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Topics - ileney

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Mineral Specimens / ID help

« on: April 07, 2016, 10:42:52 AM »

Middle Age is starting to tell on me. I can't find a particular stone I am looking for and on top of that can't recall its name, so I can't even look it up. Can someone remind me of the name for the yellow and brown stone some people incorrectly referred to as Chinese writing stone or yellow line jasper? It is like lots of bright mustard yellow lines or crinoid looking curves, sort of like writing, covering a dark brown or maroonish matrix. It's very busy looking and undercuts like crazy. I think the name started with a "C," and now for the life of me, I can't recall the name. It's driving me mad. Please help!

Share Our Finished Cabochons and General Cabbing Questions / Tutorials / Question about photographing opal

« on: March 02, 2016, 07:40:27 PM »

I have been trying my hand at some Australian and other opal and can't for the life of me figure out how to get a decent picture of the finished stones. I admit I am using an iphone so maybe that is the issue? I've tried on a white, navy blue, and even on a black background surrounded by white paper, etc. etc. The best images were when held in my fingers, oddly enough. Much of the color doesn't show at all. It's like there is nothing there. The reds turn pink and somehow become less prominent than the greens when the opposite is true in the actual stone. The greens sometimes turn into yellows. The blues and purples disappear or turn color also. And the background always looks a light grey whether it is actually a grey or an absolute ghost white. What gives? How can I get the pictures to pop more? Many thanks for any advice you can give.

Share Our Finished Cabochons and General Cabbing Questions / Tutorials / new chrysocolla cab

« on: November 30, 2015, 09:31:21 PM »

Super embarassing to admit, but while I can't figure out how to adjust my phonecamera, I just realized that iphoto has an adjustment and I can adjust it to truer colors. So below are the now true color photos. The stone really does have an unusual amount of contrast with everything from a palish yellowish green, to bright aqua to bright blue to black. Also, I have some other cabs I just completed and will post as soon as I can figure out why my photos have disappeared into the innards of my computer somewhere. I seem to have a slight glitch.

Rough on the bench and slabs off the saw (general minerals board) / Need ID on sagenitic agate/Nevada

« on: November 18, 2015, 12:18:25 PM »

I am attracted to weird slabs and odd stones, so I could not resist this slab when I saw it on ebay listed as sagenitic agate from Nevada. It just arrived and is even more weird than I expected. Has anyone seen this before? What is the geological explanation for this? Is it really agate or something else? It's an opaque pale pink with a bit of yellow, kind of like a rhodonite or even pink opal, but then it has those super thin plates spreading out. It isn't what I think of as sagenites. Do you think it will hold up to cabbing or do I dare not? Thoughts or information would be helpful.

Our Place / Fake rutilated quartz, I think

« on: October 21, 2015, 11:46:47 AM »

A short time ago, I posted about seeing what I think is an awful lot of cheap rutilated quartz cabs and chrysoprase cabs on ebay that I was starting to think must all be fake or dyed or both due to the low pricing. Usually, the pictures are somewhat blurry. Here is an example of one posting with close up photos that would seem to look like glass cabs with gold flakes in them, at least to me? What do you think? 16 pieces for 50 cents apiece seems impossible! They have equally impossibly cheap chrysocolla, (looks possibly synthetic or color enhanced to me) though no chrysoprase:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10Pcs-16x5mm-Beautiful-Lapis-Lazuli-with-Chrysocolla-Square-CAB-CABOCHON-T1552-/141548405502?hash=item20f4f142fe:g:hK4AAOSwzrxUvuYV

http://www.ebay.com/itm/QY01023-Beautiful-16pcs-Gold-Rutilated-Quartz-Oval-CAB-CABOCHON-/380868976503?hash=item58ad8f5f77:g:zPYAAOSwj0NUf6wV

Oh and then there is this seller with tons of chrysoprase at what I would think are rather low prices considering the color is all so consistant, and none of it seems to be very flawed. In fact, many pieces seem to be identical in size and shape and color. Is it dyed?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-23Cts-Chrysoprase-Round-Cabochon-Loose-Gemstone-As-2106-/281827835201?hash=item419e3f7d41:g:b70AAOSwuTxV~TvQ

Our Place / What are these?

