I was doing some research on making your own rock tumbler and was surprised at how much info there was on the subject. Here are some links to make your own. If you try any of these out (or have made your own) please comment and let me know.
Making a homemade rock tumbler can be surprisingly easy. Homemade rock tumblers can be just as effective as ones that are commercially sold, and you’ll have the added excitement of making it all by yourself. Whether you’re making one for your own personal hobby or you want to get the kids involved for some educational fun, the steps below will get you started.
In order to build a sturdy rock tumbler that can withstand a few pounds of rocks, you’ll need a sturdy baseboard. Wood is fine for this part of the tumbler, although many people prefer metal because they believe it will be more stable during the tumbling process. As long as the piece is large and heavy enough to stay firmly on the table, you should be fine with either material.
On top of the baseboard, you’ll need to mount a few sets of wheels or pulleys that will hold your tumbler while it is turning. In order to mount these properly, you should first choose what you will use for the rock tumbler itself. The tumbler must be made from some sort of cylinder. Metal is best, but you can also use a plastic jar if you wish. Do not use glass or any other breakable material. Place the jar on its side on the baseboard, and mount the pulleys so that the jar rests between them comfortably a few inches above the baseboard.
Finally, you’ll need a small rotary motor and a drive belt. Mount the motor on the opposite end of the baseboard from the pulleys, and hook the belt from the motor around the jar. When you turn the motor on, the drive belt will turn and the jar will turn also, supported by the pulley wheels. Any adjustments you need to make regarding the speed of the tumbling will rely on the motor, so make sure to choose one with low RPM and the right speed for your projects.
And there you have it- a simple homemade rock tumbler that anyone can do! If you need further instructions, check your local library- there are many books available on how to make homemade rock tumblers and the various projects you can create using tumbled rocks.
Quote from - http://www.rocktumblers.com/makingahomemaderocktumbler.cfm
Mechanical precipitation by wave action against the shore. This form of tufa can be useful for identifying the shoreline of extinct lakes (for example in the Lake Lahontan region).
Precipitation from supersaturated hot spring water entering cooler lake water.
Precipitation in lake bottom sediments which are fed by hot springs from below.
Precipitation from calcium-bearing spring water flowing into an alkaline lake.
Precipitation throughout a lake as the lake water evaporates, leaving the lake supersaturated in calcium.
Through the agency of algae. Microbial influence is often vital to tufa precipitation and may be involved in the other methods listed.
Precipitation from cold water springs (for example in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains near Hinton, Alberta).
Tufa is common in many parts of the world. There are some prominent towers of tufa at Mono Lake and Trona Pinnacles in California, USA, formed by the fourth method mentioned above whilst submerged and subsequently exposed by falling water levels. Tufa is also common in Armenia and Great Britain.
The Link is a feature-length documentary film made by the award-winning Atlantic Productions with exclusive access to Ida and the team of scientists who have examined her. The film shows how microtomography, CT scans and X-ray techniques were used to examine and recreate a 3D image of the creature, revealing that this early primate was a previously unknown species and one of our earliest ancestors.
Filmed in High Definition in locations in Europe, America and Africa, this documentary special combines one of the most extraordinary finds ever made, the latest scientific techniques and state of the art graphics to take us on an epic evolutionary journey.
May
19, 2009—Meet “Ida,” the small “missing link” found in Germany that’s
created a big media splash and will likely continue to make waves among those
who study human origins.
In a new book, documentary, and promotional Web site, paleontologist Jorn Hurum, who led the
team that analyzed the 47-million-year-old fossil seen above, suggests Ida is a
critical missing-link species in primate evolution (interactive guide to human evolution from National
Geographic magazine).
(Among the team members was University of Michigan paleontologist Philip
Gingerich, a member of the Committee for Research and Exploration of the National
Geographic Society, which owns National Geographic News.)
The fossil, he says, bridges the evolutionary split between higher primates
such as monkeys, apes, and humans and their more distant relatives such as
lemurs.
