Author: Alan Molineux

The
bulletin
Newsletter of the
victor valley
Gem and
mineral club
Ph. (760) 243-2330
APRIL 2013

John Printz won the petrified rock raffle at the April 16 education night presentation.

Your Officers for 2013
2013 Executive Committee
President Ed Berresford 388-4229
1st V.P (Membership) Corey Beck 242-3366
2nd V.P (Education) Terry Booth (909) 223-1386
Recording Secretary Lois Papner 244-7169
Treasurer Anne Mazzarella 486-5038
Corresponding Sec. Cyndy Mandell 244-7169
Board Members Don Pomerenke 868-5264
Bill Woody 953-3284
George Kawasaki 247-4121
Jim Fosse 245-8644
Past President John Printz (951) 255-9158
CFMS Representative Janet Flecher 949-9347
All numbers are area code (760) unless otherwise indicated.
Standing Committee Chairpersons
Wagon Master Blaine Witte 244-8211
Historian Lois Papner 244-7169
Maintenance Terry Booth (909) 223-1386
Librarian Lois Papner 244-7169
Newsletter Cyndy Mandell 244-7169
Sunshine Don & Marilyn
Pomerenke 868-5264
Displays Don Pomerenke 868-5264
Raffles Cyndy Mandell 244-7169
Scholarships Lois Papner 244-7169
Photography Terry Booth (909) 223-1386
Hospitality Lois Papner 244-7169
Webmaster Jim Fosse 245-8644
Tailgate Brett Ward 948-1232
Training Coordinator Vacant
Instructors
Terry Booth, Steve Hendrix, John Hill, Jessie La Bau, Tina La Bau, Cyndy Mandell, Morris O’Brien, Don Pomerenke, John Printz, Bill Woody. Ed Skidmore and Ed Berresford.
Club Website—www.vvgmc.org

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The Victor Valley Gem and
Mineral Club
Was organized in 1947 and has been the focal point of High Desert rock hounds for the past 65 years. The club takes active roles in various civic activities. Membership is open to all persons interested in the gem and mineral hobby and lapidary arts. Meetings are held at the clubhouse located at 15056-B, 7th Street (behind Kaman Bearing) in the center of Victorville. Visitors are always welcome. For further information, call (760) 243-2330.
Meeting Dates
Our April general meeting will be held on Tuesday, 23rd at 7:30pm. and the May general meeting will be on Tuesday the 28th at 7:30pm.
Note from Bulletin Editor
Cyndy Mandell is the bulletin editor. Please if you have any pictures or ideas for articles email them to me at:
cynmandell@me.com
By-Law Amendments
The Board has proposed some amendments to the By-Laws, Policy and Procedures, and Standing Rules. The amendments will be at the club for members to review and were discussed at the March 26th general meeting. We will vote on the proposed amendments at the April 23rd general meeting.

Wishing all of our
members this month a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY
The birthstone for the month of April is:
Diamond
Deborah Berresford, Angie Cruces, Floyd Dalton, Ronald Midikoski, David Osthund, Jesse Saldana Jr., Eugene Thoms.
If your name is not listed please forgive me, it just means it was not in the club phonebook. If you would like to be
recognized here in the Bulletin on your birthday month please update your info with Corey Beck, our Membership Chairperson.
Thank you….Editor

San Bernardino County Fair
Demonstration Booth
By Cyndy Mandell
The club will host a booth in the community building at the fair. The fair dates are May 25th through June 2, 2013. Members are encouraged to sign up to demonstrate during the open hours of the fair. Those volunteering will be given free admission and parking tickets for the whole day. Volunteers can demonstrate: cabbing, beading, trimming, Intarsia, glass beading, silver work, or any other lapidary related work. A sign-up sheet is available at the clubhouse for anyone wanting to volunteer. If you need handicap parking please note that when you sign up. The club will be closed during these dates as much of our equipment will be at the fair. We will need volunteers to help set up at the fair on Monday, May 20th. Please contact Cyndy if you can help.

