The process is definitely a learning process. When you did the reveal @ 8:35 and so on.. well.., I’ll just say I need a swear jar 😜🤣🤯. Your obsidian work is on point 🔥🔥🔥. Great job.
There was so much more I wanted to talk about regarding wheels but I was trying to keep it short. With obsidian, it's important to know your wheels and the finish that they leave on the surface before you go to the next stage.
@@WorldofRockhounds you should make a series called Obsidian Talk or something like that. That way you have multiple episodes and plenty of time to talk about it all. I’d watch and listen.
I definitely would like to do a more detailed video or a series that perhaps goes over each step that I do. It would be cool to do a live video where I can answer questions while I work but I don't think the channel is big enough to do such an event.
Thanks for pushing on Kyle, most would have given up... These pieces will be an awesome addition to my private collecting... Four of those pieces were self collected at Glass Buttes a few years back. Your the best at what you do with Obsidian... Two thumbs up...
Some material can be challenging. I really love obsidian and how it can finish but dang...it can test my patience haha I haven't even put my Genie back together yet. Part of me is wondering if I should use this opportunity to get a new 1200 grit wheel for it. Still haven't decided 🤷♂️ They are all beautiful pieces and I hope you enjoy them!
I’m a lapidary noob and got a slab of obsidian - it was looking good (matte but smooth) until someone told me to go back a couple of steps to get the flat top rounded out better). After doing that I somehow have deep scratches I can’t get out. My hunch was to stick it out with the 1200 for a long time until they’re gone but I got a headache. What I also realized, similar to what you found, is to find the “duller” wheels in the shop and have patience. I believe I had started on a duller 80 grit wheel and it was looking better than when I tried to fix it later with a newer 80 grit wheel and then proceeded to polish. We should have a swear jar in our shop lol
These are fantastic videos. Thank you so much for verbalizing your thought processes and design thinking as you work through jobs. And, a special thank you for including times when things don't quite go as planned. We need to see more of that from others' videos so we can understand 1. how much work and effort can really go into a finished piece, 2. and how to roll with it when needed. 3. exactly just how much $$ is sufficient to placate the swear jar gods.
Thank you! and You're welcome, I do what I can in the videos plus it's important to show that not everything goes as planned. I had bought a kitchen timer to start using in future videos to show just how much time passes during some projects. Sometimes there is not enough money to make the swear jar gods happy haha
Well I sure did enough swearing to fill the jar when that broke... Lol. They still turned out amazing. Beautiful work. Again probably all of them were from Glass Beutes.
Great job on the obsidian love the sheen. Hopefully someday I can visit you and maybe get some one on one training on polishing obsidian it’s one of my favorite stones.
I’m afraid I’ll need to add something to the jar. Slipped out when I saw that slab crack in half. Those turned out beautiful. I know how frustrating it is to have to keep going back thru polishing stages.When things return to normal (whatever that is) I can get back outside and finish up what I was working on for you.
Again no rush. I'm not going anywhere :) But the video was shortened quite a bit when it broke. I thought I was there for several seconds but when I went to edit...I was there for a good 30 to 45 seconds of my just processing what transpired. It's one thing I always worry about when I work on stuff that isn't mine.
@@WorldofRockhounds The best part, is that it still turned out fab, just in a bit smaller and different way than you planned it. And, if the original owner of the material watches your video they will know that you did your best to get great results.
I have one more obsidian project on the bench and may not do any more custom obsidian works for a little while. I've gained a few white hairs from this one alone haha But someday I'll do some more pieces when I get my project list done.
I'm glad it helps. It's always my goal to push as many polishing videos out there as possible so I can share what I know in hopes it will help anyone out there! I'm glad the jar could make your night :) Rock on!
Gorgeous work!!! I can't wait to see what you do with my obsidian! Especially the emerald green one. The suspense is killing me. Could you make that into a video too? I'd love to see the process so I can eventually learn for myself. Fantastic job as always 🥰❤
Yours is next on the bench! I'm hoping to get a new wheel to help with the polishing process. I did start some of the grinding but I can most certainly make it into a video. The Mrs. has encouraged me to do another obsidian video since she noticed people like them. :)
@@WorldofRockhounds woohoo!!! So excited! Haha your Mrs. sounds like a smart lady. The obsidian (while I'm sure not easy by any means to polish) sure is captivating to watch and such a joy to see during the big reveal. I suppose you did too good of a job on one of the more difficult materials out there. 😆 the word is getting out quick 🥰
You have a very nice vertical lap set up with your polishing unit. You could make several different sanding disks by adhering wet/dry sandpaper sheets to blank disks. This would give you support to avoid breaking the slab at the last hour. I have done this with my horizontal lap with great success. Just a thought.
