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  1. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mendip View Post
    ^ You can tell David that 'petrifaction' means turning to stone, and is a form of fossilisation. And that he is always welcome, of course!

    When the original material is replaced by minerals while preserving the structure, that is petrifaction. So my pieces of tree trunk are fossilised and petrified. And if you're a Brit, as I'm pretty sure you are, there is no 'z' in fossilised, by the way.

    At least, that sounds about right to me... I'm a different kind of geologist, but I do know for sure that there will be no bugs... you're getting confused with amber.

    Please be patient... the project kicks off tomorrow... as I head down to Bangkok in the morning on a bus I'm going to try and spot likely places around the Pak Chong area that could cut my tree trunk, and then talk about it all afternoon with a mate in a bar on Sukhumvit. All good projects need a planning stage.
    David thanks you for the education and looks forward to the thread developing to see the petrified fossilisation centrefold.


  2. #27
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    ^ and ^^

    Maybe this thread has legs!

    Good call Nev, if I'm fast enough... pics to follow!

  3. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mendip View Post
    ^^ This is the sort of thing I'm hoping for, but maybe I'm being a bit ambitious.


    Mendip don't forget to put labels on pointing to rings to denote the famous things that happened. i.e T -60 Million years until baby Jesus is born

  4. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mendip View Post
    ^ I remember when I was doing my geology degree we had to make thin sections of rocks to look at on slides under a microscope.

    After the sections were sliced off a piece of rock, we polished them on a stone table with a fine abrasive grit of some kind, mixed with water to make a sludge. I'm guessing the polishing process for a large section of tree trunk would be similar?
    Yes...progressively finer. How many grades depends on what kind of finish you prefer, but its surprising how fast the polishing is, for an average finish.

  5. #30
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    So did Mendip find a shop to cut his log or was he too keen to get to bangers and forgot?

  6. #31
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    I've just got home! This project is now well and truly underway!

    On the outward leg from Korat to Bangkok I got a seat on the port side of the bus to cover the south side of Mittraparp Road, the idea being to also get a port side seat on the return leg to cover the north side of the road.

    Anyway, a few kilometres east of the main intersection for Khao Yai and Pak Chong there was a whole load of likely looking places for a couple of kilometres. They were between that huge new centre for stray dogs and the Khao Yai outlet shops.

    Someone must be cutting those marble slabs to make the tables and chairs...



    And someone must be cutting all those sandstone paving slabs...



    And behind these paving slabs, what looks suspiciously like kitchen work tops. They'll doubtless be made of granite... hard rock.



    And what looks like more kitchen work tops stacked behind the piles of slate...



    And what looks unmistakably like stacked granite kitchen work tops!



    Unfortunately on the return leg all the port side sets were taken, so I had to sit on the starboard side. This was far from ideal as all the wankers on the port side shut their curtains so I couldn't see anything along the north side of the road.

    But, through the area in question I stood in the toilet well (much to the bemusement of other passengers) and saw one place almost directly opposite Farm ChokChai that has the sign 'Stone Craftsman' in English! Mind you, I've been here long enough to know that an English sign is no guarantee of English speaking, but hopeful nonetheless. This sign caught me by surprise so no time to get the phone ready for a pic.

    There were very few other places along the north side that looked promising, but overall a successful recon mission I would say.

    I have a plan and this project is now well and truly on!

  7. #32
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    Good man, not too far from our place but i have never been in one but there must be one who can do it there.

  8. #33
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    Ok, we're under way!



    I can see Mendip as 2020 TD PoTY!
    (Well, maybe second...)

  9. #34
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    Yesterday we went down to Pak Chong to get my piece of fossilised tree trunk cut. It's about a two hour drive from our side of Korat.

    The first place we stopped at (identified from my earlier bus recon mission) said they couldn't do it... no workers were there.



    But the owner's son (about 12 years old) reckoned he knew where we could get it done... so the wife bribed him with a 100 Baht note to guide us there.

    Here he is setting off on his motorbike (how anyone can let a 12 year old drive a motorbike on a main road like this is beyond me).



    Despite my request... and his assurance that he'd drive 'cha cha', he took off like a bat out of hell... he was using the not looking right and just merging with the traffic travelling at 80km/hr technique.



    Not so easy to do in a Vigo...



