Nov-Dec 2015 - West Seattle Rock Club · 2015-11-20 · Nov-Dec 2015 Fluorescent Minerals WEST SEATTLE PETROGLYPHS Mike Wall, Editor P.O. Box 16145 Seattle, WA 98116 email: [email protected]

Nov-Dec 2015

Fluorescent Minerals

WEST SEATTLE PETROGLYPHS

Mike Wall, Editor P.O. Box 16145 Seattle, WA 98116

email: [email protected]

Monthly Bulletin of the West Seattle Rock Club, Inc.

Seattle, Washington

Our Club:

Practices the Rockhound Code of Ethics

Website:

http://www.westseattlerockclub.org

Nov-Dec 2015 West Seattle Petroglyphs Page 1

Volume 50, Number 10

Meetings:

Visitors are always welcome!

WEST SEATTLE ROCK CLUB, INC. Mailing Address: P.O. BOX 16145, Seattle, WA 98116

The purpose of this Club is to promote the study and enjoyment of the Lapidary Arts with good Rock-hounding and good fellowship; and to further education and lapidary skills for all; to conduct field trips for exploration and collection of minerals, gems, rocks and fossils; to promote shows and displays; to publish a monthly periodical known as West Seattle PETROGLY PHS relating to club activities.

COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS (2015):

2016 Show Chairperson Programs Refreshments/Hospitality Historian Library Chair Field Trips

Webmaster

AFFILIATED WITH:

Northwest Federation & American Federation of Mineralogical Societies Seattle Regional Gem and Mineral Show Committee

Washington State Mineral Council ALAA – American Lands Access Association

Meetings are held on the Fourth Wednesday of each month, except for November which is the THIRD Wednesday and no meetings in July and December

The meetings are held in Adams Hall of the Tibbetts United Methodist Church 3940 41st S.W. (corner of 41st S.W. and S.W. Andover Street) Seattle, WA

6:00 PM – Junior Meeting 7:00 PM – Adult Meeting Dues are: $20.00 first year (including name badge), then: $10.00 per adult member per year or $15.00 for 2 adults in same family, $3.00 per junior member per year

VISITORS ARE INVITED AND ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO ALL MEETINGS

All material in this Bulletin may be reprinted if properly credited - Exchange Bulletins are most welcome.

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OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS (2015):

President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Federation Director Director at Large Mineral Council Reps Seattle Regional Reps Newsletter - Editor Current Past President

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Bo Jeffers Richard Babcock Barry Nevin Diane Christensen Audrey Vogelpohl Audrey Vogelpohl Ken Schmidt Leroy Christensen Lyle Vogelpohl Mike Wall Michael O’Clair

(206) 248-1475 (206) 326-8951 (253) 945-7735 (206) 582-2267 (206) 932-3292 (206) 932-3292 (206) 932-3626 (206) 582-2267 (206) 932-3292 (206) 935-4953 (206) 938-1541

Diane Christensen <Vice President> <Open> <Open> Jim Ewins <Open> Donn Ullery

(206) 582-2267 <Vice President>

<Open> <Open>

(206) 283-6914 <Open>

(206) 550-1318


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CLUB CALENDAR

November 18, 2015

Junior Meeting (6:00 pm)

Program: Fluorescent Minerals Badge

General Meeting (7:00 pm)

Program: Fluorescent Minerals

Show & Tell: Bring a rock, Mineral or other item that you think will Fluoresce and/or Phosphoresce

December 2, 2015

WSRC Holiday Party (7:00 pm)

At Round Table Pizza in Burien

Not Available At Press Time

PRESIDENT’S

MESSAGE

WHAT’S INSIDE

Club Calendar 3

President’s Message 3

Junior’s Meeting 3

WSRC Holiday Party! 3

What’s Inside 3

Gen. Meeting Minutes—October 4

Fluorescent Minerals 4

How To Make Rock Candy 5

Big Differences in UV Tubes 5

Safety Matters — Tough Guy 6

November Refreshments 7

Thank You (Work Party) 8

Shop Tips 9

Fluorescent Mineral Pictures 9

Field Trips 10

Rock Shows 10


JUNIOR’S MEETING There will be a Junior’s meeting this month thanks to Brooke. She has agreed to lead the Juniors this month in April’s absence. The topic for this month will be Fluorescent Minerals (the same as the adult program—what are the chanc-es of that?) Fluoresce is a fascinating topic. There is something about seeing the color change under a UV lamp that really peaks peoples interest, not to mention some of the colors are just amazing. Juniors, you don’t want to miss this one—so make sure to attend!

