JULY 2014 Issue 426. Rex Keen First Prize Show Raffle Winner

Transcription

1 JULY 2014 Issue 426 Rex Keen First Prize Show Raffle Winner GOLD COAST MEETINGS General Meetings: 11am Sunday August 31st 11am Sunday November 30th Management Committee Meetings- 2 nd Tuesday of the Month Australian Facetors' Guild Gold Coast Group Meetings 5th August 2014 & 7th October (7pm start) Inside this Issue 1. Snippets photo of the month. 2. Committee & general information 3. Presidents report 4. What is Silversmithing 5. Caught by our Camera Lady Jadwiga 6. From the Curator, Congratulations, Beading classes, Welcome New Members, Hiring of Metal Detectors. 7. Is faceting for you? 8. General Info & Birthday Wishes, Upcoming show Dates, Mervyn s recipe for cleaning files. 9. from Barry Phillips, Bowen & Collinsville Lapidary Club FROM THE EDITOR Do you have something you would like to share in Snippets? Or a question you would like an answer to? Are you aware of the Snippets box? { its situated outside the faceting room window next to the OLD POLISHER} Just put your thoughts or questions in the box I will endeavour to find the answers for you. (we have a wealth of knowledge in the club) It would be great if any items for Augusts Snippets could be in my hands by 28th July then the draft Snippets can be given to the president for approval prior to the committee meeting on Tuesday 12th August. Deadline is Friday, 1st August 2014 My address: seiira@bigpond.net.au or you can contact me on /mob: Thanks Deborah Monthly Newsletter of the Gold Coast Lapidary Club Inc. PO Box 12 Nobby Beach, Queensland 4218

2 Gold Coast Lapidary Club Inc Members of Queensland Lapidary & Allied Craft Associations Inc. 80 Pacific Avenue, Miami. Queensland.- PO Box 12, Nobby Beach Queensland 4218 Phone: The Management Committee President Wayne Schulz / / president@goldcoastlapidaryclub.com Vice President 1 Geoff Saunders Vice President 2 Ken Wilks Secretary Asha Braksator Treasurer Vicki Lumm / Member Secretary Deborah Ensor General Committee Chez Siwka Jadwiga Siwka Steve Profke Denis Burton Robert McGregor Allen Frentz Management Positions Show Coordinator Jane Ellen Toro Snippets Editor Deborah Ensor / Purchasing Officer Geoff Saunders Club Curator Burt Last Senior Librarian Liz Nicholas Assistant Librarian Jadwiga Siwka Raffle Coordinator Pru Aguinaldo Show Stall Conveners: Elaine Arch-Row & Pru Aguinaldo Judges Faceting - Robert McGregor Cabochons - Ken Wilks Carving - Allen Frentz Silversmith/wire work Lady Marie Howard and Jadwiga Siwka Instructors & Workshop Times Monday 10am to 3pm Cabbing Ray Tolley Beading Di Scott Monday 7pm to 9.00pm Evening Cabbing John Nelmes & Terry Houghton Opal Cutting and Polishing Jason Neville Tuesday 10am to 3pm Cabbing Shirley Sunderland Bone Carving John Tonkin Free Form Boats ( 1st and 2nd week of the month) Laurence Yannaccelli Wednesday 10am to 3pm Silver Jewellery/Wire Wrapping Marie Howard & Jadwiga Siwka Cabbing Denise Burton Faceting Steve Profke Investing Book with Instructor Geoff Saunders / Wednesday 7pm to 9.00pm Evening Basic Silver Jadwiga Siwka / Cabbing Mal Wanchap Faceting Peter Smith & Chez Siwka / Thursday 10am to 3pm Cabbing Shirley Sunderland Silver/Casting/Cabbing Ron Barr Faceting Brian Brown & Lawrence Yannuccelli Casting Book with Instructor Geoff Saunders / Friday 7pm to 9.00pm Evening Cabbing Ron Palmada Saturday 9am to 3pm Cabbing Alex Toro Faceting George Tsakmakis Soap Stone Carving/Viking Chain Merv Scott

