A Day At The Club

Thursday is my day where my responsibilities as an officer (secretary) including opening up, filling in for any other members who didn't show up, and kind of overseeing everything. Usually that actually means sitting around chatting or working on the project du jour. Today was more than just a little different. I sent off an email to the other officers, some scattered as far as Yellowstone and Florida, just to keep them in touch. For info, a red card is a repair request listing what's wrong and warning not to use, Bell is another rec center whose members are invited to our club while their jewelry club is closed for the summer, Earl is the guy who runs the supply room, the only position that was filled today and he had to leave early. Last names are deleted for this posting.  It read as follows:

"Interesting" day today. Decided to do some lapidary. One saw wouldn't turn on, no red card. Didn't  inspect further. One next to it worked, but nobody has put gem lube in it for a bit. Glad instructions for mixing it were available, because I quickly found out why they hadn't and it's been a couple years since I'd done it. Situation fixed.

Grinder with 45 degree plate (first of those inside door) got plugged with water, but Carol (one of our Bell additions) used some pressure by repeatedly pushing with her finger to "plunger" it through. Bell actually has that tool. Might consider getting one,  or just letting us all know where an existing one already is.

After Earl left, everybody wanted to buy supplies. Got lots of practice hunting for stuff, ringing up sales without standing immediately in front of the cash drawer (the second, third, fourth times).

One of those center employees with the pretty shirts stopped by to get his wife a birthday present. $200.+ later he took home, all in sterling and turquoise, earrings, a ring, cuff, and necklace. He got to use the polishing cloth on them while I rang him up and found him a box. Of course I couldn't remember exactly where the cards go after the sale, but I called Vic and told him where I left them.

Susan B. brought in a whole bunch of jewelry to put in the silver vibrators before doing the cards to submit for the store. When she went to remove them, what she found was black sludge and silver looking 50 years old. From both vibrators!!! We spent about an hour rinsing them out, rinsing them out, rinsing them out, and once we finally thought the shot was ready to put back in the vibrators, rinsing it out more. With new chemicals she ran stuff again, and some of it improved. Not great, just improved. There is a nice piece of wrapped larimar with black spots on the back. She plans to return when she again has time to continue the process. There was one bell cap found with the shot, of some undetermined metal definitely not silver, but we have no clue what else could have been run through the vibrators with no followup cleaning, or by whom. One can only hope  their stuff turned out the same way.

At end of day, those three of us remaining worked together to complete the monitoring list. Nice cooperation.

Hope you are all enjoying YOUR Thursday!

Heather