How to Store a Rock Collection for Documentation

Know what you’ve got and document it! If self-collected, record the locality and date of collection. If purchased, record when, where, from whom, and the price paid. If trading with a fellow collector, record the transaction. “Provenance” is important in the collecting world and adds value. Keep a ledger and include a catalog number on each specimen. On a personal note, as a member of a gem club, I receive collections for our club museum and it is a rare joy when donations come with numbered specimens and a catalog. You can build a catalog with a handwritten ledger or, better, with database software. Whatever route you choose, don’t just keep loose cards with specimens. I knew a lady who lived in a rambling Victorian house and kept a Victorian-style collection—a bit of everything haphazardly placed in an eclectically cluttered funhouse. Regrettably, she stored all info on loose cards and in her head. Over the years, maids vacuumed up the cards while her memory of the specimens disappeared. This left her heirs with a superb collection much diminished in value. If you have specimens you purchased, keep the cards that came with them but also maintain an updated rock collection catalog.

Assessing Your Collection

After documenting your collection, consider having it appraised. Most collections are “specimen collections” of primarily common pieces. While a fossil may be near and dear, if it’s not truly world-class, it’s not worth your time to appraise. Pare down and focus on stuff that is truly rare, unusual, or would be in demand in a market environment. Per the late-great comedian George Carlin, junk is stuff we toss, but stuff is junk we keep. Assess good stuff, not junk!

Where to Get an Appraisal

Where to get a rock collection appraisal? Many gem clubs get requests but are not qualified and as nonprofits are not allowed to provide legal appraisals. Fancy auction houses like Sotheby’s mean paying fancy fees. A good place to start is a local jewelry store with staff who are GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certified. While it’s easy to find someone to appraise jewelry or cut gemstones, it’s more difficult with specimen minerals or fossils. Gem show dealers might appraise what you’ve self-collected or purchased.

However, some warn against going to dealers because they may have an interest in purchasing your collection and provide a low-ball assessment then pressure you to sell to them. It’s best to go to a neutral third party. If turning to an outside entity, seek agencies with qualifications and those versed in the category best matching your collection. Such companies sometimes advertise in hobby magazines or on websites.

Although some auction houses sponsor “appraisal days” with free verbal assessments, most appraisals come with fees based on the assessed value. Appraisers may charge a “per-piece” fee, an hourly fee, or another rate for services. If turning to an appraiser with an especially large collection, negotiate regarding fees and what sort of documentation will be produced.

Appraisal Alternative

Alternatively, do a self-assessment. If a specimen was purchased, what did you pay for it? Keep in mind: what you paid doesn’t necessarily reflect worth. One person paid $9,000 for a sapphire only to discover it was worth $30 after a professional appraisal. That said, compare specimens in your collection against going rates via online shops like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. Search the internet and gem show aisles to see retail for “like” items.

The main thing to seek? A fair-market value you can document. Don’t go to a “We Buy Gold!” shop offering a commodity price for your carefully crafted collection of gold nuggets. What is the price fellow collectors might pay? Whatever route you choose, have a rationale behind assigned values. Use hard market data either deduced by yourself or obtained from an impartial third party, not based on sentimental value. Also, some insurance companies don’t accept self-assessments and insist on independent evaluations. This could cost you big bucks, so focus on unique pieces within your collection. Search the web for appraisers within your region.

Where to Get Insurance

After appraising a rock collection, most turn to their regular homeowner’s insurance. This can be the most inexpensive option, but while many companies are versed in insuring jewelry, not all have expertise regarding specimen minerals and fossils. And while homeowner’s insurance may provide coverage in a “personal articles floater,” such a floater may be exorbitantly expensive and most fail to offer full replacement cost. Seek better deals with specialized insurers offering “collectibles insurance.” As an example, one collector spends $120/year with a specialized insurer for a 200-piece collection worth $17,000 when her regular homeowner’s policy turned her down.

What Insurance to Get for Your Collection

You can get a rider on your homeowner’s insurance policy, but they say not to bother for individual pieces or an entire rock collection that isn’t worth at least a minimum amount. Most policies exclude or severely limit the value of coverage for collectibles, but if you have a small collection of ordinary specimens, this may be your best bet.

