[meteorite-list] New guy introduces himself with a couple of questions

From: Pat Brown <radio_ranch_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:58:50 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <163470.86101.qm_at_web51311.mail.re2.yahoo.com>

Hi Michael and welcome to the hobby(obsession) . I
have some thoughts on your questions:
Asking questions is not a breach of list etiquette at
all. Every question you ask will benefit you and the
lurkers that are too shy to ask questions.
1) IMCA; Your comment in my opinion is very accurate,
the IMCA seems to be more important for dealers to
belong to. This list, Meteorite Magazine and Books are
better sources of info for people new to the hobby.
The two books you mentioned are the ones to start
with. I also recommend _Find a Falling Star_ by H.H.
Nininger (out of print, but relatively easy to find).
I also recommend _Meteorites, Ice and Antarctica_ by
Cassidy.
2) Cutting meteorites; you can use a tile saw blade
obtainable to Home Depot, etc. Using a wet saw in a
table saw is a problem, water and cast iron do not mix
well. There are inexpensive tile saws available
through Harbor Freight and the big box home stores
(Home Depot, Lowes etc). There is also the Ameritool 4
inch wet saw. This saw will actually work with a 5?
saw blade. The problem with tile saws and general use
diamond blades is that they cut a wide kerf and
consume a lot of the meteorite in the cutting process.
The Ameritool saw can use diamond blades that will cut
a kerf of less than 0.020?.
3) Cutting small stones: The Ameritool saw is very
easy to use and non-intimidating. I hand hold small
stones down to less than 1? long for cutting with the
Ameritool saw with great safety.
Best Regards,
                 Pat Brown
                 Scientific Lifestyle Meteorites



--- Michael Gilmer <michael_w_gilmer at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hello Everyone and List Members!,
>
> I hope this is not a breach of list etiquette and if
> so,
> I apologize in advance for my indiscretion. I just
> wanted to take a moment and come out of the shadows
> where I have been quietly lurking and soaking up the
> collective wisdom of this group. My name is Michael
> Gilmer and I am a private newbie collector from
> southern Louisiana. One of our fellow list members
> got me started on collecting a year ago, and things
> have snowballed since then - with my personal
> collection
> growing by leaps and bounds. I'm not going to name
> drop,
> because he would probably be embarassed to hear me
> say
> this, but I consider him my "meteorite mentor" and
> his
> willingness to answer my questions in a friendly and
> patient matter impressed me quite a bit. So I want
> to thank him (you know who you are!) and also thank
> the other members of the list for sharing your
> immense
> knowledge of the field of meteorite collecting.
>
> I have dived into meteorites head first and started
> buying up the "definitive" books in the field -
> Rocks from Space, Cambridge Encyclopedia, and the
> like.
>
> I've tried to do my homework on the subject and I
> have
> tackled it in a similar, almost-obsessive way, that
> I approached telescopes and eyepieces - another
> hobby
> of mine that eats up my time and money! ;)
>
> But I still have a couple of nagging questions that
> I really can't find any answers for using the usual
> web searching. So I'd like to ask those questions
> here. :)
>
> 1) The IMCA. Is this group for private collectors,
> or
> just for collector/dealers who also sell specimens?
> I
> was looking over the IMCA website and I read the
> bylaws - and it appears to be a group of mostly
> dealers who police each other and police the general
> meteorite market looking for frauds and
> misclassifications, etc. Is there any advantage to
> joining the IMCA as a private collector with no
> intention to become a dealer? And if so, how does
> one
> go about joining and getting "two members to vouch
> for
> you", if you are a total newbie to the field and
> don't
> have two vouchers? Do I just have to bide my time
> and
> earn my chops like everyone else did I assume?
>
> 2) Cutting open specimens - lapidary saws and
> lapidary
> blades seem to be the most preferred method. But,
> for
> cutting small practice specimens, could a diamond
> blade be adapted for a table saw or other powered
> saw
> (that is not a pricey and specialized lapidary saw)
> and could
> that be used to cut specimens? Oil fed/cooled saws
> also seem to be preferred, but could I use a
> "regular"
> saw and have an assistant inject coolant onto the
> cutting surface while I cut? How important is all
> of
> this for slicing in half very small specimens -
> smaller than a chicken egg for example?
>
> 3) Getting specimen classified. Is there a
> preferred
> place to have this done? I notice there are several
> places that offer this service and they vary. Is
> there one predominate service or are they all
> equally
> authoritative?
>
> Again, my sincere thanks to the group for providing
> such a wealth of info and ads! - yes, I have been
> buying some of your specimens - several of you. ;)
>
> Regards and happy hunting!
>
> Mike Gilmer
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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Received on Mon 28 Jan 2008 02:58:50 PM PST


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