CATEGORIES

$2,100 Gold Target

U.S. MINT’S GOLD EAGLE SALES ROSE 383% IN 2020

POPULAR PSEUDOMORPH MINERALS

More Than They Seem

Prehistoric Birds Take Flight and Pique Public Interest

Birds have really taken flight these past two decades—ancient birds, that is! A flurry of new research has led to a flurry of books with titles like Dinosaurs of the Air, The Mistaken Extinction: Dinosaur Evolution and the Origin of Birds, Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs, and The Rise of Birds, among others.

Uncommon Dinosaurs

Southern Continents Reveal Uncommon Giants

ZOISITE

A Massive Mineral Marked by Christmas- Like Color and Appeal

Odie House

A good friend, and wonderful artisan both lapidary and silversmith h, Odie is always fun to chat with. There is always something beautiful to see when Odie is in the “house.”

PLEASING PYROPE

Italy’s Uniquely Valuable Variety of Garne

Joplin

Field Trip Findings: Gaining More Than Mineral Specimens

GEOLOGY 101 Columnar Basalt

A distinctive volcanic structure found throughout the world has been given fanciful names: “Organ Pipes” in Namibia and Victoria, Australia; “Kilt Rock” and “Samson’s Ribs” in Scotland; “Giant’s Causeway” in Northern Ireland; “Thunderstruck Rocks” in Romania; “Devils Tower” in Wyoming and “Paul Bunyan’s Woodpile” in Utah, USA; the “Baigong Pipes” in China; and the “Cliff of Stone Plates” in Vietnam. High-resolution satellite images have even shown similar as-yet-unnamed structures on Mars.

Premium Impact Driver and Drill

TID 18 IMPACT DRIVER & T 18+3 DRILL COMBO PACK Festool festoolusa.comPrice: $549

Woodworking Accountant

An interview with furniture maker Peter Griffin

WORKSHOP TIPS

WORKSHOP TIPS

Mobile Assembly Table

Storage and utility in just the right size.

Mill Brass & Aluminum with a CNC Router

Add a new dimension to your woodworking skills.

Turn a Classic Wooden Bat

Learn how to beat the chatter.

Hand Tool Starter Kit

For a long time, there were really only a couple options to get started using planes and other hand tools: shell out big bucks for new, premium-quality tools that are ready to cut out of the box or learn how to restore old tools before you ever take blade to wood.

An Unusual Retirement

In Conversation with Plane Maker Karl Holtey

Vintage Pharmacy Cabinet

An Homage to the Past by Embracing the Present.

Milling Your Own Lumber

Whether a hobby or a small business, it's a woodworker's dream job.

Plans vs Proportions

Adapt a furniture plan with your eye.

The Clear Spring School Workbench

A perfect platform for teaching woodworking to kids.

Troubleshooting Planes

Practical solutions to common plane problems.

Japanese Street Vendor Stool

This intriguing utilitarian design is at home most anywhere.

Dragonfly Side Table

Angles and an artful inlay set this Arts & Crafts-inspired design apart.

Hancock Shaker Village Daybed

Recreated from a photograph and measurements, this design feels both modern and timeless.

Router Carving

Ready-to-carve 3D images make it easy to produce finished machine carvings or hand tool ready roughouts.

Sanding and Polishing Thundereggs

Two basic lapidary machines can be used to sand and polish thunderegg halves quickly. Both involve sanding the pieces dry.

Studying Nature's Impact on Ancient Civilization and Tuning In Online to Make Sense of Meteorites

Okmok. In remote Alaska. A strange name and a strange place for what some scientists and historians now say caused the downfall of the Roman Republic and the Egyptian Ptolemaic Kingdom shortly after the demise of Julius Caesar.

San Diego Mineral & Gem Society & Museum

CELEBRATING, SHOWCASING, AND PRESERVING NATURAL AND COMMUNITY HISTORY

THE SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Hot Pink Tourmalines, Kunzites & Fossils

At the famous Balboa Park in San Diego, just south of the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society & Museum, is the San Diego Natural History Museum (SDNHM) — or the Nat as the locals call it. SNDNHM is one of the most significant natural history museums in the country.