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Thank You Don Pomerenke
The California State Rock is Serpentine and Don supplied this rock for a woman named Victoria who sent the club a request in her effort to collect a rock, golf ball size, from every state. She wants to make up a collection of beads that will represent the 50 states for her senior project and we were happy to contribute.

Bench Tips
I have obtained permission from Brad Smith to use some of his tips from the book “Bench Tips for Jewelry Making” in our newsletter. Brad publishes tips on the Yahoo group “LA Rocks” and I think you will find them very interesting. Brad also attends our Tailgate and said that it is one of his favorites. More Bench Tips by Brad Smith are available at www.facebook.com/Bench Tips/ or see the book “Bench Tips for Jewelry Making” on Amazon.com.
Avoiding Solder Lines
After finishing a soldered joint on say a bezel, have you ever seen it reappear when you solder the bezel to a base plate? What’s happening is that every time you heat a soldered piece to the temperature that solder flows, the liquid solder dissolves a little bit more into the base metal. This leaves a small furrow where the solder had been sanded off flush at the joint. To get rid of the furrow, you have to re-sand the joint area down to the bottom of the furrow.
To avoid this when I have another soldering operation to follow, I try to leave a little extra solder on my joints. For instance, when trimming off excess base plate from around a bezel, I leave a paper thickness of excess plate material whenever possible until I’m done with all soldering.
Of course, this isn’t always possible as when a soldering operation will prevent you from gaining access to an area for final sanding and polishing. In that case I coat the finished solder joint with ochre to prevent a furrow.

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FUTURE FIELD TRIPS
By Blaine Witte
Apr. 27- Bristol Dry Lake near Ludlow
Material: Christmas Tree Agate, Agate nodules Note: High clearance vehicles only!!! Bring your pick and shovel for the best material. You can find some nice nodules on the surface though. Meet at the Dairy Queen in Ludlow at 8am.
May 25- Clay Mine Road and Castle Butte(in the N. Ewards area)
Material: At the Clay Mine Road site there is banded opalite and agate, petrified wood and chert. At the Castle Butte side you can find chapinite (a popular brachiated agate-jasper), petrified palm, agate and jasper. Note: Easy roads unless it has rained hard recently. At the Clay Mine Road site you may want to have your pick and shovel. Both sites have a lot of material on the surface though. Meet at Burger King at Kramer Junction at 8am.
June 22- Harvard Rd. (off of the 15 fwy, past Barstow)
Material: The primary material you will be looking for is a peach colored speckled agate (sometimes called peach plume). The peach material is getting harder to find. We also made an accidental discovery of petrified reed at the same location on a scouting trip. We were parked right on top of it and missing it. Note: Easy roads. Bring your pick and shovel for the best material. You can find some nice material on the surface though. Meet at Peggy Sue’s at 8am.

Benitoite
Benitoite was designated the state of California gemstone in 1985. Discovered near the San Benito River, the rare gem contains shades of blue and sometimes is called “blue diamond.”

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May 2013

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	2 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	3	4 Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm
5 Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm	6	7	8 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	9 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	10	11 Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm
12 Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm	13	14	15 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	16 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	17	18 Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm
19Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm	20Fair Setup / 9am—noon	21	22 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	23 Workshop / 12 noon– 7pm	24	25 Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm / Field Trip 8:00 a.m. / SB
26Workshop / 12 noon– 5pm	27Memorial Day	28	29	30	31

Instructor’s Mtg. @ 6:00
Board Mtg. @ 7:00

Education Night
7:00 p.m. “How to photograph your jewelry demo.”

