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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Dec 13, 2020 9:03:46 GMT -5
Just wanted to see if I could still cut a dome. Shaped this one on the Genie freehand (no stick) yesterday.
It's 13 x 7 x 5.7 mm as it sits. A little cleanup on the flat lap (with a stick) and it'll be ready for a new home.
Aussie "vertical" opal from a small field near Coober Pedy. From one of the last parcels a very highly respected dealer there sold before he retired.
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Post by MsAli on Dec 13, 2020 9:15:22 GMT -5
WOW!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 13, 2020 9:32:34 GMT -5
It's a nice little opal. It has some really amazing metallic green flash across the top.
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 13, 2020 10:02:54 GMT -5
Love it! Good size too.
This reminds me of a crystal opal ring I have. I took some diamond jewelry in to be appraised some years ago. After she was done with those, she grabbed my hand and said she saw the opal when I walked in the room. She was VERY impressed. It's pretty small, but super bright and colorful. I should have gotten IT appraised. LOL!
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Post by miket on Dec 13, 2020 11:08:05 GMT -5
Outstanding!
Opals are so nice...
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 13, 2020 11:11:44 GMT -5
Ok...thank goodness this isn't for the contest! LOL
Amazing you were able to do this one freehand with it being so small...I would've been all thumbs trying to keep a grasp on that one! I say all thumbs because I would've ground half my fingers off in the process! LOL
Gorgeous!
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Post by fernwood on Dec 13, 2020 13:13:52 GMT -5
Beautiful. I love opals.
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Post by opalpyrexia on Dec 13, 2020 13:19:10 GMT -5
Nice cutting and pretty cab! The photos seem to suggest a slightly potchy area on the bottom. If real, will that be the flat lap cleanup?
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NDK
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Dec 13, 2020 14:15:22 GMT -5
Beautiful opal Vince!
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Dec 13, 2020 19:21:25 GMT -5
Nice cutting and pretty cab! The photos seem to suggest a slightly potchy area on the bottom. If real, will that be the flat lap cleanup? Thanks, y'all. Finally had to see how this part of the parcel might face up. Decent colors, and more transparent than it looked in the rough.
opalpyrexia - The bottom of the cab in these photos was just a raw saw cut. The darker spots in the near side on that first photo were what was left from just under the skin of a muddy rind. Some of that went deeper into the crystal bar. One small spot (1 - 1.5 mm) of that actually flaked off when I cleaned it up. That led to the domed height of the cab going down from 5.7 to 4 mm. Better proportions now after that.
Next slice off that little chunk will be perpendicular to the way this one was sawed, just to see if there's any real difference in the way it faces up. Looks pretty much the same on the rough. I hope this isn't one of those that wants to be sliced at an angle to get the absolute best orientation. Looks like it will be acceptable the way it's going so far, but I do try to explore all the possibilities.
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Post by Pat on Dec 13, 2020 20:38:48 GMT -5
Looks really good! Hard to do something so small AND with a high dome AND an opal!
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Dec 14, 2020 9:07:17 GMT -5
Thanks Pat. I think that's why I did it - it was a challenge.
These next comments are for newer members who might not have heard them before.
Opal is just another rock.
It is a spendy rock in the better grades.
Some will crack - but so can any other rock.
With some minor precautions it can be cut easily.
It's a lot of fun if you aren't over-optimistic about a stone when you start to cut it.
Opals are not bad luck. (Pretty sure the diamond dealers started that one... .)
Happy Cutting!
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Post by miket on Dec 14, 2020 10:25:27 GMT -5
"It's a lot of fun if you aren't over-optimistic about a stone when you start to cut it." This is the one I struggle with. I've cut a lot of slabs and worked a lot of cabs that I was over-optimistic about then had fractures, pitting, dropping, etc... I'm finally starting to learn to move on. However, if it happened to be a super-nice opal....  |
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Dec 14, 2020 11:24:54 GMT -5
Yeah, miket, I must 'fess up - it takes a while to get over those... . |
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NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
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Post by NevadaBill on Dec 14, 2020 14:23:47 GMT -5
That is a beauty! And the dome is pretty spectacular and really shows off the color in the stone.
I do most of my cabbing by hand now, and find it the hardest time getting things symmetrical without a dop stick stuck to it.
Great job!
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Dec 14, 2020 20:08:47 GMT -5
Know what you mean, Bill. Lots of "back and forth" when not dopping. Look, work a spot, look again, work some more... . But I still rarely dop - mostly due to cutting freeforms that are always changing on the fly.
Thanks for the nice comments on the opal. I sliced off another piece today with a different orientation. Got a better stone out of it. Non-directional. I will dop this one to finish it because it's so small.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 14, 2020 21:23:04 GMT -5
"It's a lot of fun if you aren't over-optimistic about a stone when you start to cut it." This is the one I struggle with. I've cut a lot of slabs and worked a lot of cabs that I was over-optimistic about then had fractures, pitting, dropping, etc... I'm finally starting to learn to move on. However, if it happened to be a super-nice opal....  One of these days Mike, I'll dig up the pictures of an opal I cut and what happened to it. I still have the opal and I still moan about it sometimes (and it's been about 20 years). 
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Post by miket on Dec 14, 2020 23:39:36 GMT -5
"It's a lot of fun if you aren't over-optimistic about a stone when you start to cut it." This is the one I struggle with. I've cut a lot of slabs and worked a lot of cabs that I was over-optimistic about then had fractures, pitting, dropping, etc... I'm finally starting to learn to move on. However, if it happened to be a super-nice opal.... One of these days Mike, I'll dig up the pictures of an opal I cut and what happened to it. I still have the opal and I still moan about it sometimes (and it's been about 20 years).
Please do.... 😀 |
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