Good morning! I am *THRILLED* to have accidentally stumbled on your channel while doing a random RUclips search on "Fire Obsidian". Wow. After watching only one of your videos, I immediately subscribed. If I could venture a guess - LOL, probably totally wrong on this (as per usual!) - I am thinking that you really love obsidian. I love obsidian too - the "challenge" of working with it, and the amazing results when things go well (LOL - with obsidian, this is never a "given", as I am sure you know) really makes my juices get going. It is so very rare to find lapidary artists that fully appreciate obsidian, and all of it's varied types. Keep up the good work! Can you recommend any sources for rough fire and/or rough gold sheen and/or rough rainbow? Thanks so much! Anne
Howdy! And welcome to the channel...I'm happy I could draw you in! You are correct...obsidian is my favorite stone. Particularly the fire variety. I tend to hoard whatever I can find since it's hard to get. But even other obsidians hold such beauty and I try my best to make sure I can bring it out. For fire obsidian, Try reaching out to Emory Coons, He may be able to help you out with finding fire to buy. For rainbow rough, do you have any local rock shops? I just got some in an estate sale but I haven't got any for sale yet because I don't even know exactly what I have just yet. Still have to sort it! :)
WOW!!! Those are incredible! Very nice work, and thank you for making this video. Just curious, (hindsight is always 20/20) would placing that larger slab on something like a yoga mat work instead of using the makeshift slab grabber?
I've tried years ago and one of the downsides was heat and even had some chipping issues. Those sanders are fantastic with larger stones that can handle heat well. I really liked it for large wood rounds myself.
That probably wouldn't be a bad idea, though it just means one more step of clean up but I am trying to design a better horizontal grabber for using with the angle grinder for such projects.
Have you ever tried to polish a rough obsidian piece without cutting I've tried sanding and had poor results any advice would be great as I have a giant rainbow boulder "175lb" piece I want to polish.
I've polished several pieces without using a saw. I like to pick pieces that will be easy to work and just start with 80 grit diamond wheel to get the shape. Then 180 grit to further smooth it out and from there, use the soft wheels starting at 220 and going higher through each grit stage being sure to check my work frequently. Using a light source and drying the stone surface frequently will help to figure out if you need to sand more or if you are good to go to the next step. I have a 50 lb chunk of silver sheen that I have been meaning to practice with the angle grinder and it's sanding pads.
Ok bud,I'm having a meltdown. HOW on earth do you cut the slabs from a whole stone so that you get the best reveal??..I have all the obsidian from @thisrocks! But I have to try and eyeball what I THINK is the right angle and 8 out of 10 times I'm wrong. So I'm wasting a lot of material. Please advise me on your secret to cutting obsidian so that I can get to this stage here,for polishing. Oh,by the way it's me Wil,from Manistee Rocks
It all depends on the piece and what i want to do with it. If it's non fire material such as mahogany or gold sheen, then I will use a saw (be it trim or slab) to make whatever necessary cuts or to slab the material. If it's rainbow obsidian, i will either just start grinding away and work with the natural shape of the stone or make cuts to expose the layers to reveal the color. If fire obsidian, it depends on how much excess material is above the layer. If there isn't much, I will just grind down to the layer. If there is too much material, I will use a trim saw to make the precise cuts I need.
LOL, love the swear jar and your humor.
The process is definitely a learning process. When you did the reveal @ 8:35 and so on.. well.., I’ll just say I need a swear jar 😜🤣🤯. Your obsidian work is on point 🔥🔥🔥. Great job.
There was so much more I wanted to talk about regarding wheels but I was trying to keep it short.
With obsidian, it's important to know your wheels and the finish that they leave on the surface before you go to the next stage.
And thank you!
@@WorldofRockhounds you should make a series called Obsidian Talk or something like that. That way you have multiple episodes and plenty of time to talk about it all. I’d watch and listen.
I definitely would like to do a more detailed video or a series that perhaps goes over each step that I do.
It would be cool to do a live video where I can answer questions while I work but I don't think the channel is big enough to do such an event.
Very nice material! Takes an awesome polish.
Thank you! And it sure does.
My favorite part is wiping away the polish and seeing the crisp shine.
You always get an unbelievable polish on the rocks! Wow. Stay safe and be well.
I certainly try! Thank you and you as well!
Thanks for pushing on Kyle, most would have given up...
These pieces will be an awesome addition to my private collecting...
Four of those pieces were self collected at Glass Buttes a few years back.
Your the best at what you do with Obsidian... Two thumbs up...
Some material can be challenging. I really love obsidian and how it can finish but dang...it can test my patience haha
I haven't even put my Genie back together yet. Part of me is wondering if I should use this opportunity to get a new 1200 grit wheel for it. Still haven't decided 🤷♂️
They are all beautiful pieces and I hope you enjoy them!
Some beautiful pieces 🍻
Agreed :)
Damn. The finished product turned out very nice. Love obsidian.
