The Bitterroot Conglomerate
Newsletter of the Bitterroot Gem & Mineral Society
Vol. XXIX issue 1
Presidents Column
None
Editors Notes
Please note that if your dues are not mailed to either the Club address which is on the front of the newsletter or Wayne Farley at 274 Cartwright Way, Hamilton, MT 59840 or paid at the next meeting, you will not receive the February Newsletter.
I will need reports from the Chairperson of the various Committees during the 1st week of each month so they can be included in the newsletter.
The Editor is not responsible for the accuracy of articles accepted, items for sale, nor are the opinions expressed therein necessarily those of the Club Officers, members and/or the Club Editor.
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BGMS Minutes December, 2009
There was no meeting in December, only the potluck and auction so there are no minutes to record. There was however the swearing in of our new Club officers.
Mike McConnell as President
Pam Meyers as Vice President
Wayne Farley as Treasurer
Diane Ayers as Secretary
These officers will serve for this year of 2010.
Field Trip or Show Report
Don’t forget to continue planning for our show May 14th and 15th. Your help will be needed.
Start thinking about where you would like to go on a field trip next year, then communicate that thought to the field trip chairman so it can be incorporated into the field trip schedule.
Member Field Trip Reports
None
Mining Committee Report
None
MT Council Report
None
N. W. Federation Report
None
Sunshine Committee
Angie Scanland is doing ok after being hit by a pick-up truck. She is still quite sore though. The proceeds from the Christmas potluck auction went to her for her many needs which she really thanks the Club.
Programs
None.
For Sale. An ore car from the Betty O’Neil Mine near Battle Mountain, Nevada. In good shape. $500.00. Contact Posey at 961-4116
For Sale. Jim Rayner in Hamilton has a 12” Rock Saw for $500 and a Fram Tom Tock Grinder Set-up with 2 diamond wheels, and a 10” trim saw with new blade, new motor on a steel stand for $800. 375-0663
More Miscellaneous Lapidary tips
Keeping Grit out of druzy, vugs, and pits. Get some bar soap and soak it for a few hours. Rub the bar soap firmly all over the vugs, pits, druzy, from all directions, making sure the soap is pushed into the voids, well. Grind, sand, or polish as normal. Soap washes out in between grits, and soap keeps grit from getting into tight places that are hard to clean. Works, give it a try. Be sure to wash soap off, and reapply in-between grits.
Handy Storage
For sorting smaller cleaned mineral and fossil specimens (e.g. less than 2-inch diameter/square), plastic fishing tackle boxes provide both adjustable-sized spaces and a stiff, flat surface for sorting. Equally useful in the field for those smaller items that you know often end up lost in the wadded newspaper or wrapped aluminum foil. I also box, stack and store specimens after they're identified and labeled. I know the national federation and show standards favor wood, but I find the translucent nature of the near-clear plastic tackle boxes an added benefit to inventoried storage. (You can always pull stored specimens for show submissions and displays.) Thanks Guy DiTorrice
Brazing RodsInstead of buying those expensive aluminum marking pencils for marking cabs. Buy some brazing rods, they are much cheaper, and come in several colors.
LAPIDARY "STEP BY STEP"
by Thomas (Bill) White, Lapidary Technical Chairman, Independence, Mo
November l982 News Nuggets
THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS July l982 Reprinted from: THE ROCKHOUND GAZETTE, Sep82
Volumes have been written on techniques, polishing speeds, etc. Most are very good and successful procedures. Just keep in mind that most lapidary tips are given in general terms and are not meant to be all inclusive.
Each and every step is important from selection of the rough slab, trim sawing, performing and up your ladder of progression to the final polish.
I dislike rating one step as being more important than others, but on this occasion I will pick one crucial point that applies to all types of lapidary work, faceting, cabochon, sphere, carving, etc. It is the initial performing and/or rough grinding stage of the operation. Take great care at this point. Most of your decisions should be and will be made during this procedure such as: high or low dome, bezel, curvature, table, girdle, etc.
In other words you commit yourself on the general outline and symmetry of shape. From this point on each step follows a predictable course.
Bringing a stone to its ultimate polish is the desire of all stone grinders and a very personally rewarding experience.
Where polishing agents are concerned, technique and polishing speed are quite important but the differences are more of a technical matter than a practical one to the everyday home shop craftsman.
An example problem: polishing an agate cabochon.
#1 craftsman uses tin oxide on leather convex disk turning at 800 RPM.
#2 craftsman uses cerium oxide on hard felt wheel at l200 RPM.
The results are two very well polished cabochons that I can not detect which method was used. So settle on two or three basic procedures such as leather, canvas, felt: Linde A, tin oxide, cerium oxide and go from there. (I do 95% of my polishing on leather using tin oxide.)
Be careful with heat buildup while polishing. In some cases heat may be helpful and even desirable but strive to obtain an even distribution of heat. Some stones have the ability to transfer heat evenly throughout their area: however the best policy is to avoid any sudden thermal shock. (Keep it moving) and bring it up slowly.
