Deb/nyllynn
spending too much on rocks
Deb & Jim
Member since April 2009
Posts: 348
|
Post by Deb/nyllynn on Apr 30, 2017 11:38:39 GMT -5
Hi Everyone, I just got a piece of Spectrolite from Madagascar. It weighs a little over 2.5 pounds.. Any suggestions are cutting it to get the most from the blue flash? Is there a formula? Thanks for all your help, Deb  |
|
|
|
Post by rockjunquie on Apr 30, 2017 12:02:28 GMT -5
Hi Deb! I hate to be a nitpicker, but what you have a labradorite. Technically, only the feldspar variant found in Finland can be called spectrolite.
Sorry, can't help with the cutting. Never had any rough. I know you want to keep the slabs pretty thick though.
|
|
metalsmith
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
|
Post by metalsmith on Apr 30, 2017 13:16:00 GMT -5
Hi Everyone, I just got a piece of Spectrolite from Madagascar. It weighs a little over 2.5 pounds.. Any suggestions are cutting it to get the most from the blue flash? Is there a formula? Thanks for all your help, Deb This is my preferred formula for maximising blue flash from labradorite:  It is based on the Callan-Symanzik equation if that helps.  Sorry, not helpful! |
|
metalsmith
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 1,537
|
Post by metalsmith on Apr 30, 2017 17:47:35 GMT -5
This is my preferred formula for maximising blue flash from labradorite: It is based on the Callan-Symanzik equation if that helps. Sorry, not helpful! Please excuse my having a little fun. Of course I chose the Callan-Symanzik equation since this was described as "a vital first-principles equation from 1970, essential for describing how naive expectations will fail in a quantum world": Matt Strassler, theoretical physicist, Rutgers University Since the equation won't help you much with spectrolite, I suggest: - Wet the sample
- ID the flash
- Orient to the flash
- Cut maintaining minimum 6+ mm
- Polish; should still be >6 mm
Is this a formula? A formula for success perhaps... more a method. Hope this helps. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2017 20:44:13 GMT -5
Hi Everyone, I just got a piece of Spectrolite from Madagascar. It weighs a little over 2.5 pounds.. Any suggestions are cutting it to get the most from the blue flash? Is there a formula? Thanks for all your help, Deb Would you be happy if the flash was followed, purple or even pinkish? Not all lab flashes blue |
|
Deb/nyllynn
spending too much on rocks
Deb & Jim
Member since April 2009
Posts: 348
|
Post by Deb/nyllynn on Apr 30, 2017 21:21:42 GMT -5
Most of the flash in this piece is a dark blue... Really pretty piece... Thanks for the info... |
|
|
|
Post by Bluesky78987 on May 1, 2017 9:11:35 GMT -5
Search for a treatise written by Carleton back in the day. He wrote a magnificent opus on cutting labradorite. It's not too hard though. You don't have to cut it thick if it's good material. Just stand with the sun shining over your shoulder onto the rock. Rotate it every which way until you get best flash (even if that's a corner). Draw (literally) an X there. Then, pretend the X is smack on the end of a loaf of bread and cut off the first slice of bread. Then, repeat the process of orientation (you can't just slab the whole rock assuming the flash continues through it). Sometimes the angle of best flash changes.
|
|
