jet
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2017
Posts: 103
|
Post by jet on Apr 12, 2017 17:48:56 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by captbob on Apr 12, 2017 17:52:34 GMT -5
WOW! That's some nice material. At the last rock show I went to that would have cost a small fortune.
|
|
jet
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2017
Posts: 103
|
Post by jet on Apr 12, 2017 18:07:47 GMT -5
WOW! That's some nice material. At the last rock show I went to that would have cost a small fortune. I spent mumblety-mumble dollars. It was worth every penny. Bills are paid and I still have enough in savings for a decent down payment on a vehicle, so I'll consider it money well spent!
|
|
|
Post by MrP on Apr 12, 2017 18:10:51 GMT -5
Very nice material. Should make some nice cabs.....................................MrP
|
|
gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,796
|
Post by gemfeller on Apr 12, 2017 18:25:03 GMT -5
The Koroit rough looks great - but boy is it messy to cut! You'll get some of that "Queensland red" all over you if you're not careful.
The Ethiopian material looks like it's "chocolate" opal from Shoa Province. Good luck with it because it has a reputation of being very cracky. Some is stable and I hope that's what you got. The Ethiopian Welo opal is much more stable but it's a little tricky to cut because it's hydrophane (play of color disappears temporarily when it's immersed in water). It yields really beautiful stones.
|
|
jet
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2017
Posts: 103
|
Post by jet on Apr 12, 2017 18:32:09 GMT -5
The Koroit rough looks great - but boy is it messy to cut! You'll get some of that "Queensland red" all over you if you're not careful. The Ethiopian material looks like it's "chocolate" opal from Shoa Province. Good luck with it because it has a reputation of being very cracky. Some is stable and I hope that's what you got. The Ethiopian Welo opal is much more stable but it's a little tricky to cut because it's hydrophane (play of color disappears temporarily when it's immersed in water). It yields really beautiful stones. What we got was the potentially heartbreaking crackly kind. We spend about an hour chatting with the guy at the opal booth. He gave us a ton of tips and said this stuff was rage inducing. One thing he said he does is to get a 2 part epoxy, only use the first part and let your opals sit in it for weeks. He thinks it keeps them from cracking and drying out as much. In any case, I'll be putting these in a jar and just looking at them for a very long time. eta: also, yes the boulder opal is sooo messy. And stains everything. The first time I ever worked a piece was about a year ago and that little plastic apron I had was no match for it.
|
|
|
Post by rockjunquie on Apr 13, 2017 9:14:49 GMT -5
You have some great cabbing potential with that Koroit. Beautiful stuff!
|
|
|
Post by toiv0 on Apr 13, 2017 14:01:51 GMT -5
I like the look of this material...very nice
|
|
|
Post by 150FromFundy on Apr 13, 2017 15:20:50 GMT -5
Chances are, you should stabilize that material before cutting and grinding using epoxy as suggested by the vendor. I think that there are easier ways to stabilize that don't involve weeks in jars. A little heat and little vacuum can speed things up. Chances are, you can search for old posts on stabilizing opal, or others will chime in. Lots of flashy colours in what you found.
Darryl.
|
|