herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Oct 12, 2012 16:45:06 GMT -5
I got a great batch of koroit from Ed, who is headed to Iceland for a few weeks.
I started working some this morning and it basically just dissolves on the wheel.
I am using a light touch and keeping it intact, but the undercutting is so pervasive that even the finer wheels undercut badly under light pressure.
SO - does Koroit *require* stabilization or do I just need to try a few more pieces (I've tried 3 so far) to find a piece that is more solid?
The fire is really pretty though and I am very excited to see how these will come out once I get the undercutting thing worked out.
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Post by Bejewelme on Oct 12, 2012 16:50:27 GMT -5
BO= mud bath!! Prepare for muddy times ahead!!! Some pieces are harder like the ones that have the dark black areas but mostly it is grind and look, grind and look, usually start on the second wheel of the genie the 80 seems too much for it, unless you have a big piece with nothing showing. Might help you to have a fresh bowl of water to grind a little, dunk it and look with mag glasses then decide if you want to keep grinding. I am no expert and I hate making a mess with it but it is addictive! We usually plan to say OK we are going to cab BO and psilomene and make a mess!!! LOL
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RockIt2Me
has rocks in the head
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Sometimes I have to tell myself, "It's not worth the jail time."
Member since December 2009
Posts: 668
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Post by RockIt2Me on Oct 12, 2012 21:49:07 GMT -5
Look for a piece that's reddish or dark brown and not light brown. Most of the light brown material I have gotten is mud and not worth messing with. It's all messy.
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Post by stardiamond on Oct 12, 2012 22:36:18 GMT -5
I don't have trouble cabbing it. I have trouble finding a decent piece of material to cab. Ideally you want ironstone with embedded opal. I've got the ironstone but the opal is sparse. I just have to concede is one of those things I won't be able to cab. Rhodochrosite and indian paint rock require a real light touch, but mud is mud.
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Post by Tony W on Oct 13, 2012 0:24:04 GMT -5
With iron stone the miners have usually gotten out the good stuff, and what ends up getting sold to us is sparse fire, or patches of opal with not much fire in it. The stuff that surrounded the good stuff. If you look on ebay you'll see the prices the primo stuff gets. I have worked very hard on iron stone to get very little some times, but at least it is hard and easy to work, in a real mean agatey sort of way. I actually like the mud opal, because it is easy to work, and often has great fire in it. You just have to work soft. I used go at a mud chunk with only Nova type wheels or diamond belts on expando drums. And started at maybe 220. If it is real soft, then maybe 600. Now, I'm more confident I know what I'm doing so I just go at it with hard wheels to get the sluff off so I can get to work on the nugget. But if you are new it's best to go slow, with gentle grits, because you can easily bulldoze right though the only good spot on the rough, and then your done. The first thing I do with opal is get it out in the sun, wet it good and look for fire. Pick the best place and work from there, doming around that spot. If it is a big chunk, then cut out the rough cab. If no fire shows, then saw off the ends, into a cube, until there is some, then pick the best and dome over that. Usually there isn't anything better than what you pick, so grinding and looking, and grinding and looking, will usually get you nothing. As for undercutting, you'll have to cut away the undercuts, or glue them. Same with pits. And some mud/sand will shine, eventually, but sometimes it won't. So you need to cut that away, or glue that too. If there is no color, or pin fire showing, and light pressure just fills your pan with mud, then there is nothing to see here. Most of the time a chunk will have a more stable nugget, after you grind off all the mud. But sometimes not. Generally, if you don't see color, or pin fire in the sun, wet, and it is a slab, not a chunk, there probably ain't anything there ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) If you aren't sure, use a digital camera with the highest res setting and get a pic in the sun, wet. It is amazing what the camera sees with opal that the eye doesn't. I do that to help me decide how best to cut a chunk with different patches, or seams of color. As for the mud, that's healing Aussie mud. And valuable. I have many cups and containers of it. I plan to market it one day, as a beauty serum. Great for wrinkles, and age lines. The mud fills them right in, lol. T
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Post by Tonyterner on Oct 13, 2012 7:19:33 GMT -5
Amen on the mud bath. I won't do BO on our Genie, I'll only do it on one of our other machines, preferably my big star diamond. As other said the darker the iron stone the better it is. I've got some BO that has very hard iron stone and others that have the hardness of a fingernail. The softer it is the higher wheel I start with.
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Post by krazydiamond on Oct 13, 2012 19:43:05 GMT -5
yep, BO and Malachite are some of the most messy, nasty, unforgiving stones to try and cab. hematite is right up there too for mud and bloody water. and yet, good material can result in stunning stones. be prepared for some mess and keep trying!
KD
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hand2mouthmining
spending too much on rocks
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Purveyors of California Gem Rock
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Post by hand2mouthmining on Oct 14, 2012 1:26:05 GMT -5
John, If you can, try stepping away from diamond wheels, and hand working on silicon carbide. Here's how I started out on opal, back in 1979: Materials list- An old rectangular Tupperware container Wet/Dry sandpaper (the black kind)' in grits up to 1200 Automotive trim adhesive, 3M Painters sponge, tan, dense rubber Instructions: Glue the sponge to the Tupperware, place the sandpaper on the sponge, add water, and work your opal by hand power. It's tech is low, slow and ultra careful, and really relaxing. You can read, watch TV, or have good conversation. You can always try Silicon Carbide on an expanding wheel, but make sure it's well worn, almost worn smooth. Sometimes old tech is the best tech. ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/grin.png) Kris
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SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
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Member since July 2009
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Post by SteveHolmes on Oct 14, 2012 10:58:32 GMT -5
As everyone else said...MUD BATH! I'm a wimp when it comes to messes. I don't mind digging in dirt, mine crawling, and getting dirty..but somehow I cringe when my Genie gets all messy. I know it all cleans up...but I still have a bunch of BO from Ed that I need to work. I also have some killer Psilomelane that I would love to do. Good Luck John. You'll do just fine. steve
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