In this guide we will show you some top tricks to cutting Australian Boulder Opal. Boulder opal is opal that has a hard backing made of Ironstone with precious opal. The precious opal can be a thin layer on top of the Ironstone or it can be intertwined within the Ironstone.
Australian boulder opal from Queensland is a fascinating stone. Cutting boulder opals is a challenge but the results are usually breathtaking because the material is so hard it is difficult to make a cutting mistake so this type of material is good for novice cutters as well as experienced cutters.
Lets get stuck into a basic overview on how to cut and polish boulder opal.
Pick out the days work of opals you wish to polish. It is more efficientto cut multiple stones atthe same time as you will only need toset-upthe machine once. Selecting boulder opal to work with is a skill in itself. Like working with any other rough material the more you know the better. Make sure that the ironstone around the opal is fairly strong and free from cracks. Some reasonably low-grade material is good to start with. You might not end up with a beautiful stone but you can develop your systematic skill enough that you will be capable of cutting that attractive stone in any way you want.
Look for the pattern of the ironstone to provide you some clues about the path in which the seam will run. When Opal occurs in ironstone, it has flat and straight parallel lines along the matrix. There is a better chance that the opal will track this line.If the rough is soaked in water let it dry first so you can see where the Opal is running. Check for cracks running across the stone and again look for any imperfections throughout the stone. If there are cracks running through the stone you can use the saw to split the opal down the crack. This will avoid any problems later on.
Most of the rough material you will buy has already been slabbed up so you can clearly see the Opal layer. If they material iscompletelyrough and you cannot easily see the Opal you will need to saw the stone to expose the Opal layer.
The saw blade should always be under water. Use plenty of water to keep the dust down and the Opal cool. Never cut dry as opal will heat quickly and crack.
Now is the fun part. You will need a set of old clothes because it’s going to get dirty. Now that you have a fair idea of the course in which the seam will run it is time to rub it down. Having a combination of 80 and 220 grit wheel can make rubbing down the Opal much easier. use the coarse grit wheel to remove material quickly. Try not to get too close to the line of opal. The layer of opal can be unpredictable so try and stay just above the layer.
Now it is time to familiarize the Opal. You must decide which surface is going to be the top. Base your judgement on the form and layer of the opal, the coloring, brightness, and width of the surrounding material.
Try to make sure that the material directly below the Opal is as dark as possible. This dark setting will create the colors of the opal to stand out. If there is a thin cover of dark potch between the row of Opal and the ironstone it will make the stone pop. You must try to cut the stone so that this black coating will give the backdrop for your stone.
This kind of stone is referred to as a black boulder and can be quite radiant. It is also important that the boulder opal consists of a solid base. If the ironstone on other surface of opal is too lean, it will not offer the strength that is needed for the bottom of your stone.
Now that you know which way the opal will face use the 220 and 280 grit wheel. You must not come into contact with the opal once you decided to use the 220-grit wheel as it can rapidly eliminate quite a bit of the vibrant materials.
It is also advisable to use light pressure ranging from 220-grit wheel as you getting closer to the opal. You must keep on eliminating ironstone until you are just about to display opal in one part of the surface. Occasionally, before you reach the opal, you will even notice that the color of the ironstone will change.
Switch over to the 600-grit wheel in order to expose some opal. At this period, you are not trying to eliminate all of the ironstone from the surface. You can do it by going back and forth between the 600-grit wheel with medium pressure. Use light pressure on the 280-grit wheel. Once you establish how the layer of opal operates, you can stop working on the top.
Polishing wheels start at 120 grit diamond than rubber wheels 400 grit / 600 grit / 1400 grit before final polish.
First we need to get the stone onto a dop stick. When the stone is on the dop stick it is easier to manoeuvre and shape. Use the 220-grit wheel and flatten its reverse side tone. The two most common ways to dop an opal is with Glue or using wax.
The base of the stone must clean and dry. Apply one or two drops of glue to the dop sticks. Pre-heat the opal by resting it on the border of the dop pot for not more than 30 seconds.
Use light pressure to push the opal into the dop stick. The glue will dry after about 30 minutes.
If the reverse side of the opal is spongy and the glue does not work you may use wax as an alternative. Heat the Opal and drop melted wax onto the opal before applying it the dop sticks. You must make sure the dop sticks have a sufficient amount of melted wax on them.
This is the step where you can cut the opal. If you’re using a device that re-circulates its water such as the water that is sprayed up onto the wheels, you can dripped down into a pan, then forced from that pan and sprayed up onto the wheels once more. Change the water and make the pans dirt-free regularly.
At this point you are require to make some significant decisions. Look at the general appearance of your stone, both the ironstone and opal. Their combination can be relatively beautiful.
