Starting out cutting opal

[daniel7310]

Hey Guys!

I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction when buying/building equipment for cutting opals.

I am fourteen years old so I will have to start out on a pretty tight budget too.

Cheers

~Daniel

[The Rock Hunter]

dan i am 4 years older than you i started of with a grinder and a cutter you can buy these both from most gem shops and gem shows but by the time you get all the things to biuld it your self its some times cheaper to just buy one.



cheers rock hunter

[daniel7310]

dan i am 4 years older than you i started of with a grinder and a cutter you can buy these both from most gem shops and gem shows but by the time you get all the things to bild it your selp its some times cheaper to just buy one.



cheers rock hunter

What do you reckon the best value for money machine is? (for cutting and grinding)

[The Rock Hunter]

well if you belong to a gem club then thay shood have grinders. i recon that the cutting mechine beacause you can cut your roccks open and see whats in them at home:) and then go to the club to grind them

[steveo]

Our clubs shop is open 4 days a month and thats how I started then just buy what you can and get some for holidays.

[mick B]

Dan, Joining a local club would be a great start, mixing with people that have the knowledge to help you, this will give you a better understanding of lapidary equipment needed, once you become more experienced then you can purchase the gear, and there is a huge range out there, or even make your own, email or phone lapidary suppliers, ask them.

Cheers mick B

[pete]

Hi Daniel,
I think the best thing would be join a club (if possible) where you'll get access to all the equipment and experience of the members.

I think I would disagree about a saw being the first investment, particularly for opal. Opal is usually in thin seams within the rock, and blindly cutting it in half will lose potential size of colour and cab. To find to opal seam you nip the edges with pliers to reveal where the colour is, then cut or grind parrallel to the seam. But this is not so neccessary unless you've mined the opal yourself, because the miner has already nipped the nobbie to look for good opal.

The other thing is grinding/sanding/polishing is much slower than cutting and at my club the grinding wheels are very busy compared with the saws. Clubs can also get a bit fussy about messy boulder opal on the wheels!

A cheap grinder with silicon carbide wheels (with water dripping on the wheels), and a second motor running a disc that can be used with silicon carbide paper for sanding then replaced with felt for polishing will give hours of enjoyment. Often a rock can be split with just a cold chisel and hammer much faster than cutting. It's how many people start and there's plenty of good info on this type set-up.

Gem cutting is a really fascinating hobby that can also be very rewarding and I encourage the new generation with new ideas.
Best of luck with it Daniel and ask any questions you want, the people here are more than happy to help when they can.

[mehoose]

Daniel, if you don't mind telling us what area you live in we should be able to direct you to the nearest club.
At your age, a parent is normally required to go with you(depending on the club) but they wouldn't necessarily have to join but it really is a reasonable price for membership. Then normally it's only a couple of dollars each time you use the workshop equipment.
Also, each State has different ages to use the grinding wheels but this won't stop you learning to facet. I do think 14 is the starting age in most states tho on cabbers and saws.

There are a couple of entry level machines.
One is the spool polisher from Graves, in the US a lot did their opals on this and quite successfully. I've never used one or seen one in use , maybe there's a demo on youtube.
Aussie Sapphire might be able to tell you if there's a good brochure that comes with it they now sell these.
http://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=111_223&products_id=3023

Robilt in Victoria sell a mini unit for one wheel, you just need to do stones in batches then swap to the next grit wheel. Bonus on these is there's a small  plate that can be attached to do trim work with a fine blade.

Or you could go the flat lap route
http://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=111_143&products_id=2519
or
http://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=111_143&products_id=2077

[daniel7310]

Daniel, if you don't mind telling us what area you live in we should be able to direct you to the nearest club.
At your age, a parent is normally required to go with you(depending on the club) but they wouldn't necessarily have to join but it really is a reasonable price for membership. Then normally it's only a couple of dollars each time you use the workshop equipment.
Also, each State has different ages to use the grinding wheels but this won't stop you learning to facet. I do think 14 is the starting age in most states tho on cabbers and saws.

There are a couple of entry level machines.
One is the spool polisher from Graves, in the US a lot did their opals on this and quite successfully. I've never used one or seen one in use , maybe there's a demo on youtube.
Aussie Sapphire might be able to tell you if there's a good brochure that comes with it they now sell these.
http://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=111_223&products_id=3023

Robilt in Victoria sell a mini unit for one wheel, you just need to do stones in batches then swap to the next grit wheel. Bonus on these is there's a small  plate that can be attached to do trim work with a fine blade.

Or you could go the flat lap route
http://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=111_143&products_id=2519
or
http://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=111_143&products_id=2077

Thanks for the info!

Also i live in Devonport Tasmania, I highly doubt there would be a club here knowing my luck haha

[daniel7310]

Also on the topic of building my own tools, I have access to a fair bit of tools (lathes, welders,drill presses etc.)

And would anyone be able to tell me if there are any places to find my own gems anywhere close to my location (Devonport, Tasmania). I was thinking that Don Heads would be an alright place to fossick for some gems (I don't know how to link places on google maps haha) because it used to be volcanic and i have found a fair bit of volcanic rock around the area (obsidian, Quartz Crystal (inside a rock) and some rock that had a dull clear red appearance (maybe someone could tell me what it might have been)  

[The Rock Hunter]

ask melhoose she lives there theres lots to find there in taz too sapphires zircons smokeys gold and lots more

[daniel7310]

ask melhoose she lives there theres lots to find there in taz too sapphires zircons smokeys gold and lots more

I couldn't find anyone under the name of Melhoose in the members section, is that her username?

[The Rock Hunter]

yep you can mp her 

[daniel7310]

yep you can mp her 

Sure it's not mehoose?

[daniel7310]

yep you can mp her 

Sure it's not mehoose?

Ohhh she posted on my topic haha duuuur