nlmar2009
The Cochise County Rock
Monthly Newsletter of the Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club
www.cochisecountyrock.org
“Finding and Grinding Rocks in Cochise County, Arizona since 1962”
March 2008
This issue edited by Debi Breese
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Sunsites Gem and Mineral Club General Meeting Minutes - February 11, 2008
President Don Hammer called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.
Guests, along with new members, Jeanne Dague and Carol Cartmell were welcomed. Members and guests present numbered 32. It was especially heartwarming to see Jack Breese and Bob Fenner present.
Don asked for a motion to approve the minutes of January's meeting. There was a motion; it was seconded, and the minutes were approved.
Walter gave the Treasurer’s Report. The Club's checking account stands at $1.863.10, and the Certificate of Deposit balance is $3,112.71.
Don announced that from 2-5 p.m. every other Monday, silversmith classes are available in the Lapidary Room located behind the Fire Station. Soldering is taught and work is done on an individual basis. The next class will be this Monday, February 18.
Don offered bits and pieces of amethyst rock to Club Members who did not attend the mini field trip to the Commonwealth Mine on Saturday, February 2nd. Eighteen members signed up to participate, and by all accounts, it was a successful field trip.
The Club will not be going to Peterson Draw to look for garnet as the owner has withdrawn his offer allowing us to come.
This month's field trip will be on Saturday, February 16. We will go to the Black Hills Rock Hound Area. Bob and Barbara will guide. On February 12, Don sent the Membership detailed information pertaining to the up-coming field trip.
Announcements: Don encouraged Members to take a look at the Hospitality Sign-up Sheet and to participate, if possible. Club dues are to be paid by March 31st. See Joan Hammer for tickets to the Cowbell's Dinner Dance. Don spoke highly of the items to be seen at Electric Park during the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. See Henri about an open field trip the second weekend in March with the Deming Club.
The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m., followed by refreshments and the rock raffle. Thank you to those who supplied the goodies and the raffle items.
Our program was a thorough demonstration of Lapidary presented by Member, Larry Strout, after which Members were invited to sign up for Lapidary classes.
Respectfully submitted,
Diane Brower
Mini Field Trip back to the Commonwealth Mine:
At 10 am on Saturday 2 February 12 members, two new members that had just signed up and four guests assembled near the Old Store in Pearce and proceeded around the hill to the east side of the Commonwealth Mine. Led by Henri Vanden Bos, we drove up the hill one at a time to reduce the chances of setting the high, tall grass on fire and everyone made it without any problem. We then headed for two veins of amethyst a short distance to the east. The good color had not been exposed to the sun so that meant breaking the veins out of rock. Henri Vanden Bos and his guest Jeff Vander Berg commenced breaking out one vein with large bars assisted by Casey Dennis and Don Hammer with big hammers. We broke off, dug out and broke up many rocks to expose the good color and then piled the pieces nearby and invited everyone to help themselves. Other members worked on nearby sites where the vein was also exposed. The Schnabel’s found the other vein and broke out a very large piece of amethyst after a few hours work. Everyone got some nice amethyst to take home. Don Hammer slabbed a piece and it came out very nice with excellent color and a nice pattern in the crystals.
February Field Trip
After weather related postponement, 25 members and 4 new members as of that morning gathered in the Willcox Safeway parking lot at 8:45 on Saturday February 23. Bob Fenner explained the route to the Black Hills Rock Hound Area and the collecting site and then led by Bob and Barbara Fenner we headed east on I-10 to the Safford exit and subsequently to milepost 141 on Highway 191 northeast of Safford. The road in to the site had been improved, so even cars had no problems and BLM had ripped up a large area to expose buried chalcedony and fire agate. The ground in the immediate vicinity of the parking area was graveled (covered) with chalcedony and fire agate.
One member found a nice fire agate when she stepped out of the car. Others were found by members resting or just socializing. Apparently, that area had received heavy rains during the monsoon that exposed substantially more agate. Some climbed the hill to the north and found some larger pieces as well as chalcedony geodes. Though the morning started cool and overcast, the clouds cleared by 11 AM, and it turned into a pleasant day adding to our enjoyment. Most members had plenty of specimens by noon and many left not long after though a few were still searching for the bigger pieces as late as 4 PM. Our thanks to Bob and Barbara Fenner for organizing an excellent field trip.
