tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20914275928324716532012-01-22T15:39:03.440-08:00Leo Scarpellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485152352190401434noreply@blogger.comBlogger231100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-63064096094292321962010-04-18T21:02:00.000-07:002010-04-18T21:41:33.862-07:00

My shop being currently in an uproar, I had to move my stockpile of crated glendonites out to the side yard; and my finer collections (mostly the pyramidite) is in wooden boxes still in the shop -- but under all these remod tools and supplies... So I decided to snap a picture of one of my garnet collections because it's easy to get to!

Leo Scarpellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485152352190401434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-20217708903756765372009-02-08T18:11:00.000-08:002009-02-08T18:16:17.427-08:00

Leo Scarpellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485152352190401434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-5038621274988904792009-02-07T19:51:00.001-08:002009-02-07T19:58:04.895-08:00

It's time to take the glendonite website to the next level, so I've disconnected it from the server and am doing a complete rebuild. I've got about three times as much info as is displayed in the current site; and when I set it up, I was a bad boy and did not normalize the image naming conventions to my system before using them. Plus I'd failed to establish a scheme for the web files that would

Leo Scarpellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485152352190401434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-10838538083521795522008-08-16T12:18:00.001-07:002008-08-16T12:18:11.370-07:00

Wow that was a long time between posts. After I mucked up revealing that plate crystal with my Aeroscribe, I kind of quit working with the pyramidite and switched over to organizing my rock collection. Found a great seller on eBay, Jomus, and bought a few corundum specimens and some andalusite -- Visit me at www.glendonite.com

Leo Scarpellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485152352190401434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-80137698574507249952008-02-14T20:30:00.001-08:002010-04-18T20:39:34.367-07:00

I've decided to switch to making heads out of some of these larger chunks of concretized pyramidite I've got. I tried one free hand and it was pretty much a disaster as I've spent practically no time teaching myself how to sculpt faces in 3d. I need to go about it in a reductionist method where I get six views of the head I want to make, then transfer the measurements to the rock.I think I'll

Leo Scarpellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485152352190401434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-71691141551085193572008-01-21T18:00:00.001-08:002010-04-18T20:40:34.474-07:00

First thing that happened once I got down to the crystal level was I dug into the surface of the crystal itself. Lacking really good illumination, and with the pitted surface totally covered in oil and debris, I couldn't tell the difference between limestone and glendonite, so ended up gouging some of the crystal. Then I discovered that the bond between the two was so strong, the limestone was

Leo Scarpellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485152352190401434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-7470429467755572962008-01-01T23:17:00.000-08:002010-04-18T20:42:37.281-07:00

My son Jason came over and showed me how to fine tune the operation of my compressor and Paleo-Aro scribe. Now that thing just blasts through the limestone on my concretions! The specimen is getting oil on it, but that won't matter once the glendonite crystal is fully revealed. Oh, this is a large crab-leg flange type pyramidite crystal fragment, flat, about the size of my hand, with a limestone

Leo Scarpellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485152352190401434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-81943820381115262872007-12-28T23:21:00.000-08:002007-12-30T13:30:13.429-08:00

Al's stonemover friends appreciated the crystals I sent, greatly he reports. They use them as part of their ceremonies during the replacement of the temple stones. I profess ignorance of the deeper uses those pyramidites may serve. Often have I provided unique artifacts to people as though my role was that of conduit; I usually appreciated those items but knew they were not to be mine, and

Leo Scarpellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485152352190401434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-14859760962233896532007-12-24T23:30:00.000-08:002010-04-18T20:44:14.893-07:00

Finally reached the stage where I can now sort through my mass of pyramidites; and first thing immediately noticed was the predominance of flange types. Once I've got them all seperated out, I'll further sort those into subclasses of flange types.I'm going to put together collections containing one complete set of all types I've identified. The specimens G. in NSW sent are of known types. Looking

Leo Scarpellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485152352190401434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-84041954692923835612007-12-19T20:51:00.001-08:002010-04-18T20:44:49.030-07:00

Finally got a chance to have a scribe session on some concretioned specimens using my new PaleoAro fossil prep tool. It's an amazing tool and definitely worth the $350+ it cost, not including the huge compressor I needed to run it. Gotta keep the oil in it, that's for sure. Need to get an automatic oiler. Of course, I need to plumb my shop properly so I'm not dealing with stupid hose rolls all

Leo Scarpellihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05485152352190401434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-44901809034639956492007-12-18T22:51:00.001-08:002007-12-19T10:37:11.543-08:00

Talked to my friend Glen (not his real name) tonight, yesterday and the day before he found over 150 crystals! Most of them are complete and with good surface and terminations. I'd say he has the best collecting location in the world, at least of all known locations. He said some of them are so sharp he could have easily slashed his leg on them or punctured his boot. Glen has a collection of over

ZZZnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-70414341458926110242007-12-13T19:19:00.001-08:002007-12-20T13:21:49.893-08:00

It's a bit of a disappointment being obsessed with a mineral form both obscure and visually unexciting to the vast majority of rockhounds and mineral experts. The few people I've contacted who understand glendonite are as excited about it as I am. But I have contacted many others who don't indicate the slightest interest in a mineral form which exhibits many anomalous characteristics, besides

ZZZnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-87250945820373768222007-12-10T17:07:00.001-08:002010-04-18T20:53:32.126-07:00

Today I dug through my many boxes of pyramidite, looking for examples of mega-crystals. Turns out I had tucked away several terminations in limestone which must have been amazingly long in their original form. I've sent images to Dr. Krassmann at the Giant Crystal Project since there's the potential for these to have originally been in the same size class as the largest glendonites ever found.

ZZZnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-68572130462618120372007-12-07T12:56:00.001-08:002007-12-07T12:59:09.969-08:00

I dreamt again of pyramidite, as I've done so many thousands of othertimes. Under a sky of sailing clouds through cerulean blue, I walked a ridge where quartz and masses of garnet filled every gap and hole in the grass. Occasionally I stooped lower, knowing the pyramidite must be near. Then I saw the telltale brownish edges, running along a seam of quartz and greywacke. I took hold of the crystal

ZZZnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-86688753323572343632007-12-05T11:56:00.001-08:002010-04-18T20:55:28.026-07:00

Recieved a nice box of glendonite from my friend Greg in NSW, Australia. I've posted a picture of them on the front page. It's truly bizarre to see examples of the same growth process, with some notable differences. For instance, twins are very rare in my collection, while they seem to be quite common in the Hunter River glendonites. Also, many of them have a coating of gypsum, which I have never

ZZZnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-43676816445414413742007-11-30T21:38:00.001-08:002007-12-07T20:36:13.279-08:00

Found this on www.mokichi.net, translated in Google and came up with this poetic rendering. Thank you whomever you are!玄翁sledgehammer is the same in the so-called KANADZUCHI kind.この写真はあまり似ていないが、 This picture is not dissimilar,明治時代の命名者が手にした標本がカナヅチ的であったらしい。 Meiji era of naming a hands-on specimenis KANADZUCHI DEATTARASHII.実際、産地のひとつである長野県上田市では In fact, one of the growing areas in Ueda,

ZZZnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-8026009783910449322007-11-26T21:04:00.001-08:002007-12-20T13:18:19.000-08:00

I've got one of my good crystals up for sale on eBay now. Let's see if anybody cares. Will potential buyers and mineral collectors realize how incredibly rare this crystal form is? They may never get another chance to own one of these! I'm in communication with a geologist in Denmark right now who says the special forms I've discovered violate some very basic laws of crystal formation. Will

ZZZnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-87848753582250256612007-11-25T21:18:00.001-08:002007-12-20T13:18:03.145-08:00

Okay, I removed the links which open websites within Glendonite.com, and am in the process of creating a special links page to bring together a summary of all the Glendonite information I can locate on the Internet. If you are aware of a source on the Web which I have not listed, please zap me an email - I'd really appreciate it! And that applies to any website you believe should be included on

ZZZnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-71172668516773731712007-11-25T18:05:00.001-08:002010-04-18T20:58:59.813-07:00

Today I got out my milk crate full of unwashed crystals from my last trip to Pyramidia. This is one of my favorite pastimes - going through a load of specimens, and cleaning up the most compelling of them for display, trades or whatever.As you can see in the photo, even though I had already gone through the mass of material a couple times, there were still some well-formed dipyramids in there;

ZZZnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-41343258614240532902007-11-25T17:46:00.001-08:002007-12-20T13:17:15.266-08:00

Now that I've got the website established, there are some very important changes I must make. First, the links I've set up to other information sources which open in a frame within my site, I must alter so they open in their own windows. I did that at first only to support my own research, but it's an inappropriate use of others' work. Especially now that rockhounds from other parts of the world

ZZZnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-41703576309808054002007-11-24T22:54:00.001-08:002010-04-18T20:59:32.969-07:00

The meadow was full of noise when I arrived. Booming surf filled the valley and I could see wave froth tossed into the air where the forest broke to beach. I quickly set up camp and hurried to the edge of the bluff, but could go no further. The ocean was in more of a rage than I'd thought - whole trees bounced on the wavetops as the frenzied waters chewed the bank. Only a fool would descend

ZZZnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-89966816688920047672007-11-20T21:41:00.001-08:002010-04-18T21:00:00.541-07:00

Some pyramidite crystals are found encased in concretions - hard shells of limestone that accrete in layers around the core object. I have never located a concretion that seemed to be in the process of formation, and in fact some geologists posit they do not actually form by rolling around in the mud; that instead, they result from a chemical interaction between the object within, and the mud

ZZZnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2091427592832471653.post-20050614769344772072007-11-19T12:59:00.001-08:002010-04-18T21:00:57.788-07:00

The first glendonite crystal I found was small, only about 3 inches long, and partially covered in clay. But it was a rich red/brown, with an exciting texture smoothed by time and water. It was double-terminated. At first I thought is was an arrowhead; but quickly realized it was nothing of the sort, being too thick and pointed on both ends. Plus it was doubtful arrowheads would ever be found in

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