“This is the first link to all humans,” Hurum, of the Natural History Museum
in Oslo, Norway, said in a statement. Ida represents “the closest thing we can
get to a direct ancestor.”
Ida, properly known as Darwinius masillae, has a unique anatomy. The
lemur-like skeleton features primate-like characteristics, including grasping
hands, opposable thumbs, clawless digits with nails, and relatively short limbs.
“This specimen looks like a really early fossil monkey that belongs to the
group that includes us,” said Brian Richmond, a biological anthropologist at
George Washington University in Washington, D.C., who was not involved in the study, published this week in the journal PLoS
ONE.
But there’s a big gap in the fossil record from this time period, Richmond
noted. Researchers are unsure when and where the primate group that includes
monkeys, apes, and humans split from the other group of primates that includes
lemurs.
“[Ida] is one of the important branching points on the evolutionary tree,”
Richmond said, “but it’s not the only branching point.”
At least one aspect of Ida is unquestionably unique: her incredible
preservation, unheard of in specimens from the Eocene era, when early primates
underwent a period of rapid evolution. (Explore a prehistoric time line.)
“From this time period there are very few fossils, and they tend to be an
isolated tooth here or maybe a tailbone there,” Richmond explained. “So you
can’t say a whole lot of what that [type of fossil] represents in terms of
evolutionary history or biology.”
In Ida’s case, scientists were able to examine fossil evidence of fur and
soft tissue and even picked through the remains of her last meal: fruits, seeds,
and leaves.
What’s more, the newly described “missing link” was found in Germany’s Messel
Pit. Ida’s European origins are intriguing, Richmond said, because they could
suggest—contrary to common assumptions—that the continent was an important area
for primate evolution.
Interesting article debunking the hype
IDA tree
Unbridled hoopla attended the unveiling of a 47-million-year-old fossil primate skeleton
at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on 19 May. Found
by private collectors in 1983 in Messel, Germany, the press immediately
hailed the specimen as a “missing link” and even the “eighth wonder of
the world.”
Google’s
homepage evolved, incorporating an image of the new fossil – nicknamed
Ida – into the company’s logo. Now that the first description of the
fossil has been published, the task of sifting through the massive
public relations campaign to understand the true significance of the
new fossil can begin.
Ida forms the basis for a new genus and species of adapiform primate, Darwinius massillae. The adapids are a branch of the primate tree that leads to modern lemurs (see figure).
Ida’s
skeletal remains are remarkably complete, putting her in a small, elite
group of well-documented fossil primates from the Eocene (55 to 34
million years ago) that also includes her North American cousin, Notharctus.
Uniquely
for primate fossils this old, Ida’s stomach contents and a few aspects
of her soft anatomy are preserved. Like all adapiforms, Ida lacked a “toothcomb” at the front of her lower jaw – a structure that living lemurs use for grooming fur. Ida also lacked a “grooming claw”
on her second toe, another difference from living lemurs. Otherwise,
Ida’s overall proportions and anatomy resemble that of a lemur, and the
same is true for other adapiform primates.
What
does Ida’s anatomy tell us about her place on the family tree of humans
and other primates? The fact that she retains primitive features that
commonly occurred among all early primates, such as simple incisors
rather than a full-fledged toothcomb, indicates that Ida belongs
somewhere closer to the base of the tree than living lemurs do.
But
this does not necessarily make Ida a close relative of anthropoids –
the group of primates that includes monkeys, apes – and humans. In
order to establish that connection, Ida would have to have
anthropoid-like features that evolved after anthropoids split away from
lemurs and other early primates. Here, alas, Ida fails miserably.
So,
Ida is not a “missing link” – at least not between anthropoids and more
primitive primates. Further study may reveal her to be a missing link
between other species of Eocene adapiforms, but this hardly solidifies
her status as the “eighth wonder of the world”.
Instead,
Ida is a remarkably complete specimen that promises to teach us a great
deal about the biology of some of the earliest and least human-like of
all known primates, the Eocene adapiforms. For this, we can all
celebrate her discovery as a real advance for science.
