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Chris Rayburn
Joined: 07 Oct 2013
Posts: 66
Location: Arvada, Colorado
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Posted: Nov 13, 2014 06:40 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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An enjoyable read as always, Vic. And season's greeting back at you.
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vic rzonca
Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 820
Location: MA
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Posted: May 10, 2015 23:12 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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It's been a hell of a winter here in the great north east, as oxymoronic as that sounds. The snow is gone, didn't really have much of a mud season and now it's time to see what help Jack frost has been over the winter.
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Looking south from nearly the hight of land on the way out of the town of Fonda. |
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Farmland, much of it worked by the Amish, on the way up to the dolostone. |
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They don't last very long, going from white, to pink, to wilted in a day it seems. |
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This image shows the sedimentary nature of the Little Falls dolostone. The exposed section is about 5' high and clearly shows a foamy silicified stromatolithic layer below a finer grained strata. The days digging began to the right of this corner. |
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After removing a block that Jack had loosened for me, I was presented with a nice little surprise. |
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Mineral: | Quartz |
Locality: | Fonda, Mohawk, Montgomery County, New York, USA | |
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Dimensions: | @ 12 cm. |
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The reverse side. Very dirty. |
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There is an article on finding a pocket on this site, this might be better off there. How to find a pocket? Take a rock and hit it with a hammer. |
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The White on this site is only a little less brutish. |
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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Posted: May 11, 2015 15:08 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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Looks like a decent start to the season Vic, and I like your flower pics! Yes indeed, we appear to share the same philosophy regarding how to find a pocket - find a rock - bash it with a hammer - see what's inside...! Mind you, this approach seems to work best if
a: there are a lot of rocks
b: the pockets are small
Cheers ;-)
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vic rzonca
Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 820
Location: MA
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Posted: May 31, 2015 09:31 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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Yes Mike, pretty fair start but it can all go bad real easy.
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We seem to have run upon a very hard section that splits, with much force, in inopportune ways, causing us to employ extremely sketchy operations. It didn't work. There is a need to enhance our shim inventory. |
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In decending order left to right. 100 ton, 60 ton, 30 ton psi. lifting force. All in vain today. |
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Life is dangerous. It's more dangerous when you're foolish. None of it moved. The aluminum blocking deforms and they stick to each other so if there is a blow out it doesn't send the blocks flying. The stickyness of the alloy slows the slipping moment. |
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Mineral: | Quartz |
Locality: | Fonda, Mohawk, Montgomery County, New York, USA | |
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Dimensions: | 1.5 cm. |
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Water included. Wrong light setting. |
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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Posted: May 31, 2015 10:49 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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Wow Vic, I don't think I would have been that close to the jack! I can't stop cringing when I see that photo. Didn't you have a longer hose? Time to get out the 28lb sledgehammer and some wedges?! Or drill it and use expansion grout, perhaps.
Careful now!
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vic rzonca
Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 820
Location: MA
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Posted: May 31, 2015 12:03 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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Have no fear. It's not as bad or stupid as it looks (open for debate). Each push on the pump moves the piston maybe a millimeter so you can keep an eye on things and bail anytime. The key is the alloy blocking. They are light, very malleable and don't slip catastrophically as steel on steel would do. They also conform to the dolostone very nicely so rather than chip off flakes or dinner plating it, it deforms and more gently grips the stone. Hammer, wedges, pins and feathers hurt my carpal tunnels. Drilling hurts my ears. We have longer hoses. I like to get close to my work, thanks for your concern. By way of disclaimer: All operations displayed here are done by trained professionals with years of misguided endeavor and should not be tried at home. Thank you.
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vic rzonca
Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 820
Location: MA
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Posted: May 31, 2015 12:27 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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Can you identify this?
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Jordi Fabre
Overall coordinator of the Forum
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4905
Location: Barcelona
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Posted: May 31, 2015 15:06 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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Rzoncite?
Please make the proofs of hardness, streak, acids reaction and after all these tests throw them all to the WC and then pull the chain ;-) ;-) ;-)
Thank you in advance to clear out them all, the humanity will feel better without them...
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vic rzonca
Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 820
Location: MA
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Posted: Jun 01, 2015 09:19 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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All tests point to the WC. Having a little trouble with the chain pull test.
