2010 Officers / Board of Directors

Interested in being an officer?

We're beginning to search for the new group of members to lead our club in 2011. If you're interested in participating on the board or want to get further involved, see one of the board members for details or talk to Rick O. or Loyanne .

Don't forget to get your tumblers running for our Show Grab Bags. Our goal is 500 lbs. of tumbled rocks however small bags of garnets or labeled mineral specimens are welcome as well.

You've got a full year to fill next year's quota so get those tumblers tumbling!

ROCK-E TRAILS NOW AVAILABLE IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT

Rock-e Trails is available to those who are willing to receive their newsletter by email and see it in full color. The club encourages members to choose the electronic version, which may--from time to time--have bonus material. The club saves trees, postage, and copying expenses, and you can save it for easy reference. E-mail Susan Gardner to get on the list!

By Popular demand,

Tomas Green's "You Know You are a Rock Hound If" as told at the 2009 Holiday party:

IT PAYS TO VOLUNTEER!

It pays to volunteer! Check out the following link for a tribute to Harold Trettin who's been working with the Childrens Hospital Program. Way to go Harold!

http://www.seattlechildrens.org/videos/a-volunteer-in-action/

ARTICLES FOR ROCKY TRAILS

Are you an aspiring writer? Do you have a story, field trip report or photos you'd like to have included in the club's Rocky Trails Newsletter? Your contributions are welcome! It makes our editor's job easier if you can either e-mail your contribution or save it to a disk and mail it to her or give it to her at a meeting or workshop. If you have questions, you can always send us an e-mail.

E-mail Contributions to: info(at)northseattlerockclub.org

ROCK TALK LIST SERVER NOW ON-LINE

The Seattle Lapidary and Mineral Club now has our our own electronic list server. What's a list server? You join an e-mail group and when one person has something to broadcast, everyone gets the e-mail. When you reply, everyone gets your reply. A great way to ask questions of more experienced rockhounds or to schedule a spur of the moment field trip. It's free and it works great!

If you're interested in joining our List Server, simply send an e-mail to the webmaster and we'll get you plugged in with the instructions on how to join.

info(at)northseattlerockclub.org

FIELD TRIP COMMITTEE WANTS YOUR INPUT

2010 Rock Hunting season already?

Field Trip Committee seeks your input for 2010, If you have a favorite collecting site and want to suggest this for consideration, please contact our field trip coordinator. While you're out at your favorite collecting sites, make notes and let us know!! Others might enjoy these locations as well. Volunteers to lead trips are also welcome - just let us know how you'd like to help.

Contact our field trip coordinator via E-mail: fieldtrips(at)northseattlerockclub.org

Club Web Links

A special thanks to Bob Thompson for his never ending search for the ultimate rockhound web links.

These are great places to explore so have fun!

Washington State Mineral Council

United States Faceters Guild

Mineralogical Society of America

National Rockhound and Lapidary Hall of Fame

Northwest Mineral Prospector's Club

Treasure Hunting WIKI (Rocks too!)

more fantastic links here...

MOH'S HARDNESS SCALE

MOHS' SCALE OF HARDNESS The Mohs' hardness scale was developed in 1822 by Frederich Mohs. This scale is a chart of relative hardness of the various minerals (1 - softest to 10 - hardest). Since hardness depends upon the crystallographic direction (ultimately on the strength of the bonds between atoms in a crystal), there can be variations in hardness depending upon the direction in which one measures this property. One of the most striking examples of this is kyanite, which has a hardness of 5.5 parallel to the 1 direction ( c-axis), while it has a hardness of 7.0 parallel to the 100 direction ( a-axis). Talc (1), the softest mineral on the Mohs scale has a hardness greater than gypsum (2) in the direction that is perpendicular to the cleavage. Diamonds (10) also show a variation in hardness (the octahedral faces are harder than the cube faces).

Mohs' hardness is a measure of the relative hardness and resistance to scratching between minerals. Other hardness scales rely on the ability to create an indentation into the tested mineral (such as the Rockwell, Vickers, and Brinell hardness - these are used mainly to determine hardness in metals and metal alloys). The scratch hardness is related to the breaking of the chemical bonds in the material, creation of microfractures on the surface, or displacing atoms (in metals) of the mineral. Generally, minerals with covalent bonds are the hardest while minerals with ionic, metallic, or van der Waals bonding are much softer.

When doing the tests of the minerals it is necessary to determine which mineral was scratched. The powder can be rubbed or blown off and surface scratches can usually be felt by running the fingernail over the surface. One can also get a relative feel for the hardness difference between two minerals. For instance quartz will be able to scratch calcite with much greater ease than you can scratch calcite with fluorite. One must also use enough force to create the scratch (if you don't use enough force even diamond will not be able to scratch quartz - this is an area where practice is important). You also have to be careful to test the material that you think you are testing and not some small inclusion in the sample. This is where using a small hand lens can be very useful to determine if the test area is homogenous.

Why is hardness important? The effects of high hardness are important in many fields. Abrasives are used to form and polish many substances. Diamonds are an important mineral component in cutting tools for the manufacturing of metals and other substances, forming dies for the drawing of wires, and for cutting cores in oil wells and mineral exploration. Emery - a variety of corundum, is used in many abrasive products that do not require the hardness (or expense) of diamond tools. Garnets were used as an abrasive in sandpaper. Talc is an extremely soft mineral that has been used in bath powders (talcum powder).

