u/BPLEquipment

Here is a collection of single macro images from the gembone slab macro that I shared earlier today.

Here are two pieces of somewhat rare fossil wood and limb cast from central Oregon. First piece is a colorful limb cast from Marston Ranch. The second is feather wood. The feathery patterns in this fossil wood are created by fungus.

When it comes to gembone, I feel pretty spoiled.
It takes a pretty spectacular piece to blow my mind these days. Well this slab definitely delivered! And I’m currently looking for the top of my head🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

This slab comes from the Isaiah Breckbill collection, and is one of the funkiest pieces I’ve shot in quite some time.
This image is 4 photos stitched together. Each of the 4 photos were shot at 5x magnification.

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!

Pre-Order Sale!!!!

Hey everyone! Our sincere apologies for the silence and length of time it has taken to get things back on track. But we are hard at work and back at it!!!

There has been increasing demand for the Slab’asaurus vise, and we want to make sure everyone who has been waiting, has an opportunity to secure a vise from the next batch of 200 units.

Follow the link for more info about manufacturing time, and expected shipping dates, as well as placing your pre-order.

https://www.bplequipment.com/store/p/slabasaurus-lapidary-vise-6sr7m?fbclid=IwdGRjcASn3RZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeThN92UDwmBSfJPNSw-O3inNzRmvx0rjg9U\_cOAAHy0tBHZ\_QIyu7Lz3v-vk\_aem\_yqeLb9rPKyKcIsfVE4D0sA

I never would have thought that this dark rough amygdule agate nodule, would reveal such mind blowing beauty inside!!! I am absolutely speechless by these colors, structures, and depth. This piece came from an old collection here in Central Oregon, from a retired vendor and rockhound. Photo of the whole face at the end of the photos!!!

I recently picked up a bunch of old stock central Oregon moss agate from a retired vendor. This material has been blowing my mind! I will try to post some macros in the comments.

Another piece of old stock material. I only got a few shots of this piece for a sales post, and now I kind of wish I would have shot more. I love that pink and green colorway, almost a smooth pastel feeling to it. The moss structures seem very noodly or webbed.

Full piece pictured at the end of the album.
This piece has incredible moss structures and colors, sagenite, and what might be barite blades!

A recently acquired polished piece that has similarities to both ochoco and Maury moss agate. Love the red layered moss structures contrasting with the vibrant blue/green needle formations. Not sure if that’s sagenite or goethite, or something else.

Great polished example of Tempskya that we recently acquired.

An absolutely gorgeous example of some of the incredible geology in the Ochoco Mountains of Oregon.
Full piece pictured at end of the photos.

A polished piece of pet wood from Sweet Home, Oregon. Macro images are shot at 2.5x and 5x magnification.

Pulled an armload out of the old collection random bin, washed them up and cut some slabs and specimens.
The material in this collection never ceases to blow my mind!!!

Slab and macro shots of the Trent agate, Ochoco moss/plume seam, and some old stock Maury Mountain.

I cut a few incredible smalls yesterday. First 3 are Priday thunder eggs, the 4th is a botryoidal piece from The Valley View mine in the Ochocos, and the last vid is a tiny but amazing Powell Butte plume piece.

This piece was found in an old central Oregon collection, and numerous locals have said it is most likely from Hampton Butte. Where ever it’s from, it sure is incredible! Photo of the whole piece at the end.

Here is a collection of macros from a piece I recently cut.
Location is unknown at this time. Picture of the full slab is at the end of the photos. Piece is about 8” on the long side.

Sometimes petrified wood can appear solid black in color. Most of the time it can still be very solid and capable of being polished. Using household bleach, you can most of the time lighten these dark colored pet woods.
This bleaching technique only lightens an extremely thin surface layer, so the technique should be used after polishing. Or you can bleach a piece and if you don’t like it, you can repolish the piece and remove the bleaching.
Pics 1-3 show a piece that was bleached and then polished, so some of the bleached area was removed. The light colored areas are what was left of bleaching after polishing. Pic 4 is the polished piece soaking in bleach. You want to use high strength liquid bleach. Do not use the thick anti splash/drip type of bleach. The high viscosity will not allow it to soak into the wood. Depending on the hardness and porosity of the wood, bleaching can take 1 hour, or it could take 3 days. It really depends on the material and your desired result; for how long it should soak for. Some tips to help in the process. If the piece and the bleach are warm and exposed to sunlight, that can definitely help the process. When done bleaching, make sure to soak the piece a few times in plain clean water to flush any bleach from the material/piece. Something to keep in mind while monitoring the bleaching process, the piece will appear lighter when dry, versus wet in the bleach. Pic 5 is dry and pic 6 is wet with water. So if you want to keep it more black, then pull the piece, rinse it, and dry it to see how it truly looks.
Hope this helps someone wanting to see more details in their pet wood. This only works on fossil woods and not limbcasts.

Hey everyone, the r/lapidary mod team is continuing the monthly giveaway, with this absolutely mega May giveaway!

While I am still relatively new to Reddit and this amazing group, I have already met some great people, and learned some valuable information that was of great use!
I share a lot of high end and rare materials through photography mostly, but every once in awhile I go bonkers and just want to share some of the goodies.
I definitely went crazy digging through the old collection of rare materials!!!

Comment on this thread and you will be entered for the giveaway. Giveaway will close May 15th and a randomly selected winner will be announced shortly after.

THE PRIZE!!!

A 17 pound plethora of Central Oregon old stock, rare materials. A small piece of Carey Plume, a piece of Powell Butte agate, a Priday thunder egg piece, a piece of Robinson Ranch Plume, a piece of Ochoco Moss Jasp-Agate, a piece of awesome Marston Ranch, a piece of Warm Springs / Stinking Water Plume, 2 small pieces of Powell Butte Plume/Moss, a large piece of wild water line plume agate that was possibly part of a giant thunder egg from the Valley View mine in the Ochocos, a small piece of polka dot agate, a piece of Maury Mountain Moss, and last but not least, a small piece of Hay Creek Ranch Moss/Plume agate with an amazing angel wing formation.

Someone is going to win big!!!!

Good luck everyone!!!
I am so freaking excited to get this shipped to one of you lucky members!!!

Thank you everyone, for creating such a great community!

If you are in the area this Saturday, stop by and check out some rocks. There have always been some amazing deals at these tailgate events. Good opportunity to meet fellow rock enthusiasts, learn about new materials, and maybe even find something for your next lapidary project or creation.