ALERT, ALERT, ALERT, AL

The PETROGRRPHNOUEMBER, 19974PUBLICITY FOR OURSHOW UPDATEOur annual show is being broughttogether by the various chairpersons. Thiswill be the best yet if we ALL work at it. Wewill need a lot of help from a lot of peopleto do it. When called upon all you need tosay is yes.Mary Bufton will be putting invitations to exh ibit your wares in thePetrograph each month till show time. Itwill explain everything. Two people maywant to get together to put in a case. Tryit, you'HIlke it. Also, Adrian Dyette will beputting a form in the Petrograph for youto put something in the competition case.There are several categories so one will befor you. This can be very good for newermembers. It will show where you need improve men t, if you need any!Remember, the show is a joint venture. It takes all of us, not just the same. (old) people. So when Joan Warren callsremember what you are supposed to say. Yes, yes.Your Show Chairman,Bill Collins. . . RAFFLEI should have our raffle pendant intime for the November meeting. Make sureyou take a look at it, as it is beautiful. Thenplan on helping sell some tickets.Our Show Auction case is beginningto look pretty good. If you have not contributed something and do plan to do so,please do it as soon as possible. It takestime to label and list the items and havethe list printed to give to prospective bidders. Late contributions do not get on thelist and are neglected. Thanks,Joe HammondSeveral items that need to be mentioned here. As we know, without our Show,we would have no Shop, ie. No Show : · NoShop. In the hussle and bussle of living wetake for granted that it will always be there,that it has a life force of it's own. Well, weall know that's not true. My point beingthat MORE THAN EYER we all need to becreative about GETTING PEOPLE TO COMETO OUR SHOW. It is our oxygen.If you come in to Shop you may havenoticed on top of the jewelry supply tablea stand/ box for holding the small Byers.We need to have these distributed aroundthe Bay Area in places where people wouldhelp themselves to one. For ego your dentist, doctor, health center, butcher, florist,barber shop, salon, restaurant, coffee shop,etc. are the kinds of places where peopletake time and will look at something like aflyer. Ask your kids to pass them out atwork. Assume nobody knows about thShow, and we need to get the word ou t forthe first time. People are really busy thesedays so we just need to be the squeakiestwheel around, and be the event that peoplechoose to go to on that particular weekend. The rockhounds in the area will cometo our show cause they can't help themselves!!!, the folks we need to reach ,are those looking for something interesting and enjoyable to do thatweekend. BeSides, that's where ournew members will come from. I am getting some bumper stickers made for ourvehicles as well as some signs to pu t up inwindows. They will be available at shopsome time in the New Year, if not before.I am also looking for volunteers toput up a display case at the Union CityLibrary on Alvarado-Niles Rd., and theDublin Library on Amador Yalley Blvd. Thilb.is a great way to get free advertising fc .the Show and the Club. ThanksLaurie Denton, Publicity a

5NOUEMBER, 1997OUR NEWSLETTER[, , '----- .,)It is that tilne again, the ChristmasDinner is coming up and this yea,r' iJarnieMcDonald will be the hostess. ."., r I II n 1('First of all we need 4 brave souls whoare good cooks, to cook the turke s. \ )heturkeys are provided by the club ' Btllhogyour favorite side dish, enough It!(!) ,fe di :8;-;"10',' besipes your family. ' () J. d . , .We will need volunteers to set up,serve, and clean up. Please sign !tllp ;i yxJ) ,want to help. There will be a s gll!lII\lD jShe tlat the N v. meeting or call Jamie Mt:Jp maidat 889 7808. From years f e pet. elUe weIJ;1ever get enough people ort cl antitp1duTo void confusion,please igm upl p ltluJJLJamie for the job you want to do. ,) or:,lll··If they wish,scrvers may eat in thekitchen before dinner!!. . 1 l{'i. IJa'mie McDonald,,/Hostess for Christmas ,(.':'.:Dinner6r.k c. ' "'G -. . .4:.' . \i:":':' . .) '.,\ '.":'.,'; ;'.:' ";, ., ,. ,'. II, """,:1""",' . '""--\.:J ')/ .,'. ': /"Shirley Buschke, /iiuca tiOI1 C17.I,