I love this forum. (Thanks for putting up with me.)
Mineral: | Quartz |
Locality: | Fonda, Mohawk, Montgomery County, New York, USA | |
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Dimensions: | to 10 cm. |
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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Posted: Jun 01, 2015 13:50 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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"Can you identify this? (Just kidding)" - Looks like aquarium gravel to me :-)
I hear what you're saying about the hydraulic jacks and aluminium shims (I'd call 'em blocks), and I 'get it' that they don't slip because they are aluminium. Thanks for the further reassurance and explanations!
I have used those kind of jacks when I was doing rope-access work, taking down loose bits on cliffs, after we had given up with the five foot pinch bar; but of course the offending rock was already 'loose' with a big crevice behind it.
I like the keepers.
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vic rzonca
Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 820
Location: MA
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Posted: Jun 01, 2015 15:17 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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Really not good enough for the fish tank, Mike. Now wait. Hanging from a rope, with a five foot bar, hydraulic ram, sending truck sized scale off the pitch? My second question is, did you find anything?
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Jun 01, 2015 15:29 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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Nice specimens Vic! It looks like really hard work compared to what I am used to. Thanks for sharing.
_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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vic rzonca
Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 820
Location: MA
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Posted: Jun 01, 2015 15:43 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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Nothing is easy in the land of milk and honey, Pierre. PM me your address and I'll look into airline fares. Got a pallet on the floor for me?
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Mike Wood
Joined: 16 Dec 2010
Posts: 456
Location: Northern England
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Posted: Jun 01, 2015 16:44 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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Hi Vic, yes I used to do that sort of work, when I was a bit younger. Not all contracts were like that, did some drilling, rock-bolting, cables and netting; also erecting rock-catch fences. But the six-week job we got to do each winter for eight years or so was the biggest and best. The natural limestone cliffs are up to 400' high (130m), and after some time I actually got used to the height and scare factor! It helped when they (after a couple of years) gave us an extra rope for safety reasons...
To answer your second question, I didn't find anything at all interesting mineralogically speaking, though I did work on other cliffs which were more bountiful. Best thing was a vein of albite (in a slatey rock) with occasional small pockets containing axinite crystals - but only to about a quarter inch (6mm). I did a fair amount of rock removal to achieve this but had to give up due to lack of time, plus the very small cliff I was working on above the very public footpath (closed off to public at the time) was starting to look somewhat 'profiled'.
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vic rzonca
Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 820
Location: MA
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Posted: Mar 18, 2016 22:31 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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Just a couple of teasers from last season. Things are thawing fast so the urge to dig grows.
Mineral: | Quartz |
Locality: | Fonda, Mohawk, Montgomery County, New York, USA | |
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Dimensions: | 20 cm. |
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Mineral: | Quartz |
Locality: | Fonda, Mohawk, Montgomery County, New York, USA | |
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Dimensions: | 20 cm. |
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Mar 19, 2016 01:55 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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Fantastic specimen Vic! I am drooling all over my computer:-)
_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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vic rzonca
Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 820
Location: MA
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Posted: Mar 30, 2016 06:10 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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The field collecting season is upon us here in the great North East. Good luck everyone.
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I think we're into something here. |
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Jordi Fabre
Overall coordinator of the Forum
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 4905
Location: Barcelona
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Posted: Mar 31, 2016 05:16 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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vic rzonca wrote: | The field collecting season is upon us here in the great North East. Good luck everyone. |
New season but old techniques, uh? ;-) ;-)
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Pierre Joubert
Joined: 09 Mar 2012
Posts: 1605
Location: Western Cape
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Posted: Mar 31, 2016 06:42 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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Hi Vic, is that your team? :-) When you do come to visit, will you please bring them along, we can use them well:-)
_________________ Pierre Joubert
'The tree of silence bears the fruit of peace. ' |
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Susan Robinson
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
Posts: 163
Location: Hancock, MI
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Posted: Mar 31, 2016 11:37 Post subject: Re: Collecting quartz on the Little Falls dolostone |
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That's one place you can collect to avoid the scourges of spring in the northeast: black flies and mosquitoes.
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