Also, a BIG thanks to Brooke for supporting our

Juniors! It is much appreciated.

WSRC HOLIDAY PARTY!

Our Holiday Party will be held on December 2nd at Round Table Pizza in Burien. The festivities will start at 7:00 pm. There will be a gift exchange similar to what we have done in the past, so if you want to participate please bring a wrapped gift (in the $5-$10 range). We will also have an auction of some sort, so please bring your rock money so Audrey does not have to deal with IOUs :). Also, Round Table has accepted coupons in the past so please bring any Round Table coupons you have to help reduce the bill—It has made quite a difference in the years past. Round Table Pizza is located at:

15730 1st Ave S. Burien, WA

Hope to see everyone There!

WEST SEATTLE ROCK CLUB –

GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

The Minutes for the October general meeting were not available at press

time and will be included in the January newsletter.


FLUORESCENT MINERALS

Ultraviolet light is not visible to the human eye. Fluorescent minerals are minerals that when exposed to ultraviolet light emit visible light. Each year the club puts up a display of fluorescent minerals as part of the gem and mineral show. Over the years, thanks to generous donations of club members, we have acquired a fantastic display of minerals from right here in Montana. We also have a growing collection of outstanding fluorescent minerals from some of the best know collecting localities in the United States. In addition, we have some remarkable specimens for a few other counties. Most minerals do not fluoresce when pure but there are a few minerals that will fluoresce when pure. Scheelite is one. A tungsten ore is often noted for its brilliant sky-blue fluorescence. If it has a little molybdenum in its color is modified to white or yellow. Often it takes impurities in the mineral to make the mineral fluoresce. A common fluorescent mineral is calcite. It comes in just about all fluorescent colors due to different impurities. Red and pink fluorescent calcites are often activated by manganese. Calcite from the mercury mines at Terlingua, Texas, and just across the border into Muzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico, is a favorite. It fluoresces pink under longwave UV and bright blue under shortwave UV, with a uniquely bright blue phosphorescence after the UV lamp is removed. Franklin, New Jersey specimens are exceptionally bright and colorful. It is the source of at least 56 fluorescent minerals. Many of these minerals are found nowhere else in the World. Willemite and calcite are the most common fluorescent minerals from the Franklin area. Exceptional specimens will contain combinations of; calcite, willemite, hardystonite, clinohedrite and esperite. We are fortunate to have several of these specimens in our collection.

(via Gem, Mineral, and Geological Education and Experience; 4/14)

Short Wave UV Visible Light

Clinohedrite (Orange), Franklinite (Black), Hardystonite (Violet), Willemite (Green)

Locality: Franklin, New Jersey


HOW TO MAKE

ROCK CANDY

by Caitlyn.A.Gilman, WSRC Junior Member Ingredients:

3 3/4 cups of sugar

1 cup of water Materials:

A jar

A pot

A spoon

A clothespin

A skewer Put the water in the pot and set it to a boil. Once the water is at a boil, add the sugar one 1/4 cup at a time and make sure to stir it all in. If more sugar will dis-solve, put in more sugar until no more can dis-solve. Then, pour the sugar water into the jar and make sure that the water almost reaches the top of the jar. You are ready. (For colored candy, add food col-oring now.) Grab the clothespin and the skewer. Put the skewer in the clothespin and balance it on the jar so that the skewer is in the water but does not touch the bottom or the sides. Next, put it on a shelf where nobody (any little kids/pets that you have) can touch/knock over/drink it, and wait about a week. By the end of the week, you should have crystals on the stick and in the jar. Enjoy! Our Results:

All of the inside of the jar was covered in crystals, and so was the stick. The crystals were purple because we put in food coloring. They were rhombohedral prisms in shape, and the biggest crystal is 0.18 inches in height and 0.09 inches in width.

