DurboRox
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2003
Posts: 12
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Post by DurboRox on Oct 19, 2003 16:59:41 GMT -5
My sister liked the results of the recent load of lacy agate and said she has a bag of common opals for me if I'd like to tumble them. I have a Lot-O-Tumbler vibrating tumbler. How should I proceed in order to be successful with opals?
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Post by docone31 on Oct 19, 2003 20:29:08 GMT -5
Absolutely not in a tumbler!!!!!!!! There are so many things one can do with an Opal other than turn them into dust and crud. I am kinda out of the box with tumbling emeralds and rubies and saphires. I would not have done even this if I had not bought a used tumbler on Ebay and it was full of emeralds and rubies and saphires. I took a chance with that batch and I make money off them and the approach. Tumble an opal and kiss it goodbye.Too soft, fractures too easily. Opal, handle with care. I use them to make intarsia on my faceter, cabachons on my cab station, and they make great jewelery. I do not like them except with intarsia. That is my opinion however. Others I make them for love them. DO NOT TUMBLE OPALS
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DurboRox
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2003
Posts: 12
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Post by DurboRox on Oct 20, 2003 8:21:51 GMT -5
I will not tumble opals! Many thanks from this rookie.
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Post by docone31 on Oct 20, 2003 10:19:09 GMT -5
I have a friend who is a glassblower, and an opal polisher. He does superior work. If you would like I could connect you two. I wire wrap his work and he does a superior job.
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DurboRox
off to a rocking start
Member since October 2003
Posts: 12
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Post by DurboRox on Oct 20, 2003 14:48:03 GMT -5
Thanks for the offer. The opals aren't really worth polishing.
My mom found a pimiento jar of Mexican opals in water among my late dad's stuff and gave it to me. I put it on the kitchen counter yesterday, and my partner saw them and thought, "Holy fright! Peg's tumbling her gallstones!"
Has anyone ever tumbled gallstones? ;D
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Post by docone31 on Oct 20, 2003 15:31:03 GMT -5
Gall stones will survive tumbling but the detail will be lost by the time the tumble is done. Mexican opals, polished can be georgeous. They make a real nice center piece in a ring or pendant, kinda like fire agate. The mexican opals are worth keeping for later use. The polish differently than Australian opals, more like agate. Tumbling will trash them though.
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Pdwight
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 619
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Post by Pdwight on Oct 25, 2003 1:08:18 GMT -5
Didnt know you could do that, I have a jar full of these that probbly cost me more than diamonds !!!! ;-)
Dwight P
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Post by docone31 on Oct 25, 2003 20:46:00 GMT -5
I am not really certain that polished gall stones will make jewelery all that special. I spent three days faceting and polishing a piece of petrified dinosaur excrement. I cut it for carat weight and did it in an emerald cut. Mostly I did it to practice a new cut, learn on a new lap, and just to see if I could do it. Believe it or not, one of my customers bought the stone, at 9$ a facet. I threw in the piece for nothing. There were 64 facets. It weighed 23 carats. I built a ring with 24" of .051 14KY gold. It was a georgeous ring, except for the stone. His purpose for the ring was, at his business meetings, when he was right, he would pass the ring around and ask if anyone could smell it. He goes by my little part of chaos and holds the ring up and tells me, it still doesn't smell. Sometimes I shudder. I could however, see a bracelet with the gallstones. It would be sterling with a center piece of turquoise, the gallstones would center the turquoise by being set around the center piece. I would also use some silver feathers, and a few silver balls. I would antique the silver with liver of sulpher leaving only the edges and feathers shiney. I bet it would look great, however some things are best left in a jar. I can picture it now, yep,(to the grandchildren) I met this person who faceted dinosaur doo-doo and built a ring with it. He also had an idea to make a bracelet with these gallstones. The grandchildren response, Wow!, where is he now? If he is still alive, might be in the mountains, still trying to make gold from lead............
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Red
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2003
Posts: 12
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Post by Red on Oct 26, 2003 4:11:53 GMT -5
At that point the one of the grandkids quotes Shakespeare, "You are an alchemist; make gold of that," you smile coyly, and pass them more 60/90 for the Lortone...
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Post by hurk 03 on Nov 20, 2003 13:19:28 GMT -5
Here is a Quote from a book I just bought "A Field Guide To Gold Gemstones & Mineral Sites" Opal- Opal is porous and easily stained so avoid immersion in dirty water...as to storage opals contain 3-9% water and over time they will lose water content and may crackso they should be immersed in water from time to time HURK
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