    But anyway... we kept up... but the second place said 'cannot do, no workers' as well. They suggested a place on down the hill a mile or so, next to HopePro. We eventually found that place, but the answer was the same... 'no workers'. It still cost me 100 Baht, by the way!

    My final option was a place I'd spotted opposite FarmChokChai from the bus last week... which meant a U-turn across Mitrapharp Road... which I absolutely hate doing on these fast main roads, especially with the family on board.

    But anyway... I found the place and it looked absolutely perfect! Surely an English speaker there as well!



    If they could cut a straight edge into huge chunks of rock to make chairs and tables, should be no problem to slice up my fossilised tree trunk.



    But alas, they were closed.

    The moral of the story is... if you want a fossilised tree trunk cut into slices, don't try and get it done on a Sunday.

  10. #35
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    The the suspense builds.

    The thread just gets better and better...

  11. #36
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    A return trip is planned this week.

    It goes against the grain for the way I ever do anything... but I'm gonna get the wife to first call in advance to see if they can do the job!

  12. #37
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    555 come on Mendip, seriously a Sunday?

    Ref the kid, he's a bit old. If you are around Pak Chong at school kicking out time you'll see 10 YOs racing each other on the old Mitraphap road out of PC with their tricked out step throughs, no helmets and all across the road causing pick ups to brake from 160kph in the outside lane. It staggers me how parents let them go out on them.

  13. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bettyboo View Post
    The the suspense builds.

    The thread just gets better and better...
    I dropped the kids off at school this morning at 7:20am... and as the school is on the west side of Korat I decided to head on to Pak Chong and the 'Stone Cradftsman'!

    As I was driving I slightly regretted not getting the wife to call beforehand to see of they could do the job... but women only usually muddy the water so I just thought I'd chance it.

    I arrived at the Stone Craftsman (practically opposite Farm Chok Chai On the 2 Road) at around 9am... as it turned out the name was misleading. 'Stone' was good, 'Craft' was good... but 'Man'?? ... not a man to be seen. And as I feared, just because they has a sign in English didn't mean that a word of English was spoken!

    Outside the 'Stone Craftsman'...



    I asked the girl who came out from the office if they could cut the fossilised tree trunk for me. She gave me a confused look and ambled off... and came back with another girl I later found out was the boss lady. I asked again about the cutting, and she said 'Yes'!!! Then she gave me a strange look as I was so surprised my mouth was hanging open.

    How much? ... 100 Baht per cut and 300 Baht for each face polished!!! I couldn't believe it... I wanted two cuts to get three slices, and three faces cut. All for 1100 Baht. I was of course very apprehensive as this, to me, seemed ridiculously cheap... but anyway, the deal was done.

    A third girl appeared and carried off my piece of fossilised tree trunk. I did try and carry it meself... but no chance of that. I followed the three girls, not really sure what to expect...


  14. #39
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    And they led me to this... this looked the business!



    The boss lady set it all up.



    And we were off! The project finally underway.





    Each pass cut maybe another inch... she kept saying 'keng, keng'! This was obviously quality petrified wood!



    And on she cut...





    The blade wasn't big enough to do each slice in one go... so after the first cut had gone as deep as possible, the second cut was started without repositioning the tree trunk



    And so the second cut was started!



    After the second cut had gone as deep as possible, the petrified tree trunk needed repositioning and turning upside down.

    The boss lady was straight up there to sort it out... she certainly led from the coal face.

    I don't know... is it only me who's mind starts to wander when I see a girl squatting on a work bench in front of a huge circular saw...



    Anyway, she had to line the saw up to continue the cut. Good job she'd done her nails this morning!



    Looked pretty good to me!



    And the other side of the trunk started...



    The first cut wasn't even finished with the second pass... the trunk was just too thick. So onto the second cut, where the trunk was slightly thinner. Surely this cut would be completed on the second pass... an agonisingly thin slice to cut through...



    Almost there...


  15. #40
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    AND FINALLY!!!

    To be honest this was beyond all my expectations!



    The petrified wood in Korat is generally between 800,000 years and 15 million years old. I've read that the younger petrified wood is often heavily opalised, as this looks to be. So, this is probably around 800,000 years old, but more research needed methinks.

    As excited as I was, there was the second cut to finish off.





    It just wasn't happening...



    The petrified tree trunk needed repositioning again!

    So, up went boss lady again!!!



    And we continued...



    Nearly there... surely...



    Ha ha!!! Three slices of 800,000 year old petrified tree trunk on the polishing table!


