Member of the California & American Federation of Mineralogical Societies
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 7618, Van Nuys, CA 91409
The Del-Air Rockhounds Club Corporation Los Angeles - San Fernando Valley, California, United States - We are a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing knowledge of the lapidary arts and techniques, geology, mineralogy and related fields.
Thursday August 1: General Meeting 7:30 pm in our regular meeting room at Northridge United Methodist Church
Saturday August 10: 3rd Quarter Shop Day
Thursday August 15th: Board Meeting
1916 to 2024 |
Sunday August 25: 108th Anniversary of the Nat'l Park Service
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August 2024 Program:
'Ice Cream, Bingo & Summer Finds Social'
It's that time of the year where we once again return after a hot, hot, hot July and enjoy an evening of delicious ice cream and play exciting Bingo games for fabulous prizes.
Plus… bring in and share with the group all your fabulous finds whether self collected or bought at a show or while on vacation. This is the time to show off the newest additions to your collections.
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Education Corner:
This month's Education Corner will be brought to you by our very own Bob Dearborn. He's going to demonstrate how to oxidize sterling silver to give it that unique antique look without having to use any caustic chemicals
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September Field Trip Teaser: Field Trip is for Paid Members Only! Sunday September 8, 2024 - 11:00 am
Club friend & owner of Nevada Mineral & Book Company, Walt Lombardo, has invited the Del-Air Rockhounds on a field trip to his bookstore & natural history gallery located at 342 S. Tustin St., Orange, CA 92866. Not normally open on Sundays, Walt has agreed to exclusively take the Del-Airs on a personal tour of his shop and museum & will be on hand to answer your questions and inquiries. Carpooling is recommended so if you are interested in riding with others or having others ride with you, please let President Jeff Dengrove know as soon as possible so he can possibly help facilitate this.
Nevada Mineral & Book Company (NMBC) was established in 1985, when they started selling mineral specimens and out-of-print publications at gem & mineral shows and through mail order. In 1989 they acquired the inventory of the Mineralogical Record Book Dept., and incorporated in-print books and journals into their offerings. Over the past 30 years, they have evolved to offer the researcher, educator and collector a wide variety of publications and specimens in a "one-stop" shopping environment. In 2001 they opened their first retail location in Henderson, Nevada. In August, 2009 they relocated and opened their new store and gallery in Orange, California. They offer a wide variety of new, used and out-of-print publications, as well as mineral & fossil specimens, lapidary & decorator items, mining stock certificates & other ephemera. They have one of the largest inventories of earth science-related publications in North America, so plan on attending this extraordinary field trip. You will not be disappointed.
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REPORT ON OUR QUARTERLY CLUB CLASS - AMBER:
June had us at Jeff Dengrove’s house for a club workshop on WORKING AND POLISHING AMBER, hosted by member Jon Meredith. We had a full class & Jon had a piece of rough amber for each one of us, plus a kit of many different grits of wet/dry sand paper to finish the project. There was also a container to hold water while working the amber & this stored your kit to take home with you.
John gave simple instructions and said how easy it was to work this fossil tree resin. He also gave ideas on how we could speed up the process with chemicals, but suggested that we just use the sandpaper, as instructed, for a nice finished specimen. So, we got busy dipping our amber and sandpaper in water and sanding. The class ended 2 1/2 hours later and everyone took home a finished & polished piece of amber. And those who chose to, glued a pendant backing on their piece and took a really nice pendant home.
Those who didn’t sign up for this special class really missed out on working with a new hobby material. Some even had bugs in the amber! These quarterly workshop classes are special events, just for our membership and you are really missing out on a learning experience by not joining in for the fun. Members attending this workshop were: Dan Farber, Martina & Rudy Rodriguez, Dr Oh, Anita Lichtman, Bob & Maxine Dearborn, and Kyle Morris. Again, many thanks to club member Jon for teaching us this fun new skill!
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Thursday May 2: General Meeting 7:30 pm in our regular meeting room at NUMC
Sunday May 5: Cinco de Mayo
Thursday May 9: Board Meeting
Sunday May 12: Mother's Day
Thursday May 16: Patrick Henry Middle School STEM Night
Saturday May 18: Annual Wrightwood Potluck & Field Trip
Friday, Saturday, Sunday May 24-26: AFMS/CFMS/VGMS Show
Monday May 27: Memorial Day
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May's General Meeting Program: 'Southern California Tourmalines' Presented by Walt Lombardo
Come join us at our May general meeting where Walt Lombardo will be discussing Southern California Tourmalines. Walt is a geologist with over 35 years experience related to mining and mineral exploration. For 16 years, he managed the Las Vegas Office for the Nevada Division of Minerals. He has also worked for Desert Research Institute (part of the University of Nevada system) and served as a consultant for several mining and exploration companies. Walt has lectured nationwide on topics relating to geology, mineralogy, gemology, mineral resources and mining fraud.