;Thf(PETROGRRPH6". . . .,. . ,. ". . . , }i ( . .H Q.Q.!;rr · nQhe. and the . .rest oLthe lad1i:l , IM!f.U8.J,.w: all1:t q R a :laijHP.s? P ? f 1 , l )]j", . ng the I ' h . d j ?i ; "Cha?ghelped make ·.0 u.F,spagnettl ·a ,Inneru a, sua., . Ing a p;ftt'IH ocr .l lll1a s.Qrheth if@ beautIfulis so satisfying," he said. He likes all phase )cess from joe Hammond who boughtof lapidary and each rock presents a difmost of the supplies to john GuBik whomade the sauce and Frank Slaughter who ferent challenge.Our gem is a linguist. He studiedentertained us with his accordion playingand all the helpers including joan WarEnglish and French in Canada and canren, Arland Stokes, Dick Miner, thehandle German. Russian--j ust a fewCastillos, the Kochendorfers, jim Barron,phrases. A few years ago he returned toEllen Placas, Dolores Barnes, Ednah AnRussia to see if he could find anything ou tabout his family but all records seemed totunovich, Bill Luna, the Buftons, Ronbe lost. Our gem has a few other hobbies.Hasemeyer,joyce Buhnerkempe, H.E.Nielsen and Larry Cloteaux who made aHe likes gardening and when asked whatkind his answer was "Whatever I can fitspecial bread for us.NOUEMBER, 1997nHope I didn't miss anybody. : e ii es f i:t e I r ;W i; Doc Buschke, Chairman.sils.Now his wife was born in Germanywhere she attended school. She migratedto Canada where she was a nanny. HerGEM OF THE MONTHagreement was that she have time to go toschool to learn English. Through mutualToday we have a pair. Our first gem friends she met her husband. She rewas born in Russia but at the age of nine counted the hoops one went through tcmonths his family fled Russia and settled migrate to the U. S. She said she learned. in Germany. As the communist party came to read English through comic books. Herinto office, it confiscated private property two sons grew up without T.V. And oneso those who could, fled. Our gem still has graduated from Berkeley, the other Calbrothers and sisters in Germany. He fin- State University Hayward . Today oneished school and through trade school be- works in Livermore on computers. Thecame a painter. He also was proficient in other manages a TV station in Florida.cabinet making because training was thorFlat lapping is our gem's favorite.ough and if you were a decorator you When asked how she got started she saidpic ked up many skills. He migrated to they traveled to many gem shows and sheCanada and one day visited relatives in fell in love with flat polished slabs she sawChicago. The U.S. sounded pretty good. in Sonora and figured family life wasn' tBy now he had found a wife so they ap- going to change, so if you can't beat themplied to migrate to the U.S. His wife had a join them. She has one first place for hersister in New York who sponsored them. slabs and several other ribbons. For yearsImmigrants had to prove they' could earn she and Viola Groves ran the snack bar ata living and had to be sponsored by some- shows. Recently she has been sandwichone who picked up the bill. No welfare lady. Every Friday she and Amy DeVoeused to polish slabs. She's still doing itfrom Uncle Sam!During the month of january the and petrified wood is her favorite stone.family visited a sister in California. Know- Before retiring she work in a plumbinling about the snow back home they de- firm.Our hard workers (he always helpscided that this was the place. When askedhow he got started in rocks he said the fam- set up and take down for the show and sheily visited a show at Castro Valley High .works where needed) are Anna and WillieSchool. All those pretty rocks talked to him Kochendorfer.

