agatizer - wordpress.com · 2/3/2018 · period. the fire agates were formed during this period of...

The Agatizer Feb 2018, Vol. LXIII No. 2

AgatizerSouth Bay Lapidary & Mineral Society, Inc.

P.O. Box 1606 Torrance, Ca. 90505Affiliated with The California Federation ofMineralogical Societies and The American

Federation of Mineralogical Societies

SOUTH BAYLA

PIDA

RY

MINERAL

&

SOCIETY

Pacific Ocean

SOUTH BAYLA

PIDA

RY

MINERAL

&

SOCIETY

Pacific Ocean

The award winning

In the November 1967Lapidary Journal, a fellownamed Minour Azama wrote,“Lapidary and jewelrymaking each within itself isindeed an enjoyable hobby.”And the 1968 April LapidaryJournal Volume XXIINumber I, had the largestnumber pages, 284.

What is Fire Agate

Fire agate, a variety of chalcedony, is a semi-preciousnatural gemstone discovered so far only in certain areas ofcentral and northern Mexico and the southwestern UnitedStates (New Mexico, Arizona and California).

Approximately 24-36 million years ago these areas weresubjected to massive volcanic activity during the TertiaryPeriod. The fire agates were formed during this period ofvolcanism when hot water, saturated with silica and ironoxide, repeatedly filled cracks and bubbles in the surroundingrock.

Fire agates have beautiful iridescent rainbow colors, similarto opal, with a measurement of hardness on the Mohs scale ofbetween 5 and 7 which reduces the occurrence of scratchingwhen polished gemstones are set in jewelry. The vibrantiridescent rainbow colors found within fire agates, created bythe Schiller effect as found in mother-of-pearl, is caused bythe alternating silica and iron oxide layers which diffract andallow light to pass and form an interference of colors withinthe microstructure layering of the stone causing the fire effectfor which it is named.

The Lost Lapidary of

High Grade S laughter MountainArizona Fire Agate Rough

How To Cut And Polish Fire Agate.Posted by Donella Velasco on Dec 27, 2014

Fire Agate is quartz like material with clear or milkymaterial on top called Chalcedony (kal-ced-ony). It mayalso have a Black or Dark Gray layer on top. The CarmelColored material under the Chalcedony is where the firehides. On some varieties the fire may also hide in layers inthe Chalcedony itself. This varies from mine to mine. TheFire Agate from Mexico has this feature more often thanArizona rock does.

This article is going to explain briefly how to extract thecolors from the beginning. This process is for workingalmost any stone. There are many types of fire agateavailable. Some with one color layer and some with manylayers like an onion.

In fire agates, some stones have many layers of color.Sometimes the layers of colors get better the deeper thestone is grinded and sometimes the best colors are the firstone found. Figuring out when to stop or continue grindingis something that experience teaches. The learning processis long but very rewarding. All lapiarists have at one timeor another ruined a great stone, it’s the learning curve.Patience is required at all steps. Good lighting andinspecting the stone often is one of the best ways to avoidmistakes.

Sunlight is the best. However, the stones can be workedunder a good bright light with a beam such as a halogen

– Continued on page 5

South Bay Lapidary & Mineral Society

The Agatizer 2 Feb 2018, Vol. LXIII No. 2

OFFICERS FOR 2017President Gale Fussello 310 702-3633 [email protected] President Steve Karno 310 251-5323 [email protected] Jamie Erickson 310 956-7467 [email protected] Eugenia Eugenia 310 676-5307 [email protected] Director Terry Vasseur 310 644-2029 [email protected]

STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRFOLKSDisplays & Mary Sharp & 310 326-5939 [email protected] Donates Kitty Lake 310 377-9882 [email protected] Leslie Neff 310 318-2170 [email protected] WorkshopEditor Terry Vasseur 310 644-2029 [email protected] Ford Larry Hoskinson 310 318-2170 [email protected] Scholarship FundField Trip CoordinatorsGetting-to- Craig Polliard 310-533-4931 [email protected]

know-youHistorian Gale Fussello 310 702-3633 [email protected] Jim Erickson 310 640-6199 [email protected] Gale Fussello 310 702-3633 [email protected] Steve Pekarek 310 257-8152 [email protected] Kathy Polliard 310 5 33-4931 [email protected] Al Richards 310 675-6606 [email protected] Show Lead Nancy Pekarek 310 257-8152 [email protected] Show Chairs Megan Fox 310 433-3230 [email protected] Leslie Neff 310 318-2170 [email protected] Lynette Vandeveer 310 379-5852 [email protected]

