, spent most of my time crawling around and looking at the rocks. I found some great fossils there, three different kinds perfectly intact and without substrate.
The second time was in California. There was this awesome river that had huge rocks completely embeded with fossils. We tried, unsuccessfully to break some larger rocks, but they wouldn't give. So I walked away modestly with a few exemplary pieces.
And now that I think about it some more, I also found some fossilized wood in New Mexico and Wyoming.
And also some Dino fossils in Arizona...

Yeah, it seems wherever there's good weathered rock or mountains or hills are just boons for fossil hunting. I haven't done it much in years (because of aforementioned getting yelled at ), but it is really enjoyable. Kind of like playing the lottery. I heard that Dugway and the Tintic Mountains are a good place to go fossil and rock hunting here in Utah. But Wasatch Front works too.

If you head over to the northeast corner of Utah, you'll find a town called Dinosaur (although it might be just over the border in Colorado, can't remember exactly). There's bound to be some good fossil hunting around there.
Unfortunately I don't have first hand experience as we just passed through there on our way to somewhere else, so I got trumped by my two friends who did not want to visit the Dinosaur Museum, much less crawl around in the sweltering heat of summer.

Good memory. It appears that it's just over the border in Colorado. Eastern and northeastern Utah is great for fossil hunting, like around Vernal, which is also close to Dino, Colorado.

Dinosaur, Colorado - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dinosaur National Monument - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vernal, Utah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Say hello to Pinky: Image:Pinkdinosaur VernalUT.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are some nice minerals to be found in Utah as well.

All along the Rockies, I imagine. This area was once jungle, swamp, and ocean in dino times.

[freeztar]

National Geographic News Photo Gallery: Giant Crystal Cave Comes to Light

[Turtle]

We have plenty o' marine fossils here in the PNW along the coast as well as in the Coast Range Mountains. In some places like the Willapa Hills, you can barely take a step without kicking up a cluster of pertrified mussels.

I have some ill-formed plans to go meteorite hunting as I'd like to find one before I bite the dust. Any of you ever find a meteorite?
http://hypography.com/forums/earth-s...ght=meteorites

[freeztar]

I had the pleasure of doing an erosion inspection on a mine that is in the process of remediation. It was shut down many years ago after many years of operation (I don't know the exact dates obviously, but this mine area had several relics (old glass medicine bottle [with seam] and light-rail that was decrepit and very simple in appearance) that made us assume 1930's or before.

Anyhow, I had my nose in the dirt the whole time, looking for a good specimen of Barite as this area of the mine processed the calcium barite to obtain barium (for rat poison mainly). I found a good specimen (pocket size) and managed to find a couple other nice "take-me-home"s.

Without further ado....

Barite (Cartersville, GA)




Chlorite Schist (not certain)


Mystery "green thing"
I suspect it is some type of plastic, but I've no clue what it is exactly.

[Thunderbird]

Freeztar, I brought in a disc to download some photos but it is a tif file so its not working, I will have to scan photos to get the frog carvings up. You were asking about gem carving with carnelian agate.
Agate is a hard gemstone as you know. I like to carve in a sink with a steady stream of water in contact with the cutting area. Get a good size diamond cutting wheel, {Expect to pay about 50$} Start with a course grain, And a set of sintered bits for detailing, Again these are not cheap.
There is a good reason most people give up on carving hard gems, as you know when you tried nothing seemed to be happening except maybe some discolored water coming from the area being cut. This is a slow process, If you can do some preliminary shaping with a saw or grinder this will help. My advice is to start with a small piece that already has a interesting shape and work from there.
You were talking about interesting anecdotes at the beginning of the thread , About 4yrs ago at our local rock swap I walked up to a stand were they had a row of large specimens, right in the middle sat a large piece of Burmese jadeite. This particular jadeite is whitish green with dark specks called “Moss in Snow” This is a nice jade but nothing to write home about , but on the outside edge was a vein of something that occurs in this particular type of jade. an intense dark emerald green of Imperial Jade !! this is something you just do not find in the rough . With out thinking I pointed at it and stammered at the women behind the counter W-w-what’s that? She picked it up gave it a quick look and said she would find out, and started across to another booth. I almost panicked. This type of rough stone is so hard to find, but also very hard to gauge the price of, since the uncut gemmy material is difficult to appraise until it is cut and polished, and I wanted to be the one doing it!! I had her hand it to me and told her it is was jade, “ what are you asking?” “Oh! do you like jade ?” she reaches under the counter and opens a 21-12 wooden box with a nice collection of nephrite and jadeite jade. I pulled out my wallet I had about 30 bucks, she accepted it. When I arrived home and cut out of the vein it yielded about 50-70 carets of good quality emerald green jade, that I gave to the women in my family in the form of 5 cabochon pendants. They probably didn't believe me when I told them that they would run about 600$ apiece at the jewelries.

Check out this site; Lawrence Stoller - CrystalWorks | Lapidary Art - Quartz crystal jewelry and sculptures

[Thunderbird]

We are having our annual rock swap this summer if anyone is interested. There will be appox 60 vendors attending.

Missouri Mines Rock Swap
Park Hills. Mo. June 13-14-15 P..M me for more information.