Bribie Island Gem & Fossicking Club Inc.

Cabochon Silver Smithing Faceting

JULY 2020 NEWSLETTER

BRIBIE ISLAND GEM & FOSSICKING CLUB Inc. ABN 13 979 152 201 Club rooms situated adjacent to the Community Arts Centre complex.

191 Sunderland Drive, Banksia Beach, Bribie Island Q 4507. Web site : http://bribiegemclub.com.au Facebook: Bribiegemclub Bgc

Soon be on the Road Again! Can’t wait to get back on the Road Again!

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE:

President - Greg Hemphill tel 0418 835 137 Vice-President - Debbie Burles tel 0406 207 282 Secretary - Merilyn Matthews tel 0438 347 078 Treasurer - Julie Evans tel 0449 113 549 Email for Club - secretary@bribiegemclub.com.au

Life Members: Greg Hemphill, Syl Lewis, Phillip Scutts, Elaine Smelt, Col Thorpe, John Watts. Editor: Col Thorpe 0420 917 625 colthorpe01@bigpond.com

hAppY biRThDAY TO ALL OUR mEmbERS hAviNG A biRThDAY. mAY YOUR DAY bE A GOOD ONE!

July Birthstone –Ruby: Rubies are rich, vibrant red gemstones that are synonymous with vitality, passion, and seeking your heart’s desire. The July birthstone has also been the gemstone of royalty for centuries. Gift a beautiful Ruby ring, pendant or earrings to your loved ones born in July.

cANcER: 23 JUN – 23 JUL. – LEO: 24 JUL -23 AUG.

LAPIDARY: MALACHITE: Has been known for thousands of years. Early civilisations wore malachite amulets to ward off danger and illness. Malachite’s bright green colour is one of its best identification features. This and its attractive banded structure make it a popular gemstone. Malachite is very beautiful but it is fairly soft (hardness 3 ½ - 4). As a result it is too vulnerable to wear & tear to be widely used in jewellery. Typical malachite artefacts include ashtrays & decorative trinket boxes. When it is fashioned into jewellery, malachite is cut into smooth, domed shapes called

cabochons: faceting is unsuitable for this gemstone as the material used ornamentally is non-crystalline. Indeed, malachite crystals are very rare. The great advantage of the cabochon is that it brings out the gemstone’s attractive light & dark green banding. Malachite may also be used to make beads & buttons. Malachite is a source of copper, but although it is widespread, it is only a minor ore of copper. Malachite is a common mineral & easily found associated with copper deposits. It is widely distributed. Some of the finest specimens have been found in: Broken Hill, New South Wales, South Australia, Congo, England, USA, Germany & many other European places. NOTE: Health warning; when cutting & polishing this gemstone, many people have stated that malachite is toxic because it contains arsenic! The fact is that malachite dust, released when cutting sanding & polishing can sicken people. Copper, however and not arsenic, is the villain. (Toowoomba Lapidary Gazette Vol 30, No 6, December 2012 – January 2013 refers. Full copy of this article is held on file. Editor Col).

SILVER CRAFT: PICKLE (Metal): Is a liquid compound used to remove oxidation & flux from newly soldered jewelry. It is what you put your pieces in to clean them after soldering. Metal that has been soldered produces oxidation on the outside of it. Allowing the metal to cool & then dropping it into the pickle removes the oxidation. The metal should also be pickled before the soldering process to clean it. Pickle works best when it’s heated. A small crock pot &

lid is recommended for containing the pickle. Keep it on the Low setting. If the lid is kept off, the pickle will evaporate. Distilled water can be added to replenish it. Pickle lasts for a very long time, but when it starts to turn blue from the collected oxidation then it is time to change it. The solution must be neutralized before it’s disposed. Pour it into a separate container & add baking soda until it stops frothing. No frothing means it’s neutralized & can be disposed at a hazardous waste dump. Pickle works better and faster when hot. You will also need a pair of copper pickling tongs for removing pieces from the pickle. Pickle tongs are made out of copper because copper doesn’t react with the pickle. SAFETY WARNING: When mixing, always add acid to water. Protect yourself by wearing safety goggles, apron rubber gloves. Always wash hands after working with pickles or other acids. Keep baking soda close at hand to neutralise spills.

