kelly13
starting to shine!
Member since November 2014
Posts: 29 
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Post by kelly13 on Nov 26, 2014 11:20:54 GMT -5
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spiritstone
Cave Dweller 
Member since August 2014
Posts: 2,061 
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Post by spiritstone on Nov 26, 2014 12:00:02 GMT -5
I see you have the African material. That opal rough needs to be played a little with before attempting to cut. I myself like to put them in water for a min or 2 then take em out and see which stones hold and which fall apart. They are a 50 -50 chance on quality or crap. They can cut some beauty stones if you can pull a few off that are stable to cut. Looking forward to this thread.  |
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Post by 150FromFundy on Nov 26, 2014 16:34:36 GMT -5
I had to laugh when I viewed your photos on Flickr. Every 3rd photo click popped up a photo of a credit card. It probably should have read "If you don't have this, you can't get that". Hopefully you got a good deal.
Your rough looks like it has a lot of potential. The opal pros will chime in soon, but I think you may have to stabilize the material (Opticon) and watch the temperature when finishing on disks, or wheels.
Darryl.
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Post by snowmom on Nov 27, 2014 5:18:20 GMT -5
love opals! so pretty!
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kelly13
starting to shine!
Member since November 2014
Posts: 29
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Post by kelly13 on Nov 27, 2014 6:55:40 GMT -5
Hi Spiritstone,
When I first got the opals they were in a ziplock bag wrapped in a very wet paper towel. None fell apart when I got them  . I do not think I will put them in the tumbler but take them to my lapidary wheel to polish and shape them. What kind of grit disk should I use? BTW that's a very nice opal. Did you do that one yourself? Very nice job.
Oh and here is one that I forgot to post. I want to keep this one for myself because its mostly purple but I am not too sure how well I could polish and shape this one. Ah well, even if I can't it's still pretty and I can make it into a unique necklace.
 DSC_0399 by kellyjwatkins1970, on Flickr
 DSC_0398 by kellyjwatkins1970, on Flickr
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spiritstone
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2014
Posts: 2,061
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Post by spiritstone on Nov 27, 2014 20:38:16 GMT -5
That use to bug me bigtime when they sent the opal rough wet in a bag. It gets to -40 below at night in the winter and having frozen opal rough show up in the mailbox was never a good thing. Led to crazing. I cant say much on the best way to find out which are stable or not, water trick always worked for me. Cracking mostly leads to more, so if you can stabilize it with something, It would be best for the cracked ones. They can be cut dry some people do, but you have to keep the heat down otherwise it fractures. Best to do the cutting outside if you can or if you even decided to cut them dry. Try to get as much dirt off as possible before you start into them. 600 grit is plenty to clean them up but thats it. Get into a 800 1000 as soon as you can.. Very soft stone to work. Yes I cut that one, Thanks. That was my learning stone when I started into cabbing "opal" all various types. I would have to say that is mostly what my personal cab selection consists of, a lot of opal.  The purple one may be best to stabilze and leave as is. I'm afraid if you hit it with the wheel or lap it may fall apart. Good luck and keep us posted on how they turn out. |
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Post by gingerkid on Nov 28, 2014 7:12:14 GMT -5
Hi, kelly13, and welcome back! I really like your welo rough and hope you'll cab 'em! It's very easy material to cab. Just remember to look a lot and cut a little, and don't let the opal get too hot while working it. Like spiritstone, welo is the first opal I cabbed. My first cab was a welo and I used a nail salon kit and knife sharpening stones to cab it. |
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DSC_0408 by kellyjwatkins1970, on Flickr
DSC_0407 by kellyjwatkins1970, on Flickr
DSC_0406 by kellyjwatkins1970, on Flickr
DSC_0405 by kellyjwatkins1970, on Flickr
DSC_0404 by kellyjwatkins1970, on Flickr
DSC_0403 by kellyjwatkins1970, on Flickr
DSC_0401 by kellyjwatkins1970, on Flickr
DSC_0400 by kellyjwatkins1970, on Flickr
. I do not think I will put them in the tumbler but take them to my lapidary wheel to polish and shape them. What kind of grit disk should I use? BTW that's a very nice opal. Did you do that one yourself? Very nice job.
