great vid..so much work...the supplies, the set up, the editing...the kitty!!! thank u for posting this...i have most of the supplies and i'm still rubbing my rough pebbles in coconut oil..
I just discover your videos, i like what you do man ! Congratulations, i use like you home made staff to polish and cut australian opal. Im in france. Good luck
Love the drip system ypu made, it's probably even cheaper than mine. I bought an anti siphon valve set for an aquarium, 10 bucks, some tubing, 5 bucks, and an old juice bottle and silicone sealant. It's low tech, hacky, but works perfectly.
Yes Don! With just a bit creativity we can create something that works for most of the things you need to start. Thanks for your comments and for watching the vid 🙏
I was curious if cutting opal gems could be done with a rotary tool, so I looked it up and your video was second on the list, right under my favorite RU-vid channel "Black Opal Direct ". Very cool little set up you got, I knew it could be done, I had a couple of the same ideas as you , except I probably wouldn't have ever found time to make a set up like yours, my 4 year old son keeps me busy. 😅 Great video my friend! 😉👍🤘😎
Love the lo fi set up! I have been trying to figure out how to lo fi myself into cutting some labradorite into tiny pieces for a project, have fallen down a stone cutting worm hole now, I may never get back out.
@@opalbadger9367 At the moment I am trying to cut thin slices of labradorite, I think it is the best method to get good pieces to use for an inlay ,due to the directional nature of the colour in the stone. I was messing around with small stone chips for ages trying to get them to behave the way I wanted them to, though cutting bigger rocks is messy, it is starting to produce much better results. There is something magic about slowly revealing the natural and unique beauty in each rock
I am planning to do cutting on budget but instead of buying dremel tool for carving I have purchased a nail drill It still can hold the carving diamond tools and etc. Reason why I bought the nail drill over the dremel tool... Many dremel tools on budget are battery powered or single speed. With the nail drill I can go down to 4000rpm if needed or use pedal. Most budget dremel start at 10krpm or 5000rpm and speeds are fixed. - on ebay Your setup looks great but I don't have space for something like this, I will try hand carving using the speed pedal and shape the opal stone. The good thing about having lower rpm allows you to shape/cut more carefully in some areas. Especially if you are a beginner - Blackopaldirect suggested. Great content looking forward for more.
Thanks a lot for this feedback 🙏!! I haven't thought so much about the rpm so far but this is an important thing. Yeah, my dremel-tool is also starting at 10.000 rpm and I never go higher. The Nova Points are really helping here not to cut off to much. Let me know about your progress and experience 👍. p. s. My girlfriend would appreciate, when I buy a nail drill 😅
@@opalbadger9367 First thing that I have noticed with the nail drill you can't change the hole for different tools. The speed adjustment makes some difference but not too much. Instead of having stationary station I have bought some wooden sticks and wax that is used for opal cutting . Makes it easier to cut rather than holding the stone in your hand. I believe it is better to buy regular dremel (without speed adjustment, and I did buy it) It's handy to have slow and fast tool but not necessary. From my experience cutting opal isn't as easy as it looks on videos, but still a fun. I love the results at the end of it.
@@VIDEOSBYPATRYK thanks for sharing your experience! I already was looking to buy a cheap one too. I also feel comfortable with the dremel tool so maybe I continue without a nail drill. Today I worked very long with my setup and I tried out some crazy things to handle the rpm. I will share in the next videos some funny and some really usefull "tricks". You´re absolutely right, it´s not easy but it´s so much fun!! Enjoy this hobby!
I really enjoyed the video, a very clever cabbing station indeed. Presentation w was spot on too. I subscribed so I look forward to the next installment.👍
I can only try to discribe how ot works in my setup. For sure the waterbowl has to be up and the you only need a hose with something added to control the waterdripping. In my case i used some medical stuff, im not sure it was called hose clamp or just catheter (not sure about right translation). Anyway I found this important piece on amazon for few bugs. Hope that helps 🙃
I laughed out loud multiple times throughout this video. Thank you for all the effort you put into making it. Your set up is awesome! I hope to create something like it. Question: I’m an absolute beginner and haven’t actually started yet (waiting for my rough opals to arrive in the mail) and am currently just researching and watching tons of videos. (Yours is my favourite thus far) But my question is about cutting your hands. Is it possible to wear gloves when starting out? Not something bulky but just something to help avoid scrapes and warn me before I really cut into skin? I have sensitive girly hands that cut like soft cheese.
Hey! Thank you so much for your words, they mean a lot to me! For the risk to cut the hands, first of all: it should be possible to avoid injuries by being more careful than me ;). There are Silicon Finger caps you should find easy on amazon. Have tried them out, in my opinion they are good for protection but can treat the handling of the opal you cut. You should try out, if these will work for you
Thanks for sharing. You are a resourceful person. Rotary tools are very versatile. I have some dremels and also Ryobi battery powered tools. Did you make your own protective shield also?
I would highly recommend to buy sintered diamond burrs here: www.opalauctions.com/stores/53frogs/lapidary/carving-burs/ They will save you money while grinding expensive rough opal :)
Hi, very nice setting! I have a grinder from when i used to do Stained glass projects, i am thinking to use that for cutting and polishing the opals, do you know if they send diamond nova tips for grinders? Could you advise a diamond nova tips supplier? Thank you!
Thank you! Depends where you live. I got my stuff from Germany and one time I had good experience with a supplier from the US. I'm not good informed about grinders, but surely can search for the link if you tell me where you live
Thank you for the video, it must have taken you FOREVER, but it was inspiring! I’m wondering why something like tweezers with some protective coating couldn’t be used to hold the rough opal during the grinding? It might prevent some unfortunate injuries, but I’m sure there’s a reason…breakage probably? Since I’m apparently looking for a “shortcut”, (don’t mind the pun!), would a basic rock tumbler worth for the original grind?
