What di you feed your machine with today

[Rockypaul]

Hi just thought I'd start a topic, giving us a chance to show our latest creations and input to our cabbing and faceting machines, I'll leave it up to other members to start with the replies, it will be interesting to see new stones and gain ideas on how to improve machines we use, I have a Lortone machine and added two more wheels, making it an 8 wheeler, should have been a lot easier to polish but scratches are a problem, I have three Bobilt faceting machines I won at an auction from my lapidary club, recently straightened a mast, faced a lap with wet and dry and today I fed my cabbing machine with some opal, Garbage in gems out, I can live with that, Cheers.

[MakkyBrown]

Here you go, I cut a couple of peridot today 

[Shivan]

Not from today unfortunately, but i did finish off this batch over the last two days.
These are the first few cabs from my new garage setup using 3, 2 wheel second hand machines.

[swirly]

very nice work.

[Rockypaul]

I started cutting a sapphire, it is from Shrilanka, I broke a rule I have and puchsed a piece of rough that is lead glass filled, it was 27 ct so I just wanted to get the feel of cutting a large stone. Being new to faceting, I could not see the point in hacking into a large gem just yet, it is still an exciting time for me. I have my first meet points, putting another ma hine in service soon as I refurbish the three machines bearings, wish me luck with that, stopped short of driving a bearing through the bottom of the shaft, until I realized it came out through the top, will be grateful for instructions on replacing same. Nice cutting in above posts, love the pics, Cheers

[Jamo]

Did this chalcedony heart this week at club. Material found at Lune River, Tas.

[Lapis Lupinus]

The only thing I fed today was my mouth with Indian food - lots of it!

[Jamo]

The only thing I fed today was my mouth with Indian food - lots of it!

Well, just like my stone Lapis, you are going to enjoy that again 

[MakkyBrown]

Nice one Jamo, I've finished two stone today and about to finish 2 more in a minute. Cut an awesome zircon oval Heaps of dispersion.  Will add a photo tomorrow,
Edit: Was very hard to take a nice pic of the oval.

[Jamo]

Nice one Jamo, I've finished two stone today and about to finish 2 more in a minute. Cut an awesome zircon oval Heaps of dispersion.  Will add a photo tomorrow,
Edit: Was very hard to take a nice pic of the oval.

Nice Makky. Just a soft hint of pink there. Where are these ones from?

[MakkyBrown]

Yes Jamo it's a light pink, it's one of our Mud Tank finds. It has stacks of dispersion in sunlight and under the light inside atm. Sparkles rainbows all over it. I have a heap of Mud Tank Zircon I'm going to start cutting.  It's just a bit tricky lining up a clean stone among the cracks on some of it. 
Talking zircon I should post a pic of my orange Flinders Killicrankie zircon I cut, it's a bit of a unique stone as it was the only one I found. Was red in the early morning when I found it and red under heat removing from dop, but orange when cool.

[harryopal]

Shivan, as a matter of interest what did you use as your final polishing medium with the boulder opal?

[Shivan]

Beautiful stones everyone, keep em coming

Jamo that heart is stunning, love the effect in the stone.

Harryopal all the bolder opal have only been through to 14k diamond at the moment, with the shine they got i did not know if it was worth going to oxides.

[harryopal]

Good afternoon Shivan,

For what it is worth, after running through 240, 600, 1200 and a felt buff I then used 50,000 diamond spray on a leather lap which produces quite a good result. Using cerium oxide with boulder opal can be a problem unless it is really dark, hard ironstone. Anything less than that and the cerium oxide tends to penetrate and leave you with a kind of speckled look. Otherwise with general opal I use the optical quality pink cerium oxide. At a pinch you might get some from an optometrist if your lapidary supplier does not carry it.

[Shivan]

Cheers for that, at the club in the past i have tried both tin and cerium with mixed results.
Does the 50k diamond spray last long?