Nevada Mineral & Book Company (NMBC) was established in 1985, when Walt started selling mineral specimens and out-of-print publications at gem & mineral shows and through mail order. In 1989 he acquired the inventory of the Mineralogical Record Book Department, and incorporated in-print books and journals into his offerings. Over the past 30 years, we have evolved to offer the researcher, educator and collector a wide variety of publications and specimens in a "one-stop" shopping environment. In 2001 we opened our first retail location in Henderson, Nevada. In August, 2009 we relocated and opened our new store and gallery at 342 S. Tustin St. Orange, CA 92866. They offer a wide variety of new, used and out-of-print publications, as well as mineral and fossil specimens, lapidary and decorator items, and mining stock certificates and other ephemera. They have one of the largest inventories of earth science-related publications in North America, so plan on staying a while if you come to visit his store. You will not be disappointed.
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Report on Del Air Shop Day - Sat. April 13:
On Saturday, April 13th we had our Spring workshop. Four members attended; Dan Farber, Kyle Morris, Steven and Coriolis Koch. We had a successful day, prior to the rain. We used both grinding and polishing units, the 18 inch and 10 inch saws, the flat lap and the drill press. We cut and polished a variety of stones. We encourage ALL members to take part in these shop days. Our next shop day will be sometime in July, August or September. Keep an eye on your upcoming monthly bulletins for more details.
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Club Display Case @ AFMS/CFMS/VGMS Annual Show in May:
The Del Air club will be installing a display case at the annual show and convention at the Ventura Fairgrounds May 24th thru the 26th. It will be a non competitive entry showcasing our club and the lapidary items we have created at our various shop days, wire wrapping and chain-mail classes, etc. We are asking all members to loan a lapidary item or two that you created, cut, polished or assembled while a member of the club to the board for possible inclusion in the case. We are looking for 12 to 14 items for inclusion in the case depending on size. It could be a polished specimen, a jewelry item or any type of rock related handicraft. Please bring your loan items to our May 2024 meeting labeled with a brief explanation of the item and your name & phone number. All items will be returned to members at our June meeting. This is great exposure for our club to AFMS/CFMS members from around our state and the entire country.
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Agatized Coral - Tampa Bay, Florida:
Thursday April 4: General Meeting 7:30 pm in our regular meeting room at Northridge United Methodist Church
Friday April 12: Vintage Magnet STEAM Night
Saturday April 13: Del Air Shop Day
Thursday April 18: Board Meeting
Fri, Sat, Sun, April 19, 20, 21: Conejo Gem & Mineral Show
Monday April 22: Passover Begins
Tuesday April 23: Andasol Elementary STEAM Night
Saturday April 27: DWP Earth Day
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April's General Meeting Program
'Generalized Mineral Identification' Presented by Bob Dearborn & Bob Knox
Our club recently participated in a "rock swap" with a club from Riverton, Wyoming. A "rock swap" basically means we sent a box of California rocks to them and they sent a box of Wyoming rocks to us. This month, at our general meeting, the two Bobs will show us how to identify these rocks utilizing some of the basic mineral identification techniques available today. If any of the membership would like to own any of these Wyoming specimens then make sure you attend our May meeting where these specimens will be available via a special silent auction.
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Upcoming May 2024 Field Trip Teaser - Save the Date! Saturday May 18, 2024 - 10:00 am
Join us for our annual field trip to Wrightwood, CA for actinolite, garnet in schist and possibly even lepidolite. We will be doing our usual potluck lunch and Shellie Van Winkle has once again volunteered the use of her vacation home as our staging location which is just steps away from the collecting area. More detailed information in the May bulletin. So… Save That Date!
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Club Display Case @ AFMS/CFMS/VGMS Annual Show in May
The Del Air club will be installing a display case at the annual show and convention at the Ventura Fairgrounds May 24th thru the 27th. It will be a non competitive entry showcasing our club and the lapidary items we have created at our various shop days, wire wrapping and chain mail classes, etc. We are asking all members to loan a lapidary item or two that you created, cut, polished or assembled while a member of the club to the board for possible inclusion in the case. We are looking for 12 to 14 items for inclusion in the case depending on size. It could be a polished specimen, a jewelry item or any type of rock related handicraft. Please bring your loan items to the May 2024 meeting labeled with a brief explanation of the item and your name & phone number. All items will be returned to members at our June meeting. This is great exposure for our club to AFMS/CFMS members from around our state and the entire country.
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MEMBERS QUARTERLY CHAIN MAIL NECKLACE PROJECT REPORT
As you all know, our club is trying to schedule a quarterly project for our members to participate in. Something to learn about or make or think about. This quarter, Maxine Dearborn led a class on making CHAIN MAIL JEWELRY. She had everything set up with instructions and as the jump ring necklaces were starting to be put together we began to hear “DARN” these rings are really small or OOOPS I just put that ring in the wrong place or BOY this is a challenge! But, parts of the necklace did get done and a couple finished necklaces went home. Others took their incomplete project home to finish. Everyone agreed it was a challenge but fun. I don't think anyone would want to make a full suit of chain mail armor because it would take years! We hope to see more club members on our next quarterly project.