Chris Beard is curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Filed under: Coming Events — Gary April 27, 2009 @ 11:56 am
Check it out if you can…
May 16th and 17th Newbury Park, California: 35th annual show, “Pageant of a Thousand Gems”; Conejo Gem and Mineral Club; Borchard Park, 190 Reino Rd.; Sat. 9-5, Sun. 10-4.30; free admission/parking, Mineral/Rocks/Fossils exhibits, demonstrations, gem and jewelry sales, youth activities, door prizes, silent auctions, and plant sales. www.cgamc.org Contact Robert Sankovich (805) 494-7734; e-mail: rmsorca@adelphia.net
Gold Pan Toss, Dirt Toss, “Gold Rush”, Claim Staking, Metal Detecting, and Bannock Baking. Bring a GPS and exchange items to hunt for the “Pin Exchange” or “Everything Goes” Geo Caches.
Events open to all. Gold nugget prizes for all events.
Support our $1 Nugget Raffle
Antique equipment display, prospecting, and hiking trails.
Can wear Klondike Period costumes.
Visit the Cherryville Artisans Shop (beside Frank’s General Store) on the way.
Café on site or bring a picnic and enjoy the grounds.
Visit the Cherryville Museum on site.
Gold Panning Competitions for Juniors, Teens, Novice, Intermediate
and Experts. Flat Pan Event.
2009 BC Open Gold Panning
Championships Information
Welcome to the 18th Annual BC Open Gold Panning Championships - May 15th, 16th & 17th, 2009. I hope that you will come and join us for whatever the weather has in store for us on the May long weekend at the Gold Panner Campground in Cherryville, B.C. We keep on going in sun, rain or sleet, so be dressed for it all. Nothing can keep a miner from finding his gold. We have some small and large canopies to help keep everyone happy.
All ages can join in the games: Pan Toss, Dirt Toss, Claim Staking for $2.00. The Gold Rush, Metal Detecting and Bannock Baking are $5.00. Every game has a nugget prize and they run from 9 am- 4 pm. with a break at noon.
The Gold Panning is Youth under 16 - $5.00 (includes both Sat. and Sun.) and Adults 16 and over is $10.00. You are guaranteed 2 pannings. If you are not in the top 10 in your category in the Eliminations on Saturday, check at 4:30 pm, then you get to pan in a consulation round at 4:45 pm for a nugget in a Gold Rush round. You must come yourselves, as we won’t be chasing you down. Anyone missing the Saturday eliminations will have a chance to enter the Expert Rounds on Sunday morning if they want to still compete. Experts will have a consulation round at 11:30am, Sunday. Please read the rules very carefully and the schedule for times. Print a copy off for your reference.
Steve and Elton will be flipping pancakes and ham for the early risers from 7-9 am Saturday and Sunday mornings. Adults - $4 and kids under six - $3. Don’t arrive late as they have other activities they will be going to at 9am. Any help will be appreciated.
Don’t forget your instruments and singing voices for the entertainment; and skits are welcome too. Let’s have some fun.
I bumped into Jon while looking for camera equipment of all things. I found a great deal plus found some great pictures! I asked if I could write about his site and he was happy to share his pictures with us.
Jon Cornforth is an award-winning nature photographer whose images have been recognized internationally for their masterful composition and incredible detail. Jon travels over 6 months each year to challenge himself in new locations and document the unique creatures that live there.
