Post by rocknrob on Nov 21, 2024 0:00:21 GMT -5
Good evening! A little while back I cut up some opalina rough in the hopes that I can cabochon it. I took a chip of the stuff and went 180 220 350 600 1200 3000 8000 and then finished with cerium and then 50k diamond paste (dremel). It didn't take too long because the stuff is super soft and the darker colored minerals were even softer. I hurried through this one as I only had about 30 minutes in which to shape and polish this before I had to go do something else so the dome is a bit rough. It's about 22mm by 12mm. This is what I learned working on this stone...
- Rob
- Doming extra soft materials on a flat lap isn't the easiest task in the world but it's doable if I had a better seating setup.
- Feather touch all the way after shaping, it's super easy to scratch this material.
- Looking at the small fractures in the polished surface tells me this needs to be stabilized somehow before polishing.
- Rob