Alternatively, some companies focus specifically on gems and collectibles both for appraisal services and insurance for especially high-value collections. When seeking insurers—as in seeking appraisers— check advertisements within hobby magazines and/or do an internet search.

Whatever route, seek a policy insuring against theft, accidental breakage, fire/ water damage, and natural disasters. If you attend gem shows as an exhibitor, consider coverage for travel and show attendance. Finally, seek insurers versed in the unique properties involved in one-of-a-kind collectibles, including such concepts as “replacement value” versus “fair market value” or “agreed-value coverage” versus “actual or standard cash value.”

Protecting Your Rock Collection

If you wish to insure a collection, you’ll need to provide evidence that you’re protecting that collection. Store specimens in cabinets or flats. High-value items should be locked in a safe. Place small items with outsized values in a safety deposit box. Alternatively, adopt a high-strung Doberman Pinscher! As some members of my Ventura Gem & Mineral Society learned during the devastating 2017 Thomas Fire in California, even rocks burn. Have smoke detectors in every room of your home and keep them charged with fresh batteries to protect both your rocks and yourself.

Those with more means might install a sprinkler system. This is a step above, but it’s worth it when you consider what happened to the national museum in Brazil, which lacked smoke detectors and sprinkler systems and suffered a total loss of national treasure. Some choose to keep a secure location within their homes for especially valuable pieces, which can go as far as a “safe room” with a locked door and inside closets and vaults. Do your best to protect the best of what you’ve got!

Transitioning Your Rock Collection

If you’ve devoted time to documenting, appraising, and insuring your collection, you certainly want to consider what happens after you‘ve departed the scene. Do you care if your collection is broken up, or do you hope it might be kept whole? The latter is problematic unless you have an heir who shares your passion or unless you provide an endowment to a museum to pay for storage, display, and upkeep. First, consider immediate heirs. Desires should be spelled out in a will or, better, a trust. But if heirs have no interest, consider liquidating the collection in your lifespan.

If you do wish to keep it intact, build contacts with a local museum and make your wishes known. Museums want collections with clear provenance and no issues (e.g., no specimens collected from national parks or countries with human rights abuses in gemstone districts). Most cannot guarantee specimens will be put on display and can’t guarantee they won’t be decommissioned and disposed of. If you truly want your collection to have a permanent place in a museum, you may need to accompany it with a healthy cash endowment.

Continuing the Conversation…

This topic is not typically discussed within gem societies but, in my humble opinion, how to store a rock collection properly should be discussed. Our collections are a reflection of ourselves. How might we best preserve the best of ourselves for future generations?

This story about how to store a rock collection properly previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story and photos by Jim Brace-Thompson.

The post How to Store a Rock Collection Properly first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Selecting the Right Rock

For hand carving, you want a relatively soft stone, on the order of calcite, or no more than three on the Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness. Here are examples:

• Soapstone (talc-schist) has Mohs hardness of one. It’s the preferred stone for beginners because it’s soft, inexpensive and common,

• Alabaster (a fibrous form of gypsum) has a Mohs hardness of two. It comes in pastel colors and sometimes exhibits translucency. Alabaster has been a desired carving stone for centuries.

• Marble and travertine can be plain, colorfully mottled, or banded, making them extremely attractive. But at Mohs hardness of three, these take more effort to carve.

• Petoskey stones (the fossil coral Hexagonaria) are carbonate-based and are easily polished by hand. Small cobbles are just the right shape for producing toadstools, which can be found in tourist shops all across Michigan.

Using the Right Stone Carving Tools

Once you have a stone, you’ll need a basic tool kit. Consider including:

• Hacksaws (large ones for slabbing; small ones for trimming)

• Coarse-toothed wood rasps and large steel files (for removing large quantities of stone and basic shaping)

• Small diamond files, straight and curved (for fine work)

• Carving knives, scribes and dental tools (for detailing)

• Sanding boards and wet/dry sandpaper in grits ranging from 180 to 1200 (for smoothing)

• Brushes (for clearing dust off a piece);

• Leather, denim, or cotton flannel infused with aluminum- or tin-oxide (for polishing)

Safety First!

