Hello From Sweden, New York State

[skywalker753]

Hi all--
Been a fan of Australian Opal for some time, and have been able to buy some rough opal mostly over that time too. Yes, there is a town of Sweden in New York state. Mostly rural where I'm at (farm) nearest to Rochester NY.
Opal Auctions has been my go to spot, with a couple of others, one in Coober Pedy, Two in Lightning Ridge. And a little bit of Australian Coober Pedy from Steve in Montana (don't know if he's on here). But, as he put it, because of Covid, his cupboard is nearly bare...
First post...hope this works...lol...

[SwordfishMining]

Hiya. Hope you enjoy us almost as much as opal.

[rocks2dust]

Welcome!

[PinkDiamond]

Hi, sky, and welcome to the forum. I grew up in NY so I know where Rochester is, but I'm and island girl from Long Island so I didn't know there was a place called Sweden. It sounds like my kind of place though since I live in a remote rural location too; it's just in Arkansas now, but I still have plenty of family up there. Opalauctions was our first home and we know them very well since I ran their forum for them for years until they decided to shut it down and move to Facebook, so we're actually a spin-off from them. I assume you cut, since you buy rough, so I hope you'll show us some of your beauties. We can always use more opal eye candy around here. Actually, we can't get enough of it so feel free to post photos for us.

Again, welcome to the forum. We're glad you joined this merry band of opalholics and look forward to your input.

[skywalker753]

Hi-- Thank you for the welcoming posts. I do cut opal, never want to cut anything else! Lately (for the duration of the Covid thing) I've been doing everything by hand. I mean by hand, me and sandpaper, not just not on a dop stick but on a machine...lol... Well, its slow for sure. And takes longer to correct mistakes. Good thing about it? Control. Can not just go through a thin color bar like phhht!!! on a machine...
And, my two thumbs and middle fingers are bloody pretty much for the duration. Its still amazing to me, 1500 can feel like smooth paper when its wet, but it is NOT paper. I came in the house tonight and had a good laugh, it don't hurt til like an hour later.
I've read the explanations on how to post pics, I'll have to re-read the next day or two and post.
thanks again.

[PinkDiamond]

You're right about doing it by hand being a tough way to go, but as you say it does give you more control so you have less chance of cutting through the color bar. The first opal I cut was done with nail salon tools, and you'd be surprised how much time a little battery operated nail shaping tool can save you.

You're through the pre-screening process now so your posts will show on the Board immediately, and you can use the private messaging system too. If you have any trouble uploading pics I'm in and out of the chat room, usually between 11:30 a.m. and 11:15 p.m. central time, but if I'm not actively chatting you'll need to type a message so you get noticed. A number will come up in the chat tab and then I have to notice it to know someone's there, and hopefully make it back to the chat before they give up and leave.

[skywalker753]

This is a by hand practice opal, turned out to be Black, and decent. Needs soft edges and polishing. About 3.2 carats now, but thin, 3.5MM

The RainbowShield, 13 carats of Coober Pedy crystal. Needs a bit more work, two sand spots in the face and a bit of cloudy potch but my hands hurt too much so I paused the process...lol...

[skywalker753]

Not too good resolution but the pics give an idea anyways...
bye for now

[PinkDiamond]

They're looking pretty darn good, and you can be proud that you're doing such a good job doing it by hand. I know once a project gets started it's hard to put it down, but it sounds like your hands need a bit of rest, and I hope you're wearing a good mask because even though you're doing them by hand you don't want particles getting into your lungs and causing silicosis. The Coober Pedy looks like it has great color, and I like the shape. Nice work, sky!

[rocks2dust]

Very nice. What steps are you going through for hand sanding-polishing opal?