[meteorite-list] Ethics question?

From: Jim Wooddell <jimwooddell_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2011 07:28:34 -0700
Message-ID: <AANLkTi=fUW+iZyroy4D6NTrg=kjVF2Vz2x2ZzZKHhPEY_at_mail.gmail.com>

Good Morning Barrett,

I Found a meteorite yesterday while hunting and it was a broken piece.
 So I looked around a little more and found the other broken half! I
messed with them a little and proved they go together in a puzzle.
Awesome piece. When my hunting buddies all got together a little
later, one of them commented....don't glue the thing....which I would
not do anyway.
The fact it was found in broken pieces and the fact I actually found
the larger second piece, I feel, this is unique to the find and I will
never glue these.

When I found my first ever meteorite, I made a lot of mistakes with
it. First, I did notice it was a fractured piece. When I put it in
the vice, I cracked it in half. I knew immediately I made a mistake!
However, what was neat about that is there was a complete 1 gram iron
nodule (speer) in the middle of it...just like the kind of little
irons found in the same area. So, I learned a few things while this
happened. I was sick that the thing cracked in half...being my first
ever stone, but it worked out okay. Since then, a chunk of it was cut
and sent to a lab. I ended up gluing this one back together but I am
not sure I would do that again.
I have another meteorite I bought at Tucson to use as a study piece.
It became a puzzle sometime between where I bought it and home. I do
not intend to glue it. I kind of decided it alters the nature of the
stones when gluing, but that is just my feeling on it.
I do not believe you have any ethics issues gluing you own stone. I
think if you intend to sell it or show it and do not disclose it's
been glued, then ethics come into play.

Kind Regards,

Jim Wooddell




On Sun, Mar 20, 2011 at 6:49 PM, Barrett <BarrettWF at comcast.net> wrote:
> I have sliced several meteorites and two of them broke apart along the
> "fault line" (cracks).
> Is it considered ethical or unethical to glue these back together? Or, does
> it even matter?
> Approx 80% is in one piece and the other 20% is in 4 pieces.
> For the record, it appears to be an OC.
Received on Mon 21 Mar 2011 10:28:34 AM PDT