Chippers’ Chatter · K 2-Blue is found at the base of K2 in the area of Gilgit-Baltistan at an...

Chippers’ ChatterChippers’ ChatterNewsletter of the Chesapeake Gem & Mineral Society

Baltimore, Maryland <chesapeakegemandmineral.org>

Volume 60, Number 6June, 2016

Elsewhere In This Issue

Words from Barbara .................... 2Meeting Minutes ......................... 3Birthdays ..................................... 3Member News ............................. 4Show News .................................. 4K2 Blue ........................................ 4Bench Tips ................................... 5Zincite .......................................... 6Keeping Motors Running ............. 7Wildacres ..................................... 8Safety Matters ............................. 9Fire Agate .................................. 10Picnic News ............................... 11Upcoming Events ....................... 12

It’s June! It’s Auction Time! While it’s not yet officially summer, it is officially June and time for the 2nd

of our annual auctions. Preview will begin at 7:15 with the bidding starting right after our short busi-ness meeting.

If you have items to sell, give Bernie a call asap (410-832-5906) to reserve your spot on the table. Maximum number of lots each person may offer for sale is 12. If you’re a seller, please fill out the auc-tion forms found on our website (www.chesapeakeg-emandmineral.org/newsletter.html) and bring them with you the night of the auction. Two copies of Auc-tion Form I are needed. Please write or type legibly!

cliparts.co/auction-clip-art

Nibbles ‘N Noshesby Liz & Wendy Stanne

We had a table full of delicious treats for our May meeting! Thank you to the members who brought them in for us. We had cookies, cup-cakes, brownies, chocolate pretzel bark, chips and dip and even a few more healthy foods - like fruit and veggies!

For June, our famous “Auction Four” have signed up to bring in the goodies:

Mary ChandlerPhyllis Dyer

Lynne EmeryPatricia Smith

What a Show!from Lynne & Bernie

We would like to thank everyone who helped at our show both Friday night set-up and all day Saturday with info table, si-lent auction, children’s table and then take-down. It was truly a group effort.

I would especially like to thank one of our newer members, Jat Thompson, who jumped right in and helped with both set-up and take-down as well as with the silent auction. It’s exciting for Chesapeake to have new members who don’t hesitate to get involved!

We of course don’t charge admission so getting a fix on our attendance is difficult, but we certainly had a large, steady and eager crowd throughout the day. We saw lots of packages being taken to cars throughout the day so our visitors must have been happy with what they found.

Thank you all.

Chippers’ Chatter – June, 2016

Members of the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical & Lapidary Societies

Affiliated with the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies.

The Chesapeake Gem & Mineral Society was established in order to al-low its members to gain knowledge and skills in various phases of the Earth Sci-ence field. Through field trips, exhibi-tions, and cooperation with other soci-eties, we endeavor to further not only our own knowledge, but also that of the general public. Meetings are held on the 2nd Fri-day of each month except July & August at the Westchester Community Cen-ter, 2414 Westchester Ave; Oella, MD.. Meetings begin at 7:30 P.m. and visitors are always welcome. Dues are $15 for individuals, $25 for family memberships.

Officers:President - Barb Kays

<chesapeakegem at gmail.com>

Vice President - John Buchleitner<chesapeakegem at gmail.com>

Recording Secretary - Carolyn Weinberger<chesapeakegem at gmail.com>

Corresponding Sec’y - Patty Lortie<chesapeakegem at gmail.com>

Treasurer - Steve Weinberger<chesapeakegem at gmail.com>

Past President - Richard Hoff<chesapeakegem at gmail.com>

Directors: 2016 2016-17 Jim Hooper Bob Farrar Richard Meszler Kathy Kaneda

Editor:Carolyn Weinberger

<chesapeakegem at gmail.com>

Deadline is the 15th of each month.

Non-commercial reprint permission granted to non-profit organizations

unless otherwise noted.

ChesapeakeGem & Mineral

Society

A Few Words from Barbaraby Barbara Kays, President

Happy June to all;

Here we are half way through the year and fi-nally finding our way out of the tall, rain fed grass-es. Now we can begin to complain about the hot and dry summer! Richard has managed to link up with other clubs and arranged for two field trips so far with promises for more as the season progresses. As usual, he reports that the quarry owners are pleased with how our club members respect the rules and practice such good safety habits when collecting.