Sawing, filing and sanding raises dust, so work in a well-ventilated area or outdoors and/or have a venting fan and wear a face mask to guard against inhaling dust. The finer you sand, the less dust kicked up, but even if you can’t see it, you’re breathing it. Also, consider wearing fingerless gloves to help guard against nicks when working with knives and scribes.

Getting Started Stone Carving

Most beginning carvers start with a thick, flat rectangular rock slab. They use a marker to draw an outline of what they wish to create. Sketch the proposed object on all sides. Some suggest making a clay model for a 3D guide to follow.

Proceeding Step-by-Step

Step One: Sawing. Use a hacksaw to remove as much excess material as possible from around the sketch on your stone. Proceed carefully so as not to cut off too much or produce deep gouges. This “rough shaping” can be the most time-consuming of all the steps.

Step Two: Filing and Shaping. Turn to rasps and files to round your sculpture into its more-or-less final shape. Start with rasps to take off large edges, then shape with files. Use progressively finer files as you go, starting with steel files and ending with diamond files. It helps to “nest” your rock on a sandbag to keep it firmly in place while working.

Step Three: Sanding and Smoothing. Grits of wet/dry sandpaper go from coarse (40- 60), to medium (80-100), fine (120-180), very fine (220-240), extra fine (320-360) and super-fine/polishing (400-1200+). Hardware stores carry packets with a variety of grits. With softer stones, start with medium-fine grit since coarse grit may leave deep, hard-to-remove scratches. Move to ever finer grits, occasionally brushing or rinsing the rock to remove dust.

Step Four: Detailing. If you want a lot of detail in your work, use steel knives, scribes and/or dental picks. Engraved lines can be smoothed out if desired with very fine curved diamond files.

Step Five: Polishing. Start with extra-fine/ polishing sandpaper. Then thoroughly wash the stone. Mix a paste of water and polishing compound (like tin- or aluminum oxide) and brush it into a bit of leather, denim or flannel to rub a final polish. Sometimes, rather than a polish, colorless beeswax is rubbed in.

Proudly Sharing & Displaying Your Stone Carvings

Carving takes patience. Early efforts might look crude and rudimentary, but don’t give up! With practice, you’ll take pride and satisfaction in transforming dull rocks into dazzling works of art to share at a gem show.

This story about stone carving and polishing by hand previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Jim Brace-Thompson. Carvings by Junior Rockhound Rylee & His Grandpa Dick

The post Stone Carving & Polishing by Hand first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Never fear! Even if you live in a tiny home, or apartment with minimal space, you can have a functional lapidary workshop at your disposal whenever you need it.

I’ve developed what I call a Workshop-in-a-Box (WIAB) that is just 4 feet wide by 3.5 feet high by 2 feet deep. It holds a Diamond Pacific Genie grinding/polishing unit and a 6-inch trim saw plus shelving and pegboard space for all the tools and supplies needed to craft basic lapidary projects like cabochons. My WIAB fits conveniently in a basement nook, garage, home corner, or, climate permitting, against an outside wall with access to an electrical outlet.

Getting Started

I built my WIAB using 95 percent recycled materials and only needed to purchase miscellaneous small hardware (nails, screws, corner braces), pegboard and paint.

As noted, my box dimensions provide space to hold a Genie and trim saw. Since I built my WIAB, Diamond Pacific has developed a new, wider Genie. So you may want to go 4.5 feet wide if using that new model.

Use all the measurements in these directions as approximations. Build your WIAB to match the space needed to house your machinery and the materials and lumber you have at hand. For instance, not all 2×2 lumber is exactly 2×2. Often the pieces are smaller. Once you’ve constructed the basic shell for your box from plywood sheets, adjust the other measurements accordingly.

Project Measurements

For my WIAB, I started by cutting five pieces of 0.5-inch plywood to craft a basic box. The sides measure 22 inches wide by 40.75 inches high. The back is 48 inches wide by 40.75 inches high. Finally, the top and bottom measure 48 by 24 inches. I deliberately made the top and bottom pieces wider than the sides to allow room for a rim in the front for doors.

