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Post by Starguy on Jan 19, 2020 23:19:57 GMT -5
  it’s tough to photograph but it’s on the longer one of these two  it’s a pretty nice star. I’ll try to get a better picture f it tomorrow. |
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agatemaggot
Cave Dweller 
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
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Post by agatemaggot on Jan 19, 2020 23:26:22 GMT -5
Pretty cool, is that a type of crystal ?
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Post by Starguy on Jan 19, 2020 23:30:29 GMT -5
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agatemaggot
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
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Post by agatemaggot on Jan 19, 2020 23:35:20 GMT -5
My God that thing is HUGEAMUNGUS ! Where did you find that monster ?
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Post by Starguy on Jan 20, 2020 0:14:22 GMT -5
agatemaggot both of them were eBay finds. This one has the better star. The other one has a star too but needs more work. Before grinding and polishing, it was 3.59 pounds.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,041 
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Post by gemfeller on Jan 20, 2020 1:24:37 GMT -5
Starguy, Nice work. When I started cutting star sapphire the only grinding wheels available were silicon carbide. This was in the old days before diamond wheels entered the scene. On even ring-size stones it was hard to tell which was doing more cutting, the wheels or the sapphire. I remember I cut a little, then dressed the wheel a lot to remove the deep groves left by the corundum.
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Post by Starguy on Jan 20, 2020 1:38:51 GMT -5
gemfellerThat sapphire is so long and heavy that it was a real challenge to polish the small end. At 3.5 lbs, it was heavier than the inertia of my 8V-1. It was so much fun to see the star evolve. I will get a better photo tomorrow.
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Post by Starguy on Jan 20, 2020 1:44:52 GMT -5
My first ones were on SiC too. Much better but still a challenge on diamond.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 20, 2020 9:32:04 GMT -5
Holy cow, that's a huge crystal! Nice star on that one, too! What do you do with them after you find a star? Do you keep the piece whole and just use it as a specimen?
Excellent job on that monster!
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Post by Starguy on Jan 20, 2020 11:02:55 GMT -5
Here is a better video of the star. I had no idea it would be this good when I got it. I have a pretty good eye for star material though. hummingbirdstones. I will probably keep it just like it is now. It’s a pretty impressive piece to hold in your hand. |
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doublet83
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 118
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Post by doublet83 on Jan 20, 2020 11:50:11 GMT -5
Wow! You really brought out the beauty of that stone!
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Post by Starguy on Jan 20, 2020 12:03:04 GMT -5
I’ve been trying to get a better photo all morning. The video above represents it the best.
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Post by Starguy on Jan 20, 2020 12:07:38 GMT -5
The best I can do is a screen capture of the video.  |
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Post by Lapidaryrough / Jack Cole on Jan 20, 2020 12:29:50 GMT -5
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Post by Starguy on Jan 20, 2020 12:53:52 GMT -5
Jack, lapidaryrough / Jack Cole There’s an amazing variety of gems and minerals in Madagascar. Thanks for the link.
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Post by lpl on Jan 20, 2020 14:17:41 GMT -5
Really nice! What an enormous crystal!
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Post by toiv0 on Jan 20, 2020 14:39:31 GMT -5
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Post by Starguy on Jan 20, 2020 17:24:58 GMT -5
toiv0Is that a star diopside? If so, it’s the largest one I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing.
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Post by toiv0 on Jan 20, 2020 17:41:37 GMT -5
toiv0 Is that a star diopside? If so, it’s the largest one I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing. I am not sure, how can I tell. Got it in an estate sale |
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Post by toiv0 on Jan 20, 2020 17:53:05 GMT -5
toiv0 Is that a star diopside? If so, it’s the largest one I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing. I googled it and seems to be the star diopside. If it something you would like PM ME your address and I will send it to you. I would just throw it in a drawer or make an obnoxiously big ring. |
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