Potluck @ 6:30
General Membership Mtg. @ 7:30

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Deadline for the April issue of the Bulletin is Thursday, April 11th .Ph.(720) 620-9845 or email editor@vvgmc.org

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Attention all Newsletter Editors
and Prospective Editors
There is a society devoted to helping you with your monthly newsletter—both content and grammatical
construction.
S.C.R.I.B.E is the Special Congress Representing Involved Bulletin Editors.
Members have years of editorial experience and are only too willing to help you.
Dues are just $6 for single or $8 for a couple.

Rocks & Equipment
Bought and Sold
Clean Ups & Clean Outs
Handyman Work Done.
See Charles Toles (760) 220-6748

HMC Co.
Victorville, CA 92392
(760) 245-2313
Jonathan P. Vanderloop
B.S Ch. E; M.S Met. E.
(25 years experience) Metallurgy & Mining Consultant

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Minutes of the March 26th General Meeting
County fair is coming up May 25th - June 2nd. Signup sheet is posted. Corey reported we have 183 members paid and two new members since last time. Anne stated that Brett should be here to give a run down on the tailgate. Our bank balance is $10,562.43. All deposits are made and bills are paid. Jim stated Michael is working on putting the web on mobile devices and request that we let Michael know if we have any problems viewing the data. Ed stated some people that do not want their address and phone on the web to let Corey or Jim know and it will be removed. Don stated Connie Wienberg and Ellen Gilbert are ill and in the hospital. Marilyn Pomerenke has an abscess above her eye. Blaine will be leading us to Bristol Dry Lake near Ludlow on April 27th. Only high vehicle clearance and prefer 4WD. People will be turned away if they aren’t in the proper vehicle. May 25th meet at Burger King at 8 a.m. instead of Diamond Pacific. June 22nd meet at Peggy Sue’s at 8 a.m. instead of Diamond Pacific. Lois stated changes have been made to the By-laws, policies and procedures and standing rules. Review them and we will vote on them at the next general meeting. Brett spoke on the increase of the shop fee to $5. He’s suggesting for us to table the increase and to hold the line until the budget committee meets. Others made some comments as well and everyone was informed to attend the next general meeting when a vote will be taken.

Minutes of the April 2,
Board Meeting
Anne stated the balance sheet has 337.60. She asked Cyndy to get her a list of all the club machinery. Lois will send the cost of the land and building for both the clubhouse and the Kaman building to her. Still waiting on Brett for the breakdown on the tailgate. The jump ring maker will be listed as a donation to the club. Cyndy will give Anne information on this. Lois stated the finance committee needed to review the budget for the first quarter. We will meet Saturday April 6th at 12:30 at the club. Brett handed out his breakdown of the tailgate. Several members had some questions and Brett answered them. Lois stated we will not be giving a scholarship this year as she had previously stated this to the general membership at the last general meeting. CFMS is asking for clubs to host CFMS shows. We would need the 3rd VP to head this up. It was the consensus of the board that we wouldn’t be able to fill the position. Don said it’s a lot of work hosting the CFMS show. It was the consensus of the Board to not have a 3rd VP or host the CFMS Gem show because of a lack of participation from our members. Suggestion was made to give Robert Ortiz an honorary membership as well as his children for donating the large collection of rocks from the Sioux house. The rocks belonged to Juanita and Robert Lewis who were once members of the club. Corey will send postcards to some members that haven’t paid their dues and nudge them to join. Cyndy is writing an article for Rock and Gem magazine. Cyndy asked if we have anyone to sew vests. Suggestion was made to bring it up at the next general meeting.

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Kaman Building and the Clubhouse History
*1952 - The lot on 7th street was purchased for $1,500.
*1960 - April 21 newspaper article states a permanent home for the club is now being considered on 7th street. It and a two-unit business building facing 7th St. will cost $16, 640 according to the permit filed by George R. Seals.
*1960 - Construction began with two bungalows purchased from the school district and joined for a floor space of 68’ x 23’. In it will go gem cutting and polishing machinery for use by club members.
*1962 - Groundbreaking ceremony was held for the large commercial building on the front of the club lot on 7th street. The Victor Press leased this building for 10 years. Since then it’s been leased by Kaman Bearing Co.
*1989 - Contract for Clubhouse of 35’ x 80’ x 12’ Butler Steel Building by Keith & Associates.
*1991 - Total cost of building was $164,501 which was $29,501 over their budget of $135,000.
*1991 - Estimates by 2 business people stated the clubhouse value is approximately $240,000.

