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Post by broseph82 on May 17, 2021 12:44:46 GMT -5
I'm 99% sure my Dominican material is amber, not copal. The source is well documented and my supplier was legit. I think I have a few pieces left if I can find them (just moved). If you can determine true amber from copal I'll send you a little chunk to test. No need the acetone/alcohol test is pretty diagnostic. I have also tried that on my copal. It is really interesting what a little more time does to sap. I wish there was a way to put it under pressure and heat and speed up the process. There is. Dig through the archives here.... There’s a company in Germany whom has such a machine that can basically turn copal into amber by a commercial heat treatment. Very very pricey. And to add: true hard amber is not that soft. It’s actually pretty darn hard. I work Chiapas and have Chiapas amber so I know a bit about this kind. If your copal/amber ever gets tacky and sticky feeling during the process you know right then and there that it’s copal. I can get a mirror shine just on the 3k wheel. Just takes a little experience with working the good stuff. |
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Post by rmf on May 17, 2021 15:16:59 GMT -5
Just like in "Silverado" the "good stuff" makes all the difference.
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Post by broseph82 on May 17, 2021 18:02:01 GMT -5
Just like in "Silverado" the "good stuff" makes all the difference. Indeed it does. The good stuff definitely doesn’t need as light of a touch and some might say it does. I carve mine all on regular lapidary wheels and not once has it gotten to hot or even melted. Copal on the other hand is a whole different monster And to anyone else reading this who wants to test their amber/copal: copal will fluoresce under black light and will also float in salt water. |
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standles
spending too much on rocks
Well all I got was a rock ... Cool!
Member since February 2021
Posts: 325 
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Post by standles on May 17, 2021 19:12:11 GMT -5
So tried slabbing on the trim saw with full water blasting. It cut but was very brittle. Also even with water blasting (Blade never got warm nor did rock face) I could smell the pine. I took a piece and lightly tapped it with a hammer and it shattered into 4 or 5 pieces. I took one of those pieces and put in alcohol and a second piece in acetone. As of this post they have been sitting it it for 1 hours and I can not see (melting) nor feel (Sticky) any change. I also dissolved 1/4 cup salt in 2 cups hot water. Placed the amber in it and it did indeed float. Finally, I took a strong UV light (I use to cure resin with at 405nm wavelength) and while it has streaks of purple fluorescence it as a whole did not fluoresce.
So I think I have either a transition piece of copal moving to amber stage or a piss poor piece of amber.
Thanks for all the help but at present I have decided it is not worth my time right now. I'll toss it on back shelf and piddle with it another time.
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Post by broseph82 on May 17, 2021 20:53:52 GMT -5
So tried slabbing on the trim saw with full water blasting. It cut but was very brittle. Also even with water blasting (Blade never got warm nor did rock face) I could smell the pine. I took a piece and lightly tapped it with a hammer and it shattered into 4 or 5 pieces. I took one of those pieces and put in alcohol and a second piece in acetone. As of this post they have been sitting it it for 1 hours and I can not see (melting) nor feel (Sticky) any change. I also dissolved 1/4 cup salt in 2 cups hot water. Placed the amber in it and it did indeed float. Finally, I took a strong UV light (I use to cure resin with at 405nm wavelength) and while it has streaks of purple fluorescence it as a whole did not fluoresce. So I think I have either a transition piece of copal moving to amber stage or a piss poor piece of amber. Thanks for all the help but at present I have decided it is not worth my time right now. I'll toss it on back shelf and piddle with it another time. If it’s shattering then yeah you got a lower grade piece. I run my thick slabs through my trim saw with oil and never really had a problem. If there are fractures it can/will break apart but other than that it shouldn’t. Try searching Chiapas amber on Etsy and maybe try your luck with a seller with high sales/ratings. |
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SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
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Post by SirRoxalot on May 20, 2021 14:44:17 GMT -5
No amber will survive being hit with a hammer. I enjoyed polishing small bits of Baltic, and some rare Canadian amber. I did not enjoy polishing Indonesian “ blue” amber, it’s just too soft. Aluminum oxide on felt will polish good amber without much difficulty.
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