choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 181
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Post by choochoorocks on Dec 18, 2023 16:43:02 GMT -5
I recently acquired a piece of what looks to be fire obsidian. At the moment, only a small area of fire is visible. I'd like to expose the whole layer to create a polished display piece. How should I go about cutting this? I think I can guess the direction of the layer. Should I cut parallel to and above the layer, leaving lots of buffer? But I'm not sure if there could be additional hidden layers that I may cut through? Or what if I'm misjudging the direction of the layer? Thanks for any insight! I've never actually cut obsidian!    |
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 18, 2023 17:12:44 GMT -5
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realrockhound
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Chucking leaverite at tweekers
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Post by realrockhound on Dec 18, 2023 17:45:49 GMT -5
Not to be a downer and burst your bubble. But that’s not fire sadly. Just a fracture that if giving the iridescent effect
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RockyBeach
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2023
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Post by RockyBeach on Dec 18, 2023 18:35:59 GMT -5
Not to be a downer and burst your bubble...  |
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choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 181
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Post by choochoorocks on Dec 18, 2023 20:42:12 GMT -5
I thought it was just a fracture at first too. But when I looked closely, I saw that the light play was coming from a layer at the site of the fracture. The layer extends inwards but quickly gets obscured by the obsidian. I'll see if I can capture a better picture later to see what you guys think. But I'm certainly not an expert by any stretch, so I could certainly be wrong (boohoo)!
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realrockhound
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Chucking leaverite at tweekers
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Post by realrockhound on Dec 18, 2023 22:19:55 GMT -5
I thought it was just a fracture at first too. But when I looked closely, I saw that the light play was coming from a layer at the site of the fracture. The layer extends inwards but quickly gets obscured by the obsidian. I'll see if I can capture a better picture later to see what you guys think. But I'm certainly not an expert by any stretch, so I could certainly be wrong (boohoo)! Well.. if you really want to know if it’s fire and where to cut, get a black bucket and fill it full of water, dunk the piece in the water and shine light on it. You’ll be able to see the bar and what direction it’s headed. Once determined, trace around the bar with a pencil and cut horizontal to the bar (above and below). It’s better to cut with more buffer room and then grind down to it instead of trying to cut too closely to the bar. In my experience, the bars like to be wavey and do things you can’t see with the eye or deeper in the piece. Keep me posted. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 18, 2023 22:47:09 GMT -5
Also, if it is indeed fire obsidian be aware that the layers are extremely thin. Go slow and keep telling yourself -- cut a little, look a lot. Use your finer grit wheels so you don't blow through the fire layer by accident. Cutting fire obsidian is much like cutting precious opal.
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choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 181
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Post by choochoorocks on Dec 18, 2023 23:41:36 GMT -5
Is the idea that if it is not fire, it will not be visible in water? If so, that's interesting, and I'd love to understand why. Anyway, I put it in a black plastic tub, filled it with water over the spot, went into a dark room, and I could still see it under a light. I took a couple of photos. At this point, I really have no idea. Seeing as it is that you guys know a lot about this, I'm tempted to think this is a red herring. Toss it?   |
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realrockhound
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Chucking leaverite at tweekers
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Post by realrockhound on Dec 19, 2023 0:01:39 GMT -5
Is the idea that if it is not fire, it will not be visible in water? If so, that's interesting, and I'd love to understand why. Anyway, I put it in a black plastic tub, filled it with water over the spot, went into a dark room, and I could still see it under a light. I took a couple of photos. At this point, I really have no idea. Seeing as it is that you guys know a lot about this, I'm tempted to think this is a red herring. Toss it? The Idea is that if its fire, the bar is more visible under water. Its a good way to see the bar and have an idea of how the bar travels in the piece. Its late, but maybe after I eat i'll try to make a video and show you with a piece I have laying around |
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MadMax
starting to shine!
Member since January 2023
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Post by MadMax on Dec 19, 2023 18:16:43 GMT -5
Interested to see if you cut this piece or not. It does look more like a prismatic effect from a fracture but I hope that I am wrong.
