Opal cutting

As you can probably tell from the subject title I am super green to what I'm talking about here.

Essentially I'd like to get cheap rough opals of Ebay and the like, and start learning to turn them into nice looking stones.

I would love advice on the following

Where do I start?
Where can I get equipment on the cheap? Given my lack of experience I'm trying to keep the costs down while I figure out if this is for me.
General advice

Cheers Tom

You can't turn oop: into a :gemstone: .... The cheap stuff on ebay is cheap for a reason, They are on-selling their oop: stones as they are no good to them..
That being said you might be lucky and find a nice piece...

Welcome to the world of Lapidary..$$ :money: :money:

You will need to start with a Trim saw.$$ :money: .. Or a cheaper way out of it is get a 'Modified' Tile saw from a place like this..
https://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/sawing/saws .....

Then you need a Cabbing Machine like this.. :money: :money: :money:
https://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/cabbing/cabbing-machines/ or at least a 2 head Grinding Machine WITH LAPIDARY WHEELS and not a normal bench grinder as they are TOO aggressive and are not a precision made piece of gear and vibrate a bit too much... If you are handy with your hands then you could try and make one but they are not real easy to make... I have plans for Home-made Lapidary gear so if you know what you want I will see if I have one to suit you...

Or Keep an eye out on Ebay or Gumtree for second hand Lapidary Equipment... There are bargains out there... I also recommend getting out to Gem Shows early as there is often stuff for sale, but it does go quickly...

Or Best yet (cheapest) is to join a Lapidary Club and use their Equipment and decide if it's a hobby for you, with-out the expensive outlay... Where are you Located?

LW....

Some stuff that looks fun to play with is lab created opal. You could play with some synthetic opal to practice on, which has the same properties as natural opal. It can make some interesting stones at a fraction of the price. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TOP-GRA...a:g:hBIAAOSwrw1ccI~B:rk:1:pf:1&frcectupt=true
Once you feel confident in removing your training wheels, move on to the real stuff which as LW has pointed out is not cheap.

Don't forget there are other stones that make interesting cab.

Join a club , use their machines , get there advice , free education and meet some great blokes.

Hi Tom, welcome to the forum.

Definitely check out your local lapidary club, they usually have decades of experience as well as a collection of gear that would cost you an arm and leg.

If they run training courses I would jump onto one as learning a few of the basics will accelerate your results.

Just visited the one at Beecroft and was very impressed with their setup, I hear there is another good one a bit further west.

Otherwise, gumtree is my No.1 tool supply store.

Good luck

Just my opinion, but i would be looking for a good club to join, and good condition used equipment, just save until you can afford one mate, or as someone else stated about making something if your good with your hands. Poor quality equipment will end up in poor quality stones. Look on youtube for videos there is plenty on there. Good luck any questions just ask. Cheers Noel.

Welcome Digger762, I have to agree with everything said by my colleagues, the value of joining a club and learning in a supportive environment is something you'll never regret. It will introduce you to all aspects of working with gems so once you start setting up your own cutting workshop you won't be wasting money as you will know exactly what you want.

My own cabbing machine was bought off someone who didn't know what he was doing and was a combination of good laps and handy bits and pieces, but a lot more was a disaster and was never going to work, I've rebuilt it into a very simple but functional machine which will do almost everything I want.

Without starting at a club I wouldn't have had the experiences with different machines to put me on the right track and I would have wasted a heap of cash.

We can give plenty of help and advice, but getting hands on takes it to the next level.

If you let us know where you're located we might be able to make some suggestions of suitable clubs, even possibly ones you might need to avoid.

Here is my latest piece i just finished tonight.

Very nice erfect:

Lefty said:

Very nice erfect:

Click to expand...

I should hopefully have two more pendants to show later tonight, too hot in the shed today even with the air-con on high out put. 46 in Pt Augusta today.

I ended up finishing 3 pendants tonight, all solid 925 silver.l. Cheers Noel.

Especially like that second one! :inlove: erfect:

Hi Lefty, funny enough that is one of my favourites too, i have been over some of your threads you are one talented stone cutter, ii will be after a certain stone for the piece i am working on now, will pm you the dimensions to see what you may have about, i have a saphire and a topaz here, but as the opal has a lot of green i was thinking about a nice emerald sitting above the opal, what do you think ? Any suggestions most welcome. Cheers Noel.

Cheers mate, pm sent :Y:

and i have jars and jars of practice opal if you like some