William Posted April 2, 2021 Report Share Posted April 2, 2021 I made mention a couple times in posts that I also enjoy agate hunting, or being a rockhound as they call us. Well, in recent months I have gathered the necessary tools and equipment too start working on some of the specimens I have gathered the past few years. Here are some pics of some of them in raw from-the-earth form and the last 3 pics will be the finished product. The one you see as a finished product is a Sardonyx Banded River Agate from Madagascar. Mine won't have near as many bands but still should come out nice! Pretty excited! Plan too start on these this late spring or early summer in my garage. Thought I would share 😊 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad G. Posted April 3, 2021 Report Share Posted April 3, 2021 Did you get a rock saw or just a tumbler ?? By the way "love them Madagascar" my buddy has been buying large quantities of it from China along with some lace & moss agate and a bit of quartz, he makes artifacts, I'll get some pics if I can & post em here for ya to take a peek at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted April 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2021 I've got two saws, belts, various hand held tools and a nice little tumbler. Plan on shaping them somewhat, removing some of the rough, then tumbling. I've got trays of uncut pieces that I know are going to be beautiful when I open them up. Thinking about making some jewelry from some also. Would be fantastic to see some pics of what others have! My fiance actually wants to go up too Lake Superior for her 50th birthday this year. I'm sure the beaches are picked frequently but wading out about waist/chest deep, might be a different story 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph Posted April 3, 2021 Report Share Posted April 3, 2021 I've had some mega rockhounds in my family. I don't even dabble. But I do love a pretty rock. The biggest rockhound in my family gave my husband a pretty sizeable amethyst geode with another crystal nested inside ... but I put all our cool rocks into some kitty litter buckets in preparation for a move. And the move didn't happen in a timely manner and the rocks stayed in the buckets. And then the buckets got used to hold down the back of a pick-up in the snow. And then someone stole the buckets from the back of the pick-up. We were very sad to lose that geode. This past year I decided I needed some more pretty rocks and so I bid on some online and now I have them in a candy dish. (with some goldstone and some stoneware marbles) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted April 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2021 Nice! I'll have to take a few pics of some geodes I have around the house 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted April 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2021 Here are a few of my geode specimens along with my little pet family...also added a shot of a color treated agate slab I bought for my lady on Valentine's day 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted April 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2021 The first 3 pics are about the size of my fist. The big purple one probably about softball size. The turtle is 5 inches long. The burro, elephant, scottie dog and dove fit in the palm of my hand and the horse and two birds are a little over an inch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph Posted April 3, 2021 Report Share Posted April 3, 2021 Are those geodes you found? That would be so exciting to find a geode ... exciting to able to recognize a rock that you thought could be a geode! I live half a mile from Lake Michigan ... I'm can find some nice smooth rocks at the shore but nothing exciting so far. Are the animals Mexican Onyx? I've seen things like that in border towns. ds Baja California onyx has a chapter in marble history -- the California Onyx company used it for marbles, gear shift knobs, radiator knobs, and more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted April 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2021 The animals that I think are Mexican are the burro, dog, elephant and horse. The turtle, dove, and two smaller birds are crafted from agate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted April 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2021 The purple geode was picked up years ago by my fiance in Mexico. It was bigger, twice as big, but a child dropped it and broke it in half. She ended up giving half too her so she wouldn't cry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph Posted April 3, 2021 Report Share Posted April 3, 2021 The heart is sweet to say the least! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad G. Posted April 3, 2021 Report Share Posted April 3, 2021 Here's the pics of the spheres, artifacts and marbles my friend collects. The marbles & artifacts he made by hand from polymer. MOSS AGATE MEXICAN CRAZY LACE MADAGASCAR SILK AGATES COYOMITO AGATES LAGUNA AGATE SOME OF THE ARTIFACTS HE MAKES FROM POLYMER & THE AGATES IN THE BACKGROUND HE CALLS THESE SUNDANCE AGATES ALSO FROM POLYMER SMOTHERED IN AV. ONE OF HIS BOX COVERS & LOGO NAME ANOTHER BOX COVER HE DESIGNED A BOX OF THE FLAME MARBLES HE MAKES, ALL HAVE SPARKLING AV. IN THEM THIS IS ONE FROM A BOX OF 3 DIFFERENT KINDS OF POLYMERS HE MADE FOR ME A PIC OF ONE OF THE BOXES I GOT FROM HIM, I LOVE EM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad G. Posted April 3, 2021 Report Share Posted April 3, 2021 9 hours ago, William said: Here are a few of my geode specimens along with my little pet family...also added a shot of a color treated agate slab I bought for my lady on Valentine's day 😊 Nice!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Posted April 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2021 Those pieces are awesome too behold....that man does fine work! Many thanks for sharing that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad G. Posted April 4, 2021 Report Share Posted April 4, 2021 "You're welcome William" he's just starting to get really interested in gemstone, been collecting marbles for years & you the opposite but both hobby's led to each other. I just has to post some of his work, I consider him one of te top polymer artists I know of, no machines or resins all hand done. I myself am just starting to get interested in crystals, geodes, etc...... as known one thing truly does lead to another, I collect antique toys, marbles, knives, marble related objects, books, guns, etc........ I only have a few thunder eggs & geodes some stray crystals, fire opal & a few others I got from my cousin in Idaho, he used to string off & search the desert out near Boise where he grew up for gemstones & artifacts, especially arrowheads. By the way your crystals, broken or not are "Great" I may get a rock saw, my Grandfather lived in Arizona & had one he was going to give me years ago but then I had no interest in stones or minerals, if given the same opportunity now I would have jumped at the chance. "Thanks for sharing" Looking forward to more !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da Roberto Posted April 4, 2021 Report Share Posted April 4, 2021 Hi Chad, hi everyone-. Since we are on this topic, I would like to share some minerals. I don't collect them, they just caught my eye at the time, except for two that were given to me as gifts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad G. Posted April 4, 2021 Report Share Posted April 4, 2021 Nice nuggets Roby ...... I really like the blue one !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da Roberto Posted April 4, 2021 Report Share Posted April 4, 2021 The blue one is a Russian azurite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph Posted April 4, 2021 Report Share Posted April 4, 2021 Wow ... some stunning stone there. The plain off-white lake Michigan fossil is what I find a lot of on beach walks. I've saved a few. One day I'd like a big crystal -- say six inches tall -- for display in the living room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da Roberto Posted April 4, 2021 Report Share Posted April 4, 2021 Hi Steph, To your knowledge, is this a shell fossil? You know, I know a Paleontologist by profession, also a collector of marbles who says it may be this....then I will show photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph Posted April 4, 2021 Report Share Posted April 4, 2021 53 minutes ago, Da Roberto said: Hi Steph, To your knowledge, is this a shell fossil? You know, I know a Paleontologist by profession, also a collector of marbles who says it may be this....then I will show photos I think this is it. Limestone. It sounds like it's a complicated mix of broken up shells and bones of animals, but can also contain more complete looking fossils imbedded in all the crushed up remains. irvmat.com - Portland - What is Limestone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da Roberto Posted April 4, 2021 Report Share Posted April 4, 2021 Ah, well Steph, I will post the image of the animal and the shell later. Regards r Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da Roberto Posted April 5, 2021 Report Share Posted April 5, 2021 Here's how the fossil looked ( in Italian "BRACHIOPOIDE") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da Roberto Posted April 5, 2021 Report Share Posted April 5, 2021 By the way: thanks for the link Steph, great explanation,...interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph Posted April 5, 2021 Report Share Posted April 5, 2021 Ohhh ... the fossil wasn't shown yet. I had thought it was the limestone below the photo of the paper. Cool fossil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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