Keep on eliminating ironstone with the 600-grit wheel. Think about keeping the stone moving. The 600-grit wheel can still reduce opal and create smooth spots and scrapes. You can do a lot of things during this stage of cutting. You are eliminating scratches from previous stages.
Then, eliminating ironstone from the surface, and building the surface and form of the stone is pleasing to the eye. Check your stone and observe what it shows you. You might require going back the 280-grit wheel and changing its form. Once you have eliminated the big scratches and are pleased with the look, go to the 1200-grit wheel.
In this step, the 1200-grit wheel will eliminate almost all noticeable scratches. It will not do much to modify the form of your stone, but it can better its form. Use reasonable pressure and make sure the stone is continually moving.
Stop regularly and clean up your stone to verify the progress and ensure that the scratches are completely vanishing.
Once you have removed the noticeable scratches, shift to the 3000-grit wheel, or if you’re not using a 3000-grit wheel, begin to clean your stone. If your device consists of a 14,000-grit wheel, it is advisable not to cut boulder opal. This wheel begins often with scratches.
The next phase is the process of polishing. In order to make it shine, you can use tin oxide for cleaning the foam-backed rough leather pad. Just lightly soaked it with water through the use of a spray bottle and with the running device running and spinning pad.
Also, use a brush to apply a well-stirred combination of water and tin oxide onto the moist pad. From here, the water mixture as well as, the tin oxide must be thin enough so that it does not clomp, and has the uniformity of thin gravy.
Just keep the opals stirring by turning the dop stick between your fingers and by varying the position of the pad. Do not allow the opal to get too hot. Sometimes, the coarse leather pad can seize your stone and pull it out of your hands. This is usually because the pad has dried out or if the stone has a rough surface or even pointed edges.
if you are decide to polish a matrix opal, you can pursue the same process. The opal usually polishes, but the ironstone matrix will be dry. A helpful method is to clean the opal as explained, and then permit the pad dry faintly. Use more force while you maintain the stone moving, so that you can sense the stone to get even warm.
Remember that you are cleaning the matrix, not the opal spots of your stone. Be careful while heating the stone along your polishing pad, which can develop the finish of the matrix, but be, reminded that too much heat can break the opal. This method needs a bit of practice, but the outcomes can be worth it.
Lastly you can do the finishing of the back. When you are completed polishing take the stone from its dop stick. You can use light to standard pressure for roughly about 220-280 for your grit wheel in order to take out any residue of the doping matter.
You must keep the stone flat against the wheel, but turn it slightly so that scratches will be avoided on its back. At this point, select what you prefer for the specific size of the stone. When you arrived with the suitable thickness, apply the 220 or 280-grit for the wheel that can be help to minimize chipping when setting.
You can either think the opal completed, or get a more finished look by taking the back through the remaining chain of finer wheels. You must cut the back portion of stones by means of 1200 or 3000-grit wheels.
After all of the opals have been cut and polished they can be sorted and graded.
Boulder opals make great pendants. All that is needed is a drill press to create a hole in the tip of them. Thread through a leather strap and you have yourself a beautiful boulder Opal necklace.
Worried about turning your machine on and off with wet hands? Try and glue a dop stick to the power board switch. That way nothing wet ever comes in contact with electricity. Brilliant.
Shop For Boulder Rough
U ovom ćemo vam vodiču pokazati neke vrhunske trikove za rezanje australskog Boulder Opala. Boulder opal je opal koji ima tvrdu podlogu od željeznog kamena s dragim opalom. Dragocjeni opal može biti tanak sloj na vrhu Željeznog kamena ili može biti isprepleten unutar Željeznog kamena.
Australski balvani iz Queenslanda je fascinantan kamen. Rezanje opalsa od kamenja je izazov, ali rezultati su obično zapanjujući, jer je materijal toliko težak da je teško napraviti grešku u rezanju pa je ova vrsta materijala dobra za početnike i iskusne rezače.
Zaglavimo se u osnovnom pregledu kako izrezati i polirati boulder opal.
Odaberite dane rada opala koje želite polirati. To je učinkovitije za rezanje više kamenja u isto vrijeme kao što će vam trebati samo upet-up stroj jednom. Odabir Boulder opal za rad je vještina sama po sebi. Kao što radite s bilo kojim drugim grubim materijalom, to više znate bolje. Uvjerite se da je željezni kamen oko opala prilično jak i bez pukotina. Za početak je dobar materijal s niskim stupnjem kvalitete. Možda nećete završiti s prekrasnim kamenom, ali možete razviti svoju sustavnu vještinu dovoljno da ćete biti sposobni rezati taj privlačan kamen na bilo koji način.
