My question is: How many of you micromounters are "strict" micromounters? By this, I mean that the only minerals you collect are micros, I am about 99.999 percent a strict micromounter. Clearly this is a choice, and in my case I think it is driven by what I enjoy most on one hand, and the fact that a person just can't do everything on the other. At this time I have maybe 3 or 4 miniatures that have drifted my way, and intend at the first chance to give them to a friend who will appreciate them. By that time I will have admired and enjoyed them to my satisfaction. Of course if they were potential micro material, then they would get broken up, a mount or two made, and the remnants passed along to other mounters, if any of the remnants had merit (as they often do). I also really strive to put my mounts in the one size of micro box I have chosen. A few choice items (very few) stay in some kind of larger box. Also I have some mounts of historic interest that I keep in their original boxes with original labels. These are what I call "xenomounts" (what another fellow calls "OP's" for "other peoples" mounts). I only do this when I know who the mounter is and keep a record of that. I need to enlarge my collection of such by trading some of my mounts with you, dear reader. When I get mounts from some unknown source (as I sometimes do), I almost always remount them. This gains uniformity of course, but also - I hate to say it - I am usually far from satisfied with the craftsmanship of what comes my way. I thusly tend to push the envelope in trimming material into my chosen box (in my case the althor type box, although I buy mine from FLS enterprises, who I think provides a nicer box of the althor size). I have sometimes regretted not using a larger box, but I also know a fellow using the slightly larger box (of the size once or still provided by Minresco), who now laments the fact that his boxes cost 60+ cents (mine cost 17 cents at last purchase). I am well aware of the "don't risk it, use a bigger box" saying, but I am only involved in a tragedy very rarely and find it much easier to organize and enjoy a uniformly packaged collection. As it was put to me, "it is the micromounters job to get the specimen in the box". http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146161#msg-146161 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:51:58 +0000 Phorum 5.2.15a http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,157077#msg-157077 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,157077#msg-157077
I visited your site and I think it is the start of a very good one. Great picture of Toscano! (and the sphalerite and ennargite are not bad either). I will look forward to following the development. Bellisimo!]]> Donald Peck Micromounting Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:54:10 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,156385#msg-156385 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,156385#msg-156385 I have e new web site on micromounts
www.micromounts.it
I suggest you to have a look.
Thanks for your visit.
Gianni Porcellini - Italia]]> Gianni Porcellini - Italia Micromounting Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:49:26 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,148250#msg-148250 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,148250#msg-148250 Eddy Vervloet Micromounting Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:12:25 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,148220#msg-148220 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,148220#msg-148220 Bill]]> Bill Lechner Micromounting Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:52:38 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146859#msg-146859 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146859#msg-146859 But the good stuff contains no oil at all! The big advantage of tack is (providing we are not talking
about micro-micro-micro pieces...), that you can quickly and easy take a specimen out of the box
to take a picture or so and just as quickly put it back in. I personally hate it when one is glued in...
I always re'mount' new specimens and I hate to have to use whatever it takes to disolve the glue...
And of course I also take a dozen boxes with some tack to the collecting site!]]> Eddy Vervloet Micromounting Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:38:33 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146835#msg-146835 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146835#msg-146835 (I never actually met or knew Milt Speckles, but I kind of feel I know anyone whose book I have read, if I ever happen to have a Neal Yedlin mount come my way I will feel the same).

I certainly do find mineral tack foul and oily, but my nose isn't sensitive enough to detect the stench. I do sometimes use tack to perserve some of my "material for trade", but I pray that the material doesn't stay on the tack very long, and that it will get into the hands of someone who will properly mount it before the matrix becomes saturated with oil. In general, I despise tack and commend Alfredo for telling it like it is. Maybe I will switch to mounting my trade material with white glue and eschew tack altogether. I do know a fellow who takes a few empty perky boxes and a bit of tack into the field to preserve some really delicate items that would be unlikely to survive any kind of packing and this certainly has merit. Never say never.

For me I guess if I had to boil down what most appeals to me: It is all about the crystals! And I seem to come across the greatest diversity of really exciting crystals in micros. As for mounting - it is all about preserving those crystals.
I never really rest until I have a finished and labelled mount - up to that time all kinds of misfortunes can come along.]]> Tom Trebisky Micromounting Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:53:11 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146736#msg-146736 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146736#msg-146736 in this thread

Micromount definition?