With this basic box glued and nailed together, I installed 12 pieces of 2×2 lumber around all the inside edges and up the middle of the back to provide extra support for the box and support for shelving. Along the front bottom, I used a 43.5-inch-long strip of 0.75 x 0.75-inch wood rather than a 2×2 to allow a bit of extra hand space for working with cabs on my Genie.

For shelving, I attached six metal 4-inch corner braces to the back 2×2 lumber to support two 5-inch wide shelves along the back of the box. Each shelf measures 46.5 inches long. Halfway up the left-hand side, I installed one shelf that was 22 inches long and 2.75 inches wide. One corner of the shelf rests on the back shelf and the other corner is attached to a 2×2 with a 1-inch corner brace. On the right side, I installed two similar shelves, each with one corner resting on the back shelves and one corner attached to the front 2×2 with a 1-inch corner brace. I notched all the shelves so they would fit snuggly around the 2×2 interior framework.

Organization & Doors

On the left side of my WIAB, I installed a pegboard measuring 14×19.25 inches. I screwed it in place with two 14-inch strips of wood measuring 0.75×0.75 inches, attached to the left inside panel.

With a pegboard on one side and shelving on three sides, my Workshop-in-a-Box accommodates my basic lapidary tools and supplies: safety glasses, dop pot, dop wax, cans holding dop sticks, cab templates, cans for Sharpies and aluminum scribes to mark slabs via templates, cab rest, Water Aid wetting agent, jars of polishing compound, polishing disc and pads, small cans of motor oil and WD-40, paper towels and rags, and my ever-present Buddha sculptures to provide the calm patience needed while crafting a rock. There’s also room to hold small trays for rough pre-forms. The interior space is small, but it holds a lot.

I constructed two doors of plywood sheets, measuring approximately 24×40 inches each, attached to the box with hinges. On the inside of the left-hand door, I installed a thin 1.25-inch wide strip to provide a seal to keep out critters. I also installed two barrel-sliding bolt latches to hold the doors shut, top and bottom. Other options could be magnetic cabinet latches or latches with locks. The door was finished off with two cabinet handles.

Finishing Up

At the lower back corner of the right panel, I cut a 1.5-inch diameter hole for my Genie and trim saw electrical cords. The hole is sealed with a rubber stopper when cords are not in use and pulled inside.

Finally, I painted the interior of my WIAB with glossy enamel paint. This makes for easy clean-up from splashes off the Genie and the trim saw. I used flat paint for the exterior matched to the exterior of my home.

Given that my WIAB is outdoors, I added aluminum drip-edge flashing around the top edges along with shingles. I also took the added step of installing an overhead lamp, which I later found to be unnecessary given the lamp attached to my Genie unit provides plenty of light.

I mounted my WIAB on a wooden typing desk that I got at a garage sale. The desk is 31.5 inches tall and I’ve installed a shelf beneath it for extra storage space. The height is just right for my 24-inch tall stool. The height is also just right for standing at the slab saw.

With these basic instructions, you too can construct a Workshop-in-a- Box. Go for it and enjoy your home lapidary workshop space.

This story about how to make a lapidary workbench previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story and photos by Jim Brace-Thompson.

The post How to Make a DIY Lapidary Workbench first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Over the years I have heard many people in the rock community say they will never cut certain stones because of all the inherent dangers that are contained within the material. The reality is the dangers are not in handling the materials themselves but in the processing. The dangers can easily be handled with proper education, gaining knowledge of what is in each stone before cutting, and how to properly stay out of harm’s way with the correct protective gear.

Dangerous Materials

Many stones used in lapidary work may contain radioactive minerals, asbestos, beryllium, sulfur, cinnabar (mercury), and various other harmful elements that can cause health problems if not handled properly. Everything can have risks, even some common items around the house have potential risks — smoke detectors contain radioactive elements, ceramics like tiles and pottery may contain uranium in the glazes, and for years, dishware had radioactive minerals used in the bright coloring. People are familiar with these materials and are comfortable having them around because they know the proper precautions are taken so they can be used as everyday items. The same can be said with many common lapidary materials.