BIG DIFFERENCES IN

UV TUBES by Doug Mitchell, #578, California

I had heard before that different UV lights make for different fluorescences. But I never realized that choosing a different longwave UV tube could make the difference between yellow and red, or the differ-ence between bright fluorescence and no fluores-cence. While differences in glass, reflectors, and filters can make a significant change in results, the difference that has been surprising many of us lately comes from the differences in the phosphors used in longwave UV tubes. Longwave UV is most commonly produced by using a low-pressure mercury vapor lamp to produce shortwave UV, and coating the inside of the tube with a phosphor that fluoresces by emitting longwave UV rays. There is much visible light produced also, so filtering is needed. When filtering is built into the glass of the tube, it appears dark purple and is called a “BLB” (Black Light Blue) tube. When no filter is built in, the tube appears white, and is called a “BL” tube. The longwave UV phosphors used in these tubes evi-dently fall into two major categories: those producing UV peaking at 350 nanometers (nm) in wavelength, and those with a peak near 370 nm. This appears to be the difference that produces the greatest color varia-tions in fluorescent minerals. While most minerals that fluoresce under longwave UV appear similar un-der both types of UV light, the differences can be

(Continued on page 6)


dramatic in some cases. Those agrellite specimens we have tried will fluoresce their unusual magenta-pink color under the 350 nm lamps, but appear to not fluoresce at all under 370 nm lamps. “Terlingua-type” calcites are often also affect-ed some Mexican optical calcites that fluoresce blue violet under shortwave UV (and phosphoresce after-wards) are yellow-white under 350 nm and orangeish-pink under 370 nm, while others are pink under 350 nm and orange-pink under 370 nm. Agates and chal-cedonies that fluoresce yellowish-green under 350 nm may fluoresce greenish-white under 370 nm. Since the two different types of longwave are not clearly identified as such, there are possibilities for confusion if a dealer shows a specimen under a lamp of one type and the buyer takes it home to lamps of the other type. Let the agrellite buyer beware! There is no such problem for shortwave UV tubes - since there is no phosphor involved, just the direct emissions from low-pressure mercury vapor, the peak is consistently a narrow one at 254 nm. But the newly popular midwave UV tubes have this problem of phosphor variations to a still larger extent, as noted in Don Newsome’s article “Standards for UV Lamps” in this issue. (via U.V. Waves 1-2/96)

(Continued from page 5)

SAFETY MAT-

TERS—

TOUGH GUY

by Ellery Borow, AFMS Safety Chair

Quite a few folks know I write safety articles for the AFMS News and several other newsletters. So, it was no surprise when a fellow came up to me at a local gem and mineral show and posed a question and a concern about field trip safety. His question pertained to a trip to a working mine and how to approach a matter of safety that was, to his way of thinking, different from that of the mine own-er’s point of view. The fellow had seen a situation at the mine that he thought could have been more of a safety hazard than had the miner owner’s representative. It is possible that the owner’s representative may not have noted the potential of the hazard, or may perhaps not have noted the hazard itself. The owner’s representative certainly did not know the physical abilities of the club members attending when judging a potential haz-

ard. So, in effect, the instance was one where the fel-low, a club officer, thought a situation was more haz-ardous to his club’s members than did the mine own-er’s representative. It is rather unusual, given operating equipment, mine workings, owners stocks, and the biggy -- company insurances, that a club officer wished to impose great-er safety limits than those required by the mining company. This is not an issue faced by many field trip leaders, so, how does one approach an issue in-volving the hazard potential of any one particular situation? Even though instances such as this are sel-dom faced by field trip leaders, I’m a firm believer in having a plan for every situation. So here are some considerations: 1. Safety is, above all, paramount. 2. The field trip is usually at the request of the club,

not the miner owners. 3. Mine and quarry workers are specially trained to

stringent safety guidelines. Such workers are ever watchful and constantly monitor safety issues in their work areas. Club members on the other hand, are generally not trained to evaluate every potential safety issue in a working mine. Mem-bers are usually only given the site/mine specific instruction thought necessary for the area of col-lecting.

4. Of several sets of safety guidelines can be ap-

plied to a situation, the strictest set of rules should be utilized. Member safety must be para-mount.

5. Field trip leaders of the club should be aware of

club member’s weaknesses - who is likely to dehydrate faster than the others, who has a heart condition, who might have frailties needing to be monitored more than the rest, who might have balance issues, and so on. True, folks have to ultimately be responsibility for themselves but things such as dehydration can sneak up on per-son, even a responsible person. Trip leaders need to be ever watchful, it’s part of the job descrip-tion.