"NOUEMBER, 1997ThEi ,P,[TROGRRPH.'7\,The Mineral and Gem Society of Ca stro" ' At the front of the saw there is a metal') Ualley is spending a great deal of money " shield that helps prevent spray of wateron new equipment. Therefore from tim,e» ,a nd debris on the sawer. The water is thereto time, articles will be printed on th " ': :t o act as a lubricant and to wash the decorrect usage of this equipment. PLERSE " ::bJ;'is down. Eventually sludge forms at theTRKE TI ME TO RERD AND REU I EW YOUR TECH., '" bottom of the tank as the rock dust sinksN I QUE. I f you are confused, ask for help , , and this must be cleaned periodically. Be,:TRIM SAW'j.:':sure to wipe the table surface clean.SLAB SAWThe trim saw is to be used for just , 'what its name suggests--to trim. It is not ,The principles of a stone cutting sawmeant to make slabs. That should have and a wood cutting saw are about the same.been done on another saw. Ask one of the A blade is attached to a shaft, a pulley andsaw men what to do. This includes gluing belt arrangement connects the shaft withyour rock to a piece of wood, writing in- a source of power. The material is restedstructions as to how you want your rock on a platform. A cooling system is alsocut, putting your name on the wood block necessary to lubricate and cool the bladesand PAYING the saw man. The club uses as well as wash away the rock dust. This isthis money to replace saw blades.why periodic cleaning is needed.NO ONE IS TO USE SLAB SAWSYour slab should be placed flat onthe table of the saw. Trim off any small UNLESS THEY HAVE BEEN CERTIFIEDchips that prevent you from doing this. BY THE SHOP CHAIRMAN OR BILLMark the cut you want to make. Slowly ' COLLINS! You can lose shop privileges Iffeed the slab into the blade. Cut only in not certified.straight lines. The speed you use will comeThe saw blade may be a rim notchedto you with practice. Toughness and hardbladeor a sintered blade. The notchedness of stones vary. If you see sparks, youblade is cheaper. The sintered is more exare feeding too fast., ,pensive and smoother in its operation.If you are working with an irregularly Keep in mind the cost is great for theseshaped slab, go slow because it is easy to ,.blades. That's why charges are made fo rtilt and the rock may grab the blade. " ,cutting and why the shop chairman is soTwisting can injure the blade making it " angry about misuse.unusable. One thing you can do is flatten "" ' .one side on a grinder giving you a flat sur. · .':Because of the precision of the blade,face to feed into the saw blade. Or you DON'T feed by hand. Instead a clamp mustmay need to make a series of small straight be used to prevent twisting or wobbling.cuts and finish the shaping on the grinder. 'The clamped rock is slowly fed to the blade.Our trim saws are cooled with water.Be sure the water is running on the blade.And clean up when you are through. Ifyou have small chips, put them in the container. Other club members polish theseand we sell jars full at the March show.Proceeds go back into the shop fund.Saw blades must be mounted on steelshafts thick enough to remain rigid andaccurate while in use. The shaft must reston bearings which permit easy but acc urate spin. The saw must be able to remaintrue for long periods of time. Rocks taketime to cut. These bearings require lubrication to keep the shaft centered and to