CLUB EXPERTSChris Curtin - Fossil PreparationBurt Dobratz - Fused GlassLarry Hoskinson - Opal CuttingPeggy Hill - Lapidary & BeadsFrances McArthur - Rock & Wire TalismansKen Oullette - Cuttle Bone Casting & Silver FabricationChris LeMaster - TumblingCraig Polliard - Lost Wax Casting, Jade Cove CollectorToy Sato - Suiseki (Stone Appreciation)Terry Vasseur - Silver FabricationTeresita Vasseur - Pearl StringingLynette Vandeveer - Wirewrap Jewelry

MISSION STATEMENTThis society was formed to collect and study minerals; to teach lapidary arts,to disseminate knowledge of mineralogy, lapidary work, and relatedactivities; to exhibit specimens for public education; and to exchangeinformation related to the earth sciences.MONTHLY MEETINGSMeetings are scheduled on the First Tuesday of the month, 6:30 p.m., in themeeting room of the Torrance Public Library, 3301, Torrance Blvd.. Visitorsand guests are always welcomed at all club events.MEMBERSHIPAnnual dues for a single member is $15 and $20 for a family payable by the1st of the year. An annual 12 month subscription to the Agatizer comes withmembership. A subscription to the Agatizer alone is $20.WEBSITE Webmaster Jamie EricksonSouthbaylapidaryandmineralsociety.comPDF READER LINKhttp://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.htmlAGATIZER CIRCULATIONDec 2017 75 - June 2017 95SBL&MS TAX STATUSThe South Bay Lapidary & Mineral Society is a nonprofit501 ( c ) 3 organization, Tax ID # 95-350730

February Birthdays

February Tuesday 6, 2018

February Anniversaries

None

MeganFox Feb 4Terry Vasseur Feb 16Ken Ouellette Feb 22

Display and Donate: Most of the meeting timewill go to the upcoming March show. However,we will save some time for one of our favoritetraditions, "What I found at Quartzsite". So bringyour treasures for all of us to see.

Drinks: Nancy Pekarek

Munches: Anna Robertson and Nicholas Chan and Marcella Munoz

The South Bay Lapidary & Mineral SocietyPresents Our Annual Gem and Mineral

Show

“Nature’s Treasures”Featuring Special Guest Exhibitors

and Demonstrators & the BestFluorescent Mineral Show in TownSaturday, March 3, 2018 from 10 to 5 Sunday, March 4, 2018 from 10 to 4

Ken Miller Recreation Center3341 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA

For more info contact Nancy at (310) 257-8152

or via email at [email protected].

com

Free Admission * Free Parking* Free Door Prizes

Like us on FacebookFacebook.com/sblapidaryandmi



From The Editor’s Desk

After nine years of theeditor, it gets a little hard toget started on that emptyblueprint for the nextAgatizer. The best thing todo is,… do something! Andthat was exactly what I did.

This year I didn’t make myquota of pendants forChristmas presents. With

the kitchen tile project, a cold that seemed to never goaway, and a sewer backed up on Christmas Eve; I was outof time. Now with the holidays behind us, I got interestedin a bag of rough fire agate I picked up pieces inQuartzsite over the years. And that’s what got me going.

Fire agates and turquoise were abundant in the southwestin the sixties and seventies that started club members intobeginning lapidarists making silver bolas and rings withtheir cut and polished gems. Today, you don’t see verymuch of that any more, hence ‘The Lost Lapidary of FireAgate’.

Cutting and polishing fire agates requires patience. It canbe well worth the effort or sometimes they end to failure.Like anything else, practice makes perfect. Each pieceusually requires a different way to work it. And that ispartly what makes it interesting,

Quartzsite, AZ; January 16-18, 2018

It was nice weather, not as cold as back in the ‘90’s. Weeven forgot to close the window one night at the YachtClub.

Tuesday afternoon we spent inDesert Gardens. I saw somenice vanadinite minerals thatwere better than any I haveever seen that were reasonablypriced. Since we just gotthere I wasn't ready to buy thefirst thing I found withoutchecking out all the othervendors.

The next day I decided to go back and get that piece but Icouldn't find them. A lot of vendors were packing up andgoing to Tucson two weeks before the show. Usually,they don't pack up until the Pow Wow is over. Whatworries me is the vendors were heading to Tucson wherethey think bigger money pays. Could it be another sign ofthe decline of our hobby? I hope not.

