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Post by Bluesky78987 on Feb 12, 2019 10:04:12 GMT -5
Yes, Soham Harrison, that's him!
Glad to hear opals are doable! I'm not aiming to make the carving look like anything in particular either - just a curvy swirly thing that eliminates the potch.
Diaflex and Diathin wheels? Haven't heard of those, more research necessary!
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Post by MsAli on Feb 12, 2019 10:52:23 GMT -5
I worked some more on the opal. Here's the finished product. The color on the photo is off a bit because of the light. Sorry about all the damn reflections, too!
Really great job Robin! The curves in it give it a very feminine look. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Feb 12, 2019 12:34:12 GMT -5
Yes, Soham Harrison, that's him! Glad to hear opals are doable! I'm not aiming to make the carving look like anything in particular either - just a curvy swirly thing that eliminates the potch. Diaflex and Diathin wheels? Haven't heard of those, more research necessary! Here's a link for them. I'm sure other dental supply places have them, too, but I haven't done a good search yet.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Feb 12, 2019 12:35:31 GMT -5
I worked some more on the opal. Here's the finished product. The color on the photo is off a bit because of the light. Sorry about all the damn reflections, too!
Really great job Robin! The curves in it give it a very feminine look. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it Thanks, Ali!
I have an idea brewing in my brain. Just have to figure out how to make work.  |
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Post by beefjello on Mar 4, 2019 19:00:08 GMT -5
I worked some more on the opal. Here's the finished product. The color on the photo is off a bit because of the light. Sorry about all the damn reflections, too! I totally missed this before.. that's gorgeous Robin! |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 4, 2019 19:09:09 GMT -5
Thanks, Brian! Hopefully I'll be able to turn it into something wearable. |
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,315
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Post by mossyrockhound on Mar 4, 2019 19:57:48 GMT -5
I worked some more on the opal. Here's the finished product. The color on the photo is off a bit because of the light. Sorry about all the damn reflections, too! I totally missed this before.. that's gorgeous Robin! I also missed this before. Beautiful work Robin! 😁 I will be interested to see what you do with it. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 4, 2019 22:04:16 GMT -5
I totally missed this before.. that's gorgeous Robin! I also missed this before. Beautiful work Robin! 😁 I will be interested to see what you do with it. Thanks, Garry!
I'll be interested to see what I do with it, too.  |
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller 
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,625 
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Post by RWA3006 on Mar 10, 2019 10:54:39 GMT -5
I missed it too. Now you've got me wanting to do the same thing on a walnut sized black opal I found at the Royal Peacock mine several years ago. It is a good candidate for a free form carving like yours. Guess I better start assembling some equipment...
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,625
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Post by RWA3006 on Mar 10, 2019 11:18:18 GMT -5
opalpyrexia - I just used diamond burs for basic shaping and chasing fire and then mini diamond smoothing discs with my Foredom for the larger areas and a tub of water to dunk everything in frequently. Moved on to felt burs with different diamond pastes for the rest of it. I do have a dental lathe that I bought off Ebay for carving that Vince secured to a piece of scrap countertop for me, but I need to set up a drip for it and some type of barrier to prevent rock splatter all over. I also bought an adjustable jacobs chuck that Alex Horst recommended to me for it. Alex carves some awesome stones: alexhorstjewelry.com/gemstones/# I really need to get that set up. It would be so much more comfortable than holding a small stone in one hand and the Foredom in other. Especially when the arthritis gets cranky. gemfeller I think I may be in the too conservative camp, too. I may take it down a bit more and see what happens. It does have a chaff pattern in it that is muted under the potch. I'll post an update after I finish crying when I kill it (kidding!). I really like the dental lathe idea. I saw a video of a Chinese work shop carving jade and they were using equipment that was just huge dental lathes which allowed them to use both hands to hold the jade. Now that I'm getting some arthritis in my hands this seems more attractive to me. I think I'll ask my dentist pals about where to score a cheap lathe. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 10, 2019 11:25:43 GMT -5
I missed it too. Now you've got me wanting to do the same thing on a walnut sized black opal I found at the Royal Peacock mine several years ago. It is a good candidate for a free form carving like yours. Guess I better start assembling some equipment... Oooh, a walnut size VV? Please post a picture of it. I want to see! |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 10, 2019 11:43:26 GMT -5