March Field Trip - 15 March
We will go to the old Lucky Cuss mine in Tombstone for black, white and clear calcite that fluoresces; white, golden and light blue travertine, onyx orbs and bundles, aragonite and dendritics. The mineral guides list 21 minerals ranging from alabandite to vesuvianite. Meet at the Sunsites Community Center at 7:45 AM on Saturday March 15; we will leave promptly at 8 AM. The Lucky Cuss is 57 miles from the Community Center. Bring light digging tools, bags or pails, rock hammers, chisels and water. Also bring lunch, sun protection, gloves and lawn chairs.
Reminder: 2008 Dues are delinquent after March 31, 2008. Send checks to:
Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club
P.O. Box 87
Pearce, AZ 85625
Lapidary and Silversmith
Classes
Silversmith classes are scheduled for the 1st and 3rd Monday of the month from 2 – 4 PM at the Lab behind the Fire Department.
Lapidary classes are in session on Thursday from 6 to 9 PM and Friday at 9 to noon at the Lapidary Room behind the Fire Station.
Come and join the fun for lapidary, silversmith, and wire wrap lessons. Interested, any questions? Call Irvin Pontious for lapidary at 824-0110. Silversmith - call Don Hammer 384-3105. Wire Wrap - call Larry Strout 826-3991.
Lapidary and Silver Smithing
For those of you that missed the lapidary demonstration at the February meeting this article will explore the processes we call lapidary and silver smithing.
Webster says: Of or pertaining to the art of cutting and polishing precious stones. Lapidary is taking this rough piece of rock and turning it into pretty jewelry. Notice that the stone is oval shaped and slightly dome shaped. This shape is called a cabochon. The dome shape reflects light from many more angles than a flat shape would making the stone seem shiny from almost any angle. One facet of lapidary is called making cabochons or cabs. And that’s what we’ll talk about today.
But first we need a rock – so we go into the mountains and find rocks that we can make shiny and have an interesting pattern. If you want to test a rock and see if it will polish or become shiny simply spray or pour water on it. If it shines then it will polish. Usually we can just pick them up off the ground but sometimes we have to break them off the mountain.
Then we bring the rocks home or to our lapidary shop and place them in the vise of our slab (rock) saw. The vise has a worm gear mechanism to carry it towards and past the blade. The saw blade has diamond imbedded in the rim – diamond is harder than any other substance and it will cut through any rocks in Cochise County. The blade dips into oil in the tank below to keep it cool. Once we have adjusted the vise, we turn the motor on and gently touch the stone to the blade several times to make sure we start the cut properly. Remember this is a rough uneven stone and the blade could start cutting at an angle and that would ruin the blade. We don’t want to ruin the blade - this 14” blade costs about $250. Then we close the cover to keep the blade from throwing oil all over and let the saw run until it has cut through the stone and we have a flat piece of the rock called a slab.
We check the slab for cracks and find the most interesting pattern. Using a template we mark the shape that we want the stone to be. And then cut that shape out of the slab using a trim saw. But the trim saw only cuts in straight lines so we have to grind the edges down to get the final shape. The grinding wheel has diamonds embedded in a metal matrix and water dripping on it to keep the wheel and stone cool. Now we have the oval shape but we still need to round the top. And holding a small stone with wet hands is not easy. So we melt some doping wax with an alcohol lantern, put a piece of dowel in it, dip out some wax and press it down on cold metal to shape the wax flat and rounded. Then we heat the stone, dip the dop stick into melted wax and press it down on the stone. Lift the stone off the heat and shape the wax around the stone. Now we have a handle on our stone so we can hold it and maneuver it.
Then we go back to the grinding wheel and start grinding from the side to start forming our dome shape. After we have made the first grind, we increase the angle and do a second grind and third and a fourth grind. Since we are constantly turning the stone round and round for each grind this is often called peeling the apple. Now we have the shape that we want the stone to be but it’s all full of scratches and not shiny. So we go to a finer grit wheel and grind out the coarse scratches left in the stone by the grinding wheel. We use 3 or 4 finer and finer grits on wheels or on belts to remove the scratches left by the previous wheel or belt. This is called polishing the stone and it will gradually begin to shine. To remove all the scratches – the scratches cause the stone to be dull – we use a final polishing compound such as tin oxide or cerium oxide on a felt or leather buffing wheel. Now we have a shiny, pretty stone. But it still has the handle on it. We put it in the freezer for 20 minutes, take it out and pop the handle off the stone. Now we have a finished cabochon.
