I use wax regularly for dopping harder stones than opal. Wax does need heat on both the stone and the wax but the bond is excellent. To remove, put the dopped stone in the freezer for 30 minutes and the stone will come away from the wax, often simply falls off when touched. No harsh chemicals.
Absolutely ! This was a fantastic tutorial of how to produce doublets. Very well put together and explained processes. I can only imagine how much great Opal might have gone to waste before doublets and triplets were invented. And while they may not be examples of solid Opal, at least the millions of years worth of creation aren’t going to waste, and are an affordable option for someone who’s not as blessed as others.
Thanks for your feedback and comments. Yes, its a great way of making use of that thin seam material that has great colour. It's possible to make use of all opal, we just need to be creative.
Thanks for making this. I have bits that would be perfect to try making doublets with and this is brilliant (I suspect every opal cutter has this kind of leftover material). It is amazing to see stuff that looks so drab and boring turn into magical gems. Although I don't have all the equipment you have I suspect I can make adjustments to the process and make do. Thanks again, Robert, and keep making videos like these. You deserve a hundred times this many subscribers.
I reckon doublets are harder to do than solids... well... everything has its challenges... I made some pink opal doublets. Quite good if you have crystal but it's a risk. , had to repair a friend's doublet. She had ironstone backing and i suspect that was the problem.. ironstone expands at different rates. I like the obsidian idea.. also doublets are an opportunity for creativity and art... perhaps we should market it this way
Maybe they are harder but they can produce some nice surprises. Currently doing some lovely small Mintabie doublets and I'm looking forward to seeing the final result. Yes choosing the right backing is important, as expansion rates will be a problem if the wrong backing has been chosen.
I think Ive watched almost every video of Robert(Opal Master) More then once Thank you Robert ..and the Videos of your Wife which is also amazing and educational
Great video 👍 Very informative and great teaching. I have so many great rough opals for doublets and can’t wait to make them on my flat top. Wouldn’t know where to start until now. I just need to buy a saw 😬 Keep these vids up for us beginners 👌 One question though: Do you have to paint the obsidian glass?
Thank you for your feedback. Some obsidian is a little transparent and may benefit from darkening but if the opal is really bright it wont be necessary.
Hi Robert First of all i would like to congratulate you on the 1k subscribers and hopefully many more to come. I want to thank you for making this video after requesting it to you🙌🏽 I am truly greatful and appreciate each bit of knowledge you share with us.. This video and like all your videos helped me out with the art and craft of Opal.. So once again THANK YOU and greetings from Austria Vienna
Black pigment is ok providing it is compatible and mixes freely with the glue. If the piece you want to make a doublet from is not full colour, glue the side that has colour, to your backing. So, by the time you have cleaned up the top of the stone you should be closer to the colour. Grind/lap the piece until you have the best colour. Leave enough for sanding.
Hi Congratulations on reaching 1000 subs, thanks for your awesome video. I love how you explain step by step. Can I sand and polish doublets with my Dremel?
Thanks for your feedback, its appreciated. I guess its possible to sand and polish the top and sides of a doublet with a dremel but you will need to find some way of creating flat surfaces for the backing, if you don't already have flattened obsidian or potch, and for the opal. Both surfaces should be flat when you glue them together. If you don't have diamond laps for this part of the process you may need to roughly grind them some way, them hand lap them on a sheet of glass with loose silicon carbide grit #220 then #400 and water. I hope you have success.
Thank you for your request. I am only able to show you the way we cut opal. From a professional point of view we don't cut boulder wet because it is too slow and too messy, for us. This may not be the case for someone who is set up for cutting wet. Cutting black opal is similar to cutting white opal but from my experience, black opal can be softer than some white opal and may require a different approach at times. We don't have access to much black opal but there are some who specialise in cutting black opal on TH-cam who may be able to help.
@@mattboyd8090 If you have black potch and your opal is bright I would not be too concerned but if your potch is light in body colour I would recommend using one or the other or both just to be sure.
They look fantastic for sure !
Thank you. Yes, they are lovely doublets.
1000. you are the best.. humble and great cutter
So true what you saying
Robert is master of this craft
And what makes him and hes channel even more wholesome,is hes humbleness
Thank you for your encouraging comments.
Another exellent post, thank you ,
Thank you for your feedback.
I use wax regularly for dopping harder stones than opal. Wax does need heat on both the stone and the wax but the bond is excellent. To remove, put the dopped stone in the freezer for 30 minutes and the stone will come away from the wax, often simply falls off when touched. No harsh chemicals.
Congrats on reaching 1000 subs. 🤪👍
Thank you and thanks for watching.
He totally deserves a hundred times that much.
@@ThatOpalGuy I agree
And it will
Absolutely ! This was a fantastic tutorial of how to produce doublets. Very well put together and explained processes. I can only imagine how much great Opal might have gone to waste before doublets and triplets were invented. And while they may not be examples of solid Opal, at least the millions of years worth of creation aren’t going to waste, and are an affordable option for someone who’s not as blessed as others.
Thanks for your feedback and comments. Yes, its a great way of making use of that thin seam material that has great colour. It's possible to make use of all opal, we just need to be creative.