Stones like pietersite, tiger’s eye, marra mamba, and serpentine contain asbestos. Society has been trying to remove old asbestos-containing products such as insulation in homes and buildings for years. This is because asbestos is a fine fiber mineral that when turned into dust and goes airborne, has been linked to lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. Stones like Clear Creek plasma agate contain various minerals, one of them being an attractive bright red cinnabar which is a mercury sulfide and can be dangerous if you breathe in the dust. It is most dangerous though when breathing in the fumes when the stone is heated to over 400°F. Mercury was utilized by gold miners in the extraction process of gold from the quartz host stone. Members of the quartz mineral group, one of the most common materials and contained in the majority of lapidary materials, is known to cause silicosis. Silicosis is a lung disease caused by inhaling large amounts of crystalline silica dust. It is not curable but is very preventable.

Lapidary Precautions

When cutting cabochons, it’s important to know which materials are unsafe to handle, but for the most part, the majority can be cut with the right precautions. First, setting up your workspace with proper ventilation is key. Everything you do should protect your breathing.

Next, wearing rubber latex gloves or nitrile gloves to protect from skin irritations is not a bad practice. It might not always be effective for those who like to hold the stones by hand as they cab because the gloves tend to rip easily when close to the wheels. If you cab using dop sticks, these gloves can help keep your skin from being overly exposed.

Eye gear is ALWAYS warranted, not just for avoiding the collection of dust particles in your eyes, but to also protect from small chips and shards flying off the grinding wheels that can cause a great deal of eye damage.

The number one article of gear that should ALWAYS be worn is a respiratory mask. The N95 might be adequate for most things. (The 95 number stands for 95 percent of all dust particles.) However, I would suggest using the P100 mask with replaceable filters. These masks will block out 100 percent of all particles in the air and protect you from harmful dust.

A waterproof apron will keep you dry and keep lapidary materials off your clothing. Ear guards not only protect your hearing by blocking machine noise, but they also keep your ears clean and free from compiling dust or particles.

Clean Work Surfaces

In addition to wearing protective gear, keeping a clean shop is just as important. If you are cutting up materials that contain carcinogens such as Tiffany stone which contains beryllium, always clean all the surfaces in your workspace where dust has collected. This way, there won’t be a transfer of dust to your hands, and will avoid accidental ingestion later.

A complete set of protective gear includes a P100 respirator, eye protection, ear protection, a waterproof apron, and gloves. All these items can easily be found at your local stores, such as Home Depot, Lowes or Ace Hardware, and online on Amazon and eBay. Wearing all the correct protective gear and keeping a clean work area should help ensure a safe, healthy hobby.

This story about lapidary safety tips previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Russ Kaniuth.

The post Lapidary Safety Tips first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Turquoise is instantly recognized by its bright, waxy robin-egg blue shot through by dark veins. It is prized by collectors and jewelry makers but gets pricey. So how come sometimes it’s expensive and other times you can get a whole string of blue turquoise for cheap? What’s the secret to cheap beads? Often they’re not turquoise! Some common and inexpensive minerals can be dyed to look like rare and valuable stones.

Ancient Popularity

Turquoise is an iconic gemstone from the deserts of the Middle East and the American Southwest. It has been crafted into jewelry for thousands of years. How do we know this? Turquoise was discovered in the tomb of King Tut.

Turquoise Hacks & How to Make Turquoise

The turquoise look-alike hack? Dyeing inexpensive white rocks with veining similar blue. Minerals like howlite and magnesite are famous for how easy they are to transform into artificial turquoise. Howlite is usually soft and it has microscopic pores or open spaces to suck in blue dye. Here are six simple steps to make “turquoise” from howlite.

Step One

Get one or many specimens of howlite.

Step Two

Get a flat baking pan, kitchen tongs, a glass bowl or jar, Ty-D-Bol toilet cleaner or another dye such as blue food coloring or blue cloth dye. Experiment to see what dye works best. All these materials can be purchased at a 99- Cent Store for around $4.

Step Three

Prepare the howlite by placing it on a baking pan. Heat it in a kitchen oven at 200°F for at least 30 minutes. This opens pore spaces, making them larger than normal.