Thank you for the words! For the first video it has taken me really a long time. I'm always to inspire and give ideas to get people starting this wonderful hobby. For the tweezers: I would say it's mainly about handling the stone or controlling the pressure. After grinding the stone to a basic shape you change to a dop stick (wooden stick with dop wax) which is working perfect. I think there's a high possibility, that the stone will flip out of a tweezer. For now I'm only using rotary tools, I think it's about you personal preference and you budget. So if you can afford one and you get used to the Maschine for a good cutting result, this should not be a bad idea 😉
Was that aussie white opal. Can you you tell me what you would price that stone at. With so much red I'm thinking your cutting tool would be paid off x5
Hey Dean! Thanks for your comment mate! Yes, it's lightning ridge and from the body tone it should be categorized as a dark opal from what I know 🤔. People told me that it's value ist about 150 to 200AUD a carat. The stone weights 2,65ct.. I found this one in a parcel of 6 or 7 stones that costs me 120AUD
Way cool! Thank you for the video. Question- how did you glue the opal to the stick? Im getting ready to add some fake (lab grown) opal into a knofe handle i am working on
Hey Bill! Thank you for the comment! I am using dop wax. I think it is the most common way. It is a bit tricky and surely not easy to do at the beginning but you must easyly find some good educational videos on RU-vid
The coarse one? It's a diamond burr I got from Amazon. Surely not the perfect quality. There are some called sintered diamond burrs, you will see them on RU-vid channel Roys Rocks. Roy gives the best information about cutting stones with rotary tools. Hope this was helpful
Hey Tyler! I asked some people. I'm not sure, this one weights 1,65 and people I asked said to me, that it may be 150 to 200$ a carat. So I would say something round 250-300
Thank you mate!!! 🙃 Weights 1,65ct. and measures 9mm x 6,5mm. Not sure if I wanna sell it, because I do silversmithing for a while and maybe will need this barrel shape stone for a Ring. What do you think generally about its Value? Heard something round 150 per ct. Can't say if this is to high or low. Any help would be appreciated.
@@opalbadger9367 I really dont have a clue about prices, not too sure how youd find out. I know the Munich gem fair has a number of opal dealers that attend so if your anywhere near there it could help.
Hey Charles! This dremel is a no name from Amazon costs me 30 bugs. I would recommend to use a dremel with a flex shaft to get lower rpm. Mine has lowest speed 10.000rpm, so that's not perfect, but will do the job
@@opalbadger9367 thanks! Found one with 5,000 rpm.at lowest so seems ok. Where do you buy you'r dop sticks' wax? 8mm diameter dop sticks are ok? Or this diameter is too big for a beginnet like me?
@@charlesdeveille5870 my dop wax I got from a cabbing shop in Germany. There must be a shop near you where you can find the wax, or just check out eBay maybe. You should find it also easy on opalauctions.com. The shop 53 frogs has some prepared dopwaxsticks.
Hey, it is a 30euro Amazon trash dremel 😅. It has variable speed options but minimum of 10.000rpm, what is quit high and had some troubles espacially with Boulderopal. Maybe I will change it to a dremel with possibility to work at 5.000rpm.
People don't understand that you can do this pretty cheaply. I started with sandpaper then I got sintered and nova burrs for the dremel I bought 15 years ago.
Fantastic video. Very entertaining and so funny. I've set up a carving station very similar to what you made. I'm happy to see that another European thought the same. Great job.
Hey Konstantinos, I am so happy about your words mate! Yeah, I like to see, that people are creative to cut stones without having such expensive cabbing mashines. Thank you again and see you soon herein with another Video upcoming
Hey Peter! I can highly recommend to start this journey! Get your first opals on opalauctions.com or eBay to try it out. It's just a bit of preparation and makes much fun to cut an discover some gems. Yeah, it will cost you a bit but think it's worth to try out
Nice set up like your ingenuity I just got sum raw opal at gem show and am wanting to process it cool to see u don't need a huge pro setup to do it keep up the good work
Mensch ist kind. You are sooo cute…Junge. My bastard mother was German. Horrible woman but…I am here to tell you… I love how you joked about mispronouncing “through” durch. Gorgeous! I also love your cat. Eines suesses Katz…ja! My Deutsche is wayyy worse as we spoke only English at home. I love your videos.
I love your videos and the way you can work with common materials to make jewelry it is really helpful to see the whole process 😊 I just wanted to ask what was the tool that you used to hold the opal when you were grinding it
Hey Bonnie! 🙃 I'm happy about the compliment, that's a lot! 🙏 I love my dremel, but I'm working on a setup with a pendant motor to get a little less rpm, that should do even a better job. Will post a video of something awesome, when it's finished
Die Google-Suchanfrage hat Dich als deutsch-native speaker verraten ;) Verrätst Du uns, was Du als Dopwachs verwendest? Schellack oder Siegellack oder was ganz anderes? Beides einmal ausprobiert? Sind das äthiopische Opale? Gutes Video, mach weiter so! Viele Grüße
Hey Denis, danke für die lieben Worte! Ich muss zugeben, dass ich absolut keine Ahnung habe, was ich da verwende, aber es funktioniert super. Habe es in diesem Shop gefunden, ist aber wohl gerade ausverkauft: www.aquarus.net/shop/artikelueber.php?wgruppeid=238&wgruppe_offen=238&sid=e13f1bda13db25c253741cef1717bcdb