But we need some means to attach it. We don’t want to glue the stone to our shirt or blouse or belt or ear. So we need a finding that we can make or buy. A finding is a mounting for a stone so that the stone can be worn as a pendant or on a belt buckle. We can start from scratch cutting out a shape from a strip of silver and then soldering a rim or bezel to that shape. Or we can save lots of time and buy bezel cups already made up. But we still can’t fasten it to anything. So we solder a jump ring to the bezel cup and fit it to an earring clamp. This is called silver soldering or silver smithing. If we want a pendant, then we solder another jump ring in the first jump ring. Now we have a bail (a ring) that we can put a silver chain through and the gals can wear the stone as a pendant. Or we might mount the stone in a belt buckle, or a bolo tie or a brooch or a ring. And when someone says that’s a pretty stone we can proudly say – thanks I made it out of a rock I found in the mountains.
The Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club has a well-equipped lapidary lab behind the fire hall in Sunsites. We have started lapidary classes on Thursday evenings and Friday mornings. A silver smithing session meets every other Monday afternoon in the same place. Silver soldering is a prerequisite to silver smithing and we will organize a silver soldering class in the near future. If you are interested in any of these classes, call Don Hammer (384-3105) ASAP.
March 10 - Monthly Meeting
A Flight through the Universe
Just how big is the Universe? Did you ever stop and look into the night sky and ponder about the beginning, the end? Beginning with our Solar System, we will explore the Milky Way galaxy and beyond. We will skirt the very edge of the known Universe. This presentation will take you on an extraordinary journey back through time and provide an awesome insight into the grandeur of the Universe.
The galaxy image is of NGC 6946. This color image of the face-on spiral galaxy, NGC 6946, was taken at the Large Binocular Telescope on Mt. Graham, September 18, 2006. The galaxy lies at a distance of about 16 million light years from earth. Note the many new star-forming regions in the spiral arms (blue-white areas). The false-color composite was made from images taken through near-ultraviolet, blue, and green filters, using one primary mirror and one Large Binocular Camera (blue optimized). 16 million light years is equivalent to 93,850,000,000,000,000,000 miles. Or for those who would like to explore the math 16 million light years times 31,536,000 seconds per year times 186,000 miles per second (the speed of light)–That’s a long way away! That is only one example of the mind stretching character of this program.
The magnificent visual images in the presentation come from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Japanese Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The Chandra Space Telescope takes the x-ray images and the Spitzer Space Telescope took infrared images. A 3-D movie of the star-forming region in the Orion Nebula, shown during the presentation, was produced by the American Museum of Natural History.
John R. Ratje received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, in 1974. He is also licensed as a Professional Mechanical Engineer. An amateur astronomer since junior high school, John loves to “tinker” with the night sky.
Since 1984, Steward Observatory, the research arm for the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, has employed him. As Assistant Director for Operations, he has been involved with all aspects of the Mt. Graham International Observatory (environmental analysis, design, construction and operation). He resides in Safford, Arizona.
Mr. Ratje’s program will be at the Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club meeting at 7 pm on Monday March 10 in the Sunsites Community Center on Treasure Road in Sunsites. The public is invited to see this stimulating presentation.