WHEN GOOD PICKLE GOES BAD: Pickle absorbs oxides like a sponge soaks up a spill. Like a sponge, pickle will reach a point where it has taken on about all it can carry. It is chemically possible to ‘WRING OUT’ the pickle but it is cheaper to discard the used pickle & make a fresh solution. The first indication that pickle is reaching saturation is that it will become blue, but don’t discard it at the first sign of colour because even at a bright blue, the pickle has some life left. Warm pickle should dissolve oxides & flux residue in a minute or two. When it takes longer than this, it is time to replace the solution. Before discarding, neutralize the pickle by adding baking soda. This will cause the solution to froth up, so work in a sink. When the bubbling reaction slows down it is safe to flush the solution down the pipes. An alternate solution is to fill a bucket with limestone chips. Pour used solution over the rocks and eventually it will become totally neutralized.

TRIPOLI: A Capital of Libya. A city in Lebanon. A siliceous sedimentary rock. Also a polishing compound, consisting of silica formed by masses of microscopic sea animals deposited millions of years ago in the seas. As with Rouge, it is also a buffing compound. Buffing compounds are used with buffing and polishing wheels to increase the effectiveness of the wheel and to help you accomplish your tasks more quickly. They come in all different types and colors, each uniquely suited to a different aspect of the buffing, cutting, and polishing process. Some are rougher and allow you to quickly remove scratches from various metal surfaces, and others are gentler and designed to provide a beautiful and shining finish to your work. One big difference that you’ll notice is the contrast between rouge compounds and tripoli

compounds: rouges are typically used for polishing and finishing work whereas the tripoli compounds are used for cutting and buffing to remove scratches from the metal.

BROWN/TRIPOLI BAR: The familiar brown or chocolate coloured cakes of Tripoli Buffing Compound are one of the oldest and most widely used buffing compositions for cutting down and bringing out a high lustre on non-ferrous metals. Its fast cutting and bright colouring action on such metals have created its wide use on all types of zinc die castings, sheet and cast brass, copper-plated work & aluminum castings & stampings. For buffing down castings and stampings, a greasy

grade is most generally selected because the extra percentage of grease binders keeps the compound on the buff face longer and hence the cutting action is greater. A second buffing operation using a drier grade of Tripoli Compound, can be used if a smoother

and brighter finish is required. Practical with any type of buffing wheel but generally used on a tight, spiral sewed buff, pocket type buff or bias type buff.

SHOWROOM ‘A Shed’ Sales Report: Great excitement, the committee have opened the way for the Club to buy from members beautifully finished items. If you have an item please hand it to either Phil Connelly or myself, we will advise you the Club’s purchasing price, if you are happy with that figure, and we will give you the money. The Club has 5 big show cases to stock, this includes the one in the Art Gallery. The profit made from these cabinets in turn benefit you, the members, and you just don’t know at the end of the financial year there just may be enough money in the kitty for Bill to have his BIG 24inch saw in B shed. What sells really well are earrings, but please, before you race off and start making them check with either Kerrie or me re designs. We are needing no more of the “swing type” design. This is a perfect project for all those folks who have done their basic training in the sheds, they can apply what they have learnt - cabbing, sawing, soldering and finishing off etc. Did you know 90% of your time should be spent finishing off the item? A beautiful finish is what we are looking for. Remember, you buy the silver/stones etc. and then the Club will buy back the finished item. As you are aware, the Club is in full planning mode with the GEM FESTIVAL being held over the weekend of 12th & 13th September, so we really need more stock. Next time you are in A shed instead of turning right for the cakes & coffee, turn left and walk down to the TOOL show case near the library. Judy and I have been busy little bees getting in great tools and findings in for you. You will be surprised by just what we have available and more importantly they are the right tools and findings you need. The Club has kept things at a fair price. A great deal of items related to our hobby come from USA and Judy arranges every so often to order from Rio Grande, so you are getting the best. If there is something special you are wanting, speak to Judy and it can be added to the next order. Now folks, we all have to buy a gift at some time in our lives, so why not shop at your very own show room, great prices, and beautiful things.