Craig & Kathy Polliard invited us to come along withthem to Quartzsite. We thank them. It's always nice to go

Library Display CaseFebruary and March

(members only)

Our club display at the Library is enjoyed by people ofall ages and is a great way to remind the public of ourupcoming show and club.

For those of you who have participated in submittingrock and jewelry related items for the Civic CenterLibrary display case in the past - thank you! Filling alibrary case with a variety of rock and jewelry relateditems allows us to share our passion with others andprovides awareness to those in our community that theSouth Bay Lapidary and Mineral Society holds meetingsin the library, and provides us the opportunity to visuallyadvertise our upcoming show.

If you are interested in submitting items for the Februaryor March library case please contact Kathy Polliard tosign up.

For you who didn’t sign up to display in February, getthe dust off a few of your favorite pieces and bringthem to the March club meeting to place in the Librarydisplay case for the month of March. The Marchdisplays go in between 6:05-6:20 PM at the Marchmeeting (March 6). The March displays are to bepicked up at the April 3 meeting between 6:00-6:20PM. Contact Kathy Polliard if you have any questionsor would like to sign up.

- - - FEDERATION DIRECTOR - - -

With this year's first no Californ ia MineralogicalSocieties Inc (CFMS) show since World War Two;CFMS President, Jennifer Haley, is going to have somefree time that previous presidents weren't so lucky of.She has already dug into years of the AmericanFederation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS)documents that were given to the CFMS to storage theirhistorical documents.

When I asked about the club history, I was thinkingabout the early presidents of the CFMS. She went evenfurther when a teacher thought schools should beteaching earth sciences. Even today we still need tolearn earth sciences.

Jennifer also wants to visit some of California's clubshows this year. I asked her to come to our show andshe said she may come but she does have some damagefrom the Napa fire to take care of too.

AFMS HISTORIANOur Hobby’s History


VanadiniteLead Chorovanadinite

Pb3(VO4)3Cl




Continued from page 3 – Hobbies… a synergy, they felt their combined efforts would be fargreater than the sum of what an individual club could doon their own.

Backed by the eagerness and the efforts of the clubs overa course of years, the seven federations one by one wereformed. California Federation-1936; NorthwestFederation-1938; Midwest Federation-1940; RockyMountain Federation-1941. During the time of WWIIefforts to advance the federations was suspended. In1946 came the inspiration for forming a nationalfederation, and by 1947 the American Federation ofMineralogical Societies was born. Two other federationsfollowed with the formation of the Eastern Federation ofMineralogy and Lapidary-1950, and the SouthwestFederation-1976.

When you hear society members asking why we have thefederations and the AFMS, you now have a great story totell them that they can take to heart.

______________

It Started with a Passion, and a Sharing of Ideas

I’ve been hitting the books again, investigating theearliest AFMS Historian files to see what gems ofinformation I could write about for you. 1928 is a year toremember. The first radio and telephone connectionbetween the Netherlands and USA occurred, Americanaviator Amelia Earhart became the 1st woman to flyacross the Atlantic Ocean, sliced bread was sold for thefirst time, and Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Flemingdiscovered penicillin while studying influenza.

And in 1928 an earth science teacher noticed the need tohave the earth sciences taught at schools below thecollege level. Unfortunately, I do not have thegentleman’s name, but what we do know is that he starteda club for his students and community. The club was sucha big hit, he hoped something similar could go national.Peter Zodac, founder and first editor of Rocks & MineralsMagazine was a big supporter of the idea, and beganwriting monthly articles which appeared in his magazineabout forming earth science clubs. In those articles wereideas for programs and activities, and of courseinformation about minerals. Learning about minerals andcollecting minerals was becoming extremely popular, andwas the main focus of our hobby in the beginning.Individuals and families were fascinated with what theycould learn, and were enchanted by the adventures theywere exploring.

Mineral societies slowly but in a big way began to springup around the country. The first two in California in1931, 1932, and the third in Oregon in 1933 which wascalled the Oregon Agate and Mineral Society.

The Oregon club got busy promoting themselves andstarted a bulletin. The club grew by leaps and bounds it’sfirst year, becoming what was believed to be the largestclub of its kind in the world at that time. The monthlybulletin was called the Oregon Mineralogist. By itssecond year a person you are now familiar with from arecent AFMS Historian article, Dr. Dake, became theireditor and renamed the bulletin The MineralogistMagazine.