Step Four

Fill a jar with Ty-D-Bol or another dye. Using oven mitts, remove the baking pan from the oven. Using tongs, drop the hot howlite into the Ty-D-Bol liquid. Make sure the howlite is fully immersed and be careful not to splash the blue dye.

Step Five

Set the bowl or jar aside for several days or weeks. As the howlite cools, its pore spaces will contract. As they do so, they suck in the dye.

Step Six

Move to the kitchen sink with the bowl or jar. With tongs, pull out the pieces of howlite and rinse them under running water from the faucet, then place the specimens on a paper towel or cloth rag and allow them to dry. The result should look like turquoise.

Helpful Hints

Some specimens of howlite are softer and more porous than others. A harder specimen may not turn entirely blue. In fact, it may not suck in any dye at all! If this happens, try again with other howlite specimens. Crafting a cabochon with newly-made artificial turquoise may result in a white rock as it’s ground on a wheel. This is because the blue dye only penetrates the surface of the howlite. For an artificial turquoise cab, it’s best to first make it out of howlite and dunk it in Ty-D-Bol or another blue dye.

This story about how to make turquoise appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Jim Brace-Thompson.

The post How to Make Turquoise first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Colors & Patterns

Mohawkite is one of those beautiful materials that stand out for its desirable natural metallic designs, much like Josephine’s Crown, or gold in quartz.

Its colors range from metallic yellow to grey, and at times it has a blueish-green tarnish. The coloring comes from its two main ingredients, algodonite, and domeykite, both arsenic-rich copper minerals. Most have a beautiful spiderwebbing pattern, while other nuggets can be solid metallic. The most desirable pieces used in lapidary are the mixed metallics in quartz.

Where to Find Mohawkite

Mohawkite is becoming quite scarce to find, but it still tends to occasionally appear at shows or online sales. Much of what you find is very visible on the outside, being able to see if it has a good mixture of host stone with copper minerals, or if it’s pure algodonite & domeykite.

Safety First

Before working with this material, be prepared to use all protective measures when cutting and cabbing, as this type of material contains arsenic. Most lapidaries use N95 masks and eye protection. I prefer to use a mask with a high rating of protection, using a P100 half-face mask.

Be sure to always have water running on your machines at all times, this type and other materials with potentially dangerous ingredients should never be cabbed dry, allowing the dust to go airborne. Another tip would be to always consider showering right after, even though you may have water running on the machines, the mist that gets generated will still have microparticles that can collect in your hair.

Cabbing Mohawkite

When starting out cutting slabs, there really isn’t any correct direction, as it will yield a continuous pattern throughout the stone, whether solid metallic or mixed with quartz matrix.

The cabbing process is relatively simple. Mohawkite isn’t very hard, so you can quickly shape and dome your cabs on the 80-grit wheel, and then smooth it all out on a 140-soft resin or 220-steel wheel.

The main portion of your work will be done at the 280 grit stage. This is where you will take your time to make sure there are no flat spots or any remaining scratches before moving on.

You may see micro swirls in the metallic areas which are okay. This will get removed as you go along. After running through your typical setup, you should be able to complete your cab at the 14k grit wheel, leaving a beautifully polished cab.

At this point, you can add additional polishes with Zam polishing compounds, or jewelers rouge. Some lapidaries like to be a little more protective and seal the cab afterward to keep it from tarnishing and protect it from the arsenic within. Most of the time if the stone is further designed by a silversmith or wire wrapped, it shouldn’t be much of an issue as it won’t have any contact with the skin of the person wearing it. Others like to take that added caution and seal it, with either lacquer, 330 epoxy, or even Opticom.

This story about mohawkite appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe. Story by Russ Kaniuth.

The post What to Cut: Mohawkite first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

Making The Heart

I trimmed and ground the preform to that shape. I had planned on having a curved groove going from the top between the upper lobes to the lower part of the heart shape.

I sketched the groove and used a 1/4-inch diamond “V” bur to grind a small groove following that trace. I enlarged the groove with a 3/4-inch “V” bur. I wanted the sides of the groove to have a curved outward shape rather than a sharp edge, so I used a 3/8-inch diameter diamond bur to carve the curve.

