We could always find them growing up in Safford. They will be kinda gray/white and almost always a roundish shape. The outside looks like a limestone crust but it doesn't come off. They either go in a tumbler or you break them in half. We would practice lapping with them. Some will be in good shape with no crust if they're in/around a wash or a creek or something like that.
I'll have to check with our neighbor for location. He was hiking on one of the trails, looking for old gold mines when he found a whole sack full. He said there was more to be had but he couldn't carry them all.
Sometimes we'd stop in there on the way to the valley from Safford on the Globe highway and piddle around. I haven't been in there since like 1980.
We were up in Globe a couple of days ago. on the way back we hiked to the Dacite Cliffs mine. They welded bars across it to keep people out but someone cut one of the bars so we went in.
That's cool but I stay away from those old mines. They're trouble. The bars are to keep you from being on the news
I’m playing with the color, trying to get it where I like it. The die gets darker as it cures. The first one I made was basically black until it hits the light, then the blue comes out. I want to make a tabletop, but don’t want to screw up a big project because the color is wrong.
I really need to do something like that with my portable bandsaw. It's nice to be able to take it to where I need it, but it'd also be nice to have a stand for more precise cuts.
Great Idea