I concluded, as expected, Europeans do not 'mount' like Americans understand that.
We also care less about the overall size of a specimen. We will never break it up, just so it
would fit in a micro box...
Microcollecting would be a more appropriate term indeed.]]> Eddy Vervloet Micromounting Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:49:38 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146717#msg-146717 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146717#msg-146717 Alfredo Petrov Micromounting Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:44:58 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146713#msg-146713 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146713#msg-146713 micromounting really the art of permanently "mounting" very small xls or fragments for viewing under magnification?

Micro collecting would be collecting small crystals, regardless of storage/display.

I wouldn't say a lapidary is a miniature collector, even though what they create may mostly come from miniature sized specimens. They're taking miniature sized specimens and turning them into something else (not always miniature I know). I apologize for the horrible analogy.

I do a bit of micromounting and micro collecting since sometimes I don't feel the need, desire or energy to permanently mount a particular specimen. I am pretty much a micro collector, part time mounter. I guess the term micromounting is getting more watered down over the years, and I am guilty of abusing it too. I would probably mount more if I felt more comfortable trimming 2cm specimens and if mineral tack disappeared altogether.]]> Bryan Manke Micromounting Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:23:23 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146711#msg-146711 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146711#msg-146711 Sigurd Stordal Micromounting Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:33:37 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146692#msg-146692 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146692#msg-146692
I do not believe in "strict" micromounting. I am a mineral collector foremost, and have specimens of all sizes from 30 cms down to micro size. I would sum up my observations of mineral specimen collecting as follows: The rarer the specie, the more likely it is only available in micro size. The sharper and better formed the crystals are, the more likely they are of smaller size. The smaller and more fragile the crystals are, the more likely they need to be mounted in a box for their protection. The more affordable specimens are likely to be micros. In order to advance my knowledge about mineral species and crystallography these days, it is more likely the specimens I add to my collection are going to be micros/micromounts.

Eddy,

Along with the above thoughts on mineral collecting in general, here is my thought on micromounting. I save micros of all sizes, prefer crystals on matrix, and would never purposely reduce the size of a sample to fit on a cactus needle. While I wholeheartedly agree with you about mounting specimens on cactus needles, when I do come across a small loose crystal I do not throw it out but mount it on an appropriate sized pedestal. For loose diamond and gold crystals from a placer deposit, sometimes this is a tooth pick or cactus needle. I may wish the sample was bigger, or on matrix, but sometimes its not.]]> Joseph Taggart Micromounting Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:28:43 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146613#msg-146613 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146613#msg-146613 Getting more and more into collecting phosphates and arsenates, obviously I had to get more and more
into micros, since the majority of minerals does hardly occur otherwise. It goes without saying I thoroughly
enjoy micros nowadays, but as mentioned in previous threads, I still prefer my matrix to be like 2x4 cm,
with more than just one micro crystal... the fun of glueing 1 tiny grain on top of a cactus needle eludes me!

I will also always 'remount' any specimen I obtain. I give no value to a specimen because it was mounted by X...]]> Eddy Vervloet Micromounting Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:41:08 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146423#msg-146423 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146423#msg-146423 I still mount about a couple of hundred or more specimens every year, but I have slowed down a lot ..
But Malcolm, I highly recommend Rock Currier's database, as it has amazing flexibility and capacity...[not an ad for Rock, just approbation]

Tom, I have been honed in on the Althor product for a long time, so I am curious to find out how close to Althor, that those FLS boxes are, and how snug a fit they are , and how well finished they are...could you PM me with a bit more info, since they sound like they are cheaper than Althor.
Thanks.]]> Ray Hill Micromounting Sat, 25 Jul 2009 08:35:20 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146400#msg-146400 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146400#msg-146400 Sam Cordero, Jr. Micromounting Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:04:43 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146390#msg-146390 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146390#msg-146390 Rob Woodside Micromounting Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:52:13 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146389#msg-146389 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146389#msg-146389 Your point about finding micros more interesting strikes a chord with me, and I would add here that I routinely examine all of my TNs, miniatures, and cabinet under the microscope. It's amazing what one finds in addition to what was on the dealer label. I think all serious collectors should have a look at all specimens under magnification in order to get the most from them.
mal]]> Malcolm Southwood Micromounting Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:41:44 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146388#msg-146388 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146388#msg-146388 Combining the two databases is something that I've pondered a great deal. They have different accession number systems - micromounts have simply an accession number (ranging currently from 0001 to 2037), while accession numbers for larger specimens have a year and sequencer - e.g 1984.048. I use Access to catalogue, but also have all of the data exported to Excel sheets, because I find it easier to format and print reports from Excel (which probably says more about my poor Access skills than anything else).