Two other publications were born from the excitement ofthe hobby, Earth Science Digest and Mineral News andNotes. Advertisements for lapidary equipment became apopular aspect of the magazines. Clubs across the countrywere corresponding with one another, visiting eachother’s club meetings and venturing out together tocollecting sites for minerals.

With so many clubs forming an idea was sparked to forma Federation. Those first visionaries of our hobby wantedto keep the spirit and the knowledge of the science andthe hobby alive instead of seeing it dwindle over time. As

We came with Craig & Kathy Polliard. We thank them.It's always nice to be with others. We with others. Wemet a couple of the big shots of California jade thatCraig knew. One had a piece about four pounds of aVulcan Jade that came out of the Eel River, CA. Only acollector would sell it if he needed some money. If youwant something as rare as this, take it or regret for therest of your life.

After hours of walking in the Desert Garden, Craig and Ifound a vendor with some empty chairs we could kickback in for a while. I don’t think we were aware we

Continued from page 3 – From the Editor

Vulcon Jade from the Eel River




The Bulletin Board

ü NEXT MEETING: Tuesday February 6, 2018

ü BOARD MEETING:

ü PROGRAM: Ready for the March Show

ü FIELD TRIPS:

FEEDBACKLetters to the Editor

ON THEROCKs with TV

Tips–Ideas–Questions &Answers, on AnythingRelating to the Hobby(submissions welcomed)

(250 watt or better) or a hooded bulb is recommended.Some use two or three hoods with the natural light bulbsall pointed at the working area. Fluorescent Light is notideal because it does not penetrate the stone.

Fire Agates can be finished in one of two ways:* By hand one at a time. This technique is used for highergrade stones or due to the characteristics, shape of thestone and the color banding.* Tumbled in a drum or hopper. This method is used forstones with more of a conventional and even cover.Working with fire agate comes in stages as the stone is cutthrough the stone and then grind to remove the blademarks and transform the stone to it final shape and size.

1) CUTTING-is the first step used to cut away the matrixor milky-clear or black cover stone. A wet saw, with asolid rim diamond blade from 4” to 10”, is recommendedfor this stage. When cutting use eye protection or any typeof shield. It may take many cuts in many differentdirections in order to cut the most of the cover stone away.Do not cut into the dark or brown layers as these are thecolor layer or fire. Once the matrix has been cut away, thestone is ready to move on to the next step.

2) TRIMMING- is used to get as close to the fire whileleaving enough stone to smooth and polish and to createits shape. Cut as close as possible without getting into thecolor layer. Attempt not to cut too close to the coloredlayer or to remove material that will be needed to smooththe surface above the fire.3) GRINDING-SANDING is used to remove the sawmarks.The basic idea of grinding-sanding is to take the FireAgate that has already been cut to the closest possiblelayer of color that can be obtained without popping thecolor bands. This step can be done with silicon carbide, adiamond wheel or with a rotary tool. A stone such as acabochon with a primary flat surface the wheel work best.However, a rotary tool with burrs can do the same job. Besure to remove the cut marks made from the last grit as thestone processes.

With a wheel:

This process is repeated many times with grits changingfrom 100-220 grit followed by 325-600-1200. The pressureused on the wheel can eat the fire so only use hard pressurewhen the color is deeper layer. It is very easy to ruin thestone by applying too much pressure and once the fire layeris burn through it is gone!! Work slowly and inspect thestone often.

With a rotary tool:

If the stone is an irregular shape or size a rotary tool such asa Foredom or Dremel is suggested. Using burrs from 40 gritup to 600 grit, start shaping and smoothing using burrs fromcoarse to fine. Remember to leave enough cover for thenext higher grit to work. When the stone has a bubble typeof cover rock, start in the valleys and smooth these areas outfirst. Think of it as working a sharp v-cut into a softrounded valley. Pick the burr that does the best job to fit thearea being worked, the pinecone shape is very useful. Afterthe valleys are smoothed out onto the bubbles continue toremove the top of the bubbles until the stone has a nice evenlayer of cover stone as close to the actual fire as possible.Start at the dark lines of the valleys first to avoid getting tothe color bands under the bubbles. Inspect the stone often.

TIP: If the stone is small fastening it to a stick with dropwax can be helpful.