The last meeting was a little sparse with about ten members immersed in gem and mineral related fun at Wildacres. They had their week of fun while we had a most rewarding and interesting hour of slide show and chat with Wayne Werner, a fascinating speaker. Several of the anecdotes were about our own Richard Hoff. I personally have never seen metal look so fluid and flow-ing when made into jewelry. His pieces were a trip into illusions as he created depth with just selective polishing. I, for one, would enjoy another evening with him.

By now another successful show is history. It sometimes feels that the show is just another excuse for us to meet and enjoy a day of fellowshipping. A huge “Thank You” to everyone who helped in some way. As usual, Bernie makes or-ganizing the whole thing look like a breeze. And after years of planning shorter “fairs” for our preschool and scouts, I know it is not as easy as it looks. It takes everyone.

We were reminded that our picnic is coming up July 8th at the Johnssons. People can start arriving around 5:30 with the meal starting later. BRING YOUR OWN CHAIRS. As usual, cash donations towards supplies are welcomed. Rich-ard has promised to bring Rock Bingo and to run the Ugly Rock contest. He and Barry usually supply the prizes; if anyone has a few things to add to the pot, please bring them to the meeting this week and give them to Richard.

It will be nice to have everyone here for our scheduled auction this month. See you there.

Barbara


May Meeting Minutesfrom Kathy Kaneda

Pearls and Alexandrites are the birthstones for June. Both are fabulous; one for their natural beauty and one for its dynamic color change phenomenon.

Congratulations to those celebrating their birthday during June:

Kerri Lastner - 4Gloria Cox - 5

Patty Lortie - 6Kathy Kaneda - 12Gary White - 12

Mary Chandler - 18Earle Pfetzing - 29

The May 13th meeting was called to order by Presi-dent Barbara Kays at 7:45 pm. Minutes of the April were accepted and the treasurers report stated that the financ-es “were looking good”.

There were approximately 25 in attendance with 1 visitor who was the speaker, Wayne Werner. Due to the fact that the speaker had to leave early, we had a speaker presentation first, followed by a meeting.

Richard Hoff, Past President, introduced Wayne Wer-ner, jeweler and 3rd generation metal smith. Wayne’s talk was entitled “Into the Labyrinth Exploring Forging, Stone Setting, and Finishing Surfaces” . Wayne’s talk showed his creations from early works to his most current pieces of art. He described how the work was done and some of the challenges and opportunities he faced when working with various metals and sones such as opals and sapphires. He spoke of his education, people he met who have inspired him, and global travel experiences in the field. He brought samples and specimens of his work for us to see.

Wayne also spoke of jewelry photography and warned that when having photographs taken, know the photogra-pher’s policy and copyrights. Wayne ended his program giving kudos to Richard Hoff whom he valued as a great technician and person to work with .

Committee Reports: Personals – It was suggested that we send Virginia a card which she really enjoys receiving. Helen and Andy Herman will be at the upcoming show and will be exhibiting. Sydney’s service was said to be most peaceful. And we offer our condolences to Barry for the loss of his wife.

Mineral of the Month Jim Hooper, John Thompson, Al Pribula brought some Creedite which was on display. They each spoke a bit about their specimen. Jat Thompson brought some Hematite. Becky brought some Labradorite.

Participation Contest Contest prizes to be given out at end of year were shown and discussed: Malachite silver pendant Pyrite Kyanite on quartz

Upcoming Meetings The picnic will be on July 8th at the Johnssons. Dona-tions and or supplies will be appreciated. Bring a chair. Car-olyn will supply a sign up list (evite) for supplies and food. Contributions for prizes will be needed. We will have the annual “ugly rock” contest. The June meeting will be an auction. There will be no meeting in August.

Safety Use protection always and abide by Fed OSHA guide-lines.

Field Trip: 14 people attended the Beaver Creek Trip, but little material was found. Medford Quarry and other trips will be announced.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 pm

submitted by Kathy Kaneda, Secretary pro tem


It was good to see Virginia at our show and we wish her continued good health.

Gary White has made some progress, but has a long way to go.

We have more get wells to the following members- Barb Kays for her back Kevin Odland for his right fore arm and Becky Kays for her neck/spine and related issues

Let’s keep these people in our thoughts and prayers.

from Lynne Emery

Show Newsby Carolyn Weinberger

Despite three cancellations on Friday morning, Bernie was able to go to his “wait list” and fill the vacant spots. Vendors present displayed (and sold) a wide variety of min-erals, cutting rough, fossils, jewelry, magazines and tools.

