xXxAlisha91xXx
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by xXxAlisha91xXx on Feb 27, 2012 0:24:20 GMT -5
Hello Everyone! I'm new here and wanted to share some of what I've been working on. When it comes to carving, I use a dremel tool and a nail-salon type nail tool. I haven't been involved with rock carving for very long, so the pieces aren't perfect. I'd love to hear some feedback from those of you that are more experienced  Please excuse the low quality of the pictures, some of them were taken on my phone... This first piece I carved on a dop stick. I believe it's Coober Pedy. So far, it is the most "shapely" piece I've carved yet. It still isn't fully polished with Cerium Oxide because the polishing wheels I'm using aren't all that great:    And here's the back of it...  This one I believe is also Coober Pedy. I have only gotten as far as removing some of the host rock on it. Here's what it looked like before:   Now I kind of think it looks like this penguin I found a picture of online:  Do you see it? It even has color everywhere except for his "belly" similar to how penguins' are:   I have to admit, once I saw it, I thought "penguin" as I was grinding away the host rock, so I may have helped it on its way to its current shape...lol I'm trying to decide if I want to carve it into a penguin, just for fun, but I'm a little hesitant since I'm still so new to carving. Thanks for checking them out! I'd love to hear any ideas for what I can do to improve these. |
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Post by NatureNut on Feb 27, 2012 0:42:03 GMT -5
Oh, make it a penguin... go ahead, do it.  Nice cabs. Jo |
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Post by helens on Feb 27, 2012 0:44:13 GMT -5
That's a great job Alisha!! Nice shape from a dremel!!
Penguin sounds like a great idea:). I hope KK comes and gives you some good carving pointers, he's really helpful with new people about it (helped me a lot with dremel tool suggestions!!!), and just an overall super nice person!
That penguin is going to look fantastic when you are done with it:)!!
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xXxAlisha91xXx
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by xXxAlisha91xXx on Feb 27, 2012 0:51:05 GMT -5
Thanks Jo and Helen! The penguin picture I took wet, since it's still pretty much rough, to show how the color is mostly white in that one spot I just hope the color all shows when I finish it... |
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Post by helens on Feb 27, 2012 1:00:04 GMT -5
You're right! Didn't even notice that belly difference at first. That would look neat, to run a line down that to make the difference more noticeable that it's a 'belly'.
Good question on whether the fire will show or not. Some pieces seem to only have fire when wet, others only have fire when dry. But the odds of getting lucky and getting a piece of super fire wet or dry in a huge carving size piece of opal is very very small. People would stick it in a big ring:P.
I have several of those (look great when wet, not so great when dry). But if you put a nice polish on it after you're done carving, you should still see the fire dry if you turn it a certain way in the light.
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xXxAlisha91xXx
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by xXxAlisha91xXx on Feb 27, 2012 1:12:19 GMT -5
Good idea! I wouldn't have thought to run a line right there. I guess I have a lot of carving posts to read before I start this...lol As it sits now, it mostly just shows the green fire when dry. Of course it's got a long way to go, so I can still hope for the best |
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Post by kk on Feb 27, 2012 6:30:27 GMT -5
Hi there,
Nice to see so many new people taking up the carving challenge.
You seem to do fine thus far. As Opal is very soft, I would just outline the belly/neck/head and the wing (needs a straight cut to stand out) and then sand up the whole thing before getting into any more detail.
Dont finalize the shape of the peak until you have everything else in place. Wait until after sanding.
Don't worry about the fire yet, what ever the fire will be, it will be; you can't change the angle any more.
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Post by Toad on Feb 27, 2012 9:25:30 GMT -5
You're braver than I. Nice material. Looking forward to the finished penguin.
Todd
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xXxAlisha91xXx
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by xXxAlisha91xXx on Feb 27, 2012 11:55:32 GMT -5
Thanks Todd!
Thanks for the helpful advice KK! How deep do I need to make the outlines without having to worry about sanding them down and having to redo them afterwards? I'm not too concerned about the fire, it's more curiosity. Every time I work on opal, that's the first thing I wonder about, so I was just thinking aloud for the most part...lol
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xXxAlisha91xXx
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by xXxAlisha91xXx on Feb 27, 2012 12:00:53 GMT -5
Oh, and you can't see it very well in the pictures, but it does have a sand pit just under it's "beak" area closer to the top of its "head." Any suggestions for what I should do about that?
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cailee
having dreams about rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 67
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Post by cailee on Feb 27, 2012 13:12:06 GMT -5
Really cool looking penguin, can't wait to see it done |
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xXxAlisha91xXx
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by xXxAlisha91xXx on Feb 27, 2012 14:14:11 GMT -5
Thanks cailee!
I will definitely post the results, good or bad, in this same thread!
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Feb 27, 2012 14:16:55 GMT -5
you can try putting a little super glue in the sandy area to harden it
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Post by kk on Feb 27, 2012 16:47:47 GMT -5
you can try putting a little super glue in the sandy area to harden it Yep........ I would sand first and then outline again. I'm usually doing things the long way round. LOLOL |
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xXxAlisha91xXx
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by xXxAlisha91xXx on Feb 27, 2012 18:09:03 GMT -5
Super glue, never heard of that one! LOL I may try it... I'm going to attempt sanding it first to see if I can sand it out without losing too much.... Thanks! Oh, and I took a picture of it dry,again on my phone, trying not to show much color so that you can see the amount of texture it has.  |
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Post by helens on Feb 27, 2012 18:51:30 GMT -5
Maybe try drawing the penguin outline with a fine permanent marker (putting it where you would carve it off, tho it will come off in polishing anyway). That might make rough shaping it easier?
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dbrealityrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2010
Posts: 1,084
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Post by dbrealityrocks on Feb 27, 2012 20:09:13 GMT -5
looking good... just wondering if anyone has warned you about breathing in that silica dust even if you're working in water. I know of several opal cutters from Australia who died in their early 40s of silicosis. Can't be too careful
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xXxAlisha91xXx
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by xXxAlisha91xXx on Feb 27, 2012 21:21:56 GMT -5
Thanks for the idea Helen. I attempted to carve it, but, because of all of the sand pits on the bottom right side, it's looking crummy  I've heard a few warn about silicosis. Thanks for reminding me though. I guess I should probably be wearing a mask when I cut... |
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xXxAlisha91xXx
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by xXxAlisha91xXx on Feb 28, 2012 16:29:31 GMT -5
This is where I'm at:  Epic fail, I carved to deeply so it looks terrible. Any way I can salvage this? If not, I may just cut off its head and make a cab out of it- what I know best- and dump it's body...lol |
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xXxAlisha91xXx
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2012
Posts: 284
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Post by xXxAlisha91xXx on Feb 28, 2012 16:32:36 GMT -5
*sidenote-I'm only as far as sanding with 220 grit sanding discs and this photo is shown dry...
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Please excuse the low quality of the pictures, some of them were taken on my phone...
Nice cabs. 