3 3 FROM THE PRESIDENT July 2014 Definition of a Club is described as a group of people who come together with a likeminded activity and this certainly is apparent with our club and its members. This spirit of supporting each other in the orchestrating of the Clubs 37 th Annual Show was evident by all members that participated prior, during and in the resetting of the club rooms back to normal, though we have managed to find a few new hiding spots for some of our equipment. To name individual's efforts would possibly be unfair to others so thank you one and all your club appreciates you. We'll now my first major event is out of the way I will start looking for new things to keep us going forward. The club competition results were unfortunately missed at our AGM, excitement I guess, so I think they deserve a mention here. They are: Club Champion Sir Paul Howard Ray Sandeman F&B Gibson Trophy Wire Wrapping Trophy Novice Faceter Steve Profke Ray Tolley Di Profke I would like to thank those involved in encouraging members to be a part of this club tradition and ask that members try and enter each month if possible. The quality and standard of work has we believe been lifted with our new polishing wheels and every one that uses them has the ability to submit an entry. Finally please if you working a piece and not sure about something, ask our talented instructors and assistants and for their input, and remember we all do what we do as volunteers so an encouraging word or hand goes a long way. A rock is a rock till you cut it and it catches your creativity. Ps: thanks for the feed back The Gold Coast Lapidary Club wishes to express their sincere thanks to Michael Hart local MP, who has offered the facilities of his office for photocopying our Snippets Newsletter.

4 4 WHAT IS SILVERSMITHING by Jadwiga Siwka Silversmithing is the trade of fashioning objects from silver. It closely overlaps with goldsmithing, with the two trades essentially being a professional distinction. The skills used are identical, and while gold is softer then silver, it makes for only minor differences in smithing techniques. Silversmiths work in a very different fashion from blacksmiths. Iron is hard enough that it must be red hot in order to be worked. Silver is soft enough that it does not need that, and can be worked at lower temperature. A silversmith makes things by taking a sheet or plate of silver, and through the use of hand tools creates the silver into the desired objects. Silversmithing is very much about the precise, patient and careful use of moderate amount of force. It is not only the art of creating beautiful jewellery but also the art of turning silver sheet or plate into hollow-ware like dishes, bowls, cups, candlesticks, vases, urns, church objects, sculpture etc. Few hundred years ago, silversmiths in Medieval Europe and in England formed guilds and transmitted their techniques and tools to new generations via the apprentice traditions and this has continued to this day. Silversmiths are jewellers who are artisans that deal with all aspects of jewellery. Jewellers not only design and make jewellery but also repair jewellery. Jewellery making or silversmithing is a much harder job then people realize. One has to have patience and the work can be very tedious and detailed. It requires a stable hand and a good eye but a beautifully finish piece also brings a lot of pleasure and sense of accomplishment. It is an artistic skill that we wish to impart to our students at the Gold Coast Lapidary Club Inc. and bring pleasure to our students who wish to learn silversmithing and explore their talents in this field. ATTENTION! ATTENTION! All silver smith enthusiasts Its your time to shine. As of August 2014 we will be holding in house monthly competitions. Our Judge s are Lady Marie Howard and Jadwiga Siwka. The sections are as follows-: (limit 2 items per member) A) Hand fabricated silver jewelery with lapidary items cut and set by the member. B) Hand fabricated silver jewelery with commercial lapidary item C) Hand fabricated silver jewelery item with out any lapidary item. Should you have any queries please have a chat to either Marie or Jadwiga. Items must be placed in the competition box mounted on the wall in the cabbing room. Please make sure you have clearly put your name and item description in a zip lock plastic bag. By the last working day of the month.

5 5 CAUGHT BY OUR CAMERA LADY -JADWIGA The Three Amigo s go Fossicking Elena, Deborah,& Jadwiga Sir Paul Howard presenting the. OSMUNDACAULIS TREE FERN FOSSILS Anne, Faye and helpers in the kitchen. What a great job they did feeding the masses Food ready to go at the BBQ A bust day was had in the big hall. Our Demonstrators keeping busy at their work stations, Thanks, Di, John, Jadzia, Sir Paul and Lady Howard

