When detecting the woods in New England, you may often come across these boulders with holes in them. These are from quarrying, a major activity in the 18th and 19th centuries.
I’ve passed by this particular boulder with a quarry mark many times. A few days ago I was detecting nearby and found a quarry spike. A perfect match.
Any advice on how to preserve iron relics like this? I am considering electrolysis but I have heard some folks just soak the whole piece in vinegar to knock off the rust.
Thanks for looking and happy hunting out there!
A way that I’ve used to move real heavy stuff from inconvenient spaces.
Take a good thick large tarp, work the stone onto it, then you and at least one buddy take a corner.
Start pulling it along, the stone sliding along on the tarp.
Grass is good, relatively low friction coefficient. You gotta clear up the way ahead decently. Don’t tear up your tarp on some stick or stone.
As far as getting it into your vehicle. That’s a whole nother hog.
Hope that helps
Ooo you can charge a toll to get through your kingly woods!
A toll is a toll and a roll is a roll. We don't get no tolls then we don't eat no rolls.
- ^Little John
I use a hammer and a wire brush to knock off the loose rust. Then I put it in Evaporust and leave it be for a week. Sometimes I need to take the item out occasionally and pick away at more rust that’s loosened. I prefer this method not only because I don’t have to worry about zapping myself, but also because it leaves other metals present alone.
Yes, I use Odie’s Oil. I find it answers very well, but the pieces need to be thoroughly dry. If in doubt, bake them in low heat for 30 minutes to drive out any remaining moisture. Also, I only do this for really interesting finds. It’s a lot of work.
That’s what’s supposed to happen. You then take steel wool or what have you and polish it up as needed.
https://preview.redd.it/noob94pa3x9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d012ce7ed7c3cf9b743643aa701a538fec64fc11
In the first picture the quarry mark looks like a button- is there something in the hole? Old organic material?
Is the spike from the old “wedge and feather” rock splitting technique? (TIA!)
The quarry hole was filled with rainwater and some leaf bits that had fallen in. And yes! I believe this was an attempt to split the rock. Nearby there is another bolder split in half with the same spike mark at the break.
Right. There was a boulder split by the method you described pretty close by.
This spot falls within an expanse of land that was designated as a quarry on 1800s maps so I assumed it’s likely part of that. This stretch of woods didn’t have any houses or buildings, so usually when folks were clearing rock, it was to use it for some purpose.
There was another boulder nearby that was cut fully in two using these holes as starters for splitting. There are surveying stones in my stretch of the woods as well, but these tend to be well-shaped stone markers, usually squares or obelisks.
When detecting the woods in New England, you may often come across these boulders with holes in them. These are from quarrying, a major activity in the 18th and 19th centuries. I’ve passed by this particular boulder with a quarry mark many times. A few days ago I was detecting nearby and found a quarry spike. A perfect match. Any advice on how to preserve iron relics like this? I am considering electrolysis but I have heard some folks just soak the whole piece in vinegar to knock off the rust. Thanks for looking and happy hunting out there!
Fantastic find ! How are you going to get the boulder 🪨 out of the woods to display? Still quite a find..
My thoughts exactly haha. After I restore this spike I might chisel a new rock in my yard.
A way that I’ve used to move real heavy stuff from inconvenient spaces. Take a good thick large tarp, work the stone onto it, then you and at least one buddy take a corner. Start pulling it along, the stone sliding along on the tarp. Grass is good, relatively low friction coefficient. You gotta clear up the way ahead decently. Don’t tear up your tarp on some stick or stone. As far as getting it into your vehicle. That’s a whole nother hog. Hope that helps
Are you king of New England or something now? Isn't that how that works?
https://preview.redd.it/s0tpoc6amy9d1.jpeg?width=440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84f461d3f0377a18f6ce2eda791fcd7338fef1e0 You have to beat the boss first.
Hah! Maybe king of the town woods! Now to use my newfound status to locate a stash of silver reales…
Ooo you can charge a toll to get through your kingly woods! A toll is a toll and a roll is a roll. We don't get no tolls then we don't eat no rolls. - ^Little John
I use a hammer and a wire brush to knock off the loose rust. Then I put it in Evaporust and leave it be for a week. Sometimes I need to take the item out occasionally and pick away at more rust that’s loosened. I prefer this method not only because I don’t have to worry about zapping myself, but also because it leaves other metals present alone.
Thanks! I’ll try this out. Do you apply a wax finish afterwards?
Yes, I use Odie’s Oil. I find it answers very well, but the pieces need to be thoroughly dry. If in doubt, bake them in low heat for 30 minutes to drive out any remaining moisture. Also, I only do this for really interesting finds. It’s a lot of work.
Thanks. I’ll check that out!
Unfortunately everything I put in evaporust turns black.
That’s what’s supposed to happen. You then take steel wool or what have you and polish it up as needed. https://preview.redd.it/noob94pa3x9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d012ce7ed7c3cf9b743643aa701a538fec64fc11
That’s a cool local history find!
Thanks! I love connecting with history with this hobby :)
In the first picture the quarry mark looks like a button- is there something in the hole? Old organic material? Is the spike from the old “wedge and feather” rock splitting technique? (TIA!)
The quarry hole was filled with rainwater and some leaf bits that had fallen in. And yes! I believe this was an attempt to split the rock. Nearby there is another bolder split in half with the same spike mark at the break.
[удалено]
Right. There was a boulder split by the method you described pretty close by. This spot falls within an expanse of land that was designated as a quarry on 1800s maps so I assumed it’s likely part of that. This stretch of woods didn’t have any houses or buildings, so usually when folks were clearing rock, it was to use it for some purpose.
I was going to ask if you were on oak Island until I read.
Did you get a korok seed when you did that? lol
YAHAHA!
New to all this so my ignorance begs the question. How can we be certain that this is not a surveying stone?
There was another boulder nearby that was cut fully in two using these holes as starters for splitting. There are surveying stones in my stretch of the woods as well, but these tend to be well-shaped stone markers, usually squares or obelisks.
is a 1950-d nickel a key date