4A) POLISHING BY HAND

It is time to polish once the color bands are where the stonesshow the most fire. Polishing can be done two ways. Withdiamond paste or in aTumbler.

Open loop, no feedback this month._____________________

Continued from page 1 – Fire Agate




2018 Show Calendar

SAN GORGONIO MINERAL & GEM SOCIETYFebruary 16 - 25: INDIO, CASan Gorgonio Mineral & Gem Society

Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival 82-503 Highway 111 Hours: 10 - 10 daily Contact: Bert Grisham, (915) 849-1674 Email: [email protected]

-Tip: Keeping a tidy work area when using the pasteavoids contamination of the polish.

Applicators consist of the large polishing discs, smallnylon end cone brushes or small discs and pads. Use asmall dowel of bamboo or hardwood to get into the nooksand crannies. Do not use an applicator for more than onemesh type of paste.

Diamond Paste:

A silicone based extender fluid to make the polishing gosmoother and use less diamond paste works the best.Depending on the amount of sanding use Diamond Pastein the following sequence. 325-600-1200-3000-8000-14,000. On some stones going to 50,000 or even 100,000to make the fire pop out. Make sure to get an evencoverage all across the stone as being polished from stepto step. Wash each stone thoroughly with dish soap andwater in between steps. A toothbrush can get all the polishout of the crevices. It is not recommended to use acetone.Do not jump a mesh size. It will just take much longer topolish the stone. The stone will show changes take effectas the polishing steps are followed. Once there is nochange occurring in the polishing, it is time to change to afiner mesh. This can be a lengthy process but is necessaryto reap the best results. Most stones will be finished at the14,000-mesh stage. Some will need more of a shine dueto their nature and the next higher mesh can be used to seeif the shine gets shinier.

4B) TUMBLER-

Use only a clean container that has not been used for anytype of grit. Other agates or stones may be added the fireagate in the tumbler only if all traces of the base rock areremoved and the entire stone has a smooth finish. Anybase rock or crevices will hold grit and contaminate anyefforts at the polishing. Be careful to wash the stones verywell to remove all traces of previous grit. Fire Gate is alayered material. It will spall (crack) and chip. So it iswise to use a filler or cushioning agent such as ceramiccylinders for grinding and sanding and plastic balls forpre-polish and polish to keep the rock from bashing intoitself. A filler of ceramics or plastic beads will help to getinto all the nooks and curves. Use enough to get inbetween the stones but not too much or little. Experienceand experimentation will provide the best results. Alwaysfollow the tumblers directions. Use a good pre-polish firstand then a good polish.

Earth Oxides like Cerium Oxide are best for the slowerrotary tumblers and Manmade Oxides like AluminumOxide for the faster vibratory Tumblers. It isrecommended to run a batch with sawdust and soap toclean the stone sludge off after 600 and between the pre-

polish and polish stages to make sure to remove any leftover crud.

Fire agate stones are one of the hardest stones to cut andpolish. Keeping the process clean will give the best results.Not all of the above tools are needed to work every stone.The wheel tool is great for domed or flat stones. Fireagates can be very curvy with hills and valleys and handtools are best for these.

These are the basic steps to cutting Fire Agate. There aremany other ways that have b een used to cut and polishthese magnificent stones and this provides the basic ideas.This article was written by Dave Parson with the help ofother fine lapidarists who have shared information and tipsover the years.

Continued from page 5 – Fire Agate

_______________



2018 SHOW ANNOUNCEMENTS

SBLMS “Nature’s Treasures” SHOW DATES – March 3 & 4, 2018 (Setup on March 2)

MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ANNUAL SHOWꞏ Sign up to work a minimum of 4 hours per day (there are many sitting jobs if health requires it). If you are able to work

more hours it would be greatly appreciated. All members are required to assist with setup on Friday and breakdownon Sunday. Please sign up at the February club meeting.

ꞏ Donate one or more rock or gem related raffle prizes worth at least $10. Bring your donation, along with a descriptionof the item(s) no later than the February meeting.

ꞏ Donate one item a day (2 items total) or $5.00 a day ($10.00 total) per family to our show Kitchen. Pies, cakes,brownies, fudge, cookies would be perfect. Contact Eileen Hill (310/704-2799) if you have any questions.

ꞏ Promote the show in the community. Gale has raffle tickets for club members to purchase. Raffle tickets are a great wayto advertise and promote the show. Nancy has business size cards and flyers, both large and small for members to post atbusinesses around town.