Thank you!
The gold was so pretty! Good job as always, bro!
It really was and thank you :)
👉🤠👉
I’m a lapidary noob and got a slab of obsidian - it was looking good (matte but smooth) until someone told me to go back a couple of steps to get the flat top rounded out better). After doing that I somehow have deep scratches I can’t get out. My hunch was to stick it out with the 1200 for a long time until they’re gone but I got a headache. What I also realized, similar to what you found, is to find the “duller” wheels in the shop and have patience. I believe I had started on a duller 80 grit wheel and it was looking better than when I tried to fix it later with a newer 80 grit wheel and then proceeded to polish.
We should have a swear jar in our shop lol
Those are gorgeous!! Nice work!!
Thank you! :)
These are fantastic videos.
Thank you so much for verbalizing your thought processes and design thinking as you work through jobs.
And, a special thank you for including times when things don't quite go as planned.
We need to see more of that from others' videos so we can understand
1. how much work and effort can really go into a finished piece,
2. and how to roll with it when needed.
3. exactly just how much $$ is sufficient to placate the swear jar gods.
Thank you!
and You're welcome, I do what I can in the videos plus it's important to show that not everything goes as planned.
I had bought a kitchen timer to start using in future videos to show just how much time passes during some projects.
Sometimes there is not enough money to make the swear jar gods happy haha
long live Oregon rockhounding!
Well I sure did enough swearing to fill the jar when that broke... Lol. They still turned out amazing. Beautiful work. Again probably all of them were from Glass Beutes.
Thank you and they did!
gorgeous pieces
Amazing material, great job
Thank you!
Keep up the great work young man!! 😉
I really like your slab grabber idea!!
Thanks for sharing!!!
Thank you for the compliment and thank you for watching!
Holy smokes, you sure put a nice polish on these!
Thank you!
Great job on the obsidian love the sheen. Hopefully someday I can visit you and maybe get some one on one training on polishing obsidian it’s one of my favorite stones.
Thank you! and someday I will teach it in person. Just takes a little longer to learn than most rocks out there :)
Nice work. I like your setup 👍
And the obsidian is amaizing 😍
Thank you! It was a little messy for this video but I am proud of the space that I have built up over the years :)
I’m afraid I’ll need to add something to the jar. Slipped out when I saw that slab crack in half. Those turned out beautiful. I know how frustrating it is to have to keep going back thru polishing stages.When things return to normal (whatever that is) I can get back outside and finish up what I was working on for you.
Again no rush. I'm not going anywhere :)
But the video was shortened quite a bit when it broke. I thought I was there for several seconds but when I went to edit...I was there for a good 30 to 45 seconds of my just processing what transpired.
It's one thing I always worry about when I work on stuff that isn't mine.
@@WorldofRockhounds The best part, is that it still turned out fab, just in a bit smaller and different way than you planned it. And, if the original owner of the material watches your video they will know that you did your best to get great results.
Like 3D hologram!!!.. incredible!!!..u sir,are a master!!!
Thank you!
I can't claim to be a master just yet...there is always room for improvement! :)
@@WorldofRockhounds yah,..room for one more!!!..as I stand next to you and drool over this bad mamer jammers eh?
Very nice! I know what your next project will be for me.
I have one more obsidian project on the bench and may not do any more custom obsidian works for a little while. I've gained a few white hairs from this one alone haha
But someday I'll do some more pieces when I get my project list done.
I'm trying to learn to slab obsidian and this is one of the best polishing videos I've seen for it 🤣 the swear jar made my night though
I'm glad it helps. It's always my goal to push as many polishing videos out there as possible so I can share what I know in hopes it will help anyone out there!
I'm glad the jar could make your night :)
Rock on!
Gorgeous work!!! I can't wait to see what you do with my obsidian! Especially the emerald green one. The suspense is killing me. Could you make that into a video too? I'd love to see the process so I can eventually learn for myself. Fantastic job as always 🥰❤
Yours is next on the bench! I'm hoping to get a new wheel to help with the polishing process. I did start some of the grinding but I can most certainly make it into a video.
The Mrs. has encouraged me to do another obsidian video since she noticed people like them. :)
@@WorldofRockhounds woohoo!!! So excited! Haha your Mrs. sounds like a smart lady. The obsidian (while I'm sure not easy by any means to polish) sure is captivating to watch and such a joy to see during the big reveal. I suppose you did too good of a job on one of the more difficult materials out there. 😆 the word is getting out quick 🥰
You alwayget a amazing polish!💎❤️👁
Thank you! I always do what I can!
You have a very nice vertical lap set up with your polishing unit. You could make several different sanding disks by adhering wet/dry sandpaper sheets to blank disks. This would give you support to avoid breaking the slab at the last hour. I have done this with my horizontal lap with great success. Just a thought.
