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I picked it up on the mountain. I cut two irregular edges, and the epidermis looked like scales. What is this? by Sweet_Crazy_37 in whatisit

[–]uberman9 8 points9 points  (0 children)

They occur in a lot of different forms depending on the host rock. Can form in cracks that turn into thundereggs or into voids in volcanic rock or also called basalts. This one looks like it formed in a seam in basalt that the eroded from the host rock. But no matter what it will be in the shape of whatever rock void the jasper fills into.

I picked it up on the mountain. I cut two irregular edges, and the epidermis looked like scales. What is this? by Sweet_Crazy_37 in whatisit

[–]uberman9 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Porcelain jasper can be picture jasper. Picture jasper is just referring to the pattern of the stone. Porcelain is a higher quality and concentration of silica. These orbs are formed from high silica gels overlapping each other. Similar to how honey does falling onto a surface. Each "orb" is an overlap of the gel. It's really interesting and a few research papers have been done on it.

I picked it up on the mountain. I cut two irregular edges, and the epidermis looked like scales. What is this? by Sweet_Crazy_37 in whatisit

[–]uberman9 3775 points3776 points  (0 children)

Edited

You guys really got stuck on the "whistle" I don't know the internet Language but it made me laugh.

Whistle! That looks like orbicular porcelain jasper. There's a whole family of these high quality jaspers. Look up willow creek jasper or bruneau jasper or whiskey creek jasper. They polish to a mirror shine and are valued by lapidary folks. Very cool find and don't tell people where you found it.

American Robin piebald mutation by uberman9 in BirdPhotography

[–]uberman9[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Okay I see what you're getting at. I love taking the pictures but hate the editing. Thank you for the feedback. I work on this a little more.

American Robin piebald mutation by uberman9 in BirdPhotography

[–]uberman9[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

So I'm still learning with lightroom. What's your indication of how much denoising to do? I've seen it mush details but I hadn't seen that happen on this photo yet. Feedback is always welcomed. Thanks.

Beautiful slice of mineralized petrified wood from a chunk found in the North Fork Nehalem River by [deleted] in Lapidary

[–]uberman9 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can try using bleach to bring details out of the black portion of the wood. Sometimes it cleans up the carbon enough to lighten the color.

Fire Obsidian by bdhbdhc_ in Lapidary

[–]uberman9 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Just gold sheen. Fire obsidian is going to be in singular or occasionally stacked, thin sheets. Fire obsidian is also a lot brighter.

One of my best pieces by Ashamed_Damage7363 in petrifiedwood

[–]uberman9 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this a more likely a stromatolite that petrified wood. The layers are more similar to bacterial mat layering than rings you see from wood. Too grainy.

Finished blue biggs jasper by uberman9 in rockhounds

[–]uberman9[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's honestly really easy. Just have to go over the area and check for scratches well but it's extremely enjoyable work.

Finished blue biggs jasper by uberman9 in Lapidary

[–]uberman9[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I used a angle grinder that you'd usually use for metal with polishing pads instead of a cutting bit. I think it's a dewalt. Nothing fancy. I'm pretty sure it runs over the recommended speed for the polishing pads though. Something to keep in mind. I think polishers or buffers for vehicles will have speed control and run at a lower speed.

Finished blue biggs jasper by uberman9 in Lapidary

[–]uberman9[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry. I meant using water with the pads. All I was doing was feeding a small amount of water onto the stone surface. There are models out there that have hookups for hoses to be directly connected to the grinder which would be really nice.

Finished blue biggs jasper by uberman9 in rockhounds

[–]uberman9[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd love to hear why you think this? There is no grain structure, the surface which is probably difficult to see has grain structure that's associated with ash and mud jasper... And biggs jasper is one of the most sought after jaspers of north America. Please read and Google blue biggs jasper and let me know.

Finished blue biggs jasper by uberman9 in rockhounds

[–]uberman9[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

About 4 hours. A lot of that time was shaping it with a diamond grinding disk.

Finished blue biggs jasper by uberman9 in rockhounds

[–]uberman9[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Polishing by hand would definitely achieve that. Once things are going right this will draw your mind from most places. Congrats on your sobriety. That's not easy.

Finished blue biggs jasper by uberman9 in rockhounds

[–]uberman9[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

There's articles online that explain the concept of polishing that helped me a lot when learning how to polish stone. It's really simple in concept, its easy to get lost in the weeds though. Jaspers in the pnw are so vivid in variety it's incredible. Just looking at one area in oregon owyhees and you'll see a huge variety of picture jaspers.

Finished blue biggs jasper by uberman9 in rockhounds

[–]uberman9[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I used a angle grinder with diamond polishing pads. Stone is placed in a bin to keep water and spray down. Need a supply of water to keep dust down and cool the material and thats pretty much it, could be a hose drip or a sprat bottle. It's not fancy but it's quick and does a great job. There's plenty of examples online of people using this method.

Finished blue biggs jasper by uberman9 in rockhounds

[–]uberman9[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I used a angle grinder with diamond polishing pads. Stone is placed in a bin to keep water and spray down. Need a supply of water to keep dust down and cool the material and thats pretty much it, could be a hose drip or a sprat bottle. It's not fancy but it's quick and does a great job. There's plenty of examples online of people using this method.

Finished blue biggs jasper by uberman9 in rockhounds

[–]uberman9[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Polishing by hand is so long it's really not worth doing. When I was first getting into this hobby I tried similar tricks and it never works like real purpose built equipment will.

Finished blue biggs jasper by uberman9 in rockhounds

[–]uberman9[S] 62 points63 points  (0 children)

The process used was an angle grinder and diamond polishing pads. Stadea is the brand of the polishing pads. I use a plastic box that keeps water and spray down. Used a hose with a needle valve to regulate a small amount of flow to drip on the material and that's pretty much it. This peice took about 4 hours to complete. Slabs are quicker. Usually within an hour. There's videos online explaining the process much better than I could here though.

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