[meteorite-list] New guy introduces himself with a couple of questions

From: Michael Gilmer <michael_w_gilmer_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:57:05 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <354675.13164.qm_at_web58412.mail.re3.yahoo.com>

Hello Everyone and List Members!,

I hope this is not a breach of list etiquette and if
so,
I apologize in advance for my indiscretion. I just
wanted to take a moment and come out of the shadows
where I have been quietly lurking and soaking up the
collective wisdom of this group. My name is Michael
Gilmer and I am a private newbie collector from
southern Louisiana. One of our fellow list members
got me started on collecting a year ago, and things
have snowballed since then - with my personal
collection
growing by leaps and bounds. I'm not going to name
drop,
because he would probably be embarassed to hear me say
this, but I consider him my "meteorite mentor" and his
willingness to answer my questions in a friendly and
patient matter impressed me quite a bit. So I want
to thank him (you know who you are!) and also thank
the other members of the list for sharing your immense
knowledge of the field of meteorite collecting.

I have dived into meteorites head first and started
buying up the "definitive" books in the field -
Rocks from Space, Cambridge Encyclopedia, and the
like.

I've tried to do my homework on the subject and I have
tackled it in a similar, almost-obsessive way, that
I approached telescopes and eyepieces - another hobby
of mine that eats up my time and money! ;)

But I still have a couple of nagging questions that
I really can't find any answers for using the usual
web searching. So I'd like to ask those questions
here. :)

1) The IMCA. Is this group for private collectors, or
just for collector/dealers who also sell specimens? I
was looking over the IMCA website and I read the
bylaws - and it appears to be a group of mostly
dealers who police each other and police the general
meteorite market looking for frauds and
misclassifications, etc. Is there any advantage to
joining the IMCA as a private collector with no
intention to become a dealer? And if so, how does one
go about joining and getting "two members to vouch for
you", if you are a total newbie to the field and don't
have two vouchers? Do I just have to bide my time and
earn my chops like everyone else did I assume?

2) Cutting open specimens - lapidary saws and lapidary
blades seem to be the most preferred method. But, for
cutting small practice specimens, could a diamond
blade be adapted for a table saw or other powered saw
(that is not a pricey and specialized lapidary saw)
and could
that be used to cut specimens? Oil fed/cooled saws
also seem to be preferred, but could I use a "regular"
saw and have an assistant inject coolant onto the
cutting surface while I cut? How important is all of
this for slicing in half very small specimens -
smaller than a chicken egg for example?

3) Getting specimen classified. Is there a preferred
place to have this done? I notice there are several
places that offer this service and they vary. Is
there one predominate service or are they all equally
authoritative?

Again, my sincere thanks to the group for providing
such a wealth of info and ads! - yes, I have been
buying some of your specimens - several of you. ;)

Regards and happy hunting!

Mike Gilmer










      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better friend, newshound, and
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
Received on Mon 28 Jan 2008 11:57:05 AM PST