6. Safety precaution lectures by mine representa-

tives, as I have personally witnessed on numer-ous occasions, consist of an arm I hand wave indicating stay away from (an arm wave for) “there” or you can collect over (an arm wave for) “here”. And, oh, it is also necessary to wear your hard hats, safety shoes, gloves and goggles at all times. While those guidelines are good for most folks, there are those few who tend to want to stretch the limits of “there” or “here”. My own

(Continued on page 7)


preference is to have a more distinct or physical barrier between “there” and “here”. Barriers can include wooden stakes and flagging, fences, a line of boulders, or painted lines on the ground. It’s harder for wanders to ignore a distinct or physical limiter.

7. It’s one thing if the owner’s representative gives a field trip leader the safety specifics and then that person, in turn, passes the parameters on to the club members. It is quite another when the representative gives the specifics to everyone present at the same time. These are very different approaches in one important respect. If the mine representative passes the specifics to just the trip leader, the leader is then able to pass even more restrictive guidelines on to the members. If the members are given the specifics directly by the mine representative and then the club field trip leader wants to imposes even more restrictive guidelines, it is possible that members may want to know why the additional restriction were im-posed by the trip leader. More stringent re-strictions may be difficult to explain to members -unless a clear case is made as to why. Such a why talk may not be understood by members, or even by the mine representative. There has to be good level of confidence in the field trip leader’s judgment if additional restrictions need to be applied, and accepted by members. With human nature being what it is, there will always be members who want to stretch the mine repre-sentative’s hand wave of “there” and “here”.

8. What happens if a field trip leader sees the need to impose greater restriction? Might the company see it as a calling into question their judgment? Might the company see such a judgment as a need to perhaps rethink their allowing field trips to their facility? Such instances certainly call for communication—communication indicating that the field trip leader knows the additional needs or abilities of the members, communication indicat-ing that the field trip leader understands the col-lecting interests of the members, communication indicating the need to keep any wandering folks to tighter designated areas, and so on. Good ne-gotiation skills, good communication skills, good safety backgrounds and judgements, good people skills are important in such instances.

9. One helpful guide in deciding limits is the clubs own field trip guide. Your club does have a field trip guide doesn’t it? An actual printed guide can help make a case for “No” meaning “No”. Case closed, end of story. A generalized written field trip safety guide can be helpful. It is also helpful to have some specialized guidelines that may be applied if necessary - especially in instances when implementing additional site restrictions

(Continued from page 6) based on the judgment of the field trip leader(s).

10. Speaking of judgment, let’s say a member sees a collecting treasure just a foot or two on the other side of the line where collecting is not permitted. The member, by rights, should not just walk across that limit line by those two feet and pick up the treasure. That said, it might be possible to seek permission from the owner’s representative to reach over those two (or three, or four or so) feet over the line. One should always be aware of the potential problems with any over-the-line collect-ing. The key is to try and avoid jeopardizing future trips -- or collecting on any slippery slopes.

There are numerous possibilities and pitfalls with any added restrictions. First and foremost is putting club member safety first --even if the field trip leader has to be the tough guy. All the official positions in a club have club constitutional or bylaw or other governing club document authority, therefore field trip leaders should be no less so authorized to do their job --after all, safety rules.

Be safe, you deserve no less. Please mind your field trip leaders.

(via The AFMS Newsletter, 11/15)

NOVEMBER

REFRESHMENTS

We have been having difficulty getting members to signup on the SignUpGenius website, so we have returned to a paper copy refreshment’s signup sheet. It will be available at the meetings. Please do not use the website any longer. If you want to signup you can also send me an email and I can provide you all the open slots to pick from. Here are the signups for this month. Snacks: Faith Oberloh (15-20) Snacks: Emily Brune (15-20) Drinks: Annette Nelson (30-40)


THANK YOU! A huge thank you to our club volunteers. Twenty-two helped at the November 1st work party to put the Federation display cases into tip-top condition. We were joined by four West Seattle club members and a couple from Maplewood. Work-ing separately, but in unison, 20 cases got a make-over. When you help set up these cases at our show in March, no longer should the cases draw blood or fall apart in your hands. Molding was fixed as were hinges and latches. Then the front side got a urethane coating. The risers were painted a medium gray and the worst of the liners were given a facelift with new material. Because the cases are now stored in a cargo trailer, they will experience less wear and tear each time they are used be-cause they can be transported directly to the show site and unloaded near the door, hopefully as the sun is shining! Rick & Susan thank everyone who helped us pull this off! Alice Blandin Scott & Linnea Steinhorst Jerry Cangelosi w/ Maya & Emme Eric Edgerton Matt & Maya Sisk Trenton Estocapio Marcia Skinner Rick Fogel Dave Somerton Mike Froebe Tom Thurman Bill Jones Gary West Sam & Peter Osborne Gregg Wilson