SHOW NEWSArtisan’s Showcase – If you are interested in submitting handmade jewelry for our Artisan’s Gift Shop please contactEugenia Dickson for details ASAP. Please submit your items to Eugenia at the February meeting if you can, otherwiseno later than Friday, March 2 set-up day.Show Display Cases – If you are interested in displaying your handiwork or collected treasures in the show please contactChris Curtin. If you do not have enough material to fill a case perhaps you can share a case. Let Chris know if you needto borrow a case or if you have a case let Chris know if it is a slant front or upright case.Demonstrators – We are always on the lookout for new people who might be interested in demonstrating lapidary,jewelry, and other associated arts. Please have them contact Terry Vasseur.

DONATIONS NEEDED FOR THE SHOWOpportunity Prize donations – Please bring your show raffle prize donation(s) no later than the February meeting and givethem to Carol Kron and Anna Richardson. The raffle prize should be rock or gem related in some way. The value of the donationshould be $10 or more. Each family is required to donate at least one item. The item should be bagged or boxed with the detailsof the item such as, name of the rock, location found, and your name as the donor.Silent Auction donations – If you have any rock or jewelry related items for the silent auction bring them to the Februarymeeting along with details of the item(s) and give them to Lynette or Leslie. You may also bring them to the show on setup day or first thing Saturday morning. The auction has been very popular with our guests.Wheel of Fortune – If you have any small rock related items you would like to donate for Wheel of Fortune prizes please bringthem to our club meetings and give them to Megan Fox. Items that are a big hit with the kids are: fossils, small rocks, fool’s gold,peacock ore, dino bone, petrified wood, seashells, polished stones, small apache tears, etc. The kids enjoy a variety of items onthe table. Feel free to give Megan a call if you have any questions.

Magazines & Books - Start gathering your old magazines and books for the show. Rock, Lapidary andJewelry related magazines and books sell really well but all topics are welcome. If you are donating a largeamount of magazines please organize them by name if possible. Donations would be brought to the Show onFriday during set up or Saturday morning before 9:00am.Wally Ford Scholarship table - If you have any tools, equipment, rock hounding items that you would like todonate to the Wally Ford table please contact Larry Hoskinson. Funds raised will benefit the SBLMS "Wally FordScholarship" set up for El Camino College Geology/Science students.

_________________________



were sitting next to one of the best turquoise mines inMexico. The old miner sitting next to us wasn't tohappy with the low numbers of shoppers.

The son was a very good salesman. We got out of thechairs and took a look. They had everything inturquoise; turquoise rough, nuggets, stabilizedturquoise, cabochons, turquoise dust for inlay, turquoiseset in silver, awesome turquoise with black matrix, andprobably more. I picked six spider web cabs alreadycut and polished ready to make a ladies necklace.

Last year Diamond Pacific was in a building in DesertGarden but not this year. I wanted to get another AgateKutter saw blade for my 6” Hi-Tech Diamond trim sawbut the building was filled with rocks. I also neededsome plastic tube for my Diamond Pacific Genie.Luckily, a Diamond Pacific guy in the PowWow gaveme a piece free.

Most people come for the Pow Wow show. I don’tseem to see what they see. I don’t see new items like Isometimes find in Desert Gardens and Tyson Wells.For example, I found a new petrified wood found by

Continued from page 4 – From the Editor

Campitos Turquoise Mine Cananea, Sonora, Mexico

Spider Web Turquoise Cabochons

our friends who brought us Wyoming Bitch Creek Jadetwo years ago.

This piece looks something like the famous Blue Forestalong the Green River but the vendor said they found itin a new area. Also, this wood has a green color likefound in Hampton Butte, Oregon and Dubois, Wyoming.I will have to find out next year where it exactly camefrom.

I guess I should take backwhat I said about the PowWow. I did find aninteresting vendor the“Mount Saint Helens ” anemerald like made fromfused Mt. St Helens volcanicrock ash. The compositionof the ash is:

Silicon 60.50Aluminum 16.60Iron 6.02Calcium 5.36Sodium 4.18Magnesium 2.59Potassium 1.20Titanium 0.90Phosphorus 0.35Magnesium 0.12Strontium 0.06Beryllium 0.04Copper 0.03Lead 0.03Zirconium 0.02Chromium 0.02Zinc 0.02

___________________________

Helenite

Helenite, also known as Mount St. Helens obsidian,emerald obsidianite, and ruby obsidianite, is an artificialglass made from the fused volcanic rock dust fromMount St. Helens and marketed as a gemstone. Helenitewas first created accidentally after the eruption of MountSt. Helens in 1980.

