Idaho Jim

The more I look, the more convinced I am it's some sort of obsidian. Jim

We have millions of acres of basalt lave flows here. I have never seen any basalt that looks like that. May be some sort of volcanic glass, but the glass here is much darker.

Thanks guys, it was a good one. had the daughter's family, and my granddaughters, here for the occasion. My youngest GD's birthday is the day before mine, so we celebrated twice! Jim

Looks good, Dave. Should be safe and reliable. Jim

What a great day. Love those specimen pieces! Jim

My welders have a mind of their own too, Dave. But their minds are much dumber than yours...LOL Jim

I like that, Dave. Just wish I could weld like that! Jim

Nice, Dave. A coil spring is nothing but a long torsion rod wound in a circle. When compressed, or stretched, it just twists the wire of the coil. Jim

Dave, if you get ahold of them, they'll probably send you a free sample. They sent me a piece that was 1 1/2" in diameter, and 12" long. I offered to pay shipping, and they said "no problem", "glad to send it". Jim

I've found Vesconite to be better than either Delrin, or HDPE for low-speed bushings. With steel, it's quieter than Delrin, and longer-lasting than HDPE. Jim

Yup...it's beginning to look like my mountain prospecting may be done for this year. But, it's not historic. A few years ago, in early October, we got 2" of heavy, wet snow here just as Chris and i were leaving for a trip south. We had to delay for a day to cleanup all the broken tree limbs. Wet snow, and limbs with leaves still on them are not a good combination. Looks like a repeat. Jim

Yeah, Jack...there's a shock. Jim

I would contact the Northwest Gold Prospectors Association. http://www.nwgoldprospectors.org/ Jim

Finally got to work on testing the 7 1/2DF, 8x6 Sadie, MJ 8x12, and 12"DF. Did a comparison on the 7 1/2DF and Sadie with both battery packs, and a comparison of the MJ 8x12 FM, and the Whites 12"DF at 16v. Somehow I cut off the early portion of the MJ 8x12, but I think the gist of its sensitivity is apparent. voltage and coils TDI SL Jim

Yup, Doc, I've carried one for years in case of way-out-in-the-wilds rattlesnake bite. First read of the treatment 27 years ago, and it was about their use in South America. The article said the only problem with the procedure was getting the patient to hold still for it...LOL Jim