So what is everyone doing in lapidary till the corona virus pandemic passes

[Jimnyjerry]

Facetors can still work on. My lapidary club is closed so limited to sorting rocks, repacking and very slow polishing of small pieces.
Here are some of the agates I need to sort into cutable etc.
Going to miss digging and losing weight in winter in FN Qld. There is always next year. 
They got forgotten in the shed when I had a few overseas trips to also fit in.Only the ants remembered where the bags were.
  Jerry

and rest of tray

[Rusted]

I finally got around to sawing the big green one I found when Jerry and I were digging up on the saddle a couple of years ago, really nice too. Time for a photo I guess.



The dark shadowy areas are really nice chatoyancy

I haven't faceted much for a while but just started Cleopatras eye in light smokey Quartz. It's a bit like riding a bike, in a couple of minutes I was right back into it.

[Jimnyjerry]

Yes please a picture Rusted.  For me that was only the first tray to sort

[Faceting Frank]

Thanks to Rusted back into cutting the Labradorite stone in this years OZ Facetors Guild comp.
Also building a concave cutter attachment for my machine, hoping to get that up and running in a couple of weeks.
Never cut a concave stone, so a bit of a learning and cursing curve to go through.

[tinker]

Im cleaning up about two 40 litre buckets of Boulder Opal, I've had for 20 years and didn't realise how good the pieces are, my trip saw and wheels are a mess, but the Boulder is beautiful.   Next will be my opal from Lightning Ridge, if my fingernails can hack it.

[Bucket]

I can't wait to get home and do a bit of faceting. I'm currently in 2 weeks quarantine courtesy of the Tas Government as I just arrived back from W.A. on Monday morning. I've also got to start packing up the house as we have purchased elsewhere and are moving in July. Rusted, what a cracker of an agate, let me know if you want to get rid of any!

[Jimnyjerry]

that is beautiful Rusted.  A great agate.

[Shifter55]

That yellow agate never fails to give spectacular slabs, I'm looking sadly at all the amphibolite and prehnite that I bought at Glen Innes since the club is shut here too (and for good reasons).

[MakkyBrown]

I'm making a start to finish my concave machine. Recently joined the faceters guild and just looked at the competition stone I promised FlashGP I'd cut. Crown is going to be fun, it has 1 degree angles and 1 degree angle changes. I'll have to cut with my 45 degree dop, which is really a 45.5degree dop and requires lots of cheating adjustment on tables.
Cheers
MB

[Rusted]

That's interesting about the 45.5 degrees angle dop, mine was the same, a battle doing tables.

I made a huge 2" dia flat dop for setting up for tables, I would hold it flat on the master lap and adjust the angle and tighten the collet, then move the hard stop to suit, yes around 45.5 degrees.

[MakkyBrown]

Was yours an aluminum one with a round body? Mine is a bit out side to side aswell. I don't mind it as I just correct when doing a table.

[Rusted]

No, mine was brass, but they must have continued using the same jig to drill them all.

Side to side innacuracy is why I just positioned it with the flat dop firmly held on the lap and tighten the collet nut.

I cut Fractal Flow in Topaz yesterday, (back on topic) it came out nice, I did slightly stuff up though, I only cut the table to the top row of meet points, so have a triangular table instead of a roundish triangle. I don't know what that does to the performance of the stone but the pattern in the light return is more like a fringe lilly flower, quite nice though.

[MakkyBrown]

Just thinking, I do the same, so the side to side out is probably due to a slight curve on my polishing lap that I have to cheat a tiny small amount.
I was just looking at how much my machine is out atm, I am currently out the width of a sheet of paper over the 6inchs on my master lap(probably 0.1mm). I'm pondering if this is enough for me to loosen the do not undo screw or not.

I've never cut it in topaz. Lifting the table facet created a bit more extinction. Are the renders like the finished stone?

CheersMB

[Rusted]

Yes very like the second one, the three lobes have sparkly moving fringes.
Have you played with girdle width in software? I was surprised how much input that has in the performance of the finished stone. You look at girdle facets and think they don't do anything apart from mark a boundary between pavilion and crown, they have a big effect.

[harryopal]

I am living in Indonesia but in Bali which is rather less desperate than Java. They recently closed the beaches which is a pity. Very few people around before at my beach so better social distancing than when shopping.
Otherwise concentrating on learning the language and looking forward to some more polishing of the odd stones. Have a nice couple of pieces of lapis lazuli and thinking carving.
Good luck to all with seeing out this health hazard and may all your stones turn into hot coloured opals.