Club Calendar:
March April
10 Regular Meeting 3 Board Meeting
15 Field Trip 14 Monthly Mtg
28 Board Meeting 19 Field Trip
May June
1 Board Meeting 7 Picnic
12 Monthly Meeting
18 Field Trip
29 Board Meeting
Upcoming Regional Events
Cottonwood: March 21-23; 32nd Annual Verde Valley Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show Held at Mingus Union High School, 1801 Fir St, Cottonwood AZ. Display, Silent auctions, Raffles, exhibits, jewelry & lapidary dealers and supplies, fluorescent display, kid's activities. Hours: Fri & Sat 9 AM- 5 PM, Sun 10 AM - 4 PM Admission: Fri $1, Sat & Sun $3, 3-day pass $5. Parking: Free. Contact: Doug Evenson 928-634-0459, dougevenson@verdecomm.net, Mike Ramsey 928-634-0666 ramsey6264@yahoo.com
Reminder: Apache Creek, NM
“AGATE RENDEZVOUS 2008” - August 23RD to September 1ST, 2008 (See February Newsletter)
Arizona Gem & Mineral Clubs (from RMFMS.org)
New Mexico:
P.O. Box 13718, Albuquerque, NM 87192-3718 Pres: Susan Seymour, (505) 877-3621; suzannerox5@aol.com
Carlsbad: Road Runner Gem & Mineral Club: 1801 Solana Rd., Carlsbad, NM 88220; Meets 1st Monday, 7pm at Senior Recreation Center, 1112 N. Mesa; Pres: Frank Pierce, (505) 885-7676; e-mail: marynixon@valornet.com
Farmington: San Juan County Gem & Mineral Society: P. O. Box 1482; Farmington, NM 87499-1482; Meets 4th Tuesday, 7:30pm in Sun's Dining Room at San Juan College, 4601 College Blvd.; Pres: Duane Gustin, (505) 402-9742; dbgustin@msn.com
Las Cruces: Gem Crafters & Explorers Club:
P. O. Box 3091, Las Cruces, NM 88003; Meets 3rd Friday 6:30pm, (except July & Dec) at Breland Hall, room 189, NMSU Campus; Pres: LeRoy Unglaub, (505) 524-9497; pathfdr@zianet.com
P.O. Box 762, Los Alamos, NM 87544; Meets 3rd Tuesday, 7:30pm at Christian Church, 92 East Rd.; Pres: Joyce Guzik, (505) 672-0249; joy@lanl.gov
Roswell: P.O. Box 815, Roswell, NM 88203
Santa Fe Geological Society, Inc.: P. O. Box 1245, Sandia Park, NM 87047; Pres: Lee Winn, (505) 820-1085; e-mail: rwinn@cybermesa.com
Silver City: Grant County Rolling Stones Gem & Mineral Society: P.O. Box 1555, Silver City, NM 88062-1555; Meets 2nd Thursday, 6pm at Silver City Senior Center, 205 W. Victoria St.; Pres: B J Burch, (505) 388-4312; e-mail: mamafisch@aol.com
Truth or Consequences: Sierra Gem and Mineral Society: 813 Gold; Truth or Consequences, NM 87901; Pres: Leon Gorrell (505) 894-0559
Non-Affiliated Clubs for New Mexico
Clovis Gem & Mineral Society: 1587 BY 60-84, Clovis, NM 88101
Deming Gem & Mineral Society: P.O. Box 1459, Deming, NM 88031
Lordsburg: Rockamania Gem & Mineral Society: 208 Motel Dr., Lordsburg, NM 88045
Club Officers for 2008
President Don Hammer 520 384-3105
Vice-President Henri Van den Bos 520 384-0288
Secretary Diane Brower 520 826-4672
Treasurer Walt Sigel 520-826-1009
Delegate at Large Jack Light 520-384-4774
Hospitality Coordinator Hanni Sigel 520-826-1009
Ex-Officio President Paul McKnight 520 824-4054
Quote of the Month: We invent nothing, truly. We borrow and re-create. We uncover and discover. All has been given, as the mystics say. We have only to open our eyes and hearts, to become one with that which is. -- Henry Miller
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Sunsites Gem & Mineral Club
P.O. Box 87
Pearce, Arizona 85625
Potential Program Survey
The Board has decided to try to arrange for an outside speaker for every other monthly meeting – simply because trying to do so for every monthly meeting rather quickly goes through the list of potential speakers. However we believe that in the diverse professions or jobs, experiences, hobbies and skills of the Club members we have the potential for some interesting and educational programs. We also recognize that our members are modest – “Many will think who would be interested in that?” So instead of only asking for volunteers to do a program we will ask all of the members - what are your hobbies, what was your working career, what are your special interests? We do not mean to invade your privacy or compile a file on the members. We are only searching for possible meeting programs and we recognize that even some of the most interesting subjects/programs might not be volunteered simply because the member doesn’t believe that others would be interested. Though we have common interests in rocks, geology, archeology, mineral ID, etc. the interests of our members are not limited to those subjects. Many of our members are interested in almost anything and everything. With that in mind please complete the following questionnaire and return it to Don Hammer, 9601 South Robison Road, Willcox, AZ 85643 or djhammer@powerc.net by March 25, 2008.
I would be willing to give a program or demonstration on:
Current or previous jobs or professions:
Hobbies:
Special Interests:
Name:
Can you suggest anyone outside the Club that might be willing to do a demonstration or program for a Club meeting?
Name:
Topic: