Official Monthly Publication of the

Alabama Mineral & Lapidary Society

Birmingham, Alabama

President’s Message

Website: http://www.alabama.lapidary.club.com

LARRY HENSLEY

President A.M.L.S.

This newsletter could be summed up in two

words.

As in – CONGRATULATIONS - we did it! Once

again, as always, we sponsored an outstanding Gem

& Mineral Show at Tannehill. Almost 60 vendors

showed up. A great crowd was there sight seeing

and buying. And twenty plus new members signed

up. From a delicious vendor’s dinner to start things

off, to a watermelon feast to finish up with – a great

show, a great time, and great club participation.

Which brings us to our second word.

THANKS!

We couldn’t have done it without you, and

quite the number of you there were, too. Our neon

green t-shirts were to be seen all over the place; from

the club tent, to the Hoot N Hollar, from the Chil-

dren’s Games to the Vendor’s Dinner. We proved

from set-up to tear-down that we are a club of doers

and givers.

As the saying goes – “You are what you eat.”

No. Not that saying.

The other saying. “We are what we do”

That’s the saying.

And what we did, was to put on a great

show. That’s the doing.

So THANKS and CONGRATULATIONS!

Respectfully,

Larry Hensley, A.M.L.S. President

PLEASE Mark your calendars for these

irregular meeting dates!

July 14th - Regular Meeting at the library

Aug. 4th - Regular Meeting at the library

Sept. 8th - Regular Meeting at the library

Oct. 6th - Regular Meeting at the library

Nov. 3rd - Regular Meeting at the library

Inside ~ President’s Message, Calendar, Important Info Page 1

Slate of Officers, Board Members, SFMS

Workshop Raffle

Page 2

Pictures of show courtesy of Tony West. NO

Meeting Minutes due to the Tannehill show

Page 3

Club and Society Shows & Rock Swaps,

Board Mtg. Minutes of 6/26/17

Page 4

DMC - Fieldtrip Page 5

Brad Smith Bench Tips, Classified Ads, DMC

Fieldtrip Con’t. , Websites

Page 6

SFMS and EFMLS Workshops in 2017, Hoo-

ver Library Class 7/15/17

Page 7

New Members Listed, T-shirts, Board Mtg.

minutes continued,

Page 8

Lapidary Whisper Page 9

Solar Eclipse Page 10

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 7 ROCKHOUND ROUNDUP JULY 2017

1.

July 14th - Meeting - John Wild has a kool video for

us and then a discussion concerning what we

would like to get from the club.

July 15th - Hoover Library Wire Work Project

Due to having summer vacations, family gatherings,

etc. we were unable to put together a fieldtrip and a

cabbing party. So sorry. S.S.

Last page funnies, Club application Page 11

Club Information and Mailing wrapper Page 12

<<<< IMPORTANT INFO >>>>

The leadership of the club has made sure we will have

candidates for the October election by filling the Nomi-

nating Committee with good people. Here are the five

names of the Nominating Committee: Cathy Kellogg,

Lou Ann Newell, Don Rosenstiel, Tony West, and San-

dra Sullivan. If any of these people come to you or call

you, please be willing to step up and lend a helping hand

to fill any vacancies. Already on board is John Wild as

President, Reggie Bolton as Treasurer, Sandra Sullivan

doing her part. We do have some vacancies, especially

Publicity for our show

Please help make this club as great as it can be! S.S.

For more information:

AFMS and SFMS Websites

The SFMS Newsletter, the Lodestar, and the AFMS

Newsletter are now available for all members to read

on line at http://www.amfed.org/sfms. And

www.amfed.org Email: sfms@amfed.org

Members Serving on the Board of Directors :

Savvy Mc Cravy 205-305-5396

business_mode_savy@yahoo.com

Don Rosenstiel 205-822-1513

don77rose@gmail.com

Southeast Federation Officers :

President of SFMS Teresa Polly

teresapolly@bellsouth.net

Alabama State Repre-

sentative to SFMS

Phillip Kaiser

kaiserpw@att.net

OFFICERS

President Larry Hensley

205-937-5810

hensley.larry@gmail.com

Vice President John Wild 205-981-6609

john@milcomtextiles.com

Treasurer Reggie Bolton

205-678-8772

reggie@newenvirons.net

Recording Secretary Bunny Bolton 205-678-8772

bunny@newenvirons.net

Corresponding

Secretary

Sandra Sullivan 205-903-7062

doodle35146ss@yahoo.com

Historian Sandra’s doing it

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Editor / Publications Sandra Sullivan doodle35146ss@yahoo.com

Education Chair Cindy Hensley hensley.larry@gmail.com

Fieldtrip Chair Bud and Lou Ann Newell

newell.louann@gmail.com

Hospitality Chair Rhea Proffitt kokomo0114@yahoo.com

Membership Chair Judith Johnson

judelinej@gmail.com

and Lou Ann Newell

Program Chair John Wild john@milcomtextiles.com

Property or Equipment

Chair

Don Hill

donahill@comcast.net

Publicity Chair Vacant

Show Chair Cathy Kellogg tannehillgem-

show@gmail.com

Webmaster Reagin Farley

regain@gmail.com

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 7

2.

ROCKHOUND ROUNDUP JULY 2017

SFMS ~ Workshop Raffle As you may have noticed, the

workshop scholarship program pre-

viously supported by collecting

postage stamps for resale has been

replaced by a raffle program. Each

club earns raffle chances based on

prize donations and ticket sales.

Thanks to a beaded rose quartz pendant from Tony

West and a large Tiger Iron cabochon from Reggie

Bolton our club now has two chances to win. At this

time no tickets have been sold ($5 each or 5/$20).

Please get your prize donations (retail $25 or more)

to Reggie Bolton and see him to purchase raffle

tickets. Deadline for earning chances is the end of

September so please act promptly.

Prizes are to be shown on the SFMS website very

soon. Go check them out ! Reggie Bolton

http://www.amfed.org/sfms.

Picture Minutes from June 3 and 4, 2017

Respectfully submitted, Tony West, Photographer Thank you Tony

ROCKHOUND ROUNDUP

3.

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 7 JULY 2017

Club Tent ~ Left to Right : Diane Lightfoot, Judith Johnson, Artesha

Steel, Martha Phillippi, Don Rosenstiel and one hiding behind the

July 26 - 30 Franklin, N.C. Annual show; Damian

Belgali, Echo Valley Show Place (across fr GLW);

6456 Sylva Rd (across fr GLW); Wed. 9-5, Thu. 9-

5, Fri. 9-5, Sun. 9-4; Free Admission; wholesale and

retail dealers from all around the world; a variety of

minerals, rough rock, fossil and gemstones; open to

the public ; contact Damian Belgali, (678)-852-

8273; e-mail: mbellpoint@gmail.com

July 30 thru Aug. 6 Spruce Pine, NC Annual

show; Parkway Fire and Rescue, Parkway Fire and

Rescue show lot; 136 Majestic View; Daily 10-6;

Free Admission; 33rd annual gem show put on by

the Parkway Fire and Rescue to raise funds for new

equipment. Worldwide vendors with gems, miner-

als, fossils, jewelry, and much more; contact Donna

Collis, 136 Majestic View, Spruce Pine, NC 28777,

(828)-765-5519; e-mail: collisdonna@yahoo.com;

Web site: www.grassycreekgemshow.org

Aug. 11-13 Dalton, GA Annual show; Dalton Gem

and Mineral Jewelry Show, Northwest Georgia

Trade and Convention Center; 2211 Dug Gap Battle

Rd.; Fri. 2-7, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 11-5; Adults $4, Chil-

dren free under 17; Join us for the 26th Annual Dal-

ton Gem and Mineral Jewelry Show! Custom work

and repairs will also be available. We will have door

prizes daily as well as a grand door prize! Come

check us out!; contact Mohammad Tahir, PO Box

4046, Dalton, GA 30719, (706)-537-8960; e-mail:

tahir1269@yahoo.com; www.facebook.com/pg/

daltongemandmineraljewelryshow

Aug. 12-13 Gonzales, LA Annual show; Baton

Rouge Gem & Mineral Society , Lamar Dixon Expo

Center Trademart Building; 9039 S St. Landry Ave;

Sat. 10-5, Sun. 10-5; Adults $5, Children $3; Dem-

onstrations: Cabbing, Faceting, Wire wrapping, and

more… Door Prizes all day Silent auctions going on

both days Scouts and educational groups are wel-

come. ; contact Wanda Gawarecki, LA; e-mail: mer-

cymom3@gmail.com; www.brgemandmineral.org

Board Meeting Minutes ~ June 26, 2017

In attendance Larry and Cindy Hensley, Ju-

dith Johnson, Sandra Sullivan, Bunny and Reggie

Bolton, Cathy Kellogg, Lou Ann Newell and

Yvonne and Levan Foster.

Reggie and Larry agreed to meet this upcoming

weekend to go over the new members and go over

monies taken in and paid out. We discussed the need

for a new location for our club meetings due to the

problem with getting the room on the scheduled

dates. The membership should be asked for ideas.

The Tannehill show was the main topic of con-

versation. Volunteering was good at the club tent

but mediocre at games. At the vendor dinner we had

enough people helping but not as many members

showed up as said they would. This costs us money

folks! The hot dog vendor who only served on Sat-

urday and Sunday was very rude to our caterer when

he showed up. A formal letter of complaint has been

sent to the Tannehill events coordinator by Cathy

Kellogg about this. Our contract with the Tannehill

park states that vendors who show up before Satur-

day need to pay the entrance fee. We need to review

the contract and possibly make changes. The secu-

rity guard was under paid and the board voted to

budget up to $350.00 for next year. Changes need to

be made to the wording on the sandwich boards to

reflect the new location for the club tent. The web-

site and brochures need to be updated as well. More

sandwich boards are needed directing our visitors to

club tent, demos, games etc. The bill has been paid

for the rented tables, but the Tannehill park hasn't

billed us yet. Sandra will reserve the cabin on July

3rd. The vendors will be asked to prepay for the

Vendor Dinner - $10.00 in advance and $12.00 at

the 'door' with a ticket given to them in the package

with tax envelopes and park pass.

Yvonne will not be doing the Hoot-N-Holler next

year so if any member is interested in this space for

demonstrations, talk to a board member. We talked

about trying to group club members' spaces together

but too many already have an Continued on page 8.

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 7 ROCKHOUND ROUNDUP JULY 2017

4.

Clubs and Societies Shows and Rock Swaps via

RockNGem shows, SFMS website, and other sources

An Official Field Trip of the

Southern Appalachian Mineral

Society (Asheville, NC) (HOST)

Saturday, July 15, 2017

9:00 a.m. Eastern

McKinney Mine

Near Spruce Pine, NC

Fee: $20 TRIP: The Southern Appalachian Mineral Society

is sponsoring the July field trip to the McKinney

Mine at Emerald Village, near Spruce Pine,

NC. The trip will begin at 9:30 am with a guided

tour of the Bon Ami feldspar mine and Museum. At

approximately 10:15 we will cross the road to the

dump piles of the McKinney Mine. Digging is al-

lowed all day.

COLLECTING: Nice Mica specimens as well as

Smoky Quartz, Feldspar, and Garnets. Aquamarine

& Green and Yellow Beryl can occasionally be

found on the dumps but they are scarce. Many other

rare and unusual rocks & minerals, including

Columbite, Samarskite, Torbernite, Uranophane,

Hyalite Opal, Malachite, Tourmaline, Thulite, Ama-

zonite, Pyrite and Dendrites. One of our members

will have a Geiger counter for checking Samarskite

or Unaninite.

BRING: This is definitely a digging site. The sur-

face will yield fewer specimens. People should bring

hammers, chisel, shovel, safety glasses, gloves, col-

lecting bucket, etc. Tools are availble to rent for

$25 per day (+ $50 deposit; tools can be shared &

include shovel, rock hammer, crack hammer, safety

goggles, trowel, small screen, 5 gallon bucket). Wa-

ter and snacks are a good idea, but food is also avail-

able in the complex.

FEE: $20 per person / $10 for children 12 and un-

der. Admission is by permit only! EVERY person

going onto the dump area must pay the fee, whether

collecting or not. There is also a flume where, for an

additional fee, buckets can be purchased and

searched.

REGISTRATION: Members should gather be-

tween 9:00 to 9:15 to register, pay the fee, and sign

the release. For anyone under the age of 18, the form

must also be signed by a parent or legal guardian.

You must keep a copy of the permit and show it

to any staff person upon request. Failure to pre-

sent a permit upon request will result in your

eviction from the site and confiscation of any col-

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 7 ROCKHOUND ROUNDUP JULY 2017

collected materials.

