Slabbing and Cabbing Dendritic Opal

[@Mike-br8vb]

Good morning Scott, you took a challenging piece and made it into a gem! Good work, it's very nice!

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks bud!

[@jamesferry6717]

Good job with a difficult piece!

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks James, I appreciate it! It is a fun stone to polish.

[@charlesadkins7067]

cool one

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks!😁

[@maisiefreeman8597]

I ought to send you some Australian opal to slab and cab. You find it all over the place here. By the way, there is a term for hunting for opal - it's called "noodling".

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks so much for the info, and thank you for watching! I actually got a big chunk of Australian opal from a dealer and it is beautiful! I haven’t worked with it yet. You’re most fortunate to have access to it!

[@greatnorthernviews3052]

It’s a keeper 😊

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks, and thank you for watching!

[@Amanda-yf7vj]

Still looks great!! How do you tell the difference between opal and agate? What's the Identifying fine line?

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks so much Amanda! I’m no expert but opal is mostly opaque while agate is translucent. Other than that I have no idea 🤷‍♂️ 😆

[@Amanda-yf7vj]

@@spwinaustin 🤪 OK I always wondered what the line was. I've found milky agate that I thought could be opal too 🤷‍♀️ I'm no expert either I have a soft spot for agates though

[@roman11469]

Great job! Oh, where did you get your cab “stencil”? Thanks

[@spwinaustin]

Thanks Peter! I believe I bought a big set through HP Lapidary, and the rest through Kingsley North.

[@roman11469]

@@spwinaustin Thanks, I am in the process of securing an old, but working Star Diamond cab machine.

[@spwinaustin]

That sounds great, good luck!

[@samaniegod76]

What is that measurement plate thing? I need one. Lmk please and thank 😊

[@spwinaustin]

Hey, thanks for watching! They are rock templates and you can buy them from sites like Kingsley North or Highland Park Lapidary.