How To Cheat Carving Opal. Mintabie Carving Technique. Outback Opal Hunters The Blacklighters

[@canadiangemstones7636]

I truly appreciate that a master lapidary takes the time to document and share his work. Mintabie gives me night terrors.

[@RoysRocks]

Mintabie haunts the minds of many opal cutters. the stuff can be some of the best and some of the worst even in just a single pocket of opal.

[@nancycurtis7315]

Damn. I was late this morning. Too busy pumping up my water wings........ LOL. It's wet here again. The river is in my friends paddock. Boat access only to next door.(near Jeparit). Great way to test the opal, incidentally. I hope you get to do the final cut. We all do. Thoughts to those under flood and bad times. Stay safe everyone and catch you all next video. Greetings from Dimboola, in Victoria, Australia.

[@RoysRocks]

Keep your head above water. Its been so long since I've been back to dimmy that it was near the last flood when we went fully under water at the caravan park and I could canoe to the post office to check the PO Box!!! Was wild. Got in trouble because some grouchy old people at the bowls club saw me in a canoe going by, "dangerous flood waters" on the main street 🤣

[@nancycurtis7315]

@@RoysRocks I moved onto 20 acres near the ski club, but on other side of railway line, so only have water on the flats laying around. The road is starting to look sad. The people who have river flats are having trouble in places.

[@HansFormerlyTraffer]

Thanks for showing the secrets to finding the value. Can't wait to see the finished stone.

[@RoysRocks]

No worries at all. Anyone with a dremel should be doing these sort of tricks to save time, money and opal.

[@jeffholmes1362]

Great job Roy, very clever, mintabie can be very confusing for people I stopped buying it because it was too hard tell if you could get a face or not, I might go revisit some I have that is like that. Thanks for sharing

[@RoysRocks]

I dont blame you for dropping it. It is just so different to every other opal out there but the cheat method works almost everytime. Not so useful for tiny stones but good for the chunks. Give it a crack if you stumble on some good mintabie.

[@EdWolfram]

I hope it turns out well for Dianna and you. GL Roy and thanks as always for the video.

[@RoysRocks]

I'm always taking other peoples stones twice as seriously as I would my own. Hope it yields gems for her.

[@TheKegtwo]

New to the channel, I am pushing through the back videos. Great stuff, very educational.

[@RoysRocks]

Welcome David and if you have any questions just ask in the comments. I still see and reply to all if possible. Also dont go to far back the early videos were rough 🤣

[@TheKegtwo]

@@RoysRocks Rough means genuine. Like you I have a sizeable collection of low to mid grade rough I am trying to work my way through. Most of it is too small for cabbing so I am interesting in free form and carving, so your videos are right for my interests. I will be visiting your shop to get the right tools. I have some contacts in LR that keep me supplied with material they don’t see any value working, so your grading system is also interesting to me. Thank you for replying.

[@RoysRocks]

@@TheKegtwo Wonderful. Snag those reject wavy bar stones no cabber wants to touch and I know you'll strike some gems that will be more than low/mid grade.

[@pkgoldopalhunting]

great info to work out what way to cut and what bar

[@RoysRocks]

It sure saves a lot of opal (and time).

[@nielskrog9623]

Great job on the information...!! Love your Chanel, and I got the link from another Opal cutter....!!

[@RoysRocks]

No worries Niels. I try to hide a bit of useful info in each video if I can. 💪

[@anthonymcclain6475]

You know me... I'll put my two cents in 😂 but you're the master... I've learned everything from you and opal itself but I would come from either direction and see but that's just me...but if you have or get access to a trim saw then I agree slice it down the center for two stones....but if no sliver I'd try for double sided stone...but you would know best with stone in hand. As always great video and thanks for sharing

[@RoysRocks]

I could give another corner a quick check from both directions but with these crystal like bars the direction is less important you just need to know where the best colour is in the bar. Never hurts to check though. 👌

[@redeyestones3738]

Pretty cool stone. Looking forward to the next episode

[@RoysRocks]

Fingers crossed its an easy slice, cut and polish.

[@sierrahjmartinez6703]

I was gonna slice it. If an oval is gonna be shaped then that odd corner sticking out can be cut off and you can can try slicing that and see how good that will turn out maybe even get some small cabs out if it too. But I'm definitely no expert.

[@RoysRocks]

Yeah trimming and testing is a very valid strategy and great for those with no dremel. Same idea just a different approach.

[@drfill9210]

You got it in one mate... thanks for giving us the appearance of choice, but there's only one thing to do really... ps I'm not so sure you can't slice that with a 40ml dremel disc... I'm getting amazing results with mine, and I wouldn't be trusting any random with a trim saw... plus you need to be precise on where the cut needs to be... Maybe go around the outside with a dremel just to get the groove started and give the saw some guidance?

[@RoysRocks]

I could dremel saw it but... misaligned by even a few degrees and the cut wont meet. At one end there is only just over 1mm between the bars. I think need the mk-303 for this one. Start at the narrow end and get it dead straight down the middle in one cut. "and I wouldn't be trusting any random with a trim saw" I dont plan on handing it to anyone else apart from the owner of the stone. If they want to do it or have someone else in mind for the slice I'll let it go.

[@drfill9210]

@@RoysRocks I suppose there's no guarantee the bar will be straight in the middle anyway. The stress cracks on the side make me wonder what happens when you remove one layer of sand.... maybe hold the whole running in a vice until you have all the sand off...

[@lenorekoch6494]

I'm a sponge.. sucking it all up til I get some stones to play with! GREAT video!!!

