rallyrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2005
Posts: 1,507
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Post by rallyrocks on May 20, 2006 1:05:44 GMT -5
Its been stop and go for the last couple of weeks, but I finally got a few cabs to the 50,000. Not sure what this is, really soft stuff;  Some really nice red breccia/agate;  Stone Canyon Jasper;  some mystery lace agate;  and finally my first fist full of opals,  What I learned about opals; If you want to cut opals that will sell for hundreds, be prepared to spend some bucks on rough, what you get in the $20 sample jars aren't going to make anyone rich- even the guy selling them. pinfire is a very elusive thing, it can go from obscured to brilliant to being ground away in an instant. Once you start cutting opals it becomes even more of an obsession than the other rock stuff- BEWARE!!!! |
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Post by driftwood on May 20, 2006 1:17:47 GMT -5
Nice work, interesting shapes.
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Post by Cher on May 20, 2006 10:05:46 GMT -5
Nice work I like the mystery lace, that's really pretty ... cool shapes too. I see some fire in some of your opal, sure is pretty. My grandmother loved opals, it was her birthstone. I remember her telling me that if it wasn't your birthstone you shouldn't wear opals, it was bad luck.
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Post by stoner on May 20, 2006 12:50:21 GMT -5
Nice job Rally. You got some nice shapes going there and it looks like you got a great shine on them as well. I know what you mean about the opals. I bought one of those $20 bottles too and was hard pressed to get anything more than a couple of small earrings out of them, though, I still have most of the bottle untouched.
I really like the curves of the stone canyon. If you want more of that stuff, I won an auction for a 3lb chunk recently but haven't cut it up yet.
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Post by gemkoi on May 20, 2006 13:02:51 GMT -5
The shapes in both the breccaite and stone canyon are really nice in my opinion. good job rally! And the mystry lace is crazylace, classic. keep them coming!
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textiger
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since May 2005
Posts: 946
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Post by textiger on May 21, 2006 2:07:35 GMT -5
Love those shapes! They have such nice flow. Nice shiny, too.
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kjohn0102
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2006
Posts: 774
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Post by kjohn0102 on May 21, 2006 9:23:52 GMT -5
These are really nice Rally-love the shapes. I love opal-I've got a couple of pounds of small chunks that I'm going to tumble-not cutting cabs yet (although looking at all of this stuff is making my credit card itch!). Is there anything special I should do to protect them?
KJ
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rallyrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2005
Posts: 1,507
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Post by rallyrocks on May 22, 2006 0:38:25 GMT -5
These are really nice Rally-love the shapes. I love opal-I've got a couple of pounds of small chunks that I'm going to tumble-not cutting cabs yet (although looking at all of this stuff is making my credit card itch!). Is there anything special I should do to protect them? KJ So you are thinking of tumbling opals? personally I would advise against it, tumbling is a very random process and the fire in opals like I said is a very elusive quality, tumbling could do more damage than good. Most opals I've dealt with behave as if they are softer than the 5.5-6.5 that they are supposed to be, so they have a tendency to disappear if run with harder stones or with coarse grit. Some varieties like boulder opal will undercut really badly. Another thing to consider- since opals are up to 30% water, long term submersion in water can wreak havoc on some of them. If you have that much (a couple of pounds?!) you'd be welcome to send a few of the bigger chips my way and I'd be glad to see what I can cut out of them..... |
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Post by sandsman1 on May 22, 2006 0:41:47 GMT -5
man i know i posted to this i remember typin it hahaha i keep forgetin to hit send and go to another page--- well anyway i think there all nice i realy like the stone canyon and red breciated very good job --- keep um commin
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Post by rocklicker on May 22, 2006 1:58:55 GMT -5
I like that brecciated japser LOTS. Those are fantastic looking opals too. I have long been wary of cutting them so I am glad to hear you are into them. BTW, it's been stop and go for me too. I finally managed to finish up (almost) a batch tonight. Hopefully things will pick up for us both.
Steve
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