Kaye Parish.

LIBRARY Report: When did you last check out the great selection of books we have in the Club’s library. Those people who prior to lock down took our magazines/Books can they please return them. Remember that the library is a treasure of information and it is free to you.

Diane Poole Librarian.

FACETING:

FACETING REPORT: There is not much to report as you know, because of the lockdown. But I tried to catch up on my work, started on my bench at home, only partly succeeding. I have one good thing to report though. One of my students, Mr. Ian Palmblad, who has his own machine at home, has completed several lovely stones conferring by email with me. Every time he completed one, I gave him a more advanced one which he did and a good job as well. Congratulations Ian, well done! When back to (normal) my boys may need a refresher. We are waiting on a new machine to start new students, but a notice will be put up on the board hopefully to put names of future students as I try to teach one at a time. I did have a list, but I lost it somewhere. (Put it down to age!). Back to normal soon we hope. God bless all.

Rob Bettridge.

FACETING DOP. A faceting dop is a metal shaft usually about 6mm & 50mm long with a cup machined on one end, in which a rough or preformed gem is cemented with a special dop wax. (Picture on left shows a brass-coloured dop inserted into the dop arm with a gemstone attached). Most Dop Wax is a composition of sealing wax, shellac & other additives which give good strength for lapidary purposes. Dop Arm is that part of the facet head which holds

the dop. It can be rotated & indexed 360 degrees while being set at any angle to the lap from zero to 90 degrees.

GENERAL INTEREST: Male or female? You might not have known this, but a lot of nonliving objects are actually either male or female. Here are some examples... Egg Timers: Egg timers are female, because over time all the weight shifts to the bottom. Freezer Bags: They are male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them.

Hammers: Male, because in the last 5000 years, they've hardly changed at all and are occasionally handy to have around. Hot Air Balloons: Also a male object, because to get them to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under them. Photocopiers: These are female, because once turned off; it takes a while to warm them up again. They are an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can also wreak havoc if you push the wrong buttons. Remote Control: Female, because it easily gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push, he just keeps trying. Sponges: These are female, because they are soft, squeezable, and retain water. Trains: Definitely male, because they always use the same old lines for picking up people. Tyres: Tyres are male, because they go bald easily and are often over inflated. Web Pages: Female, because they're constantly being looked at.

JULY QUOTE: Any project you tackle is always hardest at the beginning – like working up a swing!

MEMBER’S NOTICE BOARD: JULY GEM FESTIVAL EVENTS 4th July: Qlacca Meeting, Gunyah Clubrooms. 10:00 am ? 4 – 5th July: Hervey Bay Gem & Jewellery Expo. Star of the Sea Catholic School 39 Hughes Road Hervey Bay. Sat & Sun 9:00 am. Cancelled until next year! 18-19th July: Townsville Gem & Mineral Show. 96 Mooney St. Gulliver Townsville. Sat & Sun 9:00 am. Cancelled! 25-26th July: Cairns Gem Festival. 129 Mulgrave Road Cairns. Sat & Sun 9:00 am Cancelled!

CLUB DUTY COORDINATOR ROSTER - JULY 2020 If at any time you are unable to do your rostered day please try a swap with another Coordinator. If unsuccessful contact the Club Secretary

JULY ROSTER Wed 1st MERILYN MATTHEWS Sat 4th BOB CAMPBELL

Mon 6th MARG CAMPBELL Tue 7th GRAEME BANKS Wed 8th PETER GIBBS Sat 11th CRAIG BURNS Mon 13th COL THORPE Tue 14th BARRY ANDERSON Wed 15th DEBBIE BURLES Sat 18th WES/MARG SANDERS Mon 20th PHIL CONNOLLY Tue 21st RUTH DEASY Wed 22nd GREG HEMPHILL Sat 25th VICKI PARTRIDGE Mon 27th KIRSTEN LINEHAM-BLAIR Tue 28th ROB BETTRIDGE Wed 29th JULIE EVANS Monday night’s 5.30-9 pm

Helen Mitchell (0427 038 733 to confirm if opening).