« on: October 18, 2015, 10:18:28 AM »

ID help. Pictures two and three are the same rock. They are wet in the pictures. This is old stuff, mined maybe 40 years ago.

Any idea what the rock in picture 1 is? Is the rock in pictures 2 and 3 chert? Will it polish well? I assume I cut it across the bands? Any idea where it is from?

Thanks for your help!

Our Place / Possible asbestos problem with pietersite?

« on: October 17, 2015, 02:15:08 PM »

It suddenly occurred to me in the middle of the night that that unidentified 40 year old goldish/bluish chatoyantish rough rock I have been puzzling about is very likely African pietersite and yes, I should have realized this a long time ago, but somehow had not. This would be cause for celebration, except that I had just read this from 2010 when Kurt/ Asianfire posted about Chinese, not African, pietersite -"I once cut into a stone, and suddenly literally broke through into a huge layer of hairy asbestos. You should have seen, how fast I tossed the stone into water, and ran to shower." So I am looking at the rough stone and realize that 1) it has a couple of small 1 or 2mm pockmarks inside the stone that are white and 2) there is a fibrous looking grayish white clump portion on the side. This leads me to ask:

a) Is there some way to know if this is definitely asbestos?
b) Assuming it is, is there any way to safely stabilize it and cut this or does the whole thing just get chucked?

Show Your Custom Jewelry Designing Photos / New Necklace, cheapo druzy

« on: October 14, 2015, 03:03:19 PM »

I could not figure out what to do with a few cheapo druzies I bought. They were already cabbed, very obviously dyed, and only $5 or $6 apiece, but I liked the pattern and druzy look quite a bit, so I bought them anyway. However, I did not want to spend a great deal to set them. This is the first one I set. I had accidentally rolled some sterling much thinner than I intended earlier in the year, but thought the metal would work well for the base, and I rolled up an extra piece of metal jutting out at the end of the metal piece and that became the bail for the pendant. I also had a scrap piece of bezel with a tear in it that I used for the bezel. I filed the bezel in the spot with the tear as well as two other spots in the bezel and filed a slight curve on the back to make it look intentional. I'm pretty happy with it overall. Not too much work, and it doesn't look or feel flimsy though there isn't much silver weight there.

Rough on the bench and slabs off the saw (general minerals board) / question about rutilated quartz, chrysoprase, garnet, rock crystal bits

« on: October 08, 2015, 11:38:25 AM »

A few silly questions:

1) Rutilated quartz - Earlier in the year, the prices on rutilated quartz seemed to go through the roof. Now, all of the sudden, I am seeing much more of it, and some of it is unbelievably clear, at very cheap prices. What's the explanation? Is this stuff hitting the market now lab grown? Synthetic? Are the cut stones actually doublets? Is it suddenly out of favor and everyone is dumping their hoard? What gives?

2) Same question for chrysoprase. Mostly, this question applies to cut stones. Some of them are still very pricey, while others are cheaprer than the rough and look very clean. Is this stuff dyed?Is it not even chrysoprase? It looks good in person (though I haven't actually held it).

3) unrelated question about garnet, rock crystal-I got a nice hand me down of about 3 pounds each tiny shards/bits of rock crystal and garnet. What are these used for? Did people use these as tumbling media before ceramic or something? Can I use them as such when tumbling quartz? What can I use these small bits for once they are tumbled? Thoughts?

Discs, Wheels, Belts, Pads, and Polishing / Do they make a rubber drum for 24" x3" diamond belts?

« on: September 06, 2015, 03:44:44 PM »

The old adage is correct. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. I found two old but never used 220 and 400 grit diamond belts sold on ebay (it stated they are Crystalite, but they aren't marked as such, though they look and feel high quality to me.) I assumed (silly me) that they would fit my 8" rubber drum. They looked similar in size. Come to find out instead of being 3" x 25 7/32" they are 3" x 24". They do NOT fit my rubber drum. Do they fit ANY lapidary drum? Thoughts? I have a genie, but use my extremely ancient 8" for large pieces and for the initial coarse grinding. I'd love to be able to switch out these belts and have more flexibility for those larger pieces ... if I could get a drum that would hold them.

