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[fossilman]

When I gather,buy or barter for thundereggs,I take all and every bit of material.....Never have left one behind,because it was halved,busted or just plain nasty....
I take them home,clean them up and study them "Seeing what can bring the beauty out in the stone....."
Sometimes,there just isn't a way and it does go into the grandkid pile...
If I can't face it,than I will slab it and rescue it by getting it cabbed....
I have a good friend in southern Oregon,on the bay,that works thunderegg cabs like magic.......He did these for me,on some trades..
Another rescue,comes to life!

[rocks2dust]

I think it was Norma Richardson who used to just shake her head at what diggers would leave behind. Back then, they'd just scoop them up and sell them for 50% more than the you-dig price. Nearly every one is one-of-a-kind, which means that the big jewel manufacturers are largely not interested - they are generally focused on cookie-cutter material that they can use to crank out thousands of identical pieces. That's a shame for the average jewelry shopper, though, who misses out on the wide variety of unique gemstones out there.

Re: that second-to-the-last cab. Is there any color play in the crystal center? That one is particularly elegant, IMO.

[Orrum]

Man those r nice!

[hummingbirdstones]

Beautiful!  I'll have to take another look at some of the thunder eggs we have laying around.

[Kaljaia]

Those are stunning. Hardest part for me is getting the egg to sit for cutting. It's a round object! Got tricks for grabbing the thing or do you glue to a block first?
Richardson's makes funny faces at you if you bring in too many nice broken pieces. They ask people not to crack their eggs before buying or while out on the site. May be why people leave behind a lot of very nice fragments. That and it's a lot of tourists who are in for the novelty and don't have the setup to slab n cab.

[Ryaly2dogs]

Inspirational stuff.  Makes me want to pull out some halves and engage in some creative cabbing.  Thanks for sharing!

[ileney]

Erika asked: " Hardest part for me is getting the egg to sit for cutting. It's a round object! Got tricks for grabbing the thing or do you glue to a block?" I know they make alligator clamps for that. HAs anyone tried them?

[fossilman]

Erika asked: " Hardest part for me is getting the egg to sit for cutting. It's a round object! Got tricks for grabbing the thing or do you glue to a block?" I know they make alligator clamps for that. HAs anyone tried them?

There are grabs out there and many people use them.. I don't, a few others don't either...
I use cut down 1x4's and wedges (wood).......Kind of like engineering...LOL
I have cut 1000's of eggs,using this style,works every time and have never,ever had one come loose on me......
When the egg gets to small to cut (As of other rocks too),I just glue them to a short 2x4,let it set and than cut away....Throw the last piece of material and wood into a bucket of water,till the glue dissolves...