To our co-ordinators, if you're planning to be away on holidays etc., would you please let Vicki Partridge know 0490 119 526.

REcENT hAppENiNGS!

Putting the new Tool shop cupboard together - Kaye & Greg.

Di & Kaye having fun stock taking.

Getting show room ready for opening - Rob & Marg.

SOmE JULY cALENDAR NOTES! 1st of July - Middle of the year: (183 days gone – 183 days to go).

13th ‘Lunar Apogee’ (moon furthest from earth) – at 5:26 am. 14th of July – France Bastille Day. 20th of July – First man on the moon (1969). 25th ‘Lunar Perigee’ (moon is closest to earth) – at 3:01 pm.

New Club Member, John Bovard, wrote: "I have been trying a number of projects at home working from You-tube and books and decided I needed more confined heat to get a half finished project to behave so I built an enclosure out of fire bricks and refractory mortar. I discovered that Bunnings sell both and their delivery charges are pretty good and the timing is excellent. Possibly the fire bricks didn't need to be mortared together but it certainly worked to concentrate the heat. Bunnings of course sell things in builder’s quantities and so I now have four spare fire bricks and over 4 kg of refractory cement. Interestingly the latter item seems to be quite useful as a soldering clay for difficult joints. It takes a bit longer to set but is only 5% of the price. The mortar is rated to 1000°C and has withstood some fairly fierce gas torch work.

If anybody wants one or more fire bricks and/or a plastic bag with half a kilo (or much more up to the remaining 4.5 kg) of refractory mortar (including instructions – i.e. mix with water and wait overnight for it to set) if they drop me an email I can deliver it contactless leaving it next to your letterbox or something. All free of course. Alternatively, I will bring it into the club when we are free to return. (For information – sadly in spite of the additional heat the project did not work out and while I know that unsuccessful projects can be melted down and cast into something else, I suspect I now have enough scrap silver to cast up a pretty sizeable sterling silver boat anchor.) John Bovard. Email: johngbovard@gmail.com"

Metallurgy. Metallurgy encompasses both the science &

the technology of metals. That is, the way in which science is applied to the production of metals & the engineering of metal components used in products for both consumers & manufacturers. Metallurgy is distinct from the craft of metalworking. Metalworking relies on metallurgy in a similar manner to how medicine relies on medical science for technical advancement. A specialist practitioner of metallurgy is known as a Metallurgist.

Some Metal History: The discovery of steel: 11th century BC; by the 11th century

BC it has been discovered that iron can be much improved. If it is reheated in a furnace with charcoal (containing carbon), some of the carbon is transferred to the iron. This process hardens the metal; & the effect is considerably greater if the hot metal is rapidly reduced in temperature, usually achieved by quenching it in water. The new material is steel. It can be worked (or 'wrought') just like softer iron & it will keep a finer edge, capable of being honed to sharpness. Gradually, from the 11th century onwards, steel replaces bronze weapons in the Middle East, birthplace of the Iron Age. It becomes essential, from now on, to have a good steel blade rather than a soft & indifferent one.

Cast iron in the east: 513 BC.

Thus far in the story, iron has been heated & hammered, but never melted. Its melting point (1528°C) is too high for primitive furnaces, which can reach about 1300°C & are adequate for copper (melting at 1083°C). This limitation is overcome when the Chinese develop a furnace hot enough to melt iron, enabling them to produce the world's first cast iron - an event traditionally dated in the Chinese histories to 513 BC.

In this they are a thousand and more years ahead of the western world. The first iron foundry in England, for example, dates only from AD 1161. By that time the Chinese have already pioneered the structural use of cast iron, using it sometimes for the pillars of full-size pagodas. Cast iron, an alloy of iron that contains 2 to 4 percent carbon, along with varying

amounts of silicon & manganese & traces of impurities such as sulfur & phosphorus. It is made by reducing iron ore in a blast furnace. The liquid iron is cast, or poured & hardened, into crude ingots called pigs & the pigs are subsequently remelted along with scrap and alloying elements in cupola furnaces & recast into moulds for producing a variety of products.

