michael B Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 My first attempt at a chrysoprase spiral, this was much slower than my nephrite in the same shape, amazed it stayed together, not as tough as jade but it handled the carving procedure, only sanded to 240 grit diamond, I used diamond on the final polish on my arrow head, would cerium oxide be a better option. Cheers michael B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie K Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 Michael: I don't generally try to get a glass type finish on my carvings, as most of them are faces. But you may find this article of interest, particulary the part that refers to the flow theory. My link The faceters I know have long had problems with stones chipping when doing the final stages of polishing with diamond, this article explains why this might be happening. I have experienced similar problems with micro-cracking in softer stones like opal and apatite, and my understanding is that the softer compounds alleviate this to a certain degree. Nice carving, and I hope this helps. Debbie K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie K Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 Just noticed that the link didn't work, cut and paste this in your browser: www.jewelryartistmagazine.com/feature/polishing_gemstones.cfm Debbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael B Posted January 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 Thanks for the info Debbie, good read, I think cerium will be the go, the reason I put a high polish on most of my carvings is I put them in Aussie state and national shows and the polish is judged, I do not totally agree with this as some stones look better with a lower polish. Cheers michael B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David G Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 Brilliant work as always Michael. Nice bit a chrysoprase, it is not easy to find the good stuff. Cerium is supposed to work best on the chalcedonies though I have found tin oxide better. Just watch out for over heating as it will put "white clouds" just under the surface of the chrysoprase and wreck the look of it. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael B Posted January 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 Thanks for the info David, I think I will do a test on three different polishes on the offcuts, diamond cerium and tin on a basic cab and have a look with a 10x loop, will be very interesting to see the results. Cheers michael B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete D Posted January 10, 2012 Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hey Mick, another nice piece. That apple green is just so tasty! It looks great. Funnily, I just found a piece of chrysophrase in my heap yesterday and took a couple of slabs to cab up. I would've used cerium but reading this post makes me re-think. I might go the water-cooled 50k first and see how things go. I'd be interested in hearing of your tests. Best of luck for Bundy 12. Cheers Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael B Posted January 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2012 Thanks Pete, I don,t think this one is for the Bundy show, has a crystal hole running in it, I filled it with clear apoxy, not sure if I would be marked down on this, the color is great but finding a piece without a fault is very difficult. Cheers michael B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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