Photos, clockwise from top right: The work party took place at the Maplewood club house in Edmonds. The risers were sanded outside. Peter and Matt at one of the work sta-tions. Tom and Gregg focused on riser painting and drying. Linnea & Maya Steinhorst square up the liners for wrap-ping. Marcia and Gary at an-other “work station”. Maya Sisk and Emme sanding and running risers for the painters.

(via Rocky Trails 11/15)


SHOP TIPS

Editor’s Note: Shop tips featured in this bulletin have not been evaluated for safety or reliability. Please use caution and common sense when trying out any new idea.

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Superfine Jewelry Cleaner

Use 1 /2 cup white vinegar, 1 /4 cup household ammonia, and 1/3 cup dish detergent (not the dishwasher type). Mix and drop jewelry into it and watch it shine. This will help your silverware and copper-bottomed pans, too.

(via The Tumbler, 9/15; via The Clackamette Gem, 6/1 5; via BGMS Newsletter, 5/1 5; via The Burro Express, 5/92; via The Geode, 2/84)

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Got Rust?! By Dennis Schneider I use Super Iron Out (available at Walmart for $2.47) to clean quartz crystals, and I must say this product is great! I used to boil them in Oxalic acid. But that process has MANY flaws. (Even slow heating and cooling causes fractures, fumes, and it eats through the cooker.) Now all I do is pour 1 bottle of Super Iron Out into a 2 gallon gas can (NOTE I said pour acid into the water), seal and shake. The crystals are in large flat Tupperware containers, and I simply pour in enough of the mixture to cover the crystals by at least an inch. Then snap the lid and put in a dark place for 2 days. (Not sure if the darkness is needed, but I have a shed with racks that I use.) After 2 days there is little sign of rust/oxidation. I rinse the crystals and then soak them for 24 hours in a baking soda bath, neutralizing any remaining acid. I have seen this remove rust from some of the nastiest look-ing crystals with just 1 or 2 soakings. Including some ugly clusters I got from the Spruce Claim. It even left the un-oxidized pyrites alone! Super Iron Out contains sodium hydrosulfate and sodium bisulfite. They have a website at http://ironout.com.

(via The Tumbler, 11/15; via Washington Agate & Mineral Society Newsletter, 11/15; via Wonders of the Mine 2010))

FLUORESCENT MINERAL PICTURES

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=fluorescent+mineral+pictures&view=detailv2&&id=82EC05E07F48C762B27EDBC74732D7B33D68128B&selectedIndex=0&ccid=vLmHdqaf&simid=608005054500111280&thid=OIP.Mbcb98776a69f9554415bab0f20f3c6ecH0

How Can You Help

Your Federation: Save stamps and give to our club treasurer.

Your Hobby: Join ALAA. - Contact Lyle Vogelpohl

Other: Volunteer to teach beginners what you are good at.

To Learn More About ...

Cabbing … contact Lyle Vogelpohl … (206) 932-3292

2015 SHOWS

Dec 5 9am-6pm Maplewood Rock and Gem Club – Winter Bazaar Dec 6 10am-5pm Maplewood R&G Clubhouse, 8802 196th St. SW, Edmonds, WA

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See the Northwest Newsletter for additional show listings and times. Available online at: http://www.amfed.org/nfms/newsletters.asp


2015 FIELD TRIPS

No more field trips for this year

Look in January for next year’s trips or check out the WSMC website

http://www.mineralcouncil.org/

http://www.amfed.org/nfms/newsletters.asp

http://www.mineralcouncil.org/

Documents

Nov-Dec 2015 - West Seattle Rock Club · 2015-11-20 · Nov-Dec 2015 Fluorescent Minerals WEST SEATTLE PETROGLYPHS Mike Wall, Editor P.O. Box 16145 Seattle, WA 98116 email: [email protected]