# I've got Rock!!!!



## Nubsnstubs (Jul 20, 2018)

Catchy title, Huh??? I went to my rock pile after seeing David's thread on Chrysocolla. *My rock is actually Opalite from the Gemfield Claim near Goldfield, Nevada, just south of Tonopah.* The boulder I have is more likely 75 pounds rather than the 50#s I mentioned in David's thread. It's crumbling really good into pieces about 1" cubes. Not really cubes, but more like gravel. I crushed some, pictured, with a mono and metate. It crushed pretty good, but stopped before it got lost in my desert because of using a flat metate. It can be for sale if people are interested. I'll sell it for 10 dollars a pound in gravel form plus postage.


 Most is very green, but there is some light grey seen in the middle of the picture. The bottom picture is more of the color than the top picture. The paper towel depicts the true white than the yellow in the first picture


Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 2


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## David Hill (Jul 22, 2018)

I’m up for a pound.
Can do PP.


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## barry richardson (Jul 23, 2018)

Never seen any chrysocola that looked like that Jerry.....


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## Nubsnstubs (Jul 23, 2018)

barry richardson said:


> Never seen any chrysocola that looked like that Jerry.....



Barry,sorry for the confusion. It's actually Opalite from the Gemfield Claim in Goldfield, Nevada, 28 miles south of Tonapah. I edited my post to reflect that.

There are a couple more colors of the rock that is found there, but I only collected the green as it comes in large boulders, but starts cracking into very small pieces unsuitable for flint knapping.

David, PPL works. It's 

I'll let you know what the charge is as I don't know what it costs to ship it. Folks, this is a one time offer only to David. You pay postage for a large flat rate box, 18 dollars even, and I'll include a piece of wood. You won't regret it. You might, though, as I think I can get some without cracks.

What do you do to crush your rock? To keep from losing any, I use a coffee can and a piece of steel rod to break it up, then sift it for the smaller stuff. My sifter is pretty small, but has about 5 different screen sizes that allow me to do about 2 table spoons at a time. The grits are closer to 36 through possibly 220 or or even smaller...... Jerry, (in Tucson)
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Reactions: +Karma 1


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## Tim Carter (Jul 23, 2018)

Here's a rock crusher that keeps the rock from going everywhere.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 3


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## Tony (Jul 23, 2018)

Nubsnstubs said:


> Barry,sorry for the confusion. It's actually Opalite from the Gemfield Claim in Goldfield, Nevada, 28 miles south of Tonapah. I edited my post to reflect that.
> 
> There are a couple more colors of the rock that is found there, but I only collected the green as it comes in large boulders, but starts cracking into very small pieces unsuitable for flint knapping.
> 
> ...



Jerry, I edited your post and took out your PayPal address. Please send that to David in a PM. Thanks! Tony

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## David Hill (Jul 23, 2018)

@Nubsnstubs 
I had PP info slready—- sent!

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


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## gman2431 (Jul 23, 2018)

I'll try a pound of it! Thanks!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## gman2431 (Jul 23, 2018)

Here's my crusher

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 1


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## gman2431 (Jul 29, 2018)

Received my rock and it's cool looking stuff!! Thanks!!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Nubsnstubs (Jul 29, 2018)

Right now, I'm just blowing smoke, but I do have a Cottonwood piece that had a million cracks in it. No pictures equal smoke, but, honestly folks, I do have one in the works. I'll post pictures tomorrow. It has the rock in it. Boy, it dulls tools quickly. 10-15 seconds and my Thompson gouge has to be resharpened. But, it do look good when it has a finish on it. ............ Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Like 1


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## David Hill (Jul 29, 2018)

Nubsnstubs said:


> Right now, I'm just blowing smoke, but I do have a Cottonwood piece that had a million cracks in it. No pictures equal smoke, but, honestly folks, I do have one in the works. I'll post pictures tomorrow. It has the rock in it. Boy, it dulls tools quickly. 10-15 seconds and my Thompson gouge has to be resharpened. But, it do look good when it has a finish on it. ............ Jerry (in Tucson)


When I use a harder mineral, I'll usually use carbide to smooth it out, then go to the gouges.


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## Nubsnstubs (Jul 29, 2018)

David Hill said:


> When I use a harder mineral, I'll usually use carbide to smooth it out, then go to the gouges.




Thanks David. That's how I'm doing it now. I use carbide until I'm ready to sand. You're gonna like this rock, I think. Being color blind, even I like the red I see..... ......... Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Tim Carter (Jul 30, 2018)

I like to finish turn and partially sand the piece before I do the inlay work. I'm not fond of trying to cut stone with my tools. I use less stone and can control the way the inlay looks. In some cases, I'll have the inlay flush with the surface of the wood, creating a look similar to terrazzo. In other cases, I'll leave the inlay below the surface of the wood, creating a contrast with a rougher look.


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## David Hill (Jul 30, 2018)

Box came!
Rock looks good, looks like it crushes nicely--from the small stuff in the pkg.
Wood looks great---very interesting/spalting. ID or you keeping me guessing?


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## Nubsnstubs (Jul 30, 2018)

David Hill said:


> Box came!
> Rock looks good, looks like it crushes nicely--from the small stuff in the pkg.
> Wood looks great---very interesting/spalting. ID or you keeping me guessing?




No need to guess, David. It's Mexican Blue Palo Verde. That particular piece is a yard tree, planted over 30 years ago in north east Tucson. Got watered quite regular, so it grew up to 20+" od. It was cut from just above a crotch, which is still attached to the trunk and now is in Roll, Arizona at a saw mill. Can't wait to get the word that it's been milled.

Also, it is not spalt. My guess is mineral stains from the ground and from cuts above ground. ................ Jerry (in Tucson)


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## David Hill (Jul 30, 2018)

Great!
I’ve not turned that before. The Palo Verde I’ve seen in my area doesn’t get very big— more of a shrubby tree. I’m sure one will show up eventually—- wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t think Huisache got big enough to turn— was wrong then too.


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## Nubsnstubs (Jul 31, 2018)

David Hill said:


> Great!
> I’ve not turned that before. The Palo Verde I’ve seen in my area doesn’t get very big— more of a shrubby tree. I’m sure one will show up eventually—- wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t think Huisache got big enough to turn— was wrong then too.



David, turn it right away to the 10%. Stuff it in a bag for about 2 months with shavings, then take it out and trim it to remove mold that might grow on it. Let it sit for about another 5-6 months, and then turn it to finish. It's pretty stable, but then sometimes you get this.

 

 



Now, back to the original post. I had to look real hard at all the crappy wood I have around the place to find this little piece of Cottonwood because it had a bunch of cracks I could fill with the Opalite I have. As I said above, it sure dulled one of Doug's tools pretty quick. I then used carbide to get the hefty stuff down to be able to use my pneumatic tool to grind down the wood and rock to an even surface. 

Here is the final product. Cottonwood footed bowl, 5 7/8" OD x 2 3/4" tall. Every crack on the bowl except the bottom is filled with the Opalite. The bottom was left as is as it's a burl almost dead center, so I decided to leave it alone.

The foot has brass key filings for the filler, with Bamboo Shish Ka Bob skewers as the stabilizing agent for the real bad cracks in the foot. 

 

 

 

 


All I can say is, it was interesting to me to use rock I drove over 800 miles to collect for a woodturning rather than making a bunch of arrowheads and blades with it. Unfortunately, the rock is unsuitable for making points, so maybe I'll use more for wood turnings in the future. ......... Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Like 1


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## David Hill (Jul 31, 2018)

Cool bowl--bet someone's really going to like that


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