Lapidaryforum.net
Rock Art => Cabochons, Intarsias, Cameos => Topic started by: Jhon P on February 12, 2020, 01:48:40 PM
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I bought 5.5 lbs of this in quartzite. I think I had a moment of insanity lol.
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I really like this cab because of the mottled pattern. I guess the question is the cost as to what you expected and what you are getting.
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Certainly is different from the Utah Variscite, isn't it? I think we all have those moments of insanity in Quartzsite.
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I’m with you I picked up a piece big enough for a 2 1/2” sphere, Glen cut me some slack on the price I think because he knew I wasn’t cabbing it, but I’ll make one now after seeing yours.
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The Australian material is pretty good...don’t know what your US stuff is like, but I have cut a lot of this material....love it. If you had any idea how hard a time Glenn has mining this stuff, you would agree that the price is excellent, and definitely worth it.
Easy to work with, easy to polish too.
Cheers,
Mike
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Slabs ready for cabbing.. really nice material!
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This is premium Australian Variscite....cuts sensational cabs. From what Glenn tells me, it is harder than the US material. I have some old Milgun Variscite from Milgun station found about 36 years ago. This material is almost like turquoise in colour and is definitely softer than the current deposit ( which incidentally has been mined out although there should be more deposits nearby.
Gotta remember that there is only one guy mining this material, and it costs a bomb to get it out. We are talking way out in the Donga, very remote harsh environment.
Ohhh and I am convinced that the price of this stuff is going to keep going up...cheap for those who bought at Quartzite or Tucson already....so feel good about it guys!
Cheers again,
Mike
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Bet you have a lot of fun with that!
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This one is pretty cool...who said Australia doesn’t have turquoise? This variscite has a lovely turquoise band running through it.
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Wow! I LOVE that last one.
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This is premium Australian Variscite....cuts sensational cabs. From what Glenn tells me, it is harder than the US material. I have some old Milgun Variscite from Milgun station found about 36 years ago. This material is almost like turquoise in colour and is definitely softer than the current deposit ( which incidentally has been mined out although there should be more deposits nearby.
Gotta remember that there is only one guy mining this material, and it costs a bomb to get it out. We are talking way out in the Donga, very remote harsh environment.
Ohhh and I am convinced that the price of this stuff is going to keep going up...cheap for those who bought at Quartzite or Tucson already....so feel good about it guys!
Cheers again,
Mike
Hi Mike,
How much would a piece of this quality and size cost around? Can this be sliced into thin slices like 1/8" thick without fracturing easily or does it begin to crumble. I have some of the Utah stuff but its not as nice as this color and is kind of chalky. This looks nice
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I think 1/8” is a bit over 3 mm, so that should be ok, but you would need a super thin copper blade, plenty of water running on it and go very very gently. It does tend to break a bit on the saw.
How much of it do you need and what dimension do you need the pieces.
Can you get away with a 4” super thin blade (.2mm), and do you have any or can you get them. My stock of blades is really old and I am running low on the copper ones.
There may be other options but I will wait for your reply.
Mike
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I don’t have any copper blades but do have access to a precision dicer with 4” blades. Does anyone make copper blades anymore. I am looking for enough to get about a kg worth of premium. I’m looking at the feasibility of doing a veneering with this material using small squares.
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Hi, I am not sure what a precision dices is but you will need a nice thin blender to cut it. I bought my last lot of copper blades from a local guy in South Oz Robert Howie Diverse Opals...He has German 4” copper blades. I use them on smaller high grade expensive opals...think 500 plus ct material.
I would use a thicker blade to do the bigger cuts and get them to nice smaller pieces, and then the copper blade to do your precision cuts...run the saw faster if you can gear it up a bit, and go easy.
The blades are really cheap but they don’t last that long and can be easily damaged if you bite off too much or try to run it through too fast.
What number of these squares are you looking for, and what size?
Mike
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Hi, I am not sure what a precision dices is but you will need a nice thin blender to cut it. I bought my last lot of copper blades from a local guy in South Oz Robert Howie Diverse Opals...He has German 4” copper blades. I use them on smaller high grade expensive opals...think 500 plus ct material.
I would use a thicker blade to do the bigger cuts and get them to nice smaller pieces, and then the copper blade to do your precision cuts...run the saw faster if you can gear it up a bit, and go easy.
The blades are really cheap but they don’t last that long and can be easily damaged if you bite off too much or try to run it through too fast.
What number of these squares are you looking for, and what size?
Mike
Thanks Mike, I will look into copper buying blades. Do you charge the copper wheels with diamond paste like copper flat laps or are they ready to cut already? What is the purpose of using copper as opposed to a 4" thin diamond blade like those sold by MK Diamond/Barranca diamond. Is the copper blades less likely to chip out as they are smoother? I custom built my saw so I have a very smooth sliding vice and can adjust the speed to as slow as 1-2" per hour. Regarding the amount of squares tiles for veneering, I am looking to cover around 1 to 1.5 square feet. The size of the squares need to be somewhere in the realm of 1" or .75" or roughly 2cm x 2cm though . I'd consider the size based on the width of the varisite vein. Given color considerations of needing the full top to be mostly similar in color, I am trying to make it as thin as possible and will be attaching it to metal or another stone to widen it. I've thought about gluing up a stone or metal support onto the end before each cut but I'm still thinking about options. I also need to consider the amount of loss during polishing given how thin I'm trying to make these.