joanne_s Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hi, I am based in the UK and I am trying to get hold of various feldspar samples to test in the clay body, more as a "decorative" grit, and so far I am having little luck finding any anywhere. Quarries etc aren't interested because I just want a small amount and whilst there are a few bits and pieces on ebay they are a fortune because they are aimed at the mineral collectors market. Any ideas would be very welcome because this is driving me crazy! Thanks Jo x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JBaymore Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hi, I am based in the UK and I am trying to get hold of various feldspar samples to test in the clay body, more as a "decorative" grit, and so far I am having little luck finding any anywhere. Quarries etc aren't interested because I just want a small amount and whilst there are a few bits and pieces on ebay they are a fortune because they are aimed at the mineral collectors market. Any ideas would be very welcome because this is driving me crazy! Thanks Jo x Joanne, Maybe get a geology text or two and learn how to recognize the feldspars and go out and collect and process your own? I'd bet that the geological survey governmental orgainzations in the UK likely have maps that show typical conposition of the locval geology for the various regions. best, ................john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMB Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Crazy that this is to pop up this week because Ive been adventuring around picking up supplies to try and process stuff. This article really had me thinking a lot about it. http://ceramicartsdaily.org/ceramic-supplies/ceramic-raw-materials/sustainable-ceramic-practice/ To start Ceramics Daily's Free gift here gives a nice little overview on Raw Materials focusing on feldspars & "glaze cores." I found it helpful http://ceramicartsdaily.org/free-gifts/ceramic-raw-materials-understanding-ceramic-glaze-ingredients-and-clay-making-materials/ Also looking around the net I came across this place as a nice reference for info http://www.galleries.com/minerals/by_name.htm I picked up a 6lb Ball Miller aka Rock Tumbler at HarborFreight for 70 bucks and dropped by a machinery place for some loose ball bearings. My property is full of rocks consisting of granite, quartz, and mica. A mile down the road is a huge mica mine. There is always stuff in your local as long as you look hard enough. I wish I could find a book to help me in noticing signs and distinguishing between things really well. Georgia and South Carolina are huge kaolin suppliers but I dont know where to start looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasoned Warrior Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Hi, I am based in the UK and I am trying to get hold of various feldspar samples to test in the clay body, more as a "decorative" grit, and so far I am having little luck finding any anywhere. Quarries etc aren't interested because I just want a small amount and whilst there are a few bits and pieces on ebay they are a fortune because they are aimed at the mineral collectors market. Any ideas would be very welcome because this is driving me crazy! Thanks Jo x feldspars are very common, constituting almost 60% of the worlds crust. One of the problems that you may be having is that feldspars are a family and have aobut 20 different specific members. Columbite and labradorite are a couple of the more common. When you drive through an area where the road bed has been cut down into the bed rock you can see veins of whitish crystalline rock in the granite and many of those are feldspar. I'd recommend picking up a field guide for your area and looking in road cuts. A field guide I like is the Roger Tory Peterson field guide series on rocks and minerals, it has an outstanding introduction to identification and collection of mineral specimens and while it is published in the US the characteristics of rocks and minerals are pretty much of the same worldwide. Happy hunting! Best regards, Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMB Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Well in my searches I found a few things. So if you want to try and hunt for your own check out this site. www.mindat.org they have an Identify forum so you can post pictures of your findings for people with better expertise can help http://www.mindat.org/msgboard-11.html and another forum http://www.mineral-forum.com/message-board/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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