opalpyrexia - I just used diamond burs for basic shaping and chasing fire and then mini diamond smoothing discs with my Foredom for the larger areas and a tub of water to dunk everything in frequently. Moved on to felt burs with different diamond pastes for the rest of it. I do have a dental lathe that I bought off Ebay for carving that Vince secured to a piece of scrap countertop for me, but I need to set up a drip for it and some type of barrier to prevent rock splatter all over. I also bought an adjustable jacobs chuck that Alex Horst recommended to me for it. Alex carves some awesome stones: alexhorstjewelry.com/gemstones/# I really need to get that set up. It would be so much more comfortable than holding a small stone in one hand and the Foredom in other. Especially when the arthritis gets cranky. gemfeller I think I may be in the too conservative camp, too. I may take it down a bit more and see what happens. It does have a chaff pattern in it that is muted under the potch. I'll post an update after I finish crying when I kill it (kidding!). I really like the dental lathe idea. I saw a video of a Chinese work shop carving jade and they were using equipment that was just huge dental lathes which allowed them to use both hands to hold the jade. Now that I'm getting some arthritis in my hands this seems more attractive to me. I think I'll ask my dentist pals about where to score a cheap lathe. This is what I bought, mainly because it was what Alex uses and it has 2 speeds. Also bought a keyless Jacobs chuck for it (new) that Alex recommended.
Since you have dental pals, that would be a great place to start. The one I bought was from a dental school that closed, so I got it cheap. The chuck I bought is a Buffalo Dental Mfg. keyless Jacobs chuck #30495. That was pricey, but you could probably get one of those dentists to order it for you for their cost, which will be considerably less.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,625
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Post by RWA3006 on Mar 10, 2019 11:48:02 GMT -5
Thanks for the info.
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jimaz
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2018
Posts: 475
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Post by jimaz on Mar 10, 2019 12:56:24 GMT -5
Basic bench lathe is $223.60 on the foredoomed website.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,059
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Post by gemfeller on Mar 12, 2019 15:20:36 GMT -5
hummingbirdstones , a question. What hardness were the felt disks you used on your carving project? I have some medium-hard felts and haven't had much luck using them with diamond compound. Maybe harder felt? Or maybe better technique 
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 12, 2019 19:54:54 GMT -5
hummingbirdstones , a question. What hardness were the felt disks you used on your carving project? I have some medium-hard felts and haven't had much luck using them with diamond compound. Maybe harder felt? Or maybe better technique The ones I have are pretty hard. I think harder than medium hard. I can't smoosh them with my fingers, if that helps at all. |
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,059
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Post by gemfeller on Mar 12, 2019 21:01:44 GMT -5
hummingbirdstones , a question. What hardness were the felt disks you used on your carving project? I have some medium-hard felts and haven't had much luck using them with diamond compound. Maybe harder felt? Or maybe better technique The ones I have are pretty hard. I think harder than medium hard. I can't smoosh them with my fingers, if that helps at all. I'll try the "smoosh test" to see if that helps  |
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,059
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Post by gemfeller on Mar 17, 2019 13:52:53 GMT -5
Speaking of bench lathes, Danny Lopacki just posted this on YouTube. It demonstrates how he removes the chalcedony caps from fire agate using only his little Foredom bench lathe. (For those who don't know, the best iridescence is often directly under the chalcedony).
Due to my hearing impairment I can't follow his narration but I thought his video might provide some ideas for those who want to cut FA but don't have trim saws, flex shafts or other equipment. I think his water delivery system is pretty slick. I've got the basics for such a lathe system but as I posted above I don't have room to set it up.
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kloiekitty
off to a rocking start
Can anyone tell me whete I can sell a over 300 lb petrified woodor root wad that hasn't been cut?
Member since November 2020
Posts: 6
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Post by kloiekitty on Nov 19, 2020 5:41:47 GMT -5
Wow that is my favorite fire opals! Great job did you find it somewhere?
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kloiekitty
off to a rocking start
Can anyone tell me whete I can sell a over 300 lb petrified woodor root wad that hasn't been cut?
Member since November 2020
Posts: 6
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Post by kloiekitty on Nov 19, 2020 5:43:19 GMT -5
Wow that is my favorite fire opals! Great job did you find it somewhere?
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