The age of copper: from 7000 BC.

From about 7000 BC a few Neolithic communities begin hammering copper into crude knives and sickles, which work as well as their stone equivalents and last far longer. Some of the earliest implements of this kind have been found in eastern Anatolia. This intermediate period between the Stone Age (when all weapons and tools are of flint) and the first confident metal technology (the Bronze Age) has been given a name deriving

from the somewhat awkward combination of materials. It is called the Chalcolithic Period, from the Greek chalcos 'copper' and lithos 'stone'. An accident, probably frequent, reveals another of nature's useful secrets. A nugget of pure copper, or perhaps a finished copper tool, falls into the hot camp fire. The copper melts. When it cools, it is found to have solidified in a new shape. And the magic of fire has yet more to offer. Certain kinds of bright blue or green stones are attractive enough to collect for their own sake. It turns out that when such stones are heated to a high temperature, liquid metal flows from them. They are azurite and malachite, two of the ores of copper. The use of fire thus makes possible two significant new steps in the development of metallurgy: the casting of metal, by pouring it into prepared moulds; and the smelting of mineral ores to extract metal. Objects made from smelted copper, from as early as 3800 BC, are known in Iran. Many mineral ores are found on the surface of the earth, in outcrops of rock. Chipping away at them, to pursue the metal-bearing lode down below the surface, leads inevitably to another technological advance - the development of mining.

Rocks for the BICAS Labyrinth: Do you have any rocks looking for a new home where they will be seen and appreciated? The Art Centre Labyrinth (the bush path and red seating across the road from the Gem Club) is always looking for more rocks to enhance our area as we are enjoying being able to house and display rocks from all around our beautiful country. If you have rocks you would like to donate, please either find them a place in the labyrinth, or contact me for help. And if you find rocks you would like already in the labyrinth, please feel free to take them!

Joyce Newell 0439 329 334 Joyce.Newell@bigpond.com

Donations: Hands Off!! Donations of lapidary jewellery items handed into the Club

are deemed to be Club property & receipt of items are to be itemised & recorded. Club Management Committee determines what occurs with Club donations. Members must not interfere with such Club donations. Club Duty Coordinators are required to ensure the

security of any donations, preferably by lock up of such donations. (from our June 2020 meetings).

Membership Fees are due and payable by 10th February each year.

The members whose fees have not been renewed by 10th of February shall be deemed un-financial & thereby uninsured if attending the Club. (Our Club Rules in fact state ‘inter alia’ that “The management committee may terminate a member’s membership if the member - has membership fees in arrears for at least 2 months”). You may pay your 2020 Subscription Fee now. (Note: Pro-rata rates apply only to New Membership during the months May-September each year). You must complete the Membership Renewal application form & submit that with your subscription fee to the Secretary, Treasurer or Club Duty Coordinator of the day.

Honoring the passing of Val McKenzie. A memorial Occasion social event is to be held in July (date to be advised). Any photos of Val would be appreciated. Please forward to the Secretary.

PLEASE CONSIDER CONTRIBUTING MATERIAL for Our Newsletter. Articles required. We ask you to help us with this newsletter. It is yours. Any stories about fossicking, past travel, technical stuff, you name it we’ll have it. It shows new and potential members what we do and what we are about. Contributions for the newsletter need to be passed on to me no later than one week before the end of each month. Talk to me! Or email

direct to colthorpe01@bigpond.com

Thanks for your help. Col Thorpe. Editor 0420 917 625

Disclaimer: The Editor & the Bribie Island Gem & Fossicking Club Inc. Management Committee reserves the right to choose and edit all material featured in this Newsletter. Although all care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the material herein, the Editor & the Bribie Island Gem & Fossicking Club Inc. Management Committee does not accept responsibility for any inaccuracies which may inadvertently occur. Opinions expressed are those of the original authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, Bribie Island Gem & Fossicking Club Inc. or its members. Persons acting on any opinion, advice, fact or advertisement published in this newsletter do so at their own risk.