REQUIREMENTS: Safety is paramount! Hazard-

ous conditions occur on the dump and YOU are re-

sponsible for your own safety. No climbing or dig-

ging is allowed on or near the sides of the dump!

Safety glasses must be worn at all times when

hammering is done. Anyone practicing unsafe ac-

tivities will be asked to leave and no refund will be

given. Anyone on the dump without a permit (or us-

ing unauthorized equipment) will forfeit any rocks or

minerals collected and will be evicted from the prop-

erty. Be safe!

CHILDREN (Maybe): Collecting on the dumps can

be hazardous and is not suitable for small children.

Any person under the age of 18 going on the dumps

must be accompanied by, and under the direct super-

vision of a responsible paying adult.

PETS (NO): No information, so assume pets are not

allowed.

FACILITIES: Food, water, restrooms, and picnic

tables are available at the site.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: There is a walk-

ing path to the creek on the left as you enter the

dump area. You can wash your rocks here or carry

water from this location to your dig-site. Please do

not access the creek anywhere else.

Collecting is only allowed in the designated dump

area. Parking is not allowed along the road-side. All

vehicles must be removed from the property by clos-

ing time. Emerald Village reserves the right to refuse

access to anyone at any time, the right to close the

dump at any time, and the right to limit amount col-

lected to one 5 gallon bucket full per permit. Permits

are revocable and are not transferable.

You are allowed to leave and return to the dump area

to use the restrooms or get something to eat. When

you are finished collecting please return any rental

tools and get your deposit back. You are expected to

remove any trash.

DIRECTIONS AND WHERE TO MEET:

From I40 exit 85 in Marion NC: Take US 221 to-

ward Marion, turn left on US 221 N 1.8 miles; turn

left to stay on US 221 N 12.1 miles; Turn left on NC

226N 5.3 miles; turn right to stay on NC 226 N 377

feet; turn right on Blue Ridge Parkway 3.0 miles;

turn left toward High Ridge Rd 187 feet; turn right

on High Ridge Rd 265 feet; Continued on page 6.

5.

Brad Smith Bench Tips ~

FANCY RIVET HEADS

For a nice looking rivet head, use brass escutch-

eon pins. You'll have perfectly rounded heads that

are all the same size and shape. The pins are a little

hard to find, so try the best hardware stores first. Be

sure to get solid brass pins, not brass plated steel. If

unsure, test them with a magnet.

The pins are readily available online. Lee Valley

Tools has them in 14 - 18 gauge and lengths from

1/4 inch to 1 inch. Go to http://www.LeeValley.com

and do an item search on "brass escutcheon pin"

For best results, select a drill that gives you a

hole with a close fit to the rivet. Trim the rivet to a

leave a little less than one diameter sticking out the

back side. Place the head on a scrap of hard plastic

on the anvil so as to not flatten the head. I prefer a

ball peen hammer (with a small

3/8 inch ball) for setting the

rivet.

EASIER PRONG SETTING

When setting stones in a

prong mount, the tool is less

likely to slip off the prong if you grind a groove into

its face or rough up the face a bit with sandpa-

per. Some folks prefer a prong pusher for doing

this, and others like a set of pliers.

The easiest way to create a slot on the pusher is

with a file, and the easiest way to create a slot on

one jaw of your pliers is with a cutoff wheel. Then

rough polish the slot with a medium grit, knife-edge

silicone wheel.

BradSmithJewelry.com Bench Tips for Jewelry

Making" and "Broom Casting for Creative Jewelry”

See all Brad's jewelry books at

Amazon.com/author/BradfordSmith

Classified Ads and Rockswap Items ~

This is a new area for our newsletter. It has been sug-

gested many times down through the years. If you

have something you would like to sale or trade, say

some used equipment or slabs, email the information

in to the editor. Please include any extra items that go

along with the machine or area from which the rock/

slabs were collected. This can be a wonderful way of

communicating from member to members. A standard

form may at some point in time be needed. Please

have which way you wish to be contacted; phone,

email, text, even snail mail. Let’s get this going: For Sale : Variety of slabs and slab material Contact : Sandra Sullivan doodle35146ss@yahoo.com

What would you like to list?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Continued from page 5. DMC Fieldtrip turn right

on Chestnut Grove Rd 1.0 mile; turn left onto McKin-

ney Mine Rd destination on right.

From Burnsville NC: Take US 19E 9.1 miles; turn

right on Crabtree Rd 4.8 miles; turn left on McKinney

Mine Rd .3 mile.

CONTACT: Ken Casebeer, SAMS at 828-277-1779

DMC Coordinator email:

sfms-dmc@amfed.org

World Wide Web site for the DMC is:

http://www.amfed.org/sfms/_dmc/dmc.htm

DMC is a program of the Field Trip Committee of the

Southeast Federation of Mineralogical Societies, Inc.

Copyright © All rights reserved.

"Earth first...we'll collect on the other planets later."

Let’s don’t forget the little kids too! For more informa-

tion concerning kids and rocks, check out this web-

site too! www.kidsloverocks.com

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ godmadeagates.com. Another great website

to educate and entertain oneself. Check it out.

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 7 ROCKHOUND ROUNDUP JULY 2017

6.

Editor’s Note ~ A retraction is needed to address

the correct of a name in last months issue of the

Rockhound Roundup. The name is of one of our

dealers that passed away. Lawrence (Larry) New-

man was unintentionally spelled Larry Newell. We

signed cards for his mother and business partner at

the meeting. Thanks Steve A. Your friendly editor,

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 7 ROCKHOUND ROUNDUP JULY 2017

7.

SFMS and EFMLS Workshops ~ The SFMS sponsors five Gem, Jewelry and Mineral work-

shops each year. These are held at Wildacres, near Little Switzerland in North Carolina, and at the William

Holland Retreat near the small town of Young Harris in northeast Georgia. A broad range of courses related

to the lapidary arts are taught by qualified instructors from throughout the Federation. All instructors are vol-

unteers who are not paid for the highly skilled and professional experience that they bring to the workshops.

The workshops are well equipped for common lapidary activities such as cabochon cutting, faceting, and

silversmithing. Additional equipment is brought in when new or special courses are taught. For more informa-

tion see the website for the latest update of classes to choose from and the necessary forms to mail in. www.amfed.org/sfms.

SFMS Education Chairman Danny Griffin

1320 Byrd Cir.

Kingston, TN 37763

865-406-8802

Email: gcjinc@comcast.net

The EFMLS or the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical Societies will have as the second ses-

sion guest speaker Tim Morgan will return “to the mountain” as our Speaker-in-Residence for the fall session!

Registration will open on January 1. Wildacres Fall Classes - Sept. 4 - 10, 2017. We’ll have class descriptions

and other information in the July EFMLS News as well as information about Tim Morgan and our stellar fall

session line-up as well. Tuition for 2017 will be $410.00 per person and will include your room and board, and

gratuity for the resident Wildacres staff. Your only additional “out of pocket” expenses will be for the materi-

als used in the class or classes you take and monies you spend at the annual auction, in the canteen or at the

tail gate. So.... see the July issue of the EFMLS for a list of classes to choose

from and the necessary forms to mail in. http://www.amfed.org/efmls/

July 15th Hoover Library Class ~ Let’s come out and do a Wire Project!

The Lapidary Ladies say come on down for some fun with wire! Please bring your usual tools PLUS these

items: 26 gage wire, small accent beads, and a 1/4 “ dowel. We will be bezaling cabs and doing some Viking

work or (knitting wire) project. The regular scheduled classes would run 10:30 am to 5:30 pm. If you have an

ideas about a class that you would like have offered, please contact : Cindy Hensley 205-910-2293 or Yvonne

Foster 205-602-8280 for more info. S.S. Picture via Lapidary Pictures

Cindy Hensley Yvonne Foster

The workshop week begins on Sunday with

check-in after 3:00 p.m.; dinner is at 6:00 p.m.

Classes start at 9:00 a.m. on Monday. Tuesday

night is generally scheduled for an auction

with items donated by students and instructors.

Proceeds go into classroom equipment and

supplies.

Picture via EFMLS Wildacres website

2017 EFMLS Wildacres Registration Suzie Milligan

931 Carmichael Rd.

Owego, NY 13827-3320

If you have any questions, please contact either

Suzie Carmichael, Registrar at <smilligan@stny.rr.com> or 607-687-5108

Pamm Bryant, Director at <pjbryant@juno.com> or 804-457-4698

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 7 ROCKHOUND ROUNDUP JULY 2017

8.

New Members … Please welcome our newest

members Frank and Marti Buck of Vestavia, AL.

Rick Halbrooks of Birmingham, AL. Diane Lightfoot

of Pelham, AL. Knox Franklin and family of Truss-

ville, AL. Ken and Jan Deason of Pinson, AL. Doug,

Sheri Frickey and children of Gadsden, AL. Thyme

Randle and Kyoka Akers and Keylen Akers of Hoo-

ver, AL. Michael Reed of Collinsville, AL.Scott

Dobbs abd Claire Ardis of Talladega, AL. Karen

Lingo Howard and Lauren Howard of Homewood,

AL. Joseph Huffstutler of Trussville, AL. Kenneth

Clarke of Fisher, W.V. Amy Bischoff, Harrison

Smith and Scott Smith of Birmingham, AL. Karen

Allen of Trussville, AL. Lissette Bourque, Cameron

Gray, Betty Heald of Calera, AL. Ken Dodd of

Branford, FL. Nathan and Mitzy Erdmann and sons

of Hoover, AL. Denise, Yancy and son Morgan of

Cordova, AL. Nicole Vincent of Trussville, AL. Ki-

sta, Aaron and Memphis Hamilton of Irondale, AL.

Rosemary Robinson of Pinson, AL. Thomas Marrs

of Pinson, AL. and Raymond and Pam Thompson of

Hoover, AL.

Please extend your hand to any new face in the

crowd and let them know they are welcomed. Just a

few friendly words can put someone at ease; after all

we’re all just earthy folks called rockhounds. S.S.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A.M.L.S. T – Shirt inventory ~

We have the following t-shirts available.....

Children youth No pockets :

( 2 ) Small

( 2 ) Medium

Adults: No Small’s

( 6 ) Medium No pocket

( 4 ) Medium With pocket

( 19 ) Large No Pockets

( 0 ) Large With pocket

( 12 ) X-Lg. No Pocket

( 0 ) X-Lg. With Pocket

( 5 ) 2X- Lg. No Pocket

( 2 ) 2X-Lg. With Pocket

( 52 ) Total T-Shirts ( maybe a couple that are sold)

We need to see about getting the larger sizes like

3 X-Lg. and 4 X-Lg. and maybe 5 X-Lg.

Your favorite T-shirt lady, Lou Ann Newel *Please

contact her before a meeting if you want a T-shirt.

Continued from page 4. established space.

Photos are needed of the show, field trips,

classes, cabbing weekends etc. for the website. Also if

you are showing your lapidary work, we can put that

info on the website and in the Rockhound Roundup if

you want. Larry Hensley and Cathy Kellogg will ad-

dress volunteerism at the next meeting. We need

members to step up to several positions. Sandra is re-

tiring after MANY years as Corresponding Secretary.

We also need a Tannehill shadow to work with Cathy

and take over when she is ready to give it up. Other

Chairs include Education, Historian, Youth Director

and Webmaster. Yvonne Foster suggested putting into

the newsletter the addition of a Classified Column

about lapidary items the members have for sale. This

was discussed. Sandra said we could do it.

Donations have been made by Walter Anderton,

Martha Phillippi and Marie Cash. We will auction

some off in November at the Ed Elam Auction.

A nominating committee was talked about for next

year's Board. These names were placed as possible

nominaIt will include Cathy Kellogg, Lou Ann New-

ell, Sue Ann Chapman, Don Rosenstiel, Tony West

and Savanna Mc Cravy.

Lou Ann Newell is planning a Hogg

Mine field trip for after their next ma-

chine dig. Our meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Bunny Bolton, Recording Secretary

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rockhound Related things to do this summer

Hike along a trail known for certain kinds of rocks or minerals

Go to a gold panning site and pan for gold Do a road side collecting stop just to see what has

washed in the area lately Take in a museum, many have rocks related items

in well known collections; the Birmingham Mu-seum has cabochons in the Chinese section dat-ing back hundreds of years ago

The Museum of Natural History is another Visit a nearby club show where all kinds of rocks

can be found Look down at where your feet are going - fossils

are in every county in this state! Good Luck! Call me I might want to go too! S.S.

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 7 JULY 2017 ROCKHOUND ROUNDUP

9.

Lapidary Whisperer CABS I FOUND HIDING INSIDE THUNDEREGGS

Posted: 07 Jun 2017 12:00 AM PDT

My favorite Thunderegg cabochon

I used to think that thundereggs were, to be honest, boring. The first ones I found had milky-colored stones that were often too small, misshapen, or simply not interested in tell-ing me a story.

Then, I started getting lucky once in a while. The first lucky thundereggs were table agate

stripes of quartz layers in different shades like this one. Now, in and of themselves, these

stripes aren't all that fascinating, but the thunderegg assured me that I'd find a story if I just

kept looking.

The one thing I was sure of was that I did not want to include any of the non-quartz ma-

terial in my cab, so I sliced this and decided to go with a free-form shape and see what hap-

pened. GUESS WHAT I FOUND!

I found a little race car! In the picture you can see the rear wheel and the head of the

driver in the cockpit. The circles are cross views of tube agates that also grew with the table

agate inside the thunderegg, but were not visible until I had ground the agate into the curved

cab shape. I had designed the free-form shape of this cab before I started grinding, so I did-

n't know about the car yet, but I love the way the shape makes the car look like it's moving.

MAKING THE MOSS OF IT

This slab from a double thunderegg had a lot of moss running through it. It turned out to be

mixed blessing. On one hand, the moss itself is lovely, however, on the other hand, the

quartz is a smokey gray color. I was ambivalent about working it until I saw it back-lit. It

was amazing! The smokey color faded out to yellow and the fanciful moss became distinct

with crisp edges and gave the impression of floating. It's a nice cab for my collection, but I

doubt I'll ever mount it for jewelry because it's much less impressive without the back light.

BREAKING MY OWN RULES

Earlier, I mentioned that I I don't like to include the non-quartzy material when I make cabs from thunde-

reggs. Except for this one.

In working with the exterior material, I've had problems because it tends to

be somewhat soft, happy to have small chunks fall off, and refuse to take a pol-

ish or even a bit of a luster. For this free-form, I would have lost the full shap-

ing of the material, and I was afraid I'd also lose the golden color. When I

made this shape, I could feel the gold colored material and it was slightly

rougher than the agate center, so I didn't want to get in close and risk losing the

red and gold embellishments. For those of you noticing the cab is on its side, well, no matter what angle I took

the photo from, and no matter how many times I edited it before bringing it into the blog, it kept insisting on

returning to this view. Since my rocks tend to talk to me, I finally decided it was saying it

liked this view best. So it is what it is.

I also love the way the interior circle-ish shapes give the impression that it is a blue

whirlpool and it is breaking off parts of the gold edge and swirling them away. Have you ever found a really incredible cab inside a thunderegg? If so, send me a pic-

ture and maybe I can use it in another blog post.

Your Lapidary Whisperer, Donna Albrecht

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 7 ROCKHOUND ROUNDUP JULY 2017

10

2017 Solar Eclipse ~ August 21

Let’s have some fun adults and children too!

If you would like to get ready for the solar event of our lifetime, you may like to go to some of these websites: https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/

search;_ylt=A0LEViaWLWRZ92gAJYMnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByMjB0aG5zBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMx

BHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?p=Solar+Eclipse+2017&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-001

There are some great websites out there to get some good information about this terrific event.

2017 Solar Eclipse ~ Great Smoky Mountains via https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/2017-solar-eclipse.htm

NASA website

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/

NASA – Total Solar Eclipse https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2017/TSE2017.html

On 2017 August 21, a total eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor

that traverses the United States of America. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow be-gins in northern Pacific and crosses the USA from west to east through parts of the fol-

lowing states: Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina (note: only a

tiny corner of Montana and Iowa are in the eclipse path). The Moon's penumbral

shadow produces a partial eclipse visible from a much larger region covering most of North America. Pictures via the listed internet sites

Safety | Total Solar Eclipse

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 7 ROCKHOUND ROUNDUP JULY 2017

11

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A.M.L.S. Application for Membership ______New ____ Renewal

NAME (S) ___________________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS ___________________________________________________________________________

CITY ___________________________________________ STATE _________ ZIP _____________

HOME PHONE_______________________ WORK PHONE______________________

E-MAIL ADDRESS(S)________________________________________________________

Family $25.______ Single $20.______ Junior / Student $15.____

After June 1, the cost of the membership dues are one-half price for new members only for the remainder of

that year. Dues for regular members are to be renewed at the November meeting and / or before January

1st of the new year. A $5.00 discount if paid by the December meeting.

Please make checks payable to the ALABAMA MINERAL & LAPIDARY SOCIETY and mail to

P.O. BOX 1067 SPRINGVILLE, AL. 35146 OR bring to a meeting.

Meeting Date: Second Friday of each month except for the month of June. The Tannehill Show takes the

place of the June meeting.

Meeting Place: Emmet O’Neal Library 50 Oak St. Mountain Brook, AL. 35213 PH. (205) 897-0459

Website: info@eolib.org

Meeting Time: 6:30 p.m. Date Received ___________

Visitors Welcomed !

Last page funnies ... The ROCKHOUND’S TEN COMMANDMENT’S

1. Thou shalt not touch thy neighbor’s minerals unless he places them in thy hand.

2. Thou shalt not test the strength of crystals by pinching, squeezing, or biting.

3. Thou shalt not drop thy neighbor’s fossil, for many do not bounce properly.

4. Thou shalt not place thy neighbor’s specimen in thine own pocket.

5. Thou shalt not argue the name of that mineral too violently. Sometimes thou can be wrong.

6. Thou shalt not test thy neighbor’s agates for hardness by rubbing them together.

7. Thou shalt not climb above thou neighbor’s head when on a fieldtrip, lest thou art willing to

spent the rest of the day digging him out.

8. Thou shalt protect thine eyes, hands, and feet so that thou can enjoy many more fieldtrips.

9. Thou shalt not encroach upon thy neighbor’s digging, lest his hammer be dropped upon thy toe.

10. Thou shalt not complain about, or denounce, the club officers under penalty of being elected

one thyself.

Website: http//www.alabama.lapidaryclub.com

SANDRA SULLIVAN, EDITOR

P.O. BOX 1067

SPRINGVILLE, AL. 35146

If undeliverable, please return

to the address above.

Meeting: JULY 14, 2017 Friday

Place: EMMET O’NEAL LIBRARY

50 Oak St. Mt. Brook, AL. 35213

205-897-0459 info@eolib.org

Time: 6:30 pm gathering and fellowship

And food. 7 pm Program

MAILING LABEL

STAMP

ALABAMA MINERAL & LAPIDARY SOCIETY Birmingham, Alabama

The Alabama Mineral & Lapidary Society is a non-profit organization for people interested in geology, mineral-

ogy, paleontology, and the lapidary arts. Membership is open to all people interested in the objectives of the society.

Dues for the calendar year 2017 are $25.00 family, $20.00 single, and Juniors / Students $15.00. If you pay by the De-

cember meeting there will be a $5.00 discount. Checks should be made payable to the Alabama Mineral & Lapidary

Society and given to the treasurer. The society holds regular meetings on the second Friday of the month at 6:30 pm

( except the month of June because of the Tannehill Show ). Meetings are currently held at the Emmet O’Neal Li-

brary in Mt. Brook, AL. and usually last an hour and a half. There is a half hour of snacks and fellowship preceding

the meeting.

The society is affiliated with the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies, the Southeast Federation of Min-

eralogical Societies, and the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical Societies. Reprint rights are granted for any infor-

mation in the bulletin except minutes and copy right articles with permission to print one time only in ROCKHOUND

ROUNDUP, provided credit is given to the author and the original publication as well as the bulletin. Exchange bulle-

tins should be addressed to the editor.

THE SOUTHEAST FEDERATION OF MINERALOGICAL SOCIETIES, INC.

A NON-PROFIT, NON-COMMERCIAL, NON POLITICAL ORGANIZATION AND

REGIONAL FEDERATION OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF

MINERALOGICAL SOCIETIES

PURPOSE:

To bring about a closer association of clubs and societies devoted to the study of the Earth Sciences and the

practice of the lapidary arts and crafts in the southeastern part of the United States.

OBJECTIVE:

To cooperate with similar Federations to promote public interest in the Earth Sciences and the

conservation of natural resources.

ROCKHOUND ROUNDUP VOLUME 57 ISSUE 7 JULY 2017