Multicolored, eroded rock formations dominate most of southeast Utah, though
particularly outstanding is the desert either side of the Paria River,
beneath the Vermilion Cliffs - seen for example along the Cottonwood Canyon
Road or at the Paria Rimrocks. The kaleidoscopic scenery extends a little
way south into Arizona, before the land becomes more sandy and barren, and
all can be visited free of charge and with no access restrictions apart from
the Paria canyon system and one small area spanning the UT/AZ border (mostly
in AZ); this is Coyote Buttes, which was unknown before the mid 1990s but is
now quite popular because of just one formation, ‘The Wave’, a small ravine
between eroded sandstone domes formed of amazingly beautiful rocks
containing thin, swirling strata. The location was first publicized in
Germany, in magazine articles and a movie (’Faszination Natur’ by Gogol
Lobmayr, 1995), and then was visited only by a small number of Europeans,
becoming widely known just in the last few years. Because the BLM considers
the formations to be particularly delicate, Coyote Buttes has recently been
subject to fees and entry limitations, with only 20 people per day allowed
to visit.
Location: Coyote Buttes are the far southern portion of the Coxcomb Ridge, a
40 mile escarpment that parallels much of the Cottonwood Canyon Road and
provides an impressive barrier to US 89 between Kanab and Page. The buttes
are reached by the House Rock Valley Road that links US 89 with ALT-US 89,
south of the Vermilion Cliffs in Arizona, and all are contained within both
the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and the Vermilion Cliffs
National Monument. The southern part of this track may have soft sand or mud
at some times of the year and a rather longer drive (21 miles vs. 8.5 miles)
is required to reach the main Coyote Buttes trailhead, so the northern route
is preferred; this rather bumpy road is also used to reach the Buckskin
Gulch slot canyon, and the trailhead for the Wave is the same as for the
Wire Pass entrance of the gulch. The BLM divides the buttes into North and
South, though the north contains all the famous sites, extending from Wire
Pass about 4 miles south (2 in UT and 2 in AZ), with the southern half
stretching a further 4 miles beyond that. Apart from the Wire Pass
trailhead, the only other easily reached starting point is The Notch, 2
miles from Wire Pass, where a trail crosses a pass in the cliffs and leads
to the south end of the north section. South Coyote Buttes is generally
harder to reach though lesser quality dirt tracks provide some access from
the east, while the very southern end (Paw Hole) can be reached by a 2 mile
4WD track starting from the House Rock Valley Road.
Permits: Entry to either North or South Coyote Buttes costs $5 per person,
with a limit of 20 people for each region and no more than 6 in a single
group. Half these are bookable up to 4 months in advance, by writing to the
BLM in Kanab or applying via their website
(https://www.blm.gov/az/paria/index.cfm, sometimes inaccessible), while the
other half are available by applying in person to the BLM office at the
Paria River, before 9 am on the day prior to the intended visit (the office
opens at 8.30 am). At 9 am, if more than 10 people are waiting, a lottery
system is used to select the chosen few. All successful applicants receive a
copy of the access regulations and, for North Coyote Buttes, a topological
map to help identify the route to the Wave, which is not well marked on the
ground. There is high demand for the advance permits and all may be taken
many months before the date of travel. A permit is also required for dogs -
another $5. No overnight camping is permitted anywhere in the area.
Trail to The Wave: From the Wire Pass parking area, a path crosses the wash,
runs alongside for a while then turns to the right, up the side of the hill
on the outside of the first big bend. At the top of the rim is the Coyote
Buttes trail register, then the path follows a disused, sandy road over a
plateau and down to another dry wash. Beyond here the land is generally
rocky and the trail is not well defined; the route is across the wash and up
the far side to the top of a small ridge, veering left a little to keep the
higher ground on the right. Over the ridge, the land opens out to reveal a
big expanse of sand and slickrock, with a long, high ridge to the right (the
north part of Coyote Buttes), a vast open area of sand and scattered rock
domes in the middle distance and larger, more concentrated red rocks to the
left, rising up to a mesa which forms the edge of Buckskin Gulch. Directly
ahead, just left of the main ridge and about 2 miles distant, the land rises
to a higher summit with a small but distinct dark notch about half way up,
which is directly above the Wave and so provides a point to aim for. The
hike is along the rocky slopes of the eastern side of the main ridge,
descending near the end into another sandy wash (Sand Cove) then up to the
Wave itself, though there are plenty of choices as to the exact route. The
time taken is between one and two hours, and the hike is relatively easy,
without much elevation change.