OUEMBER, 1997The PETROGRRPHprevent friction. Modern machines are fitted with stout carriages to hold and movethe rocks. Be sure the carriage slide is exactly parallel to the saw blade. Many newcomers to sawing are so intent upon gett ing the maximum of slabs beforereclamping, they forget the result can betwisting and ultimately destruction of theblade. As the saying goes in the gift shop,you broke it, you bought it. And no moresawing privileges. Some saws have an automatic cut off switch.8see sparks, you are pushing too hard.Gentle does it. Examine your stone frequently. Fingers feeling the contour arean asset. Be careful or you won't have anyfingernails. Use the WHOLE wheel whilegrinding. This means keep your stonemoving. Grinder life is increased tri-foldif you use the whole wheel avoidinggrooves.You will find small scratches on yourstone and the next thing is to get rid ofthose scratches. You do this by moving onto the sanders.GRINDERS--keep it moving!Grinders are wheels that are used todo just what the name implies--grind offexcess rock for shaping. The abrasive maybe sand, garnet, emery, silicon carbide.Most of the newer grinders have wheels ofdiamond. Grit on a grinder can be veryfine or quite coarse. Coarse grit can be.80-100. After you have shaped your future cabochon or sculpture on the slab sawsand then the trim saw, you should be ready'to further refine the shape on a grinder.As you grind, the surface gradually wearsaway. This is why you must keep yourcabochon-to-be moving or you will weargrooves in the grinder.Water is necessary to help cool yourstone, but more important, to remove excess rock dust and some of that grindersurface. The position of the stone is important because it is being held by hand.Hold your stone in position as if you areabout to spread butter on bread. Supportyour arms so you don't force the machineto chatter. Our machines are designed togrind cabochons and small sculptures andthe surfaces of "cubes" about to becomespheres.Steadiness is important so the stoneis fed slowly and at a steady speed. Thewheel must whirl fast enough to do the jobwithout bumping or jerking. Avoid working too fast or pushing too hard. If youSoftness of stone must be understoodto know how to attack the grinder. Softstones can grind too fast. As you grind becareful to avoid chipping. You can grind abevel. Be sure to examine the wheel frequently. If the wheel looks white, you arenot using water to remove rock dust.If you are satisfied with the shape,the bevel--move on to the sanders.ROCK RUMBLESI love the philosophy of some of ourmembers. Our treasurer Mike Alves hadspent ages polishing a cab of blue Victoriastone. It really was quite nice. When wecomplimented him, he said it fell off thedop stick so he guessed it was finished. AndWally Graham came in the other night. Oneof the saws was being cleaned and neededa new blade. He said he figured it wasn't alost night. He got to sharpen a couple ofhis pencils. With members with a positiveattitude like this we are bound to be a successful club.The vacuum cleaner just wasn' t picking up during the semi annual clean up.So the ingenious members decided to.:::::::.,sweep debris into little piles and then periodically run the vacuum cleaner back andforth until they picked up the deb r is.Maybe we need a new vacuum. Anyonehave one that works?

NOU EMB[R 1997The" TROGRRPH9------------------------ -------------------------------Arl'md Stokes was about to leave on esta near Big Sur. Every October, I think-vacation when his brother in SusanvilleAll members should enjoy the No') called and told him about a great rock buy. ' vember meeting if all the work Mary GavinSo he's off and bought 6 tons of rock. He" has been doing is a mark of potential suchas broug 11 back two truckloads and has cess. She has taken pictures of the worksanother to go. He took off time to go flsh-' of dozens of our members. So if you wanting so he still has another trip to make. :' ,to try a new technique, after November'sOn that fishing trip their boat hit a sub-'", meeting, you should know who to ask formerged log. Guess it was on the way to' , help.I wish you members would sign yourbeing petl ificd. You should have seen Sue" :: "Bolton climhing all over Arland's cache at' name so I can read it. How can I comethe picnic. She was so busy saying "Ah" . around looking for someone I haven' t writand "Great" she almost forgot to say "How ten about if I can't read your name. I likemuch?" I think sh bought half the truck load. to stay put and do some personal work alHow nice to see a different face di- though Doc thinks I spend most of my timerecting the club picnic. Hot dog cook and , chatting. I tell him I am getting educated.leader was I I.E. Nielson assisted by KarolThe shop chairman Tom Miller wantsHarrel. Good food as usual. And lots of ' each of you to read and reread the instructions on using shop equipment. Sometimesgood buys from the tail gaiters.ATTI.NTJON FIELD TRIPPERS--Treat- the abuse is a result of not knowing whatment 1()1' a rattlesnake bite is to apply a to do. PLEASE ASK THE EXPERTS FOR HELP.tourniquet about 4 inc hes closer to theThanks to Gene Hurn who steppedheart' than the bite. Tighten just enough . in at the last minute to present our pro·,I to halthe flow of blood in surface bloodgram. The original program fell throughvessels h t not tight enough to stop the because of conflicts but Bill Walsh volunpulse or the arterial flow. Then get the teered to fill in. He ended up in the hospiperSOll to 1hv hospital as soon as possible. tal so Gene took his place. Gene is on

from our Club will show sUde a d taik about lapidary work made. by our lJI ery I[D me e s. ALERT, ALERT, ALERT, AL Please Uote end return enclosed balh'll RSRP Board Meeting: At Shop on: NQuember 10, 7:30 PM D