This striking green stone was created, under conditionsof high heat and pressure, from the pulverized rockwhich came from 15 to 20 miles inside the Earth andexpelled by the volcanic eruption from Mount St.Helens, Washington. This beautiful jewelry looks likeemerald and is a deep green, brilliant, light catchingstone - what you would wish a true Emerald would looklike, if you could afford it ! It is truly stunning. The

New Wyoming Petrified Wood

Mount Saint Helen

Emerald Fox

Raw Emerald Obsidianite




TIPS FROM A JEWELER’S BENCHBrad Smith [email protected] [BenchTips] gemstones that are created today have come from material

blown out of the mountain in the 1980’s. Some of therichest colors were from the 1981 and mid-80’s eruptions.The color of Emerald Obsidianite comes from traceelements that are naturally found in the volcanic rockincluding chromium, iron and copper that create the richemerald color when fused at temperatures near 2700 F.

Volcanoes are an incubator for many of the World’streasures. Other gems commonly associated with volcanicorigins include Emerald, Diamond, Garnet, Peridot, andTopaz. Hot-water or hydrothermal solutions that emanatefrom magmas can crystallize a variety of minerals as thesolution moves upward into cooler environments. Metallicores containing gold, silver, tin, lead, zinc, and copper canoriginate in this way as can emeralds and other gems. Itis no surprise that Mount St. Helens has proven gold andcopper deposits on its flanks. When lava cools quickly,termed “quench cooling”, there is no time for mineralcrystals to form, and result is volcanic obsidian. When thisquench is performed under controlled lab-conditions it iscalled “obsidianite.”

The Discovery: After the 1980 eruption WeyerhaeuserTimber Company undertook a massive recovery effort tosalvage its equipment damaged by the eruption. As workersused acetylene torches to cut apart the twisted metalthey noticed the grey ash was melting and turning agreenish color. The pulverized volcanic rock, rich withsilica, aluminum and iron with traces of chromium andcopper was melting into a form of obsidianite. Using thatinformation, it was only a matter of time before the firstEmerald Obsidianite stones were created. The resultingemerald colored stone has excellent refraction (sparkle) andquartz-like durability. This disaster and chance discoveryhas left the world with this remarkable legacy of memorablebeauty allowing visitors to carry home a beautiful piece ofthe volcano as jewelry.

Color variations: Mount St. Helens Jewelry was originallyonly offered in a native green but with the addition andsubtraction of trace minerals like chromium, titanium andcopper we are now offering additional colors like “St.Helens Rose” ™ , and our newest color, “Twilite”, which isa beautiful violet/purple blue color similar to Tanzanite.We sometimes have reds (Helenite) and blues available.The red is created by adding trace elements of gold whileblue uses cobalt or more commonly aquamarine silica chip.We source our gems, settings, and finished jewelry fromseveral different skilled artisans who use different eruptiveperiod rock specimens and processes which results in thewide variety of gems you see before you. Gems fusedunder the highest pressure and complex processes typicallyare the purest though some of our most affordable gemshave the color, sparkle and size that many find mostAppealing.

________________

MOBILE FLEXSHAFTSTAND

A handy mobile stand for yourflexshaft can be made easilyand quickly from the base ofan old swivel office chair. Youcan find these chairs beingthrown out at office buildings

and schools. I just asked the custodian in my buildingto set one aside for me.

To separate the chair from thewheeled base, simply remove thespring clip from the center bottom.I use a small screwdriver or a pairof pliers.

To make the stand, you'll needtwo pieces of threaded galvanizedsteel pipe and a pipe fitting from ahardware store. The first length ofpipe is 3/4 inch diameter to fit thehole in most chair bases. Thesecond piece is a length of lessexpensive ½ inch pipe.

The total length of the two pipesshould be five feet. I used a twofoot length of 3/4 pipe and a threefoot length of 1/2 pipe. They are joined together by apipe fitting called a 3/4 to ½ reducing coupler.

LOCAL METALS SOURCE

Local companies that use sheet metal typically havebarrels of scrap copper, brass and aluminum sheet thatthey save for recycling. The shop owner/manager willusually let you go through it to select the shapes andthicknesses you want. Prices vary but will generallybe close to the wholesale per-pound scrap value. Forme at this time, that's $3 per pound for copper.