CFMS NEWS
The annual CFMS Show and Convention will be held May 31-June 2 in Ventura, CA this year. The show will be held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 W. Harbor Boulevard. Hours: Fri. & Sat. 10-5; Sun. 10-4. For further information or information regarding displays contact Rob Sankovich 805.494.7734.

Camp Paradise
Want to learn more about soldering, making glass beads, chain maile, faceting, copper enameling, lampwork bead making, PMC, Dichroic Glass, Soft Stone Carving, Lost Wax Casting, or Wire Art? Attend CFMS Camp Paradise in Clipper Mills, Ca. Session I is August 25-30 and Session II is September 1-6 2013. The price is $375 per person. The facilities are at a rustic church camp, rooms are included. RV space is available with electric and water available. For further information please call, Marion Roberts, 209.538.0197.

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General Meeting Raffle
At the general meeting we usually sell raffle tickets for rocks and goodies at the next few raffles we will raffle five gallon buckets of a variety of rocks large and small from the Sioux St. donation. Several buckets of rocks will be available so you won’t want to miss attending our potluck and general meeting nights starting at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month.

Tule Gem And Mineral Society and Diamond Pacific Tool Corporation Invite You to attend
"EARTH SCIENCE PLAY DAY"
DATE: May 4th & 5th, 2013 TIME: 9:00AM – 5:00PM
LOCATION: Meet us at the country ranch of the famous sphere maker and jade collector, Tony Hart and his wife Kathy. Enjoy the hospitality with BBQ provided by Don Depue of Diamond Pacific.
DIRECTIONS: To 1381 N Strathmore Ave in Lindsay, Ca. From south of Lindsay, on Hwy 65 turn east on Road 208 for 1.1 miles to Rd 228 (Strathmore Ave) turn left going north 3.7 miles to location at end road.
EVENT: For the people that are interested in lapidary arts, this is a one-of-a-kind event that allows for a hands-on opportunity to see and use some of the newest and best tools and equipment for cutting, shaping and polishing stone. It is hosted by the Tule Gem and Mineral Society and the Diamond Pacific Tool Company. Diamond Pacific, with over 40 years of tool manufacturing experience, has been a leading supplier of quality equipment for commercial applications and the hobbyist.
SEE AND USE: Bigfoot, Genie and Titan grinders, polishers, Taurus II ring saw, Band saw, 18" rotating flat lap with magnetic diamond grit laps, 18" Swing Arm Saw, Mini-Sonic vibratory tumblers, Foredom power tools, including Nova miniature sanding and polishing points for carving stone, the "sculpture" rock lathe, adhesives for rocks and new polishing compounds.
LEARN: From some of the best instructors of earth sciences and the lapidary arts with demonstrations in cutting, shaping, polishing and preserving a variety of rock specimens.
ARTIST'S CRAFTS & ROCK SALE: Equipment, jewelry and other lapidary arts and
crafts will be on display and for sale. Tailgaters welcome.
For more information contact: Rob Milner
Phone: 559 359-6174
Email: ag4u@...
Web site: tulegem.org

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Victor Valley Gem & Mineral Club
15056-B Seventh Street
Victorville, CA 92395-3811.
bulletin is the official monthly newsletter published by victor valley gem & mineral club and is distributed free of charge to both members and non members.
Views expressed by authors in the articles which appear in the bulletin do not necessarily reflect those of victor valley gem & mineral club. Responsibility is taken by the editor alone.
Articles from this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part in other lapidary newsletters if proper credit is given to the author and the bulletin.