All of this grinding on the groove resulted in many dips and bulges from the hard diamond burs. I used some silicon carbide carving block shapes to sand down these unwanted surface defects. These blocks were made from pieces of old silicon carbide grinding wheels. These carving blocks can be found online or fabricated from a grinding wheel segment that is shaped to fit deeply into the curve.

After I finished sanding the groove sides with a 600-grit sanding block I polished them with a 5/8-inch diameter wood bur shaped into an inverted cone while utilizing cerium oxide polish.

The next step involved finishing the rest of the cab by doming the front of the cab using standard cab-making steps.

Making The Second Heart

As I was conceiving this project, I had a vision of it having an additional but smaller heart shape carved from the back of the finished shape would allow it. As the cab evolved, it became clear that the smaller heart shape could be accommodated. I used a small heart shape template to draw the heart shape on the back of the cab with a fine-tipped sharpie.

Using a 1/8-inch round diamond bur, I started grinding the heart shape from the back.

As I was grinding the shape, I frequently checked the depth of the carving. Because the material was quite translucent, I didn’t have to go very deep to get the heart shape to show through to the front. I was able to do most of the carving with the 1/8-inch bur but I still had to use a much smaller diamond bur to carve the bottom tip of the heart shape.

Finishing Up

The final steps included sanding the interior of the heart shape with a shaped wood bur and 220 and 400-grit abrasives. It also included polishing the inside with another shaped wood bur and cerium oxide polish.

As I was working on this distorted heart shape I could hear its disappointment about not getting to be a regular heart shape. When I finished giving it a heart of its own it ended up with a broken heart.

This story about how to make a double heart shape cab previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe! Story by Bob Rush.

The post How to Make a Double Heart Shape Cab first appeared on Rock & Gem Magazine.

An A-Ha! Moment

I first realized the value of a metal detector when I saw an amazing gold specimen labeled “The Dragon.” It was perfectly crystallized, about seven inches high and Bryan Lees, a Collector’s Edge dealer, said it would likely sell for six figures. He said it had been found in the Colorado Quartz mine, near Mariposa, California, by miners using metal detectors.

That got my attention. Bryan made arrangements for me to visit the mine to watch miners using metal detectors to scan the walls of the old tunnels and then attack any spot that responded. That was a few years ago and those guys are still having success finding hot spots in that mine!

This is not the only “strike” I’ve seen made using a metal detector. My son Evan lives on a hillside that has an old gold mine on it. He has used his metal detector to find enough pieces of gold ore worth processing.

Metal Detecting in the Richmond Basin

In Arizona, a couple of fellows were rock hunting with metal detectors in the Richmond Basin silver mining district north of Globe, Arizona. They hit it using metal detectors!

Silver nuggets had been collected by the Apaches hundreds of years ago and in the 1800-1900s silver mines operated here. The nearby town of Globe was so named because a large rounded chunk of native silver reminding them of a globe was found near there.

Tiny nuggets of native silver were still found in Richmond Basin, so a couple of them decided to check it out. They walked the washes in the entire Basin with their detectors.

They found one or two small heavy, dull black rocks of tarnished native silver. They decided to get serious and organized a small group of collectors with detectors to check the entire area including the surrounding open desert.

Striking Silver

They found several more small silver nuggets before their efforts paid off when they found two large masses of native silver each weighing in at over 100 pounds. The pieces were less than two feet underground.

The pieces had weathered out of an as yet unknown vein of silver and been buried by years of weathering.

Finding these two masses of silver would make anyone jump for joy. But the best was yet to come. One of the fellows was about done for the day and was scanning the ground as he walked to his vehicle when signals stopped him in his tracks. He was getting wide-ranging signals from something big. This time, they dug down less than two feet and uncovered a mass of silver you only dream about. The silver mass they exposed was almost three feet long, well over a foot wide and many inches thick. The find of a lifetime!

Once exposed and wrapped for protection, it took five guys hours to haul this treasure across the rough desert to a vehicle. When they finally weighed it on the scale, it hit an amazing 417 pounds!

Now that’s what I call a successful day in the field with a metal detector. What’s it worth? You tell me!

This story about can metal detectors detect rocks previously appeared in Rock & Gem magazine. Click here to subscribe! Story by Bob Jones.