6 6 BEADING ON MONDAYS Come and join Di and the beading ladies on Mondays 10am 3pm Guaranteeing laughter and fun whilst you learn the art of Seed Beading contact Di Scott on Associate members welcome WE WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS Rhonda Karipa Karl Williams Naomi Caines Karen Nielson John Carrig we look forward to seeing you around the club room. EXTENDING A WELCOME TO ALL MEMBERS Why don t you come along to the general meetings, next meeting is Sunday 31st of August 2014 starting at 11am followed by a BBQ The more input we have from members the better our club will be. FROM THE OUR CURATOR BURT LAST Donation by Members to the Clubs Mineral Display. A special thank you to Beverly Young for her generous donation of several attractive and quality pieces of Amber (Copal - Kauri Gum) which she has sourced from the Kauri Pine forests from the land of the long white cloud. There is great concern regarding the availability of future supplies of New- Zealand Kauri Gum. It has been reported that several existing Kauri Gum Forests have become infected with a fungus that is slowly killing many of the mature trees. A thank you is also warranted to one of our newer members, Ilse Morrone, for her generous donation of an optically clear colourless crystal of Calcite, which is also known as Iceland Spar. This particular specimen displays the characteristic perfect rhombohedra (3 directions) cleavage cracks. As a Calcium Carbonate, it only registers a three (3) on Moh s scale of hardness. The fact that this mineral is soft and exhibits several directions of cleavage makes it a challenging gemstone to facet. MOOKAITE Some of our members have taken a keen interest in a rock that is found and mined in an area known formerly as Mooka Station on Mooka Creek in W.A. This rock is known commercially as Mookaite. This material was formed as sediments in a shallow marine environment during the Lower Cretaceous Period. The material is basically composed of cryptocrystalline silica which has a finely banded texture coloured by the addition of various concentrations of Hematite / Goethite. Mookaite occurs in a wide range of attractive sharp defining patterns and in various shades and hues of colour, including varying tones of yellow, brown, red, purple and mauve. With a hardness of 6 to 7, this material will usually take a good polish. CAN YOU HELP? We are in the process of collecting SMALL faceting quality rough that shows colour, but is too small to facet. (Gem wash) If you have any to spare please forward same marked to the attention of the Curator, and leave at the front desk in our Clubroom. SALE SALE SALE: VERY Special LOW price for Faceting grade Topaz.( Packet Lots) Price WAS $5-00 for 50 Plus cts Packet of Topaz. - Which equates to less than10cents per carat. Price NOW is $5-00 for Two (2) Packets. Which equates to less than 5Cents per carat. See For- Sale cabinets above Mineral Display New material available every week. DID YOU KNOW THAT THE CLUB HIRES OUT METAL DETECTORS? 2 SIZES STANDARD COIL 9 inch DAILY HIRE $4.00 per day ROUND MONOLOOP 11 inch WEEKLY HIRE $25.00 (maximum hire 4 weeks) Conditions apply see instructions near the blue box in club rooms FOR MORE DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT BILL FALLON ON or

7 7 Is Faceting for you by Peter Smith People in Gem Clubs tend to like gemstone. Who would have thought? Our Gem Club has a very well equipped faceting room and members ( not necessarily well equipped) who volunteer as faceting instructors. So should nearly all members learn faceting? The basic requirement is for the members to do 3 cabochons, have them judged as being competently done and then put their names down to do a course (either day or night), and then wait for their name to come to the top of the list. Simple. The course for beginners is structured over a set period and is for up to 3 stones completed (cuts to be agreed with the instructor as is the material to be cut). The night course is for a period of 13 weeks. The day course with more hours each day is shorter. After a member has completed the beginner s course there may be some further access to club machines as determined by the availability of machines and a supervising instructor. To answer the question (underlined) posed above. Only put your name down if really keen, faceting is painstaking, repetitive, and somewhat mechanical. It can also be frustrating, rewarding and deeply satisfying. You (with near certainty) will not be a competent facetor on completion of the beginners course. You (again with near certainty) will not become a good facetor unless you buy your own machine (think $1000 to $7000) and cut lots of stones. If you want stones up to approx. 5mm across, they are quite cheap and most facetors cannot be bothered cutting small stones unless the material is very valuable. To become a competition cutter you need large parts of perfectionism, obsessiveness and perseverance in your personality profile So take the challenge or concentrate on other aspects of lapidary over to you. RAFFLE WINNERS the Raffle was drawn at the close of the Gem Show & the lucky winners are-: 1st Prize: Rex KEEN- Ticket No: nd Prize: Arunee GEOGHEGAN- Ticket No: rd Prize: Becky MA-Ticket No: th Prize: Pam CRONCK- Ticket No: 0284

8 8 July Birthday Wishes to the following members: Keith Atlee, Peter Carroll, Arthur Jones Brian Colquhoun, John Carrig, Jeanette Greer, Jamie Irvine, Christine Kuhnemann, Peter McGregor, Dean Metcalfe, Jason Neville, Kenneth Payne, Kathleen Payne, Steve Profke, Peter Stevens, Graham Thompson, John Tonkin, and Lorraine Turville JULY BIRTHSTONES RUBY Love, success, integrity, passion and promise CARNELIAN Luck and safety UPCOMMING GEM SHOW DATES July 12th-13th- Hervey Bay Gem Show, Hughes St Hervey Bay July 12th Caboolture GemFest, Caboolture Historical Village, Beerburrum Rd Caboolture July 31st-Aug 3rd Lightning Ridge Opal Festival, RSL Lightning Ridge NSW August 2nd Ipswich Lapidary Gem Show, Ipswich Showgrounds, Warwick Rd Ipswich August 7th-10th Anakie GemFest, Allan King Memorial Park, Anakie August 15th-16th Goldfest, Clermont Central Queensland August 16th-17th Central Queensland Gem Show, Monto Qld September 5th-12th AFG Seminar Glen Innes October 4th Beenleigh Gem Festival, Beenleigh Showgrounds, James Street, Beenleigh October11th-12th Central coast Lapidary Show, Mingara Sports & Recreational Club, Mingara Rd, Tumbi Umbi October25th-26th Toowoomba Gemfest, Centenary Heights High School, Ramsay St Toowoomba November 8th-9th Bundaberg GemFair Bundaberg Civic Centre, Burbong St Bundaberg November 15th SunCoast GemShow, Mooloolaba State School, Douglas St, Mooloolaba If you know of any other Gem shows, please place the info in the SNIPPETS BOX or me on - Thanks Deb MERVYN S RECIPE FOR CLEANING FILES McKenzie s brand of Citric Acid (72gr) (from supermarket) Put the contents of the packet into a big empty coke bottle and put a little of hot water to mix it up. Close the lid and shake. Top it up with cold water and close the lid and shake it up again. Place the files into a plastic container and cover with the liquid you have just mixed. Soon you will notice slight color change as the dirt in the file grooves starts to dissolve. Check with in and hour and do not leave your files in any longer then that, rinse thoroughly and brush with a small toothbrush to get rid of anything else that might be still there and dry with a towel and also dry with hair dryer. Must be thoroughly dry or it will rust. When thoroughly dry run a piece of chalk over the files and that will prevent it from rusting and chalk does not clog up files.