  16. #41
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    First the boss lady used a grinder to smooth out any ridges. She certainly wasn't scared of getting dirty... that purple nail polish must be good quality!



    This got a bit boring to watch after a while, and as she said it would be a couple of hours to polish up all the surfaces... I went for a wander.

    They had some fantastic granite and marble work tops.



    A solid marble three seater settee! How the hell would you get that home?



    Or a more modest solid marble table and chairs!



    You can even get solid stone numbers made... maybe for the front gate?



    A coincidence??? My mind started to wander again!



    So I went back to see how the polishing was getting on.

    Sanding with coarse sandpaper now. Nice to see two on the job.



    A puppy with the widest nose I've ever seen on a dog turned up to give me some diversion...



    And then three on the job... this was more like it!


  17. #42
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    Mendip, great result. Its one of the things i love about Thailand, there are places you can get small jobs done for little money that in the West companies would just laugh at you and send you packing. Have you decided how to mount or display it?

  18. #43
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    Yeah... it's days like this I enjoy living in Thailand.

    As for mounting... not yet. One piece will go to my daughter's science lab in school. The other two... I don't really know! I just enjoyed getting it done.

  19. #44
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    Anyway, as they kept sanding I got bored again...



    So went for another wander. I found a big pile of limestone, so selected 15 pieces to finish my rockery. I used to pick up one or two a trip from the side of the road as we drove through Khao Yai and places, but it took around 8 years to collect enough to start the rockery. I thought this was easier.



    I came across this beautiful slab of black marble with a large hole cut out of it...



    Then went back to see how things were progressing.

    The grinder was still out... disappointingly. Still a way to go.



    But they were sanding up great!



    And things moved on to the polishing table. The boss lady was using what looked like nylon polishing heads on a grinder. She gradually changed to finer grades.



    At this point yet another lady turned up to help. I now had four workers! Was it some kind of a commune?



    This lady seemed to be in charge of hosing the water on while the polishing was ongoing...



    Meanwhile I went off to have my rocks weighed! They charge 2 Baht a kilo... again, I wasn't allowed to help!



    So, we had 167 kg, so 334 Baht. Cheap at half the price! That saved another few years of rock collecting.


  20. #45
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    Only Mendip can turn something as mundane as cutting a tree trunk into 3 pages and 20 minutes i'll never get back

  21. #46
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    On my return they were just finishing up!



    They really did look great in the sun... the finished product!



    Well, I though that was the end. Then one girl started drying the slices of petrified tree trunk with compressed air.



    And then girl number 5 turned up! She brought along a small green tin.



    Girl number 5 seemed to be in charge of the final polishing off... so to speak... using this cream...



    And she didn't hang around. Finally finished... after about two and a half hours. I tipped them all 100 Baht... the least I could do. Although the polishing girl at the end did the best... she was only there 5 minutes!



    As I was walking back to the car, I noticed this! Ah ha! I knew where this had come from... the mystery hole in the slab of black marble.

    The geologist in me just had to have it. How much... 'sam pan!'... what's the best price? ... 'song pan'! ... deal!

    So I got the polishing girl to do her stuff! And she didn't hang around... again!



    And there's my workers! All five of them.



    And this took a while as well.



    And off home I went. Amazing, not a man to be seen in the whole place... apart from my good self of course!

  22. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dillinger View Post
    Only Mendip can turn something as mundane as cutting a tree trunk into 3 pages and 20 minutes i'll never get back
    30 minutes!

    And it's an 800,000 year old petrified tree trunk, thank you very much!

    Anyway, I got home with my prizes... and I am chuffed to bits!



    In the sun...



    In subdued lighting...





    But what to do with them?

    And as for my black marble table top... a temporary home for now!



    Next project... 'where can I get a huge section of tree trunk to sit my black marble table top on?'
    Last edited by Mendip; 30-01-2020 at 06:59 PM.

  23. #48
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    The market twice yearly in pak chhong has a chunky furniture section, wood ftom Burma - speak them. Or get a stump someone has backhoed.
    Last edited by NamPikToot; 30-01-2020 at 07:19 PM.

  24. #49
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    I expected too much I reckon. I imagined it revealing something like this...


    And we got this along with a huge hankering for Porterhouse steak

  25. #50
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    If they were porterhouse steak you wouldn't enjoy them anyway they are "well done"!

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