Despite a few showers, a long line of eager patrons began forming outside the armory prior to our 10 am opening. They were followed by a spirited group of buyers for most of the day. And....it appears that most stayed for quite a long time.

Among the “sellers” were members Andy and Helen Serras-Herman, who made the trip from their home in Ari-zona to be with us. Although Helen did not bring her fabu-lous gem sculptures, she did have a wide variety of lovely necklaces and earrings along with slabs and bags of cutting rough. Members (and fans) enjoyed the opportunity of talk-ing with them and purchasing a “Helen” for their collection.

People appeared happy as we chatted with them throughout the day and in the ever popular food line. And many asked when our next show would be held!

Steve and I didn’t buy much (most dealers don’t carry micromounts), but our new calcites with Hedenbergite inclu-sions from China are really neat as is the smoky herkimer.

K 2-Blue is found at the base of K2 in the area of Gilgit-Baltistan at an altitude of about 15,000ft. It is a unique and rather rare occurrence. Azurite and Malachite are almost chemically identical.

Azurite’s Formula is: Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2, Malachite’s For-mula: Cu2(CO3)(OH)2. If it were not for the elevation and envi-ronment in which K2 was cre-ated, there would probably be green malachite balls inside of the matrix instead of blue azur-ite. This particular formation of azurite is needle like and forms ball like aggregates which lends to unique cutting of rough. No matter which angle you slice it at you will come out with perfect little balls in a 360 circle because these azurite balls are 3 dimensional.

Azurite often forms with malachite however due to the altitude in which k2 blue is formed, the copper does not oxidize as much, which is a rarity in itself. Yet, I have seen it included with light green balls which probably means that it was mined at a lower elevation where there was more water available to mix with the oxygen to allow oxidization. Water holds less oxygen at low barometric pressure (high altitude), therefore the azurite stays blue. Azurite holds less water in it than malachite so the copper in malachite will oxidize fast-er. This explains the color changes and why they are usually found together. The oxidization of azurite actually changes it into malachite. If K2-Blue were formed at a lower altitude it would change colors and chemical composition.

The azurite floats permanently suspended in albite and quartz. The strontium is grey and turns a (very faint) yellowish brown color when it hits the air which leaves an unusual warm colored matrix with a cool colored blue in its midst. The circumstance of its formation has lent it some very unique and beautiful qualities. It also contains tita-nium which show as tiny sparkly flakes flashing in the light, surrounded by darker flecks of chromium and manganese which polishes easily and is surprisingly easy to cab. Espe-cially if you are used to working with harder crystals.

When it was first analyzed, the tests showed that it was

K-2 Blueby Anastasia Chaparro via the Hound’s Tale, April, 2016

continued on page 5


by Brad Smith

Quick Close-Ups Often when trying to get a close-up photo with your iPhone or Android, you end up with a fuzzy, out-of-focus image. Next time try using your loupe over the camera lens. It works quickly and easily.

Little Things Can Bite Most jewelers treat motorized equipment with cau-tion. We’ve all heard stories about workpieces coming loose in the drill press or about getting long hair or clothing caught in the polishing machine. It stands to reason that a machine with a motor of a half horsepower or so is going to win out over its operator. We all know that, and I’m not going to harp on it. That’s not the point of this story.

I want to talk about the smaller motor powered ma-chines we often use, the ones with little 3 inch diameter motors. For instance, these small motors are used in flex-shafts and micro buffers. They”re so small that many of us forget caution when using them. I’m guilty of it my-self sometimes, and believe me it can get you in trouble. Here’s what happened to two people I know.

One friend had a polishing bur bend in the handpiece and then whack the thumb that was holding the workpiece so badly that it seemed the bone might be broken. The swelling was substantial, and it took several weeks to regain normal use. A small underpowered motor? I don’t think so.

Another friend was using one of the small buffing ma-chines, the kind you can stop when you apply too much pressure to the wheel. Not to worry about such an under-powered beast you say. Wrong, it literally jumped up and bit the hand that feeds it!

Buffer was set on a low table to do a quick polish, so was not mounted or clamped. A buff was installed on the right spindle, no buff on the left. Friend was wearing a tight-fitting, long-sleeved sweater. While buffing on the right wheel, the left tapered spindle caught a thread on the friend’s left sleeve and started grabbing more and more threads and sleeve.

Rather than pulling the arm into the machine, the light buffer quickly lifted off the table and started climbing up the underside of the friends arm. There was no way to get a hand of the on/off switch because the unit was spinning wildly and battering my friend like a club wielded by a mad man. Only when my friend could grab the gyrating power cord and yank it from the wall did the mayhem stop.