Cabbing And Grooving Machines.. Projects / New and Used Reviews / DP Genie Shorted out. Noooooooooooooo. HELP!

« on: September 05, 2015, 11:04:13 AM »

HELP! I was cabbing on my used DP genie yesterday when I noticed the motor seemed very hot. I'd been using it a bit and figured maybe I overdid it. Today, I was using it again for a short time and suddenly heard a small pop or snap sound and it shut off. (It is the old style genie with the metal box in front that regulates which side gets more air for spraying water.) I looked and discovered the outlet had turned off. So I reset the outlet, replugged in the genie, and it did it again right away (without the sound effects). Just to make sure, I tried pulling out the plug, resetting the outlet and trying it a third time. Same thing. I reset the outlet a fourth time and plugged in other stuff. No problem. So it is the genie and NOT the outlet. I did have some water under the tray. Is it possible it got into the motor? What do I do now? I am NOT mechanically inclined and know nothing about electrical. I am so bummed...

Show Your Custom Jewelry Designing Photos / New screw-closure bangle

« on: August 27, 2015, 03:27:38 PM »

There is a watermelon tourmaline slice on the screw clasp for this hinged sterling bangle bracelet. This bracelet took FOREVER to make, and had way more steps than it looks like, so I am not sure I will ever make another, but it came out nice IMO and is a present for someone very kind who always helps others. There are different (rolled) patterns on the silver inside vs. out. The inside pattern is ribbed, the outside more of a subtle brushstroke. Forming the bracelet shape was very challenging because of the substantial weight (20 gauge) and added thickness of the border (10 gauge), as was getting the tubing to line up properly without melting or accidentally moving something in the process. I often use 20 gauge but not with this thick a border added on top and am not used to wailing on silver to get it to move!

Mineral Specimens / ID red beach stone alone

« on: July 12, 2015, 02:11:27 PM »

The more I look at that red beach stone (from Maine) I feel maybe there is a name for this material, so I hope you won't mind the extra pictures of just that one stone. First and last picture are wet. Middle picture is dry. Any thoughts as to what it could be?

Thank you to all for your help.

Mineral Specimens / ID help odd beach stones

« on: July 12, 2015, 01:53:53 PM »

Hi folks, I 've been collecting beach stones locally. Some of them are pretty cool and I wondered if they have a particular name or if anyone knows what they are made of, especially the first one that looks like it was splashed with drops of red paint (base color is maroonish) and the second one that looks quite green (could it be zoisite?).

Mineral Specimens / ID help Metallics- Mohawkite and mystery stone???

« on: July 10, 2015, 08:42:42 AM »

Hi, I have a few metallic slabs or pieces of slabs. One is different from the others and I need help IDing it. I'd also like to verify that all the rest are Mohawkite in Quartz and any advice on safely cabbing either/both types of stones as I know metallics sometimes require extra safety precautions. There was a very large thread about Metallic stones I found from a few years ago and Mark and others contributed pictures of many stones and insight. The trouble is that many of the stones look very similar to me and I am still not sure.

All but that one of the slabs and finished cabs/jewelry are definitely made of the same material- I believe to be Mohawkite in quartz. The one small piece of slab that I have no idea on is much darker and more crumbly. It kind of looks like gold in hematite or marcasite to me or maybe even gold in some sort of Mica as the black shiny stuff is so crumbly. But maybe it isn't gold. And maybe it isn't marcasite. I have no idea how safe it would be to even try to cab it from a health perspective? The odd stone out is the first and second picture, showing front and back, and I have also shown it next to what I think is the Mohawkite in quartz and slabs of the same material. In the fifth picture, the odd piece out is the small piece on the left. The last picture is just the Mohawkite in quartz pendant by itself.