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
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Post by realrockhound on Dec 19, 2023 18:30:20 GMT -5
Don’t Chuck it. Cut it like how I told you. Will be a good learning experience regardless if it’s fire or not. Based on my experience with fire, I’m still confident it’s an effect from a fracture
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stefan
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Member since January 2005
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Post by stefan on Dec 21, 2023 16:37:31 GMT -5
Go to Lapidary Central and look at their Fire Obsidian rough. You can see how it forms in a vert thin wavy ribbon. If this is a piece you are going to want to cut a WIDE hunk out to make sure you capture that ribbon. I think I'm with realrockhound on this one. BUT it will be excellent practice in cutting obsidian, and even if it is nothing, you still get some nice stuff that can be tumbled. |
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Post by roy on Dec 21, 2023 18:19:38 GMT -5
I thought it was just a fracture at first too. But when I looked closely, I saw that the light play was coming from a layer at the site of the fracture. The layer extends inwards but quickly gets obscured by the obsidian. I'll see if I can capture a better picture later to see what you guys think. But I'm certainly not an expert by any stretch, so I could certainly be wrong (boohoo)! Well.. if you really want to know if it’s fire and where to cut, get a black bucket and fill it full of water, dunk the piece in the water and shine light on it. You’ll be able to see the bar and what direction it’s headed. Once determined, trace around the bar with a pencil and cut horizontal to the bar (above and below). It’s better to cut with more buffer room and then grind down to it instead of trying to cut too closely to the bar. In my experience, the bars like to be wavey and do things you can’t see with the eye or deeper in the piece. Keep me posted. good info now i need to find mine and try your method |
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realrockhound
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Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,495
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Post by realrockhound on Dec 21, 2023 18:40:50 GMT -5
Well.. if you really want to know if it’s fire and where to cut, get a black bucket and fill it full of water, dunk the piece in the water and shine light on it. You’ll be able to see the bar and what direction it’s headed. Once determined, trace around the bar with a pencil and cut horizontal to the bar (above and below). It’s better to cut with more buffer room and then grind down to it instead of trying to cut too closely to the bar. In my experience, the bars like to be wavey and do things you can’t see with the eye or deeper in the piece. Keep me posted. good info now i need to find mine and try your method I’ll still try to post a video so people can see what I’m saying. But yeah… it sticks out like a sore thumb when it’s in water. Do it in a dark room as well. Really gives you an idea of how that bar travels through the piece. |
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realrockhound
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Chucking leaverite at tweekers
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Post by realrockhound on Dec 21, 2023 20:37:56 GMT -5
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Post by chris1956 on Dec 21, 2023 20:46:38 GMT -5
Now I see why you get so exited about this stuff.
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,495
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Post by realrockhound on Dec 21, 2023 20:51:27 GMT -5
Now I see why you get so exited about this stuff. I have quite a bit of it, but honestly haven't cut much. Mostly from the standpoint that for me personally, its one of the most labor intensive and frustrating materials to work. But when you do cut a nice piece, its extremely worth it. |
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choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
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Post by choochoorocks on Dec 23, 2023 0:30:48 GMT -5
Oh I have a few pieces that look similar. Is the below fire obsidian then?   |
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choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 181
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Post by choochoorocks on Dec 23, 2023 0:32:24 GMT -5
Go to Lapidary Central and look at their Fire Obsidian rough. You can see how it forms in a vert thin wavy ribbon. If this is a piece you are going to want to cut a WIDE hunk out to make sure you capture that ribbon. I think I'm with realrockhound on this one. BUT it will be excellent practice in cutting obsidian, and even if it is nothing, you still get some nice stuff that can be tumbled. Thanks for the suggestion. I visited Lapidary Central, and noticed that their triflow obsidian can look very similar to fire obsidian in terms of having shiny wavy layers. How is triflow differentiated from fire? |
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realrockhound
Cave Dweller
Chucking leaverite at tweekers
Member since June 2020
Posts: 4,495
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Post by realrockhound on Dec 23, 2023 0:55:56 GMT -5
Go to Lapidary Central and look at their Fire Obsidian rough. You can see how it forms in a vert thin wavy ribbon. If this is a piece you are going to want to cut a WIDE hunk out to make sure you capture that ribbon. I think I'm with realrockhound on this one. BUT it will be excellent practice in cutting obsidian, and even if it is nothing, you still get some nice stuff that can be tumbled. Thanks for the suggestion. I visited Lapidary Central, and noticed that their triflow obsidian can look very similar to fire obsidian in terms of having shiny wavy layers. How is triflow differentiated from fire? short answer, magnetite. Magnetite is the layer that causes the “fire” effect. However… many different obsidian can contain a magnetite layer. I’ve seen it in gold sheen and rainbow, etc.. |
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