So when you’re in the shop, please think safety. Don’t take even those little motors for granted.

“Bench Tips for Jewelry Making” and “Broom Casting for Creative Jewelry” are available on Amazon.

Albite, Quartz/Microcline. When further tests were com-pleted, it was determined that K2-Blue consisted of Blue Orbs of Azurite, with Manganese, Titanium, Strontium, and Chromium, as Secondary Minerals of Concentration. These tests were ordered by Gary Andruss who is a rockhound adventurer, however the website now states that you can order directly from Pakistan instead of through him. The website is: <k2blue.com/>.

In the picture of the rough, note that it has not been polished in any way, and there are examples of cross sections to show the 360 degree azurite balls at dif-ferent cutting angles. I have also added pictures of finished cabs to show the shine.

K-2 Bluecontinued from page 4


Zincite: Industrial Smelting Byproductby Rachel L. Best, from Pick & Dop Stick, May 2016

I am a novice mineral collector and when I asked another CRMS member, also a novice, which mineral they wanted to see featured in The Pick and Dop Stick, they suggested zincite be-cause it was a new addition to their collection. Mention of his-toric localities such as Sterling Hill and Franklin, New Jersey seem necessary, but these locali-ties are not where these crystals came from. The specimen label stated it came from Poland. After a bit of research, I found that the zincite that is currently being sold isn’t even considered a mineral. A mineral is a solid inorganic substance that occurs in nature — outside the influence of man.

In nature, zincite forms through the metamorphism of weathered ore deposits. Natural zincite, such as that found in New Jersey, can form as widely dispersed particles within its matrix, as compact granular crystals often rounded and corrod-ed, as fibrous fine-grained inclusions, or as rounded irregular masses. Crystals of a significant size are extremely rare.

Zincite is zinc oxide (ZnO). It forms translucent to sub-translucent crystals in a dihexagonal pyramidal system. Its cleavage is perfect, but difficult, and it has a conchoidal frac-ture. The luster of zincite is sub-vi treous, resinous, waxy, greasy, silky, dull, or earthy, and its streak is orange-yellow. It is sub-metallic and a relatively heavy mineral. It is brittle and has a hardness of 4 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness.

Sometime during the 1970s, when Poland was still be-hind the Iron Curtain, a supposed industrial smelting ac-cident at a zinc-based paint processing plant in Tarnowskie Gory, Silesia created the unique, large, multi-colored zinc-ite crystals and clusters seen on the market today. The exact series of events is shrouded in secrecy and the de-scription given at the time was an “undetermined error oc-curred during the production process” at this facility.

Perhaps a design flaw in the furnace caused an explo-sion, or the smelting furnace started on fire and the sup-porting walls subsequently cracked, or a chimney or piping sprang a leak — whatever the cause, it was ultimately a catastrophic breakdown of the furnace. The resulting in-flux of relatively cool oxygen mixed with zinc vapors within the furnace and, through vapor deposition, zincite was spontaneously deposited throughout the system. A simple

Photo: Rachel L. Best

leak in a pipe that holds zinc vapor can form crystals on the outside of the pipe where the vapor mixes with oxygen.

In the 1990s, Polish authorities imposed stricter environ-mental regulations on their zinc smelters. Furnace designs were mandated to be upgraded, and all smokestacks were or-dered to be cleaned. Zincite has been recovered from smoke-stacks, vents, flues, and piping of old zinc-smelt-ing furnaces throughout the region. The colors of this 1970’s smelting by-product were stated in a 1995 GIA publication as “yellow, orange, orangey red, and (very few) yel-lowish green.” A single crystal cluster can impressively display all these colors in one specimen.

Zincite has also turned up at other smelting locations and zinc mines due to uncontrolled fires. Slag heaps often contain still burning residual charcoal and ground ore resi-due. The smoldering charcoal and ore can create pockets lined with zincite coatings and crystals.

Synthetic zincite can also be differentiated from natu-rally formed zincite crystals by their inclusions which do not resemble those in natural material. The lack of manganese and iron is another indicator. Natural material is usually less transparent and more brownish in color. In the past, synthetic zincite has even been passed off as gemstone sphalerite.

The final verdict is that large crystals of zincite are usu-ally synthetic; a smelting byproduct that is present only due to the influence of man.

