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Post by Tony W on Dec 23, 2008 13:21:33 GMT -5
My new favorite opal. This pattern gets me all giddy! Something about the colors shows up real well to this colorblind guy! Some of you might remember "The Big Marble"..well this is off that same rock. And at least one more to come..... again... and again and up close. It doesn't have a lot of sparkle but the pattern makes up for it to me. Thanks.... and Happy Merry out there!! Tony
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Post by akansan on Dec 23, 2008 13:38:43 GMT -5
You cut the marble ?!??!
Gorgeous cab.
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Post by frane on Dec 23, 2008 13:45:05 GMT -5
Oh Tony! That is a beautiful cab...You didn't cut the marble did you? It Was a piece from the same rock, right? I really love the patterns in this one!!! Fran
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Post by sitnwrap on Dec 23, 2008 14:14:16 GMT -5
Well, that just flipped me off my rocker. If that doesn't make a person giddy, nothing will. I didn't even notice how much sparkle it had or didn't have as that pattern is the stone.
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,777
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Post by adrian65 on Dec 23, 2008 15:16:21 GMT -5
This cab is really a spectacle itself! The scenes inside it are fantastic.
Adrian
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Saskrock
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2007
Posts: 1,852
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Post by Saskrock on Dec 23, 2008 15:31:13 GMT -5
Wow that is awsome stuff. Love it.
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Post by texaswoodie on Dec 23, 2008 15:36:33 GMT -5
That is a killer Tony! I love it!
Curt
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Post by Tonyterner on Dec 23, 2008 15:55:19 GMT -5
Holy cow there is more opal than matrix!
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Post by fishenman on Dec 23, 2008 16:03:31 GMT -5
Oh wow, that is one of your best Tony. I see a new avatar in the making.
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Post by Bejewelme on Dec 23, 2008 19:48:21 GMT -5
You forgot to put that in my box didn't you OK, that is the best so far. So give me an education on these opals, what is the difference with the white opal pattern vs. the electric neon color bands? And why does it seem some of the same material is harder than others? Does the amount of opal vs. matrix affect the hardness? It seemed like the piece we got from you was much harder and less messy than the prior pieces I tried. You are the BO King so I know you can educate me on this!! BTW Merry Christmas!!
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Post by Bikerrandy on Dec 23, 2008 21:03:30 GMT -5
That's the coolest one I've seen so far, beautiful!!
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Post by Tony W on Dec 23, 2008 21:38:50 GMT -5
Thanks folks! I'm glad ya'll like it like I do. Being colorblind I never know what is really good to others. YOu ought to hear some of the comments when I'm at art shows with my prints or paintings No, I didn't cut the marble. In the past I've talked about a rock I got in my first box of opal that I was afraid to cut. I kept looking at it for over a year but could never decide what to sacrifice as it was all over opal. Well, finally a few months back I went charging out to the shed and grabbed that rock and cut it in three. Just did it! Katie bar the door!! The marble was the first piece I cabbed and I had originally been thinking of cutting it in half, but when I got a polish on it I couldn't do it. So I high domed it and kept it like it was. This one today was a bit of scrap from that cutting that I discovered was really good inside. This one blows me away. when I cut away the mud there it was...I still kind of shake when I think about it, lol. And I have the third piece from the cut that is larger that these two put together, but is oddly shaped.... so I don't know if I'll cut it or freeform it as is. I may take another year to decide Amber... the harder stuff is better stuff, I'm told. Ed tells me they cut away the opal deposits from the hard ironstone matrix and what you get in a box of higher/low grade rough is the dregs..... which are often wonderful, don't get me wrong. Personally I like the colors and flash you often get in the light brown mud but it is so crumbley and pitted it is hell to work. I find the hard stuff has less available opal often but is much easier to work. Bottom line... you have to work every piece no matter how hard or soft or uninteresting. Nephrite/Tony showed a piece he found in the middle of some ugly rough that is just breath taking. I have gone through my rough and pulled out and worked most all of the obvious color showing stuff... now I'm working down through the stuff that looks mostly uninteresting on the surface. As far as opaque opal vs. pin fire, or neon banding...fluid dynamics I guess, and how the opal is forming in the matrix. All the stuff I have gotten has come from the same mine and it can be very different from box to box. Basically... I don't have a clue I just know as I ground on this one I was shaking and using a feather touch. It may have been soft, it may have been hard because of all the opal, I don't know that I can say... I just know I was freaking that it would pit before I got it shaped. I was never so happy to get to the belts so I wouldn't be cutting it much.
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Post by stonesthatrock on Dec 23, 2008 21:40:41 GMT -5
who needs sparkle when you have a pattern like that. its beautiful
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MidNight~Rocksi3
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2008
Posts: 1,716
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Post by MidNight~Rocksi3 on Dec 23, 2008 22:07:56 GMT -5
TONY!!!!!!!!!! Omg that is just insane! that one pic ! talk about someone just coming out to say Hi! whoa! wicked face in that one .. just not the pattern in that one. I keep getting the urge to scream IT'S ALIVEEEE!! you know like on frankenstien ? remember them movies? yeah I can see why you like this one.. lol.. btw.. I like the way the fingers or whatever they sort of just curl around it on the outside.. Absofknlutely Amazing!
*smiles*
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Post by Bejewelme on Dec 23, 2008 22:13:56 GMT -5
Tony: Thanks for the info. It is curious and alluring material I know that. And that is the thing you just never know how much to grind, before it breaks, etc. I always enjoy your pieces, and you do great work. Amber
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harryz
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2008
Posts: 137
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Post by harryz on Dec 24, 2008 0:05:33 GMT -5
Great cab Tony, I can see a stunning pendant. Thanks for sharing your work.
Harry
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,777
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Post by adrian65 on Dec 24, 2008 0:23:40 GMT -5
... Amber... the harder stuff is better stuff, I'm told. ... Of course it is, but you don't have to tell that to women, they already know... ;D
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Post by stoner on Dec 24, 2008 3:18:17 GMT -5
Yep, that's definitely a keeper Tony. Awesome cab, I'll give you $10 for it!!!!! hahaha! inside joke people!
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Post by Tony W on Dec 24, 2008 16:45:53 GMT -5
Hey, Ed! It came out of the ebay parcel. Your's weren't as good? Adrian... do you think they know we sometimes use superglue to fortify T
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deedolce
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2006
Posts: 1,828
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Post by deedolce on Dec 26, 2008 19:36:52 GMT -5
Gorgeous!!!! Good to learn about bo too. I won some on ebay, and was SO disappointed. Looked like a got nothing but a snowball of mud. So I tossed it outside into a bucket. Now I'm thinking I better find that mudball and take a closer look! It's such a hard material for me to work with, you have to be part Jedi it seems...lol.
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