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The backing was just host rock and soft as but the opal itself was really hard. Quite brittle compared to other opal I've cut on the machine

what do you mean by off? That sounds like a Scottish accent

Haha it's definitely my voice. The accent is from West Coast Scotland. I've been living in Australia for 13 years so it's watered down a little. It does sound a bit strange to me too but I think everyone has this when hearing their own voice in a recording 😊

Hey mate, the wife and I had a baby a few months back hence the gap in videos. I’ll be back at it soon!

Thanks for watching 😊

Hey thanks for watching! I get the rough opal direct from a miner in Lightning Ridge but would love to work with some Mintabie material at some point.

Check out my mate’s Instagram page to see the finished thing instagram.com/project_luthier?igshid=OGIzYTJhMTRmYQ==

Thanks mate! This was one of the first bits I ever worked on. Got to start somewhere 🤣

Hey thanks for the comments, love it! I just cut these as a hobby right now and save up the cut stones for now. I started on a website but it’s not really finished. I’ll post here when it is if you’re keen for a look. Thanks again for watching, greatly appreciated

Thanks heaps for the comment! I don’t have plans for this machine as I just made it as I went along. The main part you need is the shaft. This one is stainless steel 1” diameter. Get a machine shop to put threads on the end with some nuts and a recess for the pulley key in the middle. Standard bearing holders, search for ‘flange bearing’ on ebay. The wheels you can also get from eBay and find some plastic tube with 1” inside diameter and cut it to space out the wheels. The nuts on the shaft hold them in place nicely with a little tension. The motor you can also get online, just look for one with low rpm. The rest you can put together to suit your needs. I’m planning to strip this one down and paint it, I’ll try do another video with the build process and post here

You should really be recycling those vegetable peelings

@@theopalproject I would if they weren’t covered in those crappy looking Opals !

Thanks @aropals! I wasn’t too far away then. Cheers

It’s such a beautiful stone to work with 😍

Thank you 🤗

Hi Rob, most rough or rubbed Australian opal has a hazy/dusty appearance until it’s polished. Adding water brings out any colour to make it easier to see

@@theopalproject okay. Thanks. I love opal.

@@Paradigmslam me too! The most addictive gemstone out there I reckon!

Thanks Xander! I find the blues and purples are tricky colours to represent on the camera. In a recent video I found that if I used the DSLR and turn the exposure all the way down then the colours are much more like what we see in real life. The stones are definitely prettier to the naked eye than they appear on camera. I’m working on different lighting on the machine to more accurately portrait the colours in the videos. Thanks for the comment :)

I watched a video called "Why you can't take a picture of a rainbow" on TH-cam. My takeaway was that blues were the hardest color to capture. Could you verify for me that I'm understanding it correctly. You're the second person to say that blues show up better. Tks!

I can help with this if no ones answered rightly. But sadly Opals and cameras don't mix and that the opal is normally much better looking in person then by camera but if seem very bright on camera then it's eye peacing brightness specially after polished

Altho the best camera for Opals ans to show the realness is the Samsung galaxies range as long as it has higher then 40mp/2mp/2mp then you will find Opals turn out almost as beautiful in person

@@mongrelxman6774 totally agree with you! I’ve started using a Samsung Galaxy for some more recent videos. The colours are much closer to real life, especially the blues and purples. The iPhone just washes them out

Thanks Steve, I’m originally from Oban. 15 years now near Sydney, Australia

Hey Michael, thanks for the comment. I got the opal bug but found the machines were so expensive. I don’t have plans for this machine unfortunately, I just started off with the 1” shaft and bought bearings and other bits online from there. I had some of the sheet steel fabricated locally. It actually worked out probably just as expensive as buying one new by the time I added everything to it. I plan to do a more detailed video when I strip the machine down and put it back together

I agree!

Thanks Holly, there’s something really satisfying about turning an average looking stone into something nicer. Opal is such a cool material to work with, each bit totally unique :)

Yep Opals are but sometimes you will find cheap ones due to the person not knowing how to cut or work opal witch is good for the ones who do because it helps to fund more opal to cut as myself buys and cuts opal

Hey Peter, thanks heaps! I’ve been in Aus for over 15 years but only caught the opal fever on a trip to Lightning Ridge a couple of years back. Been a fan of gold prospecting for many years now too

Thank you :) I’m hoping to get some more expensive opal to cut soon 🤞

Thank you

@Ludwig Graupe, ditto! Was going to comment the same myself!😀

I’ve tried a few hearts in the past, Need more practice 😊

When the stones are not polished, water makes it a bit easier to see the colours

Also it's Ethiopian opals that lose color, not Australian opals, if I learned correctly

I love this channel

@@nancymoody910 ahhh. I see. I wonder why though. Do the cracks fill up with moisture/expand which makes the light refract differently? I had the misfortune of unknowingly putting mine in water to clean the dirt offner. After two days they were color less. Almost all color came back after a few days.

@Jason wow that was great info thanks

Thank you Konstantine, I think as long as you can keep the chips and the shards away from the polishing side it’s much easier having it all on one machine. Keen to see your build when it’s finished if you’re keen to share

Thanks Cailley

I think the water cools and also washes away the ground up stone from the diamond wheel prolonging the life

Hi thanks! I reckon around $1500 AUD without the wheels. The expensive parts were the 1” shaft ($750 including machining), Steel tray and lid ($400), Motor ($300)

@@theopalproject Wow ok sweet, thanks for the reply. I have been thinking about whether or not I could build my own machine too but I think I haven't got the skills so i'll probably end up purchasing one for about double the price. Oh well! Good luck with your cutting! :)

@@aaronvoel yeah it worked out to be a bit more expensive than I thought. Good fun though I’d probably save up and buy a Gemaster or similar if I were to do it again. Good luck when you get your machine!