Any thoughts on combining would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
mal]]> Malcolm Southwood Micromounting Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:36:50 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146366#msg-146366 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146366#msg-146366 Tom Trebisky Micromounting Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:55:29 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146353#msg-146353 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146353#msg-146353 Didn't I see something like that on a card stuck up in a phone box around Soho?]]> Jesse Fisher Micromounting Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:29:17 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146336#msg-146336 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146336#msg-146336
for me though, if i cant hold it in my hand, it's not a real rock:)]]> Ian Jones Micromounting Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:14:14 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146317#msg-146317 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146317#msg-146317
I do collect MM size mostly (around 90 percent of my collection), but as a regional collector I do collect bigger ones as well. But I don't like the bigger ones (bigger than 4x6 cm) too much, even the well crystallized ones. Those are just "see-all-at-one glance" pieces to me, nothing of special interest. If there is something which can only be seen by using the microscope its much more interesting to me. Sometimes I almost thought of selling the bigger ones and collecting micros and small cabinets to thumbnails only.

Regards,
Sebastian Möller]]> Sebastian Möller Micromounting Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:34:23 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146316#msg-146316 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146316#msg-146316 Donald Peck Micromounting Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:30:06 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146298#msg-146298 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146298#msg-146298 I, too, call myself a micromounter, though the balance has shifted over the years.

When I started collecting seriously, nearly 30 years ago, I had plenty of time, and relatively little money, and I enjoyed using the time to get out and collect, and to process and mount specimens when I got home again.

Over the years, time has become much less plentiful, but I can afford to spend a little more on specimens, so bigger specimens have become the dominant part of what I acquire these days. However, the micro collection also continues to grow as time allows. One of my major regrets is having two separate catalogues; one for micros, and one for larger specimens; really they should all be part of the same collection.

mal]]> Malcolm Southwood Micromounting Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:10:41 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146235#msg-146235 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146235#msg-146235
As to other sizes . . . I have never been known to refuse or throw away a "giant micro". At a show one time, in the micromount area I exhibited "The Ultimate Micro". It was a 30cm x 18cm Smokey quartz crystal mounted on a 10cm x10cm post in a wooden apple case. When I was seven years of age, I watched my grandfather dig it up on his dairy farm in Connecticut. Most of my non-micros are in the 3cm to 10cm range.]]> Donald Peck Micromounting Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:13:41 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146164#msg-146164 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146164#msg-146164 So I guess I'm a micromineral collector by preference, but being an openminded person just can't seem to put of minerals of any size if I find them.(:D]]> Sigurd Stordal Micromounting Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:28:17 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146163#msg-146163 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146163#msg-146163 Rob Woodside Micromounting Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:20:40 +0000 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146161#msg-146161 http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,60,146161,146161#msg-146161 By this, I mean that the only minerals you collect are micros,

I am about 99.999 percent a strict micromounter. Clearly this is a choice, and in
my case I think it is driven by what I enjoy most on one hand, and the fact that a person
just can't do everything on the other. At this time I have maybe 3 or 4 miniatures that
have drifted my way, and intend at the first chance to give them to a friend who will
appreciate them. By that time I will have admired and enjoyed them to my satisfaction.
Of course if they were potential micro material, then they would get broken up,
a mount or two made, and the remnants passed along to other mounters, if any
of the remnants had merit (as they often do).

I also really strive to put my mounts in the one size of micro box I have chosen.
A few choice items (very few) stay in some kind of larger box. Also I have some mounts
of historic interest that I keep in their original boxes with original labels. These are what
I call "xenomounts" (what another fellow calls "OP's" for "other peoples" mounts). I only
do this when I know who the mounter is and keep a record of that. I need to enlarge my
collection of such by trading some of my mounts with you, dear reader. When I get mounts
from some unknown source (as I sometimes do), I almost always remount them. This gains
uniformity of course, but also - I hate to say it - I am usually far from satisfied with the
craftsmanship of what comes my way.

I thusly tend to push the envelope in trimming material into my chosen box (in my case the
althor type box, although I buy mine from FLS enterprises, who I think provides a nicer
box of the althor size). I have sometimes regretted not using a larger box, but I also know
a fellow using the slightly larger box (of the size once or still provided by Minresco), who now
laments the fact that his boxes cost 60+ cents (mine cost 17 cents at last purchase).
I am well aware of the "don't risk it, use a bigger box" saying, but I am only involved in a tragedy
very rarely and find it much easier to organize and enjoy a uniformly packaged collection.
As it was put to me, "it is the micromounters job to get the specimen in the box".]]> Tom Trebisky Micromounting Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:00:12 +0000