Thanks for making this. I have bits that would be perfect to try making doublets with and this is brilliant (I suspect every opal cutter has this kind of leftover material).
It is amazing to see stuff that looks so drab and boring turn into magical gems.
Although I don't have all the equipment you have I suspect I can make adjustments to the process and make do.
Thanks again, Robert, and keep making videos like these. You deserve a hundred times this many subscribers.
Thank you for your kind and encouraging words. Yes, when opal is treated the correct way, it can be transformed into a thing of beauty.
I reckon doublets are harder to do than solids... well... everything has its challenges...
I made some pink opal doublets. Quite good if you have crystal but it's a risk. , had to repair a friend's doublet. She had ironstone backing and i suspect that was the problem.. ironstone expands at different rates.
I like the obsidian idea.. also doublets are an opportunity for creativity and art... perhaps we should market it this way
Maybe they are harder but they can produce some nice surprises. Currently doing some lovely small Mintabie doublets and I'm looking forward to seeing the final result. Yes choosing the right backing is important, as expansion rates will be a problem if the wrong backing has been chosen.
I use black jade, basenite (basalt), or black Oregon opal limb casts as backing.
I encourage the use of a similar hardness for backing. I have seen opal lift off jade over time.
I think Ive watched almost every video of Robert(Opal Master)
More then once
Thank you Robert ..and the Videos of your Wife which is also amazing and educational
On behalf of my wife and I, we thank you for your kind comments. We are happy to know the videos have been of help to you.
@@diverseopalproducts
♥️
@@V27RV Thank you. 🙂
Great video 👍
Very informative and great teaching. I have so many great rough opals for doublets and can’t wait to make them on my flat top. Wouldn’t know where to start until now. I just need to buy a saw 😬
Keep these vids up for us beginners 👌
One question though: Do you have to paint the obsidian glass?
Thank you for your feedback. Some obsidian is a little transparent and may benefit from darkening but if the opal is really bright it wont be necessary.
Hi Robert
First of all i would like to congratulate you on the 1k subscribers and hopefully many more to come.
I want to thank you for making this video after requesting it to you🙌🏽
I am truly greatful and appreciate each bit of knowledge you share with us..
This video and like all your videos helped me out with the art and craft of Opal..
So once again THANK YOU and greetings from Austria Vienna
Thank you for your feedback. I am glad you enjoyed the video. We will continue to try and provide informative and educational opal processing videos.
Oh congrats on hitting 1k! I remember a few weeks ago you were on 999 or something frustrating like that
Thank you and thanks for encouraging more people to subscribe.
I USE A TINY BIT OF BLACK PIGMANT IN GLUE, YOU DO A GREAT JOB IN EXPLANING THINGS GREAT STUFF, SO YOU GLUE THE COLOUR SIDE TO THE POTCH ????
Black pigment is ok providing it is compatible and mixes freely with the glue. If the piece you want to make a doublet from is not full colour, glue the side that has colour, to your backing. So, by the time you have cleaned up the top of the stone you should be closer to the colour. Grind/lap the piece until you have the best colour. Leave enough for sanding.
@@diverseopalproducts thank you
great tuturial learned a lot .thanks++++++++
Your feedback is appreciated.
Gorgeous
Thank you. Doublets can be a great use of thin opal, producing beautiful colour and pattern.
Hi Congratulations on reaching 1000 subs, thanks for your awesome video. I love how you explain step by step. Can I sand and polish doublets with my Dremel?
Thanks for your feedback, its appreciated. I guess its possible to sand and polish the top and sides of a doublet with a dremel but you will need to find some way of creating flat surfaces for the backing, if you don't already have flattened obsidian or potch, and for the opal. Both surfaces should be flat when you glue them together. If you don't have diamond laps for this part of the process you may need to roughly grind them some way, them hand lap them on a sheet of glass with loose silicon carbide grit #220 then #400 and water. I hope you have success.
@@diverseopalproducts Thanks so much for your reply and advice. I will definitely give it a go. Cheers 😁
I'd love if you could show how to cut boulder opal wet. I am just learning. I also would like to see cutting black opal too.
Thank you for your request. I am only able to show you the way we cut opal. From a professional point of view we don't cut boulder wet because it is too slow and too messy, for us. This may not be the case for someone who is set up for cutting wet. Cutting black opal is similar to cutting white opal but from my experience, black opal can be softer than some white opal and may require a different approach at times. We don't have access to much black opal but there are some who specialise in cutting black opal on TH-cam who may be able to help.
Most definite
Fungsi nya untuk apa pak,??
For adding black in the glue, I'm succesfully using laser printer toner 😊
If it mixes freely with your epoxy, it should be ok.
Where do you get your obsidian? I've had a look but I can't find much. Do you sell slices?
I have a small amount myself but when that's gone I will be in the same boat as you. I might need to consider potch. 🙂
@diverseopalproducts yeah okay haha. Would you still use paint and pigment with potch?
@@mattboyd8090 If you have black potch and your opal is bright I would not be too concerned but if your potch is light in body colour I would recommend using one or the other or both just to be sure.