January 24 Through February 4—TUCSON, ARIZONA: Annual show
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 Post subject: Opal Cutter
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2022 3:19 pm 
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Hi, I am interested in learning how to Cut Opals. I missed the William Holland classes this year. Does anyone know of any one in Florida or Georgia who teaches cutting. I've already reached out to the Gem/Rock Clubs in Florida. I do have a knowledge of Opals/Gemstones, but not cutting. Looking for cutting. Not Jewelry. Hope this is the right site. Thanks Denise Ross


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Cutter
PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2022 1:21 pm 
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You mention you've reached out to Gem/Rock clubs. I'm surprised you haven't found any with the equipment and skilled members to help you.
Do you have a lapidary setup already?

I used to cut opals when I was almost young with a rather rudimentary setup.
With the Covid situation, I found that one can learn amazing things with Youtube.
Check this out:


The dopstick link is here:


I suspect that if you have any questions or confusions, contacting the Gotcha Rocks dude directly will solve the issues.
Good luck.


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Cutter
PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2022 3:23 pm 
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learning to cut and polish cabochons is the first step. This should be easy and fast to learn. Getting the right machine is the best way to making this easy. I recommend the Diamond pacific Pixie. It is a complete cutting a polishing solution and I think the most popular machine for opal cutters.

https://www.diamondpacific.com/product/pixie/

The real art to cutting Opal is learning to optimize the color bars, pits, and sand inclusions. There are so many permutations of issues you will encounter with these things in Opal that it is impossible to give just a few rules to do it. The best way is to cut many stones. However that is very expensive to do. The next best way is to watch an expert do it. Finding a World Class Opal cutter in your area would be very rare. However, you can watch and learn on YouTube. The channel I would suggest is Black Opal Direct. he has tons of very well made videos of actually cutting Opal and solving problems. He also is very good at answering questions personally if you email him. I think he does sell rough to cutters at times. He also comes to the U.S. a couple of times a year and is very fun to talk to, and willing to help in person.

https://www.youtube.com/user/blackopaldirect

Good luck in your Opal cutting adventures.


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Cutter
PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2022 11:56 am 
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Hi, Thanks for YouTube info. Yes, the Rock clubs have CAB classes. In fact one club was going to have a “Cabalot” meeting tomorrow night going over all things CAB, designing, sawing, etc. But, it was cancelled due the Storm.

I do need to set up machines. Thanks for the recommendations.
Yes, I do watch Justin’s Black Opal Direct videos. I did email Ruth about buying rough. She said it goes very quickly. Hope to meet them in Tucson.


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Cutter
PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2022 2:47 am 
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Hi if you are only just starting out, I would not be spending thousands on Opal from Justin. Have a look on here https://www.opalauctions.com/auctions/rough-opal/ and find some Gamble rough in your budget. Examine it,study it before you start cutting it to see where you can get the best yield. At the end of the day it is better to ruin a $100 piece than a $1000 piece and then when you feel comfortable with your cutting and are more experienced then approach Justin or anyone else for some quality material. There is plenty out there if you know where to look. John


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Cutter
PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2022 11:10 pm 
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Tucson 2023 on your agenda?


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Cutter
PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2022 1:45 pm 
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Greenspinel wrote:
Hi, I am interested in learning how to Cut Opals. I missed the William Holland classes this year. Does anyone know of any one in Florida or Georgia who teaches cutting. I've already reached out to the Gem/Rock Clubs in Florida. I do have a knowledge of Opals/Gemstones, but not cutting. Looking for cutting. Not Jewelry. Hope this is the right site. Thanks Denise Ross

What specifically do you not have knowledge of the cutting process. With all lapidary and gem cutting, the rough evaluation is your starting point. Opal or play of color opal has what is known as a color bar, locating and isolating it is gained by experience. The technic of rubbing the rough, which is slowly grinding the edges to expose the color bar and obtaining the direction it travels through the piece is a key beginning to a good return.
I want to learn opal cutting is a very generic question. There are many types of opal that question can apply to and each of them may require their own specific technic and approach to handling.
Learning the cabochon cutting process is a skill that will assist in your opal cutting success with all opal. Most gem and mineral clubs offer cabbing instruction, many will not offer much on higher end opal cutting. Find some common opal to practice with, get some understanding of the opal gem properties, things like dopping, grinding, sanding and polishing stages.
Any arbor setup will get you started, your budget will determine. Do not let anybody convince you that you have to have the greatest latest to achieve a great looking opal.

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 Post subject: Re: Opal Cutter
PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 5:57 am 
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why not start with a selection of these diamond hand pads. They are affordable and a good starting point for cabochon cutting (rubbing).
https://beha-web.de/diamant-schleifpads ... xsQAvD_BwE

the link just to show, what I mean.

Martin


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Cutter
PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 2022 9:18 am 
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To start with, you can grind opal to shape on successively finer wet-and-dry sandpaper (wet) and polish it with polishing compound (damp) on a piece of leather, using just your thigh as a flexible backing. You need to stick the stone to a wooden dowel with glue or low temperature wax as a handle. If it is a large stone you can just hold it in your fingers. It is slow, but fun.


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Cutter
PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2023 12:15 am 
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1bwana1 wrote:
learning to cut and polish cabochons is the first step. This should be easy and fast to learn. Getting the right machine is the best way to making this easy. I recommend the Diamond pacific Pixie. It is a complete cutting a polishing solution and I think the most popular machine for opal cutters.

I disagree mostly. Opal is independent of regular cabs in that the focus is on the color and not the shape. Sara Lee Boyse is one of the better teachers at William Holland. Her method is great for optimizing the color bar. You learn to even cut thin material. It is more like shaving off material to expose the color. Regular cab work is more about meeting a standard shape with a uniform dome.

I have a CabKing V6. The 80# wheel is still in the box. I have the 220, 280, 600, 1200, and 3000 on it. I also have a 14000 that I bought. So the order is shifted left with the 14000 on the end. I have been using a leather flat lap on the end for CeO. I also have flat laps with Nuskin on them for both 100k and 200k diamond. Based on the way Justin cuts, I have bought a dedicated flat lap to use as a CeO only machine. I just added the 8" Trim Saw, but I just got it this week.

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www.faceting.biz


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Cutter
PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2023 7:47 am 
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I just wonder, what you disagree on. I think if you get started, it is an excellent idea to train with simple cabochons first and get aquainted with the procedure before starting with opals and waste valuable rough. Isn't the first step always to learn to use the tools properly.

I used flintstones which I have plenty in the garden for free. They look nice and are perfect for training to polish with oxides.

Martin


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Cutter
PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2023 10:15 am 
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George, Thank you. again, although I am a beginner, I tend to agree with you regarding Cab is shape vs Opal is color. More of a discovery.

I intend to go to William Holland. Sarah’s class starts in 4/2023. Still hoping to get some practice.
Anyone going to Tucson Mineral show. I’ll post again in the Tucson section.


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Cutter
PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2023 3:42 pm 
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I do not agree that a cab or cabochon is a shape. A shape is an outline. A cabochon is a domed surface placed on a shape. A lapidary technic that has been around for a very long time. I agree cutting play of color opal is about color, but not all opal is about color isolation.

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