Lapidaryforum.net
Let's Rock => Rough and Slabs => Topic started by: Kaljaia on March 02, 2017, 01:27:45 PM
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Cut this big egg from the reservoir bed. Quite the scene inside! Alien forest or undersea cavern?
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/de96582f37f9bc9ba080191569099ce5/tumblr_om27mhpPgL1vg3vluo2_1280.jpg)
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/271b80399532ccd37c7a7c18898605e7/tumblr_om76mfKs1s1vg3vluo1_540.jpg)
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/75720bb1f7f7f2ce805758d6132a3dfb/tumblr_om7i0fTmFC1vg3vluo1_1280.jpg)
Short video clip of cutting the slab, and the sparks from the saw through the agate.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRHtvFDgzm_/?taken-by=thinkslikesrocks&hl=en (https://www.instagram.com/p/BRHtvFDgzm_/?taken-by=thinkslikesrocks&hl=en)
Used clear acrylic fixative spray on the half piece because I'm afraid of the orange material drying out, going opaque and flaking. I had that happen to another egg with a similar material inside. I don't have large-object-polishing-powers yet either, so I am 'cheating' with the spray to make some egg halves look pretty for my office.
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Cool!
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Wow
:WHOAR:
All I can say is if you want to sell that PM me. It is calling me :headbang:
Bless
Shawn
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Oh my, Erika! That is beautiful! Great job digging that one out. :occasion14:
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WOW! That's a keeper
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Thanks all! Was fun to see that end come off the saw. Knocked the other end off this evening, so I have a good thick round with two nice display sides, two good end pieces, and two nice slabs, out of the egg.
Wow
:WHOAR:
All I can say is if you want to sell that PM me. It is calling me :headbang:
Bless
Shawn
Hey, if you're serious let me know what the average going price for uncut or cut eggs like this might be. I have asked my boss about selling material (I work for the nonprofit that owns the land this egg came from. We sell old pipe fittings on ebay. why not rocks?) but he's skeptical that there is a viable market. If I can take him info that yes, something like this would sell and bring in funds for summer scholarships or maintenance or something it's a lot more likely it'll become available sometime in the future.
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The fractured rough that looked blue you had on the other day is the type of rough that can be very useful for jewelry stones. Rockhounds like big stones but jewelers tend to use much smaller rich colored stones.
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Hi Erika
"Used clear acrylic fixative spray on the half piece because I'm afraid of the orange material drying out, going opaque and flaking. I had that happen to another egg with a similar material inside"
Yea that could be a problem if you are cutting a cab. Do you have any idea why that happened? How long did it take? I have no idea of what kind of offer to make you for the slaps. And they are not really for sale at this time.
"Hey, if you're serious let me know what the average going price for uncut or cut eggs like this might be. I have asked my boss about selling material (I work for the nonprofit that owns the land this egg came from. We sell old pipe fittings on ebay. why not rocks?) but he's skeptical that there is a viable market. If I can take him info that yes, something like this would sell and bring in funds for summer scholarships or maintenance or something it's a lot more likely it'll become available sometime in the future"
OK so I am not sure of the exact size.
Do you think a donation of 5$ per slab plus postage would be fair? I would be willing to cut the best cab I see in the material and enter in the contest. You have posted so many pics of cool stones that I cant help thinking about a cab out of it. Here in Southern Indiana you just dont find rocks they have to be imported :LOLOL:
Bless
Shawn
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I don't think this egg would be any good for cabs, as the yellow mineral (inside all the white structure) is fractured and crumbly, and more so as it dries out. Good display specimen though! All the photos are from the same egg. Two ends, two slabs and a central core so far. The muddy 'ball' part is slowly disintegrating off.
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/ab41f0a28ae8c93162258291f845723b/tumblr_om9zcd3wWq1spns93o6_1280.jpg)
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/9de628962f69de5abd08087e6d62ff54/tumblr_om9zcd3wWq1spns93o1_1280.jpg)
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/f784b106a583a07c9dffc7892f163659/tumblr_om9zcd3wWq1spns93o2_1280.jpg)
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/ab87c3e0e2e4b85afcc170fe549aa171/tumblr_om9zcd3wWq1spns93o3_1280.jpg)
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/7445717e3e9b70c34c1fa50f6faca875/tumblr_om9zcd3wWq1spns93o4_1280.jpg)
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/313cfcddd855b6eb1ee4392bf9558dee/tumblr_om9zcd3wWq1spns93o5_1280.jpg)
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Hi and thanks for the extra pics.