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One enjoyable form of lapidary arts is carving. I’m not talking about a sculpture of the sort that Michelangelo crafted from 10- or 20-foot slabs of marble, nor huge national monuments like the Lincoln Memorial or Mount Rushmore. Rather, think of small sculptures that can fit into the palm of your hand or even smaller pieces that might be incorporated into necklaces or wire-wrapped jewelry.

Carving hard rocks such as agate, jasper, or jade requires fairly expensive tools and machines such as a flexible shaft Foredom or Dremel with diamond bits and carving points, a gem lathe or fixed-shaft spindle, or more. Besides the expense involved in acquiring such machines and their associated bits, carving these harder rocks requires instruction with an experienced mentor and lots of practice.

Also, rough semi-precious gemstones such as jade or lapis lazuli don’t come cheap! Still, the pay-off and reward in the form of a beautiful, gleaming work of art are worth the expense and the effort.

But not all carving requires expensive equipment or materials. For instance, soft-stone carving with commonly available and inexpensive rocks such as alabaster, soapstone, marble, or travertine can be accomplished using simple hand tools. These include knives, scribes, files, sanding boards, various grits of wet-and-soft sandpaper, and polished-infused pieces of leather or cotton flannel.

Whether you opt for hard-stone carving with expensive machinery and high-priced rough stones or for soft-stone carving with hand tools and easily acquired rocks, you will be able to take great pride and satisfaction in transforming somewhat dull, ordinary rocks from nature into shining and dazzling works of art that are wonders to behold!

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I have been making more cabs lately that have included some features that involve carving techniques. Much of my carving is done with 1” diameter Mizzy silicon carbide wheels which are used dry. The material removal goes rather quickly, but the sanding activity that follows requires quite a bit of tedious work.

Some of the work can be accomplished with rubberized Cratex wheels with various sizes of silicon carbide grit embedded within. The wheels do a good job of smoothing the previously ground surfaces, but there is more precise work that needs to be done. Usually, I use wet or dry silicon carbide sandpaper sheets to finish the sanding job, but as I said, it’s a slow process. The grit on the sandpaper wears down rather quickly, and you need to start with another small piece of sandpaper repeatedly. Overall, it is a slow, tedious process.

Making Discoveries at Shows

A couple of years ago, in June, we went to the Monterey Jade Festival in Monterey, California. It had many dealers from domestic and foreign locations. Many carvers were selling their products and carving tools. A dealer that I frequently see at various shows — Dave Clayton — was selling carving tools. I have purchased many tools from him over the years. His business’ name is Jade Carver.

One time I asked him, “How do carvers smooth rounded or flat surfaces when they are carving?” He responded by showing me some small silicon carbide carving blocks that he uses. They come in various sizes and grits as well as hardness. I bought a set of four with the soft binder. They came in 220, 400, 600 and 1200 grit sizes. Then, I proceeded to bring them home, put them in a drawer, and forget about them until recently.

I started this month’s project, and while I was carving a groove down the center to make a heart shape, I was contemplating how I was going to shape the shoulder of the groove. I wanted it to have a dome shape, and I knew I could grind the shape with my Mizzy wheel, but the result was a rather rough, bumpy surface. As I was dreading the process of sanding the surface with sandpaper, it dawned on me that I had those silicon carbide sanding blocks.

The blocks come in a hard binder used to carve sharp edges or grooves or a soft binder used to smooth curves or domes. After I ground the basic groove and shaped the edges to a dome, I used the 220 soft binder carving block to start the sanding operation. I used this process to get the coarse grinding scratches out and further refine the dome’s shape. I did this activity dry, which I found out later in a phone call with Dave, works better if done wet. These soft blocks quickly ground the surface and helped me get to the desired shape and surface finish. I touched up the piece with the 400 grit and took it to my polishing wheel that quickly brought up the final polish.

Adding Touches of Decorative Carving

I later decided to add some decorative carving from the back in the form of multi-sized

holes that were ground and polished to let a light pattern show through the piece.

If you have any questions about using the carving blocks or anything concerning carving and polishing jade, don’t hesitate to contact Dave at www.jadecarver.com. I found him to be very sharing of his carving knowledge.

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