9 9 Wayne received an from Barry Phillips (you remember that mad Englishman who lives in Gibraltar,) We thought you might like to read the . Dear Jason, Wayne, Geoff, and everyone Hi from us in Gibraltar (although at the moment we are cruising around the Mediterranean. We are really missing it in Australia, especially the club, and all the friendly faces. You will be pleased to know, that I have set up a small workroom in our apartment block, and have started work, sorting my stones and polishing them. I am presently waiting for a delivery of a vibrating polishing machine, en route from China, and then can complete all the silver work that I have made ready for the stones. I received the faceted stones back from Lamberts in Thailand, and was very pleased. They only did the stones that they thought were worth it, and just returned the remainder. When we go the USA in November, I can buy the PMC, then I can make other jewelry. Everything you all taught me has been so useful, and I cant wait to get back to carry on learning more. If we had realized how much we would have enjoyed being in Australia, we would not have booked the USA, but would have come back this summer. But we have the ship booked for 12th July next summer and arrive in Sydney, 4th September Nowadays only one ship a year leaves UK to go to Sydney, which is the world cruise, Sydney to Sydney leaving Australia in May. We would so love to have been part of the group to Lightning Ridge and are gutted not to be going with you all. Perhaps you can arrange a field trip any time from next September 2015 onwards. We would love to take part. Weather here in Gib and med is nice and hot, just our type of weather, now our summer, must be getting cooler where you are. Please show the e mail to all the members and give them all our regards. Barry and Anita BOWEN & COLLINSVILLE LAPIDARY CLUB INC. This little lapidary club is situated on The Esplanade at Queens Beach in Bowen next to a big park where there is a local craft market on every 1 st, 3 rd & 5 th Sunday of the month. The tourist information center in Bowen will tell you. The lapidary club is always open when the market is on and club members always sell items made in the club at the market as that is their fundraiser. While Chez & I were visiting the lapidary club last year we met a very nice member, a lady by the name of Elvyn Smith who told us that all visitors are welcome to view the club & also visitors are invited to join the club on their fossicking trips that they take frequently in the near by areas. Elvyn told us that in the local area on their fossicking trips they find Jasper, Opalized & Fossilized Wood, Rose Quarts, Agate, Rhyolite, Garnet, Shell Fossils, Fossilized Fern & Palm, Crystals & Phrenite. Their fossicking trips are usually between March & Oct as all the other times its to hot 7 the snakes are around. There are several areas of great interest to fossickers to be found south west of this pleasant seaport. There is a designated Amethyst fossicking area in Binbee about 40km from Bowen towards Collinsville. Sixteen km south of Bowen Amethysts are found in the gravels of Don River. There is The Armistice Gold Mine north of Mt Danger. Another area for prospecting is north of Collinsville only 90 km south west of Bowen. You will find in the creek beds around the village of Almoda (or Almoola?) Amethyst, Agate, Chalcedony & if you lucky you might find Common Opal. So if you are heading on one of your fossicking trips up north why not stop at the friendly little lapidary club in Bowen and inquire about prospecting sights or join the club on one of their fossicking trips. Elvyn told us that all are welcome as long as they are members of another lapidary club. I would also like to tell you that the above fossicking information is also found in our club s library in a book called How & Where To Find GEMSTOBES and we have 3 of these books. We have a wealth of information in our Library so why not borrow a book and look at all these wonderful fossicking areas. Jadzia & Chez. Bowen & Collinsville Lapidary Club, The Esplanade, Queens Beach, Bowen 4805 ph: