Welcome to opalholicsanonymous.com where opal season lasts forever.

hey all
been doing some hand finished free form opals..
they are now up to being polished...

i just ordered some diamond paste / water based..

they also make oil based... given i am polishing ethiopian opals, would this be bad?

also... one of the things i am going to try if i can find the tiny back of diamond powder i have is silicone diff fluid
its used in toy cars and drones as a way to make a gearless differential...
make a chamber, and have two parts near meet, and put in differential fluid
if the torque is too high, it will just shear and turn... if not, it will act like a connector gear
they make the stuff in all kinds of thicknesses... i have one that is 10,000 cst


Difference of Viscosity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1c4E1ze0Vo

what i want to do is use my dental cups to hold some of the diamond paste..
and i was going to try the diff fluid.. after all silicone is a very large molecule compared to h20

[bigger list here https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/kine ... d_397.html ]

so basically what i am doing is trying to see if i can use the diff fluid as that viscosity can be selected
10,000 cst is as you can see above, thick as honey.. you can get it 10x that... or more..


so. whats experiences with these things within the realm of hydrophane opals..
will oil polish ruin it... or the molecules to large to penetrate?
i have used water, and have added glycerin... but have yet to try the silicone

anyone? anyone? beuler, beuler?

I have such limited experience cutting I can't offer anything as advice, but I have to wonder; if body oils will discolor Welos, wouldn't any kind of oil alter their appearance in some way? I think I would do experiments with both and observe them over time to see if there's any apparent difference in their appearance, and if you do please let us know the results because you've piqued my curiosity.

Well.. one thing i noticed is that if you cut and shape them, they are more stable
the rough, if left too long may craze but the stones i cut and polished, none of them
thats another i wonder about...

so far i have figured out the cheapest possible shaping method for free forms
you can even bring the work with you any where you go in a small container
its one single small micro diamond file..

works better than a moto tool..
but slower... so its kind of like knitting or tatting lace

another one of the thousands of odd things i know.. tatting.





you do it with what they call a tatting shuttle.
there are cheap plastic ones.. and i had a metal one
and some who get into it, get one like this in silver


I always wanted to try to use gold..
then fix with torch pass.. never tried...
but since gold is more malleable than copper, and i have coper magnet wire that is thinner than a hair
its definitely possible..

hey hey
here we go..
my first opal video with the opal in question..
[this is going to be cool... once i get the hang of it.. what a pain]

damn... cant upload a video..

Are you on youtube? If so, put the video there, and then plant just the number/code for the video between the YT brackets here and we'll be able to see it. If you need any help I'll be popping in to the chat room in a few minutes. Your tatting is quite impressive, and I had no idea how it was done so thanks for showing us the shuttle. Way cool.

no, not my tatting, just an example online
and no, i am not on youtube..

Highland Park recommends a CST of 7 for their shop saws in the Philippines.

I try to stay away from oils anywhere, but the cutters online seemed to not care at all as if Australian opal was all opal and it didnt matter. Oiling cracky opal seemed to be the issue of hiding the cracks, or keeping it from cracking until after it could be sold. Good opal shrugs it off. Im gong to retrain myself and see about just going to 1200 then cerium when i get cutting again, if i dont go carving to see how commercial I can get. I did sell the faceter and bought a big saw for next year. Maybe the shop will finally get arranged. I was having trouble getting flats even with the 14k nova.

my problem with my art is how to sell (im quite prolific, ask pink)

I am very happy i went through the trouble of finding a water version of the product

and i use water for cutting so thats never been an issue..
however... do NOT use wetting agents...
they can ruin things in which water tension may be part of the equation

i have used glycerin with felt pads and and various powder grits

hey hey.
here are the group i did with the tiny file...
it cuts pretty fast, and its a lot easier than a dremel (which i have from the 1970s)
or a foredam (however you spell it)..

for most of the pre-polish i use diamond impregnated wheels from dental supply used to polish porcelain.
the other things are way too expensive... ie. these are/were cheap



they do the rough work of taking things like the file marks, or sandpaper, or what you use that is very rough
and makes it ready for diamond paste... saving money there... they last... and above is probably a life time supply