This polish that we all strive to obtain can only be reached by successfully carrying out the basic fundamentals of stone work. By proceeding step by step on these fundamentals the problems of the final polish on most stones will become just a routine step.
HOW TO PUT A FINAL POLISH ON AMBER
Sep00 News Nuggets
From Ruth Forest via The Polished Slab via Golden Spike and Pickhammer News 5/00.
Put a final polish on amber with Brasso (a brass polish) or Zam on a soft buff such as unstitched muslin. A hard buff will produce heat and can melt the amber.
STABILIZING POROUS STONES
From ROCKHOUND NEWSLETTER
Via DIGGIN’S FROM DAKOTA l/82
Gen Buresh, Editor
July l982 News Nuggets
If you would like to try your luck at stabilizing a porous stone such as turquoise so it can be cut and polished, the Silvery Colorado River Rock Club offers these instructions:
Take a jar with a lid; add one pint of acetone. To this, add the complete contents of both the resin and the hardener tubes of epoxy glue, mixing well. Add well-dried stones, cover the jar, and let remain for at least four days.
Remove stones and allow a week for them to dry. They should now be stabilized and ready for working
Tips & Tricks:
Tumbling Add white table sugar to the pre-polish and polish stages. It is a mild abrasive and also thickens the slurry.
Perfect Round Cabs I solved this problem years ago when making tiny round gemstone eyes for ivory carvings I was making.
I super glued the tiny piece of stone onto the end of a finishing nail. Once the glue set I chucked the nail in my #30 Foredom hand piece, I hung the Foredom close to my grinding unit. With the Foredom and grinding machine turned on I just slowly moved the rotating stone into the rotating wheel and in no time had a perfectly round tube. I then used a diamond file to shape the tiny dome required.
From this point forward if I ever needed a round cab, I’d just find the nail that suited my needs, cut it to length for the Foredom, glue my stone to it and had my round cab in no time. I have made round cabs in all sizes at this point, you can actually round and dome your stone then hit it on the 600 belt without ever turning the Foredom or your machine off. On large stones it is best that you rough round the stone a little prior to spinning it in the handpiece.
Years of Experience Shared...
Wind Chimes
Slabs of good agate, jade, jasper or chalcedony make good wind chimes. The slabs should be cut in various thicknesses and sizes for tonal effects. After they are cut and shaped, tumble or polish them on both sides.
They may now be drilled at one point or small hangers maybe made of copper, brass or silver wire. One type can be made by taking a piece of wire and hammering each end to flatten it. The wire is then bent almost double and the ends epoxied to the stone with enough space left in the bent part to fasten the string. If you don't want to make hangers, bails, bell caps, or up-eyes are available at rock shops. Twenty-one slabs make a fine set of chimes.
Now for the top piece, which is a lamp base canopy (you can get it at any store that sells lighting fixtures). It is that dish-like piece of metal fastened to the ceiling from which a hanging lamp is suspended. Turn the base upside down to use. Run a heavy piece of copper wire through the center hole. One end is formed into a hook for hanging on a chain, the other into a loop on which to tie the center slab. Drill 4 holes halfway between the center and the edge of the base insert wire, make loops on each end, the outside loops to hold the wires in place, and the inside loops for suspending the slabs.
Around the rim drilled 16 holes. Smooth them carefully so they won't cut the nylon line; or fasten clothing eyelets in them with the tool that comes with the eyelets. These are very smooth and won't cut the line. Now you can assemble your masterpiece, hanging one slab to each hole via nylon fishing line and varying the length of the line for each.
Lapidary Hints
Lapidary hints and tips--a collection we've discovered, read, or our customers have shared. If you have one to add, please send it to us at rockshop@rocks4u.com.
1. Need somewhere to store your 6" sanding and polishing discs? Use an inexpensive music CD case. They fit in the pockets perfectly, and you can label each pocket with a different grit number.
2. FLAT or VIBRA-LAPPING TIPS:
For best results, use graded abrasives for lapping.
We recommend 220 grit for rough grind and 600 grit for fine grind.
Final Polish with Tin Oxide.
3. TUMBLING HINTS for APACHE TEARS:
When attempting to polish "Apache tears" we have heard of lots of personal "recipes". Here are some methods you may want to try.
1. In steps 3 & 4, add corn syrup to the load to slow down the action. This thickens the slurry and will keep the Apache tears from scratching themselves.
2. Use cerium oxide as a polish, and use it with oatmeal. Let it go for several weeks. Do NOT add water in this method. Polish dry.
3. Use a vibrating polisher. These type polishers do not have the harsh action a rotary polisher has.
SAVE USED POSTAGE STAMPS FOR CANCER RESEARCH!
GIVE A HOOT - DON"T POLLUTE! KEEP MONTANA GREEN