References: Zincite: Zincite mineral information and data, 2016. Mindat.org/min-4410.html. Accessed April 6, 2016. Zincite...That must have been one HUGE smokestack in Po-land! Mindat Forum. Posted by Justin Zzyzx on www.mindat.org/mesg- 55-59284.html. Accessed April 6, 2016. Gem Trade Lab Notes, Winter 1985. GIA, p. 237. Kammerling, R. C., et al. Gems and Gemology, Spring 1995. Gemological Institute of America, p. 71. Kammerling, R. C., et al. Gems and Gemology, Winter 1995.Gemological Institute of America, p. 296. Kammerling, R. C., et al. Gems and Gemology, Spring 1999. Gemological Institute of America, p. 57.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.org


Keeping Your Machines Running: Motor Capacitors and Why You Should Careby Neal “shop elf” Immega, from Back Bender’s Gazeette, December 2015

If your shop is full of old motors, you need to know about motor capacitors. Capacitors are the most failure-prone por-tions of a motor. The Houston Gem and Mineral Society gets most of its equipment by donation, and that it still works is because we know how to handle them. We rehabilitate grind-ers by putting in new bearings. Old oil-lubricated diamond saws usually do not need any work on their arbors. Electric motors, though, frequently do need some work.

I will concentrate on machines where the motor is connected to the arbor by a V-belt and powered by single-phase standard line current (110 volts). The motor has to provide a substantial starting torque to get a grinder or saw up to speed, and this necessitates that there be at least one capacitor in the circuit. If you are installing a machine and are fishing around in your junk bin for a motor, find one with at least one bump on the outside. That is wherethe capacitor is located. Motors that run off line current and do not have a capacitor are intended for uses like pow-ering a fan where there is essentially no starting load. DO NOT USE THESE MOTORS on saws or grinders. Really.

One-Bump Motors: Motors with one capacitor use it to start the rotor spinning. When it gets up to speed, you will hear a “click” when it disconnects from the circuit. Follow this decision tree to detect the reason for a problem. 1. With power applied, motor hums but does not spin up except when it is manually turned—replace capacitor. I have opened machines and found the capacitor EXPLODED! 2. With power applied, motor does not hum or spin—likely a bad motor, discard. 3. With power applied, motor spins up slowly—check and replace capacitor. 4. Capacitor has a blown pressure seal (see pictures on next page)—replace capacitor. 5. You do not hear a click as the motor speeds up, AND the motor has a capacitor—open up the housing and clean and lubricate the centrifugal switch (WD40 works fine). Reassemble and retest. You will burn up the motor if the centrifugal switch does not open after a second. 6. Measured capacitor rating (see below for how to measure) does not equal the rating printed on the cap. Start capacitors are rated with a range such as 189-245 mfd. The capacity you measure should fall in this range, or you should replace the capacitor.

Testing Capacitors: This is easy. Buy a cheap capacitor tester off eBay.com and use it. Disconnect the motor and

discharge the capacitor with a screwdriver before testing. I test all the capacitors when I am doing an install and when-ever there is a problem. The ex-ploded capacitors shown here test to within specifi-cations, but I am discarding them just the same. Caps are cheap compared to mo-tors. I buy replace-ment capacitors from eBay and from HVAC stores like Johnson Supply.

Ratings: Always replace capacitors with identical MFD rated units. If you cannot read the label on the can or on the motor faceplate, discard the motor. You cannot just guess. BUT the voltage rating is not so hard and fast. Wehave some very old, still working equipment in the shop like the 20” diamond saw that I used as a summer hire in the Mobil Field Research Lab in 1971. It has come back to haunt me. I had the machine apart to work on the motor pulley (see previous article on pulleys at http://www.hgms.org/BBG/ Feb15.pdf) and tested the capacitor. This is a 50+ year old saw, and the capacitor was fine. The capacitor has a voltage rating of 370 volts, which is 3x the line current and that probably explains its survival. Manufacturers givethis rule of thumb for life—10,000 hours at line current, 20,000 at 2x line current, etc. It is very unlikely that this machine has run 30,000 hours in the past 50+ years. I try to buy capacitors that are rated 220 volts or better, but check the physical size because higher-voltage capacitors are always bigger and may not fit the housing.

Two-Bump Motors: They are called Capacitor Start/Capacitor Run motors and draw less current for the same nameplate rating. Our Super Grinder (ganged saw blades on a grinder arbor, see http://www.hgms.org/Articles/ Su-perGrinder.html. Article on page 12) has a 1 HP motor, and we had to buy one new. Actually, we bought new surplus from Surpluscenter.com. We had to have a more efficient motor because we are right at the rating of the breaker box for the whole shop. If you must buy a motor, get one of this type. You test these capacitors the same way as above.