Thank you and thank you for the tips! I have an idea to build a special horizontal grabber for the angle grinder - I just need to get to it!
Thank you for the info!
You're welcome! Thank you for watching!
Wow. Nice shop
Thank you! :D
Great video! 👍💕
Thank you 👉🤠👉
Good morning! I am *THRILLED* to have accidentally stumbled on your channel while doing a random RUclips search on "Fire Obsidian".
Wow. After watching only one of your videos, I immediately subscribed.
If I could venture a guess - LOL, probably totally wrong on this (as per usual!) - I am thinking that you really love obsidian. I love obsidian too - the "challenge" of working with it, and the amazing results when things go well (LOL - with obsidian, this is never a "given", as I am sure you know) really makes my juices get going.
It is so very rare to find lapidary artists that fully appreciate obsidian, and all of it's varied types.
Keep up the good work!
Can you recommend any sources for rough fire and/or rough gold sheen and/or rough rainbow?
Thanks so much!
Anne
Howdy!
And welcome to the channel...I'm happy I could draw you in!
You are correct...obsidian is my favorite stone. Particularly the fire variety. I tend to hoard whatever I can find since it's hard to get. But even other obsidians hold such beauty and I try my best to make sure I can bring it out.
For fire obsidian, Try reaching out to Emory Coons, He may be able to help you out with finding fire to buy.
For rainbow rough, do you have any local rock shops? I just got some in an estate sale but I haven't got any for sale yet because I don't even know exactly what I have just yet. Still have to sort it! :)
WOW!!! Those are incredible! Very nice work, and thank you for making this video. Just curious, (hindsight is always 20/20) would placing that larger slab on something like a yoga mat work instead of using the makeshift slab grabber?
I feel your pain with the broken slab ouch. 😥
Luckily it still came out lovely!
I love the swear jar!
Richardson's Rock Ranch Dry Sander?......Might be worth a look
I've tried years ago and one of the downsides was heat and even had some chipping issues.
Those sanders are fantastic with larger stones that can handle heat well.
I really liked it for large wood rounds myself.
My sister lives in your area. You would be a cool rock hunting buddy
This is a great video! What were/are you using for polishing paste?
Thank you!
and I use a cerium oxide from Gordon's Glass Company
I'm gonna need a swear jar! 😂 Just started polishing obsidian.
Sheesh i felt your pain when i saw that broke.
Beautiful by the way
Have you thought about using water glass to glue the slab to a block of wood? I use it to cut rocks into slabs.
That probably wouldn't be a bad idea, though it just means one more step of clean up but I am trying to design a better horizontal grabber for using with the angle grinder for such projects.
Oh my heart broke when that slab cracked 😢
Have you ever tried to polish a rough obsidian piece without cutting I've tried sanding and had poor results any advice would be great as I have a giant rainbow boulder "175lb" piece I want to polish.
I've polished several pieces without using a saw.
I like to pick pieces that will be easy to work and just start with 80 grit diamond wheel to get the shape. Then 180 grit to further smooth it out and from there, use the soft wheels starting at 220 and going higher through each grit stage being sure to check my work frequently. Using a light source and drying the stone surface frequently will help to figure out if you need to sand more or if you are good to go to the next step.
I have a 50 lb chunk of silver sheen that I have been meaning to practice with the angle grinder and it's sanding pads.
Ohhhhh myyyy God !!!!!
In the one that snapped, what are the white dots? On my screen they look like little pits, but I'm betting they're some sort of inclusion.
You would be correct, those white spots are ash pocket inclusions in the piece!
Ok bud,I'm having a meltdown. HOW on earth do you cut the slabs from a whole stone so that you get the best reveal??..I have all the obsidian from @thisrocks! But I have to try and eyeball what I THINK is the right angle and 8 out of 10 times I'm wrong. So I'm wasting a lot of material. Please advise me on your secret to cutting obsidian so that I can get to this stage here,for polishing. Oh,by the way it's me Wil,from Manistee Rocks
I'll make a video :)
Do you cut obsidian on a trim/slab saw like you would for rocks or use something else?
It all depends on the piece and what i want to do with it.
If it's non fire material such as mahogany or gold sheen, then I will use a saw (be it trim or slab) to make whatever necessary cuts or to slab the material.
If it's rainbow obsidian, i will either just start grinding away and work with the natural shape of the stone or make cuts to expose the layers to reveal the color.
If fire obsidian, it depends on how much excess material is above the layer. If there isn't much, I will just grind down to the layer. If there is too much material, I will use a trim saw to make the precise cuts I need.
@@WorldofRockhounds sweet, thank you for the reply!
@@EricStorms You're welcome!
I kind of think it would be funny to use the Dolphin noises from SpongeBob
Hahaha I will look into that!