Lapidaryforum.net
Let's Rock => Rock Talk => Topic started by: Michael on January 11, 2018, 05:58:28 PM
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Gentlemen:
I have been working stone for the past five years. In that time, I have come to appreciate quality rock over, well, lets say "less than quality." We spend a lot of time cutting, shaping and polishing, and then cleaning out all the stone dust and mucking out our saws. I have no problem with all of that except I want it to be worth the effort. I know all of you have favorite rock to fabricate, so I would like your opinion. If you could have your choice of stone what would it be? If this sounds like a survey, I apologize. I myself despise surveys. Let's say you had limited time to work a rock, what would you choose. Myself? I found blue chalcedony from Malwai (sp?) Africa at Tucson last year. Pricey? You betcha! Bought a piece after going through most of the lot. It turned out to be something I really well had a lot of respect for. I am going to Quartzite and Tuscon this month. Anyone on the forum going?
Mike
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Mississippi peanut butter brickle rock , the most subtle and saturated colors in any rock I have cut.
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Opal. Can't help myself, I'm an opalholic.
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WoW, so many to love. I would have to put a list of favorites. Any Plume Agate, Coyamito and Laguna Agates, Dryhead Agates, Nipomo Sagenite and Marcasite agate, Botswana Agates and as a whole the Picture Jaspers.
Now as for cutting and worth the time ---- well sometimes you have to deal with the junk and mess to find the special one. Plume agates are amazing but like some stones I can cut 30 stones before I hit a winner in Plume. My friend owned the Dryhead mine at one time and said they were the most frustrating stones to cut ever. He said you cut one with a perfect Agate pattern ring all around the nodule and it's a mudball inside, cut one that looks like a mud ball and it is amazing. Most of the banded stones you have a much better rate of success.
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I'd give up cutting if I was restricted to one type of gem only. I started with precious opal and I still love it but the cabbing/faceting Universe is large with many irresistible stars.
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100 pound flawless boulder of apple green Wyoming Jade.
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Favorite material to work with? I'm a colour frak, but pretty much every material that needs extra attention and effort to get desired results.
Fire Agate, Pietersite, Spectrolite and Montana Agate have always been winners to me........ Starting to really appreciate Australian Jade too these days (seems to be a material that is easier to work than most jades, and one seems not to be able to go wrong with it).
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Hi all for me its the Australian ribbon stone it might not have the colours like the agates etc but it does have some great patterns its great to work with and easy to get agood finish and when you cut a slab you can find some pretty amazing pictures as per the photos I put up in the slab section.
Dave
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my favorite is imperial jasper from Mexico.
Nothing i have worked with since making a few cabs (big ones i might add) compares to it in my creating brain cell.
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"The lithosphere" Oregon
Photo link is Woodburn,Oregon Mammoth park peat-Bog. U of O and Bill Orr.
My other pass the time away hobby.
The second photo is a Bison vertebra, Soaking in floor was to stabilize the 10,800 Bp bone.
Dug that day right into the soaking. from top of sand silt 3.5 meters of bog material the flood debris is about 2 Ft. thick just above sand zone. with mica from Washington. how you know. Glacial Lake Missoula theirs to much to say about Woodburn Bog dig.
Not a rock yet just historic bone matter. Bones matter!
Jack
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Bill Orr... Sparking up some memories for me with that name. In the 1970's when I was a geology major at the University of Oregon, Bill was my academic advisor and one of my professors. I was into economic geology, gold silver and such so paleontology was something I suffered through.
I remember several occasions where Bill would tap me on the shoulder in paleo lab and ask me to get the gold specimen off of the stereo scope and put some boring micro-fossil there. :dontknow: :dontknow:
Good to see he is still out and about doing what he loves.
If you see him again soon please give him my best!
Bill Barton
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Hi All
I have to go with Dave on flint/chert. I have the Ohio version of it. Some family was able to go collect it and I have about 180 lbs of rough. The bad thing is life has been so crazy that I have only cut 1 cab in almost a year :Bash:
Hope to get back to this one soon.
Shawn
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My favorite to work might be excellent quality rhodocrosite and very blue spots on gray lapis lazuli (generally like it better than the supposedly finer quality stuff). My favorite for finished result might be fine quality Marlborough chrysoprase and Botswana agates that show depth/parallax.
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Holding out for Trent,Oregon agate rough.
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I think I too like Ohio flint best.
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Thank you all for your imput. I found some purple agate this week end in Quartzite at a very good price (end cut). I also found some purple chalcedony from Indonesia while squirreling for jade. I bought both. I really like stone that has properties that I can bond with. I know this makes me weird. I think all of you know what I mean. Thank you for all of your favorites!
Mike