Now I see why it might not make good cabs but I suspect that there is 1 or 2 in there. Please keep us informed about your situation because you find some way cool stuff. At this time I have very little to trade but I hope next month that changes. I will be going to Flint Ridge and hope to get some good stuff.
Bless
shawn
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Those are nice looking eggs for sure!! Most eggs go for $3.00 @ pound retail.....Cut eggs (average size) without polish average $4.00 to $6.00 per piece...(Baseball size and under)..Add polish,jumps up to $9.00 - $12.00 per piece..
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Wow.
That's really a pretty egg!
I don't think I've ever seen a thunder egg like that.
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So where is the reservoir bed. I noticed there is a lot of areas on this forum mentioned but not too specific. I also noticed there are a lot of members from all over. It would be fun to know where these are, because like me most of us probably don't have a clue where people are talking about when they use pet names??? Or is it just me? :dontknow: :smiley:
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A nearest city and state would be helpful.
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So where is the reservoir bed. I noticed there is a lot of areas on this forum mentioned but not too specific. I also noticed there are a lot of members from all over. It would be fun to know where these are, because like me most of us probably don't have a clue where people are talking about when they use pet names??? Or is it just me? :dontknow: :smiley:
A nearest city and state would be helpful.
(I shamelessly make up location names for my material because to my knowledge none of it is 'officially' documented or named.)
I would love nothing more than to drag all of you out for a grand T-egg adventure to the beds I have access to, but alas it is not to be. Private property, no public access, so I am deliberately vague with my location information. I apologize for that. I am trying to at least get permission to sell thunder eggs on line from these places but I don't have that yet either. Lawyers, liability insurance and land leases are to blame and my bosses have to navigate a lot of different layers of land use policy as it is; none of them want to tackle rockhounding in addition. I have access because I work for the organization that owns this land and I have a track record for respectful low-impact use and that's about all I can say.
However, there are lots and lots of other local public-access areas! Look up Donnybrook, Dutch Donny, Friend Ranch, Richardson's, Cougar Trap, etc. This website is great: https://thundereggs.jimdo.com/north-america/oregon/ashwood-area/ or just go to Richardson's, just outside Madras. They've been in the local t-egg business for a few generations now and have great beds of their own, as well as imported eggs from other sources. This summer's Prineville and Madras rock shows will probably have field trips to otherwise closed private property digs. Every cattle ranch south of Shaniko probably has an egg bed around it somewhere. The Ashwood road cuts through multiple egg beds. There's more in the Ochocos and Warm Springs is full of them.
I'm sorry I can't share more than pictures, but please do visit central Oregon sometime and see what great material it has to offer! If you stop by Donnybrook/Dutch Donny, you're already in my back yard. :)
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The best way to go is to buy this book....It will guide you right to the claims... Private and public....
Gem Trails of Oregon By Garrett Romaine......Worth the buy,I buy all my books on Amazon.com/about $12.00
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Gem Trails of Oregon By Garrett Romaine......Worth the buy,I buy all my books on Amazon.com/about $12.00
I agree, that's a very good book to have when planning on exploring a new area's rocks. Has gps coordinates and indicates other possibilities in the general areas. If you buy a used copy on Amazon, Abesbooks or another site, just be aware that there are older Gem Trails editions by other authors which are outdated and contained some errors; best to avoid those.
The BLM also publishes some rockhounding and other maps, which you can pick up at the local offices in the area you are visiting. They show the boundaries between public and private land, so are also quite useful.
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We always hit the local Mom and Pop places too,like cafes and gas stations,etc... They know the areas and people....
Always find someone that puts a lead out for ya'....
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"Washington & Oregon Rocks & Minerals" is a great pocket-sized guide to the pacific northwest. Good photos, good ID key, and at least general locations. It might result in a bit of a scavenger hunt for the less common stuff and you will need local maps to navigate from their state-sized pictographs to the specific locations they mention.