timloco
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2012
Posts: 545
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Post by timloco on May 7, 2018 15:44:34 GMT -5
Hi all, I have some slivers of opal that I want to try making some triplets out of. I have a clear quartz crystal I'm going to slab up for the top, but about the darkest thing I have for the back is some not very "rainbowy" rainbow obsidian. Should that work? Never done a triplet before.
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Post by pauls on May 7, 2018 16:11:08 GMT -5
Yep that will do the job.
There's a woman at my club that backs her opals with black radiator putty, it works. I think its probably Sodium silicate as it sets like rock.
Not exactly my cup of tea, just putting it here as an idea.
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timloco
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2012
Posts: 545
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Post by timloco on May 7, 2018 16:19:24 GMT -5
radiator putty! Yea, I guess that would work. I've used metal epoxy on other stones for the back and never really liked it even though nobody will see it when it's in a setting.
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Post by bobby1 on May 8, 2018 0:43:46 GMT -5
My preference is Basanite. It is durable, inexpensive and polishes very well. Bob
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Post by vegasjames on May 8, 2018 2:50:40 GMT -5
Seems like obsidian would splinter easy. I would go with a black basalt or even ilmenite.
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timloco
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2012
Posts: 545
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Post by timloco on May 8, 2018 8:15:49 GMT -5
Where does one get basenite or ilmenite?
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Post by vegasjames on May 8, 2018 17:22:41 GMT -5
I get ilmenite about 50 miles North of here. It is a pitch black titanium ore.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,796
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Post by gemfeller on May 9, 2018 1:20:34 GMT -5
Where does one get basenite or ilmenite? It's a little expensive to make a Nevada field trip for ilmenite, so if you'll PM me your address I'll send you a slab of basanite big enough for your project. Let me know the size you need. I have quite a bit of it to use for making doublets and Idaho opal triplets. It's simply fine-grained black basalt.
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Post by opalpyrexia on May 9, 2018 10:51:05 GMT -5
I use black jade and add a tiny amount of Mars Black to the epoxy. Also, after having a few too many doublets with tiny, stray bubbles in the epoxy showing through the opal, I decided to do what an Australian cutter recommended. I spray a light coat of Testor's flat black model paint on the back of the opal prior to epoxying — no more visible bubbles.
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