Defective capacitors - replace

continued on page 8


Lubrication: Lubricate old motors as specified on the motor nameplate. Ball bearing motors frequently specify that you use 3 drops of 10-weight oil annually. Sleeve bear-ing machines frequently specify that you use 30 drops. A new motor should not be lubricated for 5 years. Do not over-lubricate. 3-in-One® oil is good, as is 10-wt motor oil.

Running Hot: We have cured some “hot” motors by just blowing the dust out of the vents in the housing! Also, see #5 above about the centrifugal switch. I have had to junk a motor because I could not find why it ran so hot.

Rotation: If you are fortunate, the motor will give direc-tions for wiring it for different voltage/rotation direction. Al-ternatively, many motors have 4 wires in their wiring block. Two are labeled L and are for 110 volt line current. The other two are black and red. You can reverse rotation by reversing the red/ black connections. See picture below Genie, Titan, and other makes with wheels on the motor arbor: These machines have a start capacitor in the housing which should be tested when a used machine is installed. Since the motor is totally enclosed for protection from water, it runs hotter than other motors with ventilation.

Genie, Titan, and other makes with wheels on the motor arbor: These machines have a start capacitor in the housing which should be tested when a used machine is installed. Since the motor is totally enclosed for protection from water, it runs hotter than other motors with ventilation.

ResourcesTutorial on motors: <www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/alternating-current/chpt-13/s ingle-phase-induction-motors/>Capacitance meter: search for “Digital Capacitor Meter” on eBay, and you will find any number of satisfactory units.Motors: surpluscenter.com—better and cheaper than Har-borfreight.com

Capacitorscontinued from page 7

This motor will reverse ro-tation if the red and black leads are swapped on the push-on terminals.

So you missed the spring EFMLS Wildacres Workshop session. Here’s are just a couple of things that you missed out on:

For the fall session (September 5 - 11) we’ll offer class-es in faceting, fused glass, jewelry design, mineral photog-raphy, opal cutting, polymer clay, roadside geology, silver-smithing, and wire wrapping.

The guest speaker-in-residence, Alfredo Petrov, is a world traveler, and mineralogist, but his talks won’t be highly detailed or technical and will be geared to the “gen-eral audience”. He’s an interesting guy who you will enjoy getting to know.

Tuition for the week is $400 per person. This includes room and board. Your only “out-of-pocket” expenses are for the materials you use in class plus any purchases you wish to make in the canteen, during the ever-popular tail gate and during the lots of fun auction. How much extra you spend is up to you.

So come and take the plunge! Classes being offered are: Faceting (with Steve), Fused Glass, Jewelry Design, Opal Cutting, Polymer Clay, Roadside Geology, Uncompli-cated Mineral Photography, Silversmithing (with Richard Meszler) and Wire-wrapped Jewelry. More information, descriptions for the classes and a registration form can be found at <efmls-wildacres.org>

We hope you’ll join us for our fall 2016 EFMLS Wilda-cres Workshop, but do get your registration form and de-posit in quickly since some classes fill quickly.

Six fabulous talks from Helen Serras-Herman

Wonderful views of the mountains

EFMLS Wildacres Fall Workshopby Steve Weinberger


To my knowledge there is no rockhound /mineral collec-tor / fossilhound / lapidary / jewelry maker Safety 101 class being offered anywhere . In my years and years... and years of safety research I’ve sort of made up an informal list of what might be offered if there were such a course .

Now, I’m sure you all as good rockhounds I mineral col-lectors / fossilhounds / lapidary / jewelry makers are aware of, in one form or another, and follow pretty much a self-made list of similar guidelines -- and one more specifical-ly tailored to your particular activities. So, the following list may be more of a reminder for veteran collectors and a good reference list for newcomers to our great hobbies.

1. Prepare yourself both mentally and physically for the task at hand

2. Wear and utilize any and all protective gear suit-able for the task.

3. Stay hydrated and consider bringing additional water with you to offer to those less encumbered with thoughts of keeping hydrated .

4. Keep with you or know there whereabouts of a medi -kit, first-aid kit. Learn how to use the contents of the kit.

5. Let folks know where and when you will be both on the road and situated at a specific location. ( C e l l phone batteries are notorious for quitting at the most in-opportune times.)

