Breccia Pipe

[ToddsPoint]

I found this piece of glacial till breccia at the local river. There are old unused gravel pits in many locations.

I polished the end a bit and saw it had potential. I know the white material is quartz but I’m unsure about the grey and the red. It could be chert.??

I cut some slabs off of it and made several cabs. I have enough material to make lots of cabs. The red material is gem like. Breccia is formed from redeposited material so it could be anything.

I cut a preform to make a small pipe and marked it. I’m making a monitor style and have to remove two blocky pieces after drilling.

Drilling the holes is the most difficult and time consuming part so you do that first. Without two interconnecting you have nothing. This rock is 7 on the mohs scale so all my tools are diamond.

So far so good. More to come…

 

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[Up-North]

That is going to make a very nice pipe__♨️___

 

[LandSeig]

That is some beautiful material, please keep us posted!

 

[ToddsPoint]

So with the new format are the reproductions posted with the real now? It’s a nice project and looks like it’s going to turnout beautiful

I’m on the flintknapping forum, not the artifact forum. You have a problem with that?🤷🏼

 

[AlabamaRelic]

I’m on the flintknapping forum, not the artifact forum. You have a problem with that?🤷🏼

This is the artifact forum.

 

[AlabamaRelic]

Now it moved to flint knapping

 

[Blackfoot58]

Looks like chert in spots; I’m thinking red jasper/chert. Will be a beautiful pipe.👍🏼

 

[CreekSide]

Looking forward to seeing the end result

 

[ToddsPoint]

Now it moved to flint knapping

I posted it to the artifact forum by mistake. Sorry!😢

 

[ToddsPoint]

Another cut. I exposed a crack. I hope it’s not fatal. Now I’ll trim the corners off the bowl. I’m using a 6” trim saw. I’ll take as many cuts with that as I can.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Looks like chert in spots; I’m thinking red jasper/chert. Will be a beautiful pipe.👍🏼

Red color in rocks often come from iron content. That’s why jasper is red and yellow. However, jasper is always opaque. The red in my rock is translucent and gem like. I like how the grey material looks like pieces of a puzzle, frozen in place by white quartz.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I haven't moved thread, unless Jeff or John moved it. I think Todd started it in Modern Flint napping.

 

[dirstscratcher]

That's pretty material!

 

[Gene Mean]

Very excellent work
The Flint Knap Forum is a sub-forum of the Artifact Forum so everybody's right

 

[ncsuwolf]

Not a rock hound, but that is a beautiful stone. Almost looks man made (not saying it is). Best of luck with your project

 

[Blackfoot58]

Red color in rocks often come from iron content. That’s why jasper is red and yellow. However, jasper is always opaque. The red in my rock is translucent and gem like. I like how the grey material looks like pieces of a puzzle, frozen in place by white quartz.

I didn’t realize the translucency. Maybe some type of chalcedony with iron coloration?

 

[jeff of pa]

I haven't moved thread, unless Jeff or John moved it. I think Todd started it in Modern Flint napping.

I Moved it Here in MODERN FLINT KNAPPING At Todds Request & Left a Temporary Redirect in the Artifact Forum, Anyone Complaining about the Redirect Knows Where they Can GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ToddsPoint]

I made two cuts to narrow the width and I hit 2 cracks. Cracks go with the territory when working rocks. It’s not like a piece of steel. Mother Nature sometimes has poor quality control. One crack is pretty bad. I’ll continue and see if I can salvage it.

When I first started knapping and working hardstone it was upsetting to lose a piece to cracks and flaws after spending hours working on it. It happens so often you just get used to it and move on. I’m sure the Indians went through the same thing. Two steps forward and one backwards!

 

[ToddsPoint]

It was 40° today and I was able to use the diamond grinder outside. I reduced it enough to switch back to the dremel with diamond burrs. In my nice warm basement shop! The crack goes all the way through. Not good!😫 The chances of it failing have increased. This is what it looks like dry after grinding.

This is wet.

After grinding and wetting it, you can usually spot any cracks easily. The cracks hold moisture longer than the outside. Here’s the killer crack.

It’s always difficult to decide if you should abandon a project with a flaw like this or keep going. I’ve found enough unfinished Indian artifacts with cracks to know what an Indian would have done with this pipe when the crack showed up. I, on the other hand, have nothing better to do so I’ll keep going until it fails, on the chance that it will survive.

 

[russau]

To me, this is a exciting project ! If it were me , I'd like to see this project completed even with the crack . BUT I know the possible outcome and it would be heart breaking to see it fail and lots of time lost. There is no true failure but small setbacks Each time you start something like this ,there's always the possibility this could happen. but we learn each time what to look for as we try to complete our dream ! GOOD LUCK on this neat project ! I really liked to stone to begin with!!!!!! You are very talented !