T-eggs from Tim Fisher/OreRockOn?

[Talusman]

Hi all,

I've been eyeing rough T-eggs on the Ore-Rock-On website, thinking of buying some to play with on the saw. Seems like a fun prospect as you never know what you'll find inside.

Anyone have experience with this seller/website or T-eggs in general? Are good ones 1/1M or do most have decent agate centers? Understand I'm very unlikely to find plume and such - just wondering if a batch of priday or blue bed eggs will be worth muddying the oil.

Thanks!

-Jeremy

[socalagatehound]

I personally think Tim is very honest and straightforward. I have purchased his DVD and an update, and his info was great.  He even offered to help me get the info into my GPS.
Although I should have, I have never ordered t-eggs from him.
The question with thundereggs is always what's inside. I have cut literally thousands over the years and several hundred Priday eggs. They are always an adventure.  My percentage has been pretty high, maybe 1/3, but I usually hi grade out of the piles/buckets at Richardsons Ranch or at Quartzsite. Moss is pretty common in them; pretty moss less so. Blue Bed eggs will also have stunning ocean scenes in them. Red Bed can have killer Red Moss. I am really intrigued by Pony Bed, but haven't cut any.
I veered away from T-eggs  a few years back and became enamored with agates and jaspers and cabbing, but not because it wasn't fun cutting great eggs and Pridays are great eggs. Got to admit I still love to hunt through a good pile of thundereggs...lol.

Hope this helps in some way.

Craig

[Yukon Jade]

   You can never have too many T-eggs !! I also enjoy cabbing them. 

[Talusman]

Thanks to both - just ordered a big box of blue bed, moss bed, and white fir spring.

If I find anything good I'll be sure and post here.

Thanks!

-Jeremy

[socalagatehound]

Just from my experience and advice that I was given years ago (and it worked):
If you haven't cut Priday eggs before, and you can't tell wha'ts inside by an exposed seam or window, be sure to cut the Pridays through the crown. In other words, the ribs will form boxes  or crowns on two sides. By cutting  them down the middle on the long axis, you'll get better scenes exposed, rather than cutting the scene parellel with the horizon. And if it's a moss egg it won't hurt in case the moss is part of a scene.

Craig

[Talusman]

Ribs, crowns, boxes?

I've never held a rough T-egg, so I'm not familiar with its anatomy. I might have to post some pics when they arrive to get situated.

Thanks for the advice, though - I hope it will make sense to me once I see one.

:)

-Jeremy

[rocks2dust]

Richardson's Priday eggs are fairly easy to cut. Here's a drawing showing how to orient:

Some folks who are cutting for display halves, rather for gem slabs, prefer to cut nearer to the vertical pressure ridges to try and get a larger face of agate (though at best the agate along the edges will be so thin that those portions won't be useful for slabbing for gems).

For thundereggs from other locations that don't clearly show the pressure lines on the outside, you usually either have to mark the tops as you dig, or determine the bottom based on it being thicker than the top. They sure are fun to cut – sort of like opening birthday gifts. The occasional gem-worthy moss, plume or other interesting interiors just feed the addiction.

[Justin]

I ordered some opal eggs from Tim before. He made an error and sent me too many. When I contacted him he told me to keep them. I was happy with the purchase. Please show pics of the white fir jasper eggs. I'm thinking of heading up there this summer to get heat stroke digging!

[socalagatehound]

Thanks Rocks2dust for the great diagram. Much better than my words!! 

Craig

[rocks2dust]

Please show pics of the white fir jasper eggs. I'm thinking of heading up there this summer to get heat stroke digging!

Nice thing about the White Fir bed is that it's high elevation with the small pits scattered among nice, shady pines. You do need to bring water, but it would have to be unusual weather to get heat stroke. If so inclined, you often don't even need to do any digging to get your limit—it's amazing the number of perfectly good eggs folks throw out of the pits unopened. Same thing happens at Richardson's. Until you get them home and saw, there really isn't any way to be certain about what's inside (unless you hammer them, which destroys most in the process). Pleasant campground down the main road a piece, too, and you can go around the hill and hit Lucky Strike the same day if you want a fee dig where machines do the heavy work.

Thanks Rocks2dust for the great diagram.

Someone else asked how to cut 'em on another forum a while back, so the drawing was still on my photobucket :)

[Yukon Jade]

            The eggs in first foto are jasper,eggs in foto #2 are agate eggs
   from white  fir springs location.

                                     

[Talusman]

Thanks to all or the great info on cutting eggs - and the cool pics (hope I open some like that!)

I'll let you know when they show up and share what I find.

-Jeremy

[Kaljaia]

Richardson's Priday eggs are fairly easy to cut. Here's a drawing showing how to orient:

Some folks who are cutting for display halves, rather for gem slabs, prefer to cut nearer to the vertical pressure ridges to try and get a larger face of agate (though at best the agate along the edges will be so thin that those portions won't be useful for slabbing for gems).

For thundereggs from other locations that don't clearly show the pressure lines on the outside, you usually either have to mark the tops as you dig, or determine the bottom based on it being thicker than the top. They sure are fun to cut – sort of like opening birthday gifts. The occasional gem-worthy moss, plume or other interesting interiors just feed the addiction.

I have some T-egg cores in my boxes at home that show the pressure ridges really well. The outside is all gone, it's just the core that's left, and it's the exact shape from the diagram. A ball in the middle, two 'plates' on the top and bottom, and ribs between. They're not from a marked bed though, just a ditch somewhere (that I have not yet been able to find again.) but if I can find them again I'll post pictures. It's like a T-egg dissection.