6. Keep your personal meds with you.

7. Know the guidelines, safety rules of the mine I quarry I building / equipment one is working with I on I in and by.

8. Keep the “Golden Rule” in mind, and, no, I’m not talking about the rule that says “He who has the gold makes the rules.”

9. Mind the needs of the critters you bring with you, and the critters you meet along the way.

10. Set a good example in all you do. (I have a good story about motor neurons to relate in a later Safety Mat-ters article)

11. Every minute has the potential to be one in which one can learn something and teach something -- or a little bit of both . Take advantage of those opportunities.

12. Take more rest breaks than you might think you need for the task at hand - - your body will thank you. 13. Mind the conditions in which you find yourself - too hot , too cold, too wet , too humid, too deep, too close to an edge or slope , too slippery, too hazardous, tooooo . . . anything.

14. Mind that your actions reflect on your club.

15. Note that your attitude makes a huge difference in what you do and how safe you are.

16. Keep your wits about you at all times, you will need them if not now , then later. Personally I have use up so many wits that I am down to a half of one, but that is another story for another time.

17. Have maps handy . Those GPS batteries are also ones that have a habit of failing when most needed.

18. Our hobby is not a race - take the appropriate amount of time to be safe.

19. Keep a personal protective kit with you in case one gets lost and need to spend more time that planned out in the wilds and woolies.

20. Keep in mind the AFMS Code of Ethics - it is as much a safety guide as it is ethics.

21 . Learn to fly the plane if the pilot is incapacitated - a metaphor of all experiences in life.

22. Clean up after oneself.

As one might imagine this list is in no particular order and every situation demands it’s own specific require-ments . As a general list of guidelines I’m sure another thousand or so could be added without too much thought . This list is just a good starting point.

Be safe, think safety, because ... ...your safety matters.

Safety Matters: Safety 101from AFMS Newsletter, June 2016


Selecting and Polishing Fire Agate by Warren Huges, 1972 via the RockCollector, March 2008

There are several types of fire agates. Most closely re-semble the others in makeup except for those with “sur-face fire” only. You do not want to waste your money or time on these, for it is almost impossible to keep that fire, and you won’t if you attempt to shape the top, so select those you can work easily and that show good fire down deep within the stone. A few of these ay also show some surface fire, but be sure there is fire INSIDE the stone also. The ma-jority of fire agates you will be offered are of the latter type.

In selecting them, don’t be afraid to take a few smaller stones, for their cost is quite small and many make into beautiful gems fine for earrings, tie tacks, smaller ring sets, etc., and by the same token, don’t be afraid of the larger stones IF they show enough fire within them that you an make one large cab or two or three smaller ones from the one rough, for their cost then is small. Do NOT purchase a stone the size of your fist with one small spot of fire showing somewhere on it, for these ARE costly since more than 90% is waste.

After purchasing (or finding) your fire agates, the very first rule to remember is NEVER, NEVER slab a fire agate. The extremely thin layers of “fire” that weave their way more or less horizontally across the rough stone move up and down, and all around, so to speak, and almost invari-ably will be lost to the eye, and extremely hard to relocate, if at all. Save your saw for one purpose only when working fire agate-to remove a finished or partially finished gem from the rest of the rough stone after you have shaped and sanded it. (I polish also).

In examining your fire agates, choose those with good bright fire down in the stone at any location-near or at the surface, or perhaps 1/2” down away from the surface. The patch of fire should be large enough that you can be sure of getting fire to make a nice sized cab or set, and not too thin when viewed from the top-unless you can use it for a pendant or other drop type gem, but do remember that you will have to remove the outer “skin” on each side and polish the sides when you get down to where it lies.

SOMETIMES, for ease of polishing, it is more feasible to separate the two or more stalagmites that comprise the main

stone, and work each as two smaller gems, but again-careful with that saw-sometimes it is easier to gently tap the stone with a very sharp chisel causing it to split into two parts.

After examining your stone and planning what you want to save as a cab, go to your roughest grinding wheel and while using light pressure, slowly remove the top of the tallest stalagmite that makes up the stone. Immediately LOOK, as in many, many cas-es, there will be fire you hadn’t seen before right there. IF so, begin to shape your first cab. If not, grind on down (horizontally, and just above the brown lines of limonite) for 3-5 seconds, STOP, LOOK at the stone care-fully again. If no fire, repeat, over and over until suddenly you do see the fire coming

into view. Now go to 220 grit wheel and move a little closer to the fire-trying to not really touch it (no tragedy will re-sult if you do, as a rule), and then shape the outer limits of the cab. It MAY be necessary at this time to “favor” one side or face of the stone a little (usually the front face if needed at all), in order to align the fire best so that it is in alignment with the center line of the finished cab, and shows its fire best when viewed from directly above, after the cab is finished.