Sites in North and South Coyote Buttes, including the Wave, Wave 2, the
North and South Teepees, and the ‘Dinosaur Dance Floor’.
HISTORY UNVEILS PREDATOR X
The two-hour special PREDATOR X premieres on HISTORY; on Sunday, March 29 at 8pm ET/PT. On the remote archipelago of Svalbard, just 800 miles from the North Pole, a team of paleontologists from the University of Oslo Natural History Museum, have made a remarkable discovery. Buried beneath the icy landscape of the Arctic are the fossilized remains of a huge creature from the distant past. PREDATOR X is the story of a major discovery; what appears to be an entirely new species; of a massive and powerful predator. The scientific team must excavate it, determine its significance and try to rebuild it to see what it was like — as they discover the astounding power of which this creature was capable. PREDATOR X follows the expedition every step of the way, from painstaking field research to the astonishing find of the amazing creature. The special delves deep into this terrifying ancient mystery, uncovering what is one of the most amazing underwater finds in modern history.
A giant fossil sea monster found in the Arctic and known as “Predator X” had a bite that would make T-Rex look feeble, scientists said Monday.The 50 ft (15 meter) long Jurassic era marine reptile had a crushing 33,000 lbs (15 tonnes) per square inch bite force, the Natural History Museum of Oslo University said of the new find on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.”With a skull that’s more than 10 feet long you’d expect the bite to be powerful but this is off the scale,” said Joern Hurum, an associate professor of vertebrate paleontology at the museum who led the international excavation in 2008.
“It’s much more powerful than T-Rex,” he said of the pliosaur reptile that would have been a top marine predator. Tyrannosaurus Rex was a top land carnivore among dinosaurs.The scientists reconstructed the predator’s head and estimated the force by comparing it with the similarly-shaped jaws of alligators in a park in Florida.”The calculation is one of the largest bite forces ever calculated for any creature,” the Museum said of the bite, estimated with the help of evolutionary biologist Greg Erickson from Florida State University.
Predator X’s bite was more than 10 times more powerful than any modern animal and four times the bite of a T-Rex, it said of the fossil, reckoned at 147 million years old. Alligators, crocodiles and sharks all now have fearsome bites.
The teeth of the pliosaur, belonging to a new species, were a foot (30 cms) long. The scientists reconstructed the reptile from a partial skull and 20,000 fragments of skeleton.
The pliosaur, estimated to have weighed 45 tonnes, was similar to but had more massive bones than another fossil sea monster found on Svalbard in 2007, also estimated at 50 feet long and the largest pliosaur to date.
“It’s not complete enough to say it’s really bigger than 15 meters,” Hurum said of the new fossil.
Hurum had said of the first fossil pliosaur that it was big enough to chomp on a small car. He said the bite estimates for the latest fossil forced a rethink.
“This one is more like it could crush a Hummer,” he said. referring to General Motors’ large sport utility vehicle.
Among other findings were that the pliosaur had a small thin brain shaped like that of a great white shark, according to scans by Patrick Druckenmiller of the University of Alaska.
Pliosaurs preyed upon squid-like animals, fish, and other marine reptiles. Predator X had four huge flippers to propel itself along, perhaps using just two at cruising speeds and the others for a burst of speed.
Filed under: regular postings — Gary February 17, 2009 @ 11:02 pm
LOS ANGELES – Scientists are studying a huge cache of Ice Age fossil deposits recovered near the famous La Brea Tar Pits in the heart of the nation’s second-largest city.
Among the finds is a near-intact mammoth skeleton, a skull of an American lion and bones of saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, bison, horses, ground sloths and other mammals.
Researchers discovered 16 fossil deposits under an old parking lot next to the tar pits in 2006 and began sifting through them last summer. The mammoth remains, including 10-foot-long tusks, were in an ancient riverbed near the fossil cache.