Mineral harness is also important in sedimentary rocks. Harder minerals tend to be able to travel longer distances down river systems. Quartz can often undergo several cycles of erosion, transportation and lithification ( change of sediments to rock). Zircons are persistent minerals in the environment and can often tell geologists the types of rock that were the original source rock for metamorphic or sedimentary rocks.

Mineral hardness can also be seen in the topography of many landscapes. Quartz bearing rocks are often more resistant to weathering and will produce the capstones that protect the tops of buttes and mesas from erosion.

GENERAL TUMBLING INSTRUCTIONS

Are you interested in tumbling stones for our grab bags or your own collection, have a tumbler and the stones but don't know how to get started? Confused about how much grit to use? The following is an overview of the steps to take to create beautifully tumbled gemstones (thanks to Loretone):

STEP 1: (80 GRIT) Fill the tumbler barrel 2/3 to 3/4 full with properly graded and sized stones. If the barrel is not full enough, you won't get the proper tumbling action in the later steps. Add the necessary amount of coarse grit to the stones in the barrel (see chart). After adding the grit, slowly add water until the water level is just touching the bottom of the top layer of stones. Do Not overfill because too much water will inhibit the tumbling action. Run the tumbler for 24 hours, them open the barrel to release any slight gas build-up during the coarse grind. If the slurry appears pasty or very thick, add a small amount of water. Let the tumbler run for an hour and recheck, add water as needed. The First (coarse) grind is the most important step and will take 7 to 10 days - be patient and don't stop too soon. Note: If the stones are not all smoothly rounded, it is necessary to repeat the coarse grind step using a charge of new grit. The original grit will have broken down too much to provide additional shaping. After the 1st grind, you must clean the barrel and stones thoroughly to remove all traces of the coarse grit slurry. Do not pour slurry into your plumbing system, it will settle in the pipes and harden like cement. There should be no visible grit or slurry left on the stones, you are now ready for step 2.

STEP 2: (220 GRIT) Place the cleaned stones in the barrel, inspecting them as you go, and removing any that need more coarse grinding - if you have less than 2/3 barrel full of stones add plastic pellets to make up the additional volume. Add proper amount of water and grit according to table, reseal the barrel, and let it run for 2 to 3 days before checking stones. On the 7th day, they should have a smooth matte finish over their entire surface, if not run for additional 2 to 3 days. Plastic pellets will float to the top, remove and clean them as they can be used again. Use the same cleaning procedure you used in step 1.

STEP 3: (600 GRIT) Fine or pre-polish, place stones into the barrel, following previous instructions. Run for about a week, checking progress ever other day. Clean and inspect stones for final polishing stage.

STEP 4: (CERIUM OXIDE POLISH OR) Gently place the stones into the barrel to avoid any scratching or chipping. After charging the tumbler with water and polishing compound (see table), add plastic pellets to increase volume to 2/3 - 3/4 full. The pellets will help carry the polishing compound and that will cushion the stones. Polishing should take 5 to 7 days. At the end of the this time, remove and inspect several stones. If they look the same when dry as they do when wet, your batch is finished. If, after 7 days, your polished gemstones appear to have a slight film on them, it can be removed and extra shine and luster added by burnishing step. Before burnishing, be sure to thoroughly clean the barrel and stones and recover the plastic pellets.

Burnishing: Place your stones into the barrel, add the same plastic pellets and proper amount of powdered soap (do not use any liquid detergents, dishwasher powders or any products that contain bleach or additives as these products will damage the barrel and ruin the polish). Add water as in previous steps and run for at least 4 days.

RECOMMENDED TUMBLIING COMPOUND QUANTITIES

The Rockhound's Code of Ethics

• I will respect both private and public property and will do no collecting on privately owned land without permission from the owner.
• I will keep informed on all laws, regulations and rules governing collecting on private lands and will observe them.
• I will to the best of my ability, ascertain the boundary lines of property on which I plan to collect. I will use no firearms or blasting materials in collecting areas.
• I will cause no willful damage to property of any kind, such as fences, signs, buildings, etc.
• I will leave all gates as found. I will build fires only in designated or safe places and will be certain they are completely extinguished before leaving the area.
• I will discard no burning materials - matches, cigarettes, etc.
• I will fill all excavation holes which may be dangerous to livestock.
• I will not contaminate wells, creeks, or other water supplies. I will cause no damage to collecting material and will take home only what I can reasonably use.
• I will support the Rockhound Project H.E.L.P. (Help Eliminate Litter Please) and will leave all collecting areas devoid of litter, regardless of how found.
• I will cooperate with Field Trip Leaders and those in designated authority in all collecting areas.
• I will report to my Club or Federation Officers, Bureau of Land Management, or other proper authorities, any deposit of petrified wood or other material on public lands which should be protected for the enjoyment of future generations and for public educational and scientific purposes.
• I will appreciate and protect our heritage of Natural Resources.
• I will observe the "Golden Rule", will use Good Outdoor Manners and will at all times conduct myself in a manner which will add to the stature and Public Image of Rockhounds everywhere.