If your stone has multi-layers of fire (and most do have), and you do not like the fire you now see, then grind right on into it and hope for better to show. In most cases you will win the gamble; though you will sometimes lose, of course.

When you have decided on the area of fire you want, shape it again, then move to the sander. I personally go to the 100 grit again, but use very light tough on a well worn cloth, then 220, then 400, and finally 600, which in itself will almost polish the gem. From here polish your gem in any manner you would normally polish any agate or pet-rified wood. My own preference is diamond, using these meshes: 325-600-14000-50000-100000 for a fine finish.

On the Mexican fire agates, it is not at all uncommon to get two or even three finished gems-one directly be-low the other, so check for this after you have taken your completed gem off of the rough. Another (and to me first)

Aguascalientes, MexicoPhoto: Rob Lavinsky at i-Rocks.com from Mindat.org. Used under the

Creative Commons License

continued on page 11


Auctions - Lynne and Bernie Emery

Directory (address changes) Patty Lortie Field Trips - Richard Hoff

Greeters - Barbara Buchleitner

Hospitality - Liz & Wendy Stanne

Committee Chairpersons

Mineral of the Month - Jim Hooper

Personals/Announcements/ Sunshine - Lynne Emery and Patricia Smith

Programs - Richard Hoff, Keith Kaneda & Tony Wilner

Safety - Johnny Johnsson

Show - Bernie & Lynne Emery

Showcase - Steve Dyer

Telephone Chain Lynne Emery Phylllis Dyer Dawn Johnsson Mary Chandler Liz Stanne Wendy Stanne

On the Horizon....July Picnic Fun It’s time for the Chesapeake annual summer picnic!

Mark the date on your cal-endar so you don’t miss out on an always pleasant evening at the Johnssons. The date is Friday, July 8th beginning around 5 pm.

Bring along a garden chair and a side-dish to share.

As always, the club will provide hot dogs and buns, soft drinks and paper goods. It’s up to the rest of us to provide the salads, fried chicken, ribs, and desserts.

We’ll send out an e-vite in early June asking you to con-firm your attendance. Please RSVP so that we know about how many dogs, buns, and paper goods to purchase.

Richard has promised to bring along the always pop-ular “Rock Bingo” cards and prizes for the lucky winners to select from. He’ll also emcee the infamous Ugly Rock contest. If you enter the Ugly Rock Contest, bring along your ugliest rock and be prepared to tell a fabulous (not necessarily true) story about it. The person with the most intriquing story will win a prize.

So save the date now! We’ll provide more details and directions to the Johnsson’s home next month.

thing to check for is to roll the gem over and examine that side-hoping to find a good “Starfire”, and it happens fre-quently. IF you have one, you will know it the instant you see it. Those beautiful points of many colored lights speak for themselves. Almost invariably, you will want to make this into the new top.

Of the ones [fire agates] we do have-and they are scarce when compared to other gems, only a certain per-centage are truly fine gem quality. When you have a real GEM FIRE AGATE you have something RARE, and more and more people are discovering its beauty and individuality-as well as its durability because of its hardness of 7-7.5, and more people are learning the thrill that comes with the discovery of a true gem within the rough material they are working on.

Fire Agatecontinued from page 10

Photo: <FireAgate.com> Used under Creative Commons License.


Carolyn Weinberger PO Box 302 Glyndon, MD 21071-0302

June: 4: Field trip to Vulcan Manassas Quarry. Info via e-mail to members. 7: Gem Cutters Guild meeting - program on Tucson 2016. Meadow Mill at Woodberry, 7:30 pm 10: Chesapeake Auction Meeting at Westchester Community Center – 7:30 pm. 18: Region IV Picnic, Gilbert Run Recreational Park 18: Field trip to Vulcan Manassas Quarry. Info via e-mail to members.

July: 8: Chesapeake picnic at the Johnsson’s. See page 11 for details. 27: Balto. Mineral Society meeting at Natural History Society of Maryland - 7:30 pm. Program to be announced. 28-31: AFMS/NFMS Convention & Show, Albany, OR.

August: 12-14: East Coast Gem & Mineral Show; West Springfield, MA. Over 200 top quality dealers featuring earth sience relat-ed items for sale. Info: <www.mzexpos.com/east_coast.html>

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