Officials of the Page Museum at the tar pits plan to formally announce their findings on Wednesday. The discoveries could double the museum’s Ice Age collection.
Such a rich find usually takes years to excavate. But with a deadline looming to build an underground parking garage for the next-door art museum, researchers boxed up the deposits and lifted them out of the ground using a massive crane.
“It’s like a paleontological Christmas,” research team member Andie Thomer wrote in a blog post in July.
The research dubbed “Project 23″ — because it took 23 boxes to house the deposits — uncovered fossilized mammals as well as smaller critters including turtles, snails and insects. Separately, scientists found a well-preserved Columbian mammoth that they nicknamed Zed.
An examination reveals Zed, which is 80 percent complete, had arthritic joints and several broken and re-healed ribs — an indication that he suffered a major injury during his life.
“It’s looking more and more as if Zed lived a pretty rough life,” Thomer blogged in December.
Some scientists not connected with the discovery said this is the first significant fossil find since the original excavations at the tar pits more than a century ago.
“Usually these things are either lost in the mixing or not recovered in the processing of the oily sand and soil they occur in,” paleontologist Jere H. Lipps of the University of California, Berkeley wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
The La Brea Tar Pits ranks among the world’s famous fossil sites. Between 10,000 and 40,000 years ago, mammoths, mastodons, saber-tooth cats and other Ice Age beasts became trapped by sticky asphalt that oozing upward through cracks and fissures in the ground. The newly recovered fossils were also in asphalt.
Since 1906, more than a million bones have been unearthed from the sticky ponds.
Jalama Beach, Lompoc Calif. April 25th Sat. 10am Tri Club Field Trip-Conejo, Oxnard, Ventura Field trip: Our April field trip will be to Jalama Beach. We will be looking for Agate, Jasper, Petrified Whale Bone, Travertine Onyx, and Fossils.
They can be found along the shoreline. You can come up for the day or camp overnight . Day use $6.00, camping $18.00, with electric hookup
$25.00 Campsites are assigned on a first come, first served basis, one site to one vehicle. 98 campsites, all overlooking the ocean or beach front.
Each site has a picnic table and BBQ, with hot showers, restrooms and water nearby. 29 sites offer electrical hookups, and dump stations are
available. I will not be camping. Directions: From Ventura head north on 101, past Santa Barbara, just past Gaviota as the 101 goes inland take the State Hwy 1 turn off, marked
Lompoc/Vandenberg. Go north approximately 13.5 miles to Jalama Beach County Park turn off. Turn left, west, drive approximately 15 miles to
Jalama Beach County Park. Approximately 122 miles from Thousand Oaks, 2.5-3 hour drive time. Meeting: Saturday Afternoon, April 25th. 2009, 10am-4pm. We will meet in the parking lot. Look for my black Toyota Truck with a CGMC sign in the
window. There will be a short briefing of the site. Please remember to sign a release form to participate in the field trip. We will then walk along the
beach south of the parking lot, approximately 2.5 miles, to an area that has cement on the side of the hill. The Shale in the area is a good place to
look for fossils. Along the beach you can find agate, jasper in shades of brown, honey, gold, and clear. Travertine Onyx can be found north of the
parking lot approximately 1.5 miles. Tools: Collecting bags, buckets, day pack, digging tools, rock pick, pry bar, eye protection, trowels, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, sturdy shoes,
newspaper for wrapping fossils, layered clothing, towels, change of clothes/shoes in case you get wet. Drinking water, lunch or snacks. camping
gear if you plan on spending the night. Contact: Robert Sankovich 805-494-7734, rmsorca@adelphia.net Mike Miller 805-498-9586, rockfmdr@aol.com
Jalama Beach County Park
Star Route, Jalama Road,Lompoc, CA 93436
Recorded Information (805) 736-6316, Park Office (805) 736-3504 Links:http://www.sbparks.org/docs/jalama.html http://www.santabarbara.com/activities/camping/jalama_beach/movies/MOV00362.MPG
