Recent Posts

1

Trip Talk / Re: The Next Big Trip

« Last post by MakkyBrown on May 22, 2024, 07:44:20 PM »

Yeah heaps more grass than when I was there.

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Fossicking Locations / Re: Victorian Sapphires

« Last post by Alaskan on May 22, 2024, 07:33:54 AM »

Thanks Rusted, week ending a pavilion and I went with 36 instead of 32 on a 96 and 14K put a small scar on the wing of a P5 index facet. I should try cutting the same design until my skill level improves.  A prepared rack of laps ready to go... gold - my 8" laps are in ziplocks and not well organized... thanks again.

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Trip Talk / Re: The Next Big Trip

« Last post by yakapari on May 21, 2024, 09:37:01 PM »

Seems the grass has been really growing well this season.

This picture is at Mt Gibson, just before the `Patricia` diggings recently.

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Fossicking Locations / Re: Victorian Sapphires

« Last post by Rusted on May 21, 2024, 04:09:53 PM »

I think what happens is that at the start you are inspecting what you are doing every few seconds so you don't stuff up, the stone is spending more time being looked at than actually being cut. As you get a bit more experience you start to trust yourself and actually start doing productive work.
If you are pumping out a stone every few hours it's probably because you are cutting a very familiar design and can even trust yourself to remember the angles and indexes without constantly referring back to the diagram. Good material helps too, cutting down on to a flaw really ruins the mood.

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Fossicking Locations / Re: Victorian Sapphires

« Last post by Alaskan on May 21, 2024, 07:50:49 AM »

Thanks Bucket, encouraging and it is getting... easier? to select 1500 steel to cut small fascists then polish with 8000. Then comes the stress of getting problem disintegration or scratches at 14,000 and then seeing 8000 (on Corian) cleaning the problem facet up nicely. I have a near new copper 8" lap that scratched on my first use. Might dedicate it to 1200 or 3000. Doing one finished stone in two weeks down from three weeks.

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Fossicking Locations / Re: Victorian Sapphires

« Last post by Bucket on May 20, 2024, 09:12:03 PM »

Hi Alaskan. My first stone was a piece of clear quartz and because of (then) work and other commitments, coupled with a teacher that was very thorough, it took nearly 6 months to complete. It was an SRB and the finished stone was around 10mm in diameter. It started a lot bigger than that! Now, I can complete two a day if I'm doing a session, not allowing for transfers. The stones I'm doing are mostly better than that first one, I'm just a little better at doing it. Speed will come with practice, but don't sacrifice accuracy for working faster.

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Fossicking Locations / Re: Victorian Sapphires

« Last post by RoughCreations on May 20, 2024, 10:51:40 AM »

Thank you. And you would expect a 1mm finished jewel if all goes well?

Hi Alaskan,
Remember that the final yield is a percentage of the original rough's weight, not width or other dimension.
For example, a 10mm diameter Standard Round Brilliant (SRB) sapphire would weigh about 3.65ct, a 9mm would be 2.66ct, an 8mm would be 1.87ct, a 7mm would be 1.25ct, and a 6mm 0.79ct and so on, according to my Gem Cut Studio size/yield calculator. So in this example, in going from 10mm to 7mm diameter, the carat weight has dropped to ~ one third. That is, the relationship between the width of a cut stone and its weight is not linear.
In other words, a spherical-shaped 3mm diameter (mythical) sapphire cutter found while fossicking would weigh about 0.3ct in its rough uncut form. If it was cut into a SRB, the best theoretical yield achievable would be a cut stone of 3mm diameter, weighing 0.1ct giving a yield of 33%.
In a more real-world scenario, where the 3mm rough sapphire cutter was a bit more irregular in shape, it would weigh a bit less than 0.3ct, and we may expect a yield closer to 25%, this would equate to perhaps a 2.7mm stone (.07ct) in our SRB example.
So, in summary, a 1mm finished jewel from a 3mm rough would be a bit disappointing! I reckon you could do better than that on a rainy day with good karma and a hot cup of cocoa, lol.

RC

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Fossicking Locations / Re: Victorian Sapphires

« Last post by Alaskan on May 20, 2024, 06:51:23 AM »

Thank you. And you would expect a 1mm finished jewel if all goes well? It takes me 3 hours to cut and Polish six facets - usually a week to do a pavilion. Today I cut six tiny girdle facets - P3 on AB's Supernova - on lab created Zircon and wonder how anyone can cut two stones per day?

1500 - 8000 x 6 facets in 3 hours.

9

Fossicking Locations / Re: Tomahawk creek

« Last post by MakkyBrown on May 19, 2024, 11:49:07 AM »

It is a bit of a maze, I drove all over the place and it is hard to figure it all out, need to make a map or use satnav. Yes, Feather Bed Run is in pass the caravans. I drove out to Mt Hoy, end up following a fence line, crossed creeks and having to turn back. Endup in an old hole up behind the tip till the wash pretty much ran out and it also got pretty dangerous so I collapsed it all and walked away.

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Fossicking Locations / Re: Tomahawk creek

« Last post by Scratcher on May 19, 2024, 10:42:24 AM »

Ok all, I made it out for a few days, heaps of old digging out there. Cleaned up and old digging on the ridge to the right and got some wash. Very grassy up there, moved down to hut creek and cleaned out another old digging. Got some nice wash before it ran into an old digging, ended up with a few chips and 3 nice sized ones. Went for a drive around couldn't find the feather bed is it passed the caravans or os there another road? Was going to have a look at Mt hoy but the tracks split up and go everywhere up past the lodge. Will get more adventurous next time. Do NOT ask google how to get to tomahawk creek from Clermont. Took me 60k down into a farmer's back paddock. To a locked gate