Potražite uzorak željeznog kamena da biste dobili neke tragove o putu u kojem će se šav izvoditi. Kada se Opal pojavi u željeznom kamenu, on ima ravne i ravne paralelne linije duž matrice. Postoji veća vjerojatnost da će opal pratiti ovu liniju. Ako je grubo natopljeno vodom, neka se prvo osuši kako biste mogli vidjeti gdje je Opal pokrenut. Provjerite pukotine koje teku preko kamena i ponovno potražite sve nedostatke u kamenu. Ako se kroz kamen probijaju pukotine, pomoću pile možete podijeliti opal po pukotini. To će kasnije izbjeći bilo kakve probleme.
Veći dio sirovog materijala koji ćete kupiti već je posječen tako da možete jasno vidjeti sloj Opala. Ako su materijali potpuni i ne možete lako vidjeti Opal, trebat ćete vidjeti kamen kako biste izložili sloj Opala.
List pile uvijek mora biti pod vodom. Upotrijebite mnogo vode kako bi se prašina održala i Opal se ohladi. Nikada nemojte rezati suhe jer će se opal brzo zagrijati i puknuti.
Sada je zabavan dio. Trebat će vam set stare odjeće jer će se zaprljati. Sada kada imate dobru predodžbu o smjeru u kojem će se šav izvoditi, vrijeme je da ga obrišete. Kombinacija 80 i 220 grit kotača može znatno olakšati trljanje Opala. Za brisanje materijala koristite grubu brusnu ploču. Ne pokušavajte se previše približiti liniji opala. Sloj opala može biti nepredvidljiv pa pokušajte ostati iznad sloja.
Sada je vrijeme da upoznate Opal. Morate odlučiti koja će površina biti na vrhu. Svoju prosudbu temeljite na obliku i sloju opala, boji, svjetlini i širini okolnog materijala.
Pokušajte se uvjeriti da je materijal koji se nalazi ispod opala što tamniji. Ova tamna postavka će stvoriti boje opala kako bi se istaknula. Ako postoji tanak pokrov od tamne krpice između niza Opala i željeznog kamena, on će napraviti kamenu pop. Morate pokušati rezati kamen tako da ovaj crni premaz daje pozadinu za vaš kamen.
Ova vrsta kamena naziva se crna stijena i može biti vrlo blistava. Također je važno da se kameni opal sastoji od čvrste podloge. Ako je željezni kamen na drugoj površini opala suviše mršav, neće ponuditi snagu potrebnu za dno vašeg kamena.
Sada kada znate na koji će se način opal suočiti, upotrijebite točak 220 i 280. Ne smijete doći u kontakt s opalom nakon što ste odlučili koristiti kotačić od 220 gitarica, jer on može brzo eliminirati dosta živih materijala.
Također je poželjno koristiti lagani pritisak u rasponu od 220-grit kotača kako se približavate opalu. Morate nastaviti s uklanjanjem željeznog kamena dok ne budete spremni prikazati opal u jednom dijelu površine. Povremeno, prije nego stignete do opala, čak ćete primijetiti da će se boja željeza promijeniti.
Prijeđite na kotačić od 600 granulacija kako biste otkrili opal. U ovom razdoblju ne pokušavate ukloniti sve željezne kamene s površine. To možete učiniti tako da se krećete naprijed-natrag između 600-točkova sa srednjim pritiskom. Upotrijebite lagani pritisak na kotao od 280 granulata. Nakon što utvrdite kako sloj opala radi, možete prestati raditi na vrhu.
Kotači za poliranje počinju s dijamantom od 120 grita od gumenih kotača 400 grit / 600 grit / 1400 grit prije završnog lakiranja.
Prvo moramo staviti kamen na dop stick. Kada je kamen na dop sticku lakše je manevrirati i oblikovati. Upotrijebite kotačić od 220-struke i poravnajte njegov obrnuti ton. Dva najčešća načina dopiranja opala su ljepilo ili vosak.
Baza kamena mora biti čista i suha. Nanesite jednu ili dvije kapi ljepila na dop sticke. Prethodno zagrijte opal tako da ga ostavite na granici dop pota ne duže od 30 sekundi.
Laganim pritiskom gurnite opal u dop stick. Ljepilo će se osušiti nakon 30 minuta.
Ako je obrnuta strana opala spužvasta i ljepilo ne djeluje, kao alternativu možete koristiti vosak. Zagrijte Opal i ispustite rastopljeni vosak na opal prije nanošenja dop palica. Morate se uvjeriti da na njima ima dovoljno rastopljenog voska.
Ovo je korak na kojem možete izrezati opal. Ako koristite uređaj koji ponovno cirkulira njegovu vodu, kao što je voda koja se raspršuje na kotače, možete se spustiti u posudu, a zatim natjerati s te posude i još jednom prskati na kotače. Mijenjajte vodu i redovito čistite posuđe.
U ovom trenutku trebate donijeti neke značajne odluke. Pogledajte opći izgled vašeg kamena, i željeznog kamena i opala. Njihova kombinacija može biti relativno lijepa.
Nastavite s uklanjanjem željeznog kamena s kotačem od 600 zrna. Razmislite o pokretanju kamena. Kotač od 600 granulata može i dalje smanjiti opal i stvoriti glatke mrlje i ogrebotine. Tijekom ove faze rezanja možete učiniti mnogo stvari. Uklanjate ogrebotine iz prethodnih stadija.
Zatim, uklanjanje željeznog kamena s površine i izgradnja površine i oblika kamena je ugodno za oko. Provjerite svoj kamen i promatrajte što vam pokazuje. Možda će vam trebati povratak na kotačić od 280 sekundi i promjena oblika. Nakon što ste uklonili velike ogrebotine i zadovoljni izgledom, idite na 1200-krupni kotač.
U ovom koraku kotač od 1200 granata eliminira gotovo sve vidljive ogrebotine. Neće učiniti mnogo za izmjenu oblika vašeg kamena, ali može i bolje oblikovati njegov oblik. Koristite razuman pritisak i uvjerite se da se kamen stalno kreće.
Zaustavite se redovito i očistite svoj kamen kako biste provjerili napredak i osigurajte da ogrebotine potpuno nestanu.
Nakon što uklonite zamjetne ogrebotine, pomaknite se na kotačić od 3000 granata, ili ako ne koristite kotač od 3000 granata, počnite čistiti svoj kamen. Ako se vaš uređaj sastoji od kotača od brtve od 14.000, preporučljivo je ne rezati opal za kamen. Ovaj kotač počinje često s ogrebotinama.
Sljedeća faza je proces poliranja. Da biste ga sjajili, možete koristiti kositar oksid za čišćenje grube kožne podloge s pjenom. Samo ga lagano natopite vodom pomoću sprej bočice i sa pokrenutom napravom koja se pokreće i okretnom podloškom.
Također upotrijebite četkicu za nanošenje dobro promiješane kombinacije vode i kositrovog oksida na vlažnu podlogu. Odavde, mješavina vode kao i limeni oksid moraju biti dovoljno tanki da se ne gube i imaju jednoličnost tankog umaka.
Samo opalite miješanjem okrećući dop stick između prstiju i mijenjajući položaj jastučića. Nemojte dopustiti da se opal previše zagrije. Ponekad grubi kožni jastučić može oduzeti vaš kamen i izvući ga iz vaših ruku. To je obično zbog toga što je jastučić osušen ili ako kamen ima grubu površinu ili čak i oštre rubove.
ako se odlučite za poliranje matrice opal, možete nastaviti isti proces. Opal obično lakira, ali će željezna matrica biti suha. Korisna metoda je očistiti opal kao što je objašnjeno, a zatim omogućiti slabiju podlogu. Koristite više sile dok održavate kamen koji se kreće, tako da možete osjetiti kamen da se još više ugrije.
Zapamtite da čistite matricu, a ne opalne mrlje vašeg kamena. Budite oprezni dok zagrijavate kamen uz vašu podlogu za poliranje, koja može razviti završetak matrice, ali budite, podsjetili da previše topline može razbiti opal. Ovoj metodi treba malo prakse, ali ishodi se mogu isplatiti.
Na kraju možete napraviti završnu obradu leđa. Kad završite s poliranjem, izvadite kamen iz dop-stick-a. Možete koristiti svjetlo za standardni tlak otprilike oko 220-280 za vašu griticu kako biste izvadili ostatke doping tvari.
Morate držati kamen ravnim uz kotač, ali ga lagano okrenite kako bi izbjegli ogrebotine na njegovim leđima. U ovom trenutku odaberite ono što želite za određenu veličinu kamena. Kada stignete s prikladnom debljinom, nanesite 220 ili 280-granu za kotač koji vam može pomoći da smanjite sjeckanje prilikom postavljanja.
Možete misliti da je opal dovršen, ili da dobijete gotoviji izgled tako što ćete se vratiti kroz preostali lanac finijih kotača. Stražnji dio kamenja morate izrezati pomoću kotača od 1200 ili 3000 gritova.
Nakon što su svi opali izrezani i polirani, mogu se sortirati i ocjenjivati.
Boulder opali čine sjajne privjeske. Sve što je potrebno je bušilica za stvaranje rupe na vrhu. Navucite kroz kožni remen i imat ćete prekrasnu ogrlicu Opal.
Zabrinuti ste da uključite i isključite svoj stroj mokrim rukama? Pokušajte lijepiti dop stick na prekidač napojne ploče. Tako ništa mokro nikad ne dolazi u dodir s električnom energijom. Sjajan.
Kupujte za Boulder Rough
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