I've found it's much cheaper to buy metal this waythan ordering from a catalog. There are no shippingcharges, and you'll be supporting a local smallbusiness in your community.

Remember to bring your work gloves if you try this.Also useful is a thickness gauge. When I asked if theyhad any 14 gauge, they didn't know. Turns out theymeasure the thickness of copper by its weight persquare foot.

_______________

Continued from page 8 – Helenite



South Bay Artisan Showcase 2018The Artisan Showcase allows members of our club to display and sell pieces of their jewelry, or rock related crafts.Displayed items are on commission, and if sold, half of the commission is given to the club for the scholarship, andthe other half of the commission is given back to the artisan to recover material and labor expenses. Any unsold piec-es will be returned to the artisan on Sunday.

With this showcase, our guests to be able to purchase some of the wonderful artisan pieces and serves as an out-let for the artisans to find potential clients and patrons.

The Artisan Committee:Will set up, show, explain, and sell your piecesWill ensure that no more than three of your pieces are displayed at a given timeWill return your pieces to you after the show closes.

o A description card will be made for each pieceo This information on your pieces must either be emailed or submitted on written paper to me by

February 23... if I do not receive your information on your pieces, I will not be expecting them and willNOT display them

o Your pieces can either be given to me on Friday March 2 (show set up) or on the Tuesday meetingearlier in February ... if I do not receive them on either of these dates I will not be expecting yourpieces and will NOT display them

You will be given cash for your half of the commission, along with a receipt copy for proof of sale

Terms and Conditions:Items must be either jewelry, or a rock related FINISHED piece Metal pieces of jewelry must have NO TarnishNo limit on the number of piecesSuggested Price range: $20-45, because pieces in the range sell more quickly ... so if your pieces are withinthis range, you may provide as many as you would like so that I can ensure you always have pieces outThe pieces must have been handmade by youPiece must have a suitable packaging (ie. Box/ drawstring bag) for the customerIf you want your jewelry to be on a display, you must provide the display (keep in mind they will be in a glassshow case)

Tips:Price your item right... many of the sold pieces last year were purchased as gifts for othersThe more innovative and unique the piece is, the more attention it grabsSets were also popular last yearIf you have a story about a piece, jot it down or email it to me so I can share with those who are interested

Contract: MUST BE SIGNED AND RETURNED at the February Meeting

I ________________________________________________________ agree to the terms and conditions provideand outlined for the Artisan Showcase, and that if I do not meet these conditions my pieces will not be displayed orsold at the 2018 Artisan Showcase.

X____________________________________________________________

Questions: contact Eugenia Dickson at (310)-676-5307(home) or (310-617-4249 (cell)email: [email protected]



Artisan Submission Form

NAME _______________________________________________________

CELL PHONE (FOR USE AT SHOW IF QUESTIONS) _________________________

ITEM________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DETAILED DESCRIPTION________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RETAIL PRICE (1/2 TO BE RETURNED TO SELLER _______________________

NAME _______________________________________________________

CELL PHONE (FOR USE AT SHOW IF QUESTIONS) _________________________

ITEM________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DETAILED DESCRIPTION________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RETAIL PRICE (1/2 TO BE RETURNED TO SELLER _______________________



South Bay Lapidary & Mineral Society, Inc.P.O. Box 1606Torrance, California 90505

What Ya BeenUp to Lately?

My 20-year-old Hi-TechDiamond 6” Trim Saw with avice, lost its motor. I lovedthat machine. The dilemmawas to buy a new one ($395 or

more) or send it out for repair for $175 plus $80 tosend it out, mailing cost now is how far and how bigthe box). Hi-Teck Diamond used to be here in SimiValley, now it is in Westmont, Illinois. I asked Hi-Teck Diamond if I could buy the motor with thewiring and install it myself. Nope. So, I decided tosend it to them. It only took a week to get there and aweek to get it back, not bad.It also came with a one-year warranty.

I'm pretty sure the motor will work another 20 years.I ONLY WORRY IF I WILL WORK ANOTHER 20YEARS!

Hi-Tech Diamond 6” Trim Saw with a vice

Hi-Tech Diamond808 Burr Oak DrWestmont, IL 60559

Tel: (630) 596-9909Web: www.hitechdiamond.com

agatizer - wordpress.com · 2/3/2018 · period. the fire agates were formed during this period of...

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