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***June 2024 General Meeting Teaser***
Our June meeting topic will be "What's Your Other Hobby". We ask all members to participate by bringing in and sharing with the group something that you collect or are passionate about outside the realm of rocks or lapidary. This is a great way for all of us to learn something more about each other. So think about what it is you'd like to share and bring it to our general meeting in June.
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Thursday March 7: General Meeting 7:30 pm in our regular meeting room at Northridge United Methodist Church
Sunday March 10: Daylight Savings Time Begins
Sunday March 17: St Patrick's Day
Thursday March 21: Board Meeting At the Dearborn's Home
Saturday March 23: Chainmail Jewelry Making Class At Maxine Dearborn's home - See article
Sunday March 31: Easter Sunday
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March's General Meeting Program:
"Rocks & Crocs" Some Lesser Known Geological Features in Australia Presented by Dick & Mary Pat Weber
I am happy to report that Dick Weber is much better and back to his usual self so please come join us at our March 2024 meeting where Dick & Mary Pat Weber have been rescheduled, and will present to us, a tantalizing look at some of the lesser known but still spectacular, geological and paleontological features throughout Australia. Everyone knows about the Great Barrier Reef and Ayers Rock but there are so many more features that are equally impressive but known to only a select few. Hope to see you all there.
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Aileen's Creative Corner - Crafting with Gemstones
This month, Aileen will be talking about crafting with gemstones. She uses Labradorite, Tourmaline, Amethyst, Unakite, Tigers Eye and Agates. These are just a few and there are many, many more. She will use whatever feels or looks good to her. She'll show you some of the things she has created and explain how you, too, can easily create beautiful and fun things out of the loose or extra gemstones from your collection.
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Field Trip Report - Del Air CLUB's ANNUAL FOSSIL WHALE BONE TRIP
On January 27th our club gathered together at Refugio Beach State Park in Santa Barbara, under the guidance of president & field trip chairman, Jeff Dengrove. It was a great, sunny day for the 11 of us and 3 guests who went looking for this special rock. The high tides of the last few weeks undercut the banks and delivered a lot more rock to the area. Members who braved the tide while we were there found fossil whale bones and more interesting rocks that will be displayed at our club meetings. The local islands looked like you could hit them with one of the rocks you didn’t want to keep. We had a great day, took in a lot of fresh air and brought home a couple neat rocks too!
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AN EDUCATION OUTREACH STEM NIGHT AT STANLEY MOSK SCHOOL
Our education group had another fun evening talking to students and their parents at Stanley Mosk Elementary school's STEM NIGHT event. This was a new school for us and, BOY, were we busy with happy faces. We had our volcano display to talk about and with such a crowd most of the time we had two free games going. Our spin-a-wheel never stopped going and even broke the clicker, which had to be replaced mid-evening. We had lots of rock questions and some even brought their own rocks to be identified. Fun, fun, fun. Members attending for this 3 hour event were: Shellie Van Winkle, Bernadette Friedman, Pam Abbott, Bob Knox and Bob & Maxine Dearborn.
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Thursday February 1: General Meeting 7:30 pm in our regular meeting room @ NUMC
Wednesday February 14: Valentine's Day
Thursday February 15: Board Meeting
Friday February 16: Stanley Mosk Science Night
Monday February 19: President's Day
Friday February 23: Chatsworth Park Starry Starry Night
Saturday February 24: Shop Day
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February 2024 General Meeting
Pipe Stone; Presented by Bob Dearborn
Geologically, pipestone is a claystone (argillite). Its scientific name is catlinite (named after George Catlin). The red color results from oxidation of trace amounts of iron (hematite). The pipestone formation began over 1.5 billion years ago when a braided river covered what is now southwest Minnesota. The pipestone quarries have been visited for centuries by American Indians to acquire the red pipestone used to craft pipebowls for their sacred ceremonial pipes. This month, Bob Dearborn will show us this wondrous stone and explain how American Indians accomplished this arduous task.
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A Special Silent Auction
The Del Air Rockhounds Club was fortunate enough to have recently acquired a collection of high end crystal and mineral specimens generously donated to the club by a very nice lady named Taryn from Rancho Cascades, CA. The Board has made the decision to offer these specimens for sale to the membership at a special silent auction at our February meeting. There will be 15 or so very beautiful and unique specimens up for auction. There will only be one auction this time and all items will have a pre-assigned starting bid. So bring your checkbooks and be ready to add that special high end specimen to your own collection.
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Del Air Shop Day
Saturday February 24, 2024 - 10 am to 4 pm @ Jeff Dengrove's Home.
The Del Air Club has scheduled our first SHOP DAY for 2024. As usual, it will take place at Jeff Dengrove's home on Saturday February 24 from 10 am to 4 pm. We can accommodate only 10 people at this event. Due to liability and insurance issues, this event is open to paid members only. I will notify each respondent regarding the status of their request to attend and will send out a blast email reminder to the membership a time or two prior to the date of the event advising of any openings or cancellations.
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