[@RoysRocks]

Thanks and good luck. Soaking in as much info before getting going is great. I did exactly the same for years before starting.

[@annakeye]

Depending on how well they match, I'd make a pair of dangly earrings. You may have enough material to make two very small ovals as studs to hang the dangles from and it also gives you room to play with the shape of the ovals. How long or wide they are, sort of thing.

[@RoysRocks]

Youd be able to get about 4 pairs of earrings from this one. If I slice I'll probably cut and polish them as slabs and leave it to the owner to go from there since I dont do the silversmithing yet.

[@bhutjolokia6990]

Nice!! Looking good!!👍😁

[@RoysRocks]

Fingers crossed it stays that way and the faces are clean.

[@kenoathiog1156]

Great technique mate. Could save a lot of heartache when dealing with Mintabie !?

[@RoysRocks]

Yeah when I first dived in to mintabie I wish I did this. Would have saved a lot of time.

[@bbisyy4u]

Can't wait for part 3.

[@RoysRocks]

Hopefully it will be me doing the slice. I'll see what I can do. I might just buy a saw and my fave blade. Needed anyway.

[@ElinHaugan]

​@@RoysRocks try to look for a tile saw, not sure about the price on them in Australia, but here they are waaay cheaper than a lapidary saw. 😉👌

[@RoysRocks]

@@ElinHaugan They are just a little too fast especially when using my fave MK303 blade. They are paper thin and need to be spun pretty slowly. It's like cutting with a foil blade.

[@ElinHaugan]

@@RoysRocks I don't remember what brand mine is, but it's 0.something thick (0.4 I think). I've cut a lot of different stones with it, but no opals as I have'nt worked with any opal chunks like that yet. Anyway, hope you find a good saw and that that cut goes smooth and nicely 🤞😊

[@billiehydrick6417]

Is this part 2 hopefully

[@RoysRocks]

Part 2 indeed. Part 3 I'm not to sure about as it will come down to the owner.

[@Famo59]

Awesome

[@RoysRocks]

Handy for sure.

[@kevbruce9191]

Precision slice

[@RoysRocks]

Yeah one of those tingly finger style slices.

[@Matis_747]

Your channel could be way more successful but you’ll need to theme and market your videos a little better. Change out the logo and structure the videos more like this one, you could have a lot more engagement. Think about thumbnails and titles or get someone to do it for you. I love the content, it just needs better marketing.

[@RoysRocks]

I'm sure thats true but I'm not trying to be a full on "youtuber" and I dislike the "winning strategies" of marketing videos. I could do with some crazy clickbait titles, hyper-edit the thumbnail (and even the video) but I'd rather delete the channel than go down that path.

[@Matis_747]

@@RoysRocks fair

[@RoysRocks]

@@Matis_747 Just my ethics and morals who know... one day I might sell out 🤣

[@stormcrowemissaryofsophia2366]

i think you should slice through the jelly potch layer.. it'll save time and your burrs

[@RoysRocks]

Just need to get time to go visit a friend. Honestly I could probably purchase a half decent trim saw and put it on a bench outside. Doesn't look like I'll be homeless for another 18 months guaranteed.

[@stormcrowemissaryofsophia2366]

@@RoysRocks is there a lapidary club in your neighborhood? if there is, that would be a cheaper option than purchasing a tile saw. most lapidary clubs would be keen to help you out with a single slicing job.. they're also good for accessing other lapidary machines.. flat laps/cabbers etc. without my local club, i'd be lost. homelessness sucks, if i dont get my backside into gear, i'll be living in the forest by february.. good luck to you with everything mate.

[@RoysRocks]

@@stormcrowemissaryofsophia2366 ​ Nah closest one is a while away. I have a friend whos saw I borrow a few times a year but he isnt close either. It is about time I got my own. Actually there is one at work but its got a thick slab blade so no good for this one.

[@stormcrowemissaryofsophia2366]

@@RoysRocks ah thats a shame that theres no lap club close by. yeah a thick saw blade would be no good. aussie sapphire sell portable trim saws for $210(7 inch; 4 inch is too small) with a thin blade.. the top metal table section of the saws rust fast, which is the only downside to those units. the water wells in those units run dry pretty quick too. i bought one years ago and for long sawing sessions, ended up attaching a hose drip feed to the water well/sump

[@RoysRocks]

@@stormcrowemissaryofsophia2366 Yeah I've seen those units in the past. Basically just a wet tile saw with a lapidary blade chucked on. Never tried one out but might be a good thing to test on the channel anyway. I'm all about exploring the low budget solutions.

[@bentationfunkiloglio]

Looks like the Mintabie Beast is cooperating.

[@RoysRocks]

Surprisingly it is indicating it will play nice. About time! My last 5-6 have bombed completely.

[@bentationfunkiloglio]

@@RoysRocks Excellent! The dark/black Mintabie seem to be real tricksters, but sometimes they do work out. I’m just finishing up a small pear-shaped stone that looks pretty good. Will make a nice pendant for one of my girls.

[@nielskrog9623]

Sorry.... !! I got your Chanel from Black Opal Direct....!! So I suggest that you make arrangements with him....!! (About him presenting you more....!! You could do cutting competition or the like He have passed 200.000 subscription's as far as I remember...!!!

[@RoysRocks]

He is the #1 opal channel on youtube that is for sure. Would be a great collaboration... just need to come up with an idea.

[@TheObSeRvErTheObSeRv]

Trim saw will bring out its COLOR.!

[@RoysRocks]

Hopefully. I would be 80% confident on both bars coming out well.