In this video I cut 8 rocks from local Oregon rivers: 2 from the Wilson River, 3 from the Willamette River, and 3 from the Columbia River. They probably aren’t rocks that most lapidary folks would pick up and bring home, but I still cut rocks just to try and find out what they’ve got going on!
Watch the video:
Transcript
Hey everybody, it’s me, Betty. I have some random river rocks here. Two from the Wilson, three from the Willamette, and three from the Columbia River. You might be wondering, “Betty, why did you bring this rock home?” You know, and I wonder that, too, sometimes. This rock does not look particularly attractive as I’m reviewing this footage.
This is what I bought my lapidary saw to do. Cut whatever rock I feel like seeing the inside of open. I I’m just a curious person. I’m a nerd that likes rocks, and I wanted to cut them open to see what was inside. I speed up the rock cutting part of my videos because well, it’s not very interesting to watch me cut the rocks.
And it takes a long time. I hope if you’re watching this and you’re considering getting into lapidary that you do realize this is sped way up. It takes a long time to cut rocks. And even though I’m not a very patient person, I love doing it. Okay, here’s our first rock.
Admittedly, this one was not my favorite. This is a met- metallic type of ore. I did a streak test, so now I know that this has hematite in it. It’s doesn’t really attract a magnet, and it left a reddish-brown streak on porcelain. So, there’s one mystery solved.
This one’s pretty interesting. I believe it’s a type of a vegetation. Petrified vegetation of some sort. Maybe it is wood. Maybe someone watching will know.
But this looks very organic to me. Almost bamboo-like. Maybe a grass? Or a wood? Or a reed?
I really don’t know. If you know, please let me know. I absolutely love this one. Very glad we cut that one open. Rock number three.
Initially I thought, “Wow, this looks like turquoise almost.” But it’s nowhere near soft enough to be turquoise. And I found it in Oregon on the Wilson River. I think this is jasper. It could be serpentine. I I haven’t I don’t have very much experience with with serpentine to be sure.
But I love this rock. This is gorgeous. Okay, let’s take a look at rock number four. If I can get this figured out. Rock number four.
I I’m pretty sure I brought this home thinking it might be petrified wood. And now that I’m looking at that the slice at the cut end, I think this is rhyolite. But it’s beautiful and it sort of looks like a little bird. That’s a great rock for me. I I love it.
Zero regrets. 10 out of 10 would bring it home again. Rock number five. I think this is petrified wood. It’s brecciated.
This looks organic to me. Maybe. It also has an odd spotty pattern. Very attractive. I love it.
Seems like it would take a nice polish and you know, very interesting. Rock number six. It’s got a great green color to it. That might be my best compliment. I think it’s probably rhyolite.
It reminds me a little bit of the rhyolite that surrounds the thunder eggs that you get from Fallen Tree here in Oregon. I’m not mad about it. I I think it’s quite quite attractive. It’s just a little plain. But you know, I’d still bring it home and cut it again.
Okay, let’s look at rock number seven. I think this is a jasper maybe with some iron iron or hematite. It’s waxy. Almost has a little bit of a picture look on the inside. Pretty cool.
I like this rock quite a bit. And rock number eight. I cut this one twice thinking I might roughly shape the center and throw it in my tumbler, you know, just to to make a little heart. Um this is semi-translucent. Does have a little bit of a petrified look wood look to it, but I I do think this is quartzite.
Um I’m not I’m can’t be 100% sure. I’m not going to do a thin slice and put it on the microscope, but you know, either way, very attractive. And I think the heart will turn out really cool, actually, once it comes out of the tumbler. I think this was a really fun cutting these rocks. What do you think?
Do you want to see more random rocks cut open? Would you cut these rocks? I’d love to hear your opinions in the comments below. I can’t wait to cut the next rock. See you soon.
