Great information. I believe it's time for the opal industry to change. In watching a video from the 60s I realized it's still the same, maybe a different way, but it ends with the same cabs.. I've also noticed marketing and brand names affect the price, just like diamonds.
There are some beautiful doublets out there. If making a doublet means that you can sell a piece for a higher price, and you make sure the buyer understands what it is, then it is perfectly fine.
I love all opals. Solid, doublet, triplet. BUT; I CANNOT STAND IT when someone wants to pay the price of a doublet/triplet for a solid opal. They say: "Well I got this opal for $10, why are you charging more." "IT'S A DOUBLET/TRIPLET!"
I feel like you got so much for the boulder backed piece due to the kick azz pattern of that boulder. If it was your standard brown no patterned iron stone you would have gotten less. Also the glass seems like it would be a huge hassle to work with in comparison to the other options seen at Tuscon backing wise. Tiny shards etc etc. Just freaks me out I guess though opal is comparable with glass in some instances lol. Great video as always Riley!
Yeah I will need to do a lot more tests to be 100% sure about a predictable outcome and I will use some more boring boulder to make sure the rad pattern on this one wasn't adding too much but this is really just a little highlights reel. Hundreds of hours of research and footage into this project. Glass is so easy to work with compared to the others. It is clean, predictable and add a nice depth to the opal doublet when the slice gets really thin. It is so much easier to work with that I have to consider in my calculations how many more doublets I can make with glass vs the increased ROI on the boulder. It will be different for everybody but I reckon over the long run the glass would make up that 30% or maybe a bit more. To your point when I am working the glass from the sheet like in the video I have special puncture resistant gloves like Oyster shuckers use and glass cutting gear to get the piece down to nice working size for doublets. Once they are little pieces they are much less intimidating to work!
Thanks @ R. Will do more work on my doublets from now on.... Cheers! Quick question? To reset a messy one, of which [sadly] I have plenty, would be soaking it in acetone bowl be okay to remove the thin opal from the backing material (i.e. remove epoxy) ?
Yes, as long as it is Australian Sedimentary opal and you have used 330 Epoxy, a long soak is the easiest and safest way to break the bond. It will also not hurt the opal. Just make sure to whipe the opal down after you take it out and use appropriate PPE to keep the acetone and black goop off of your hands.
A quick sorta-related question, as you have been cutting for years. I have heard folks from America mention that they have found cutting obsidian can sometimes mess up and contaminate their wheels - and the contamination can be almost impossible to get rid of, have you ever noticed anything like that with using the glass backing, as obsidian and glass are kissing cousins?
Funny I have worked with Obsidian when I was younger Knapping but that period never overlapped with my lapidary work. I have not heard this about obsidian and contamination though.... It is so close to glass and opal it is hard for me to believe that it would cause any issues but maybe....
Hey mate good to hear from you I'm about halfway through your video and you're starting to talk about unscrupulous people selling tablets and I think that quite frankly that's the least of our worries in the Opal industry the more unscrupulous people other people who sell worthless rough and say that it's worth a lot more than it is might I also add the people who are most likely to sell you rubbish rough at the same people who will have cast that off from their high quality Opal and then complain about people selling Dublin finally apologies I'm using voice to text so you get some weird stuff and no full stops
@@OpalAuctions53Frogs I doubt using grey base material in your experiment gives a definative answer on what is the best backing for doublets. Won't make a difference on results. Crystal is best for doublets.
The only doublet you should make should be from Black Potts because if you don't and you make an unstable Opal and crack it and that just hurts the industry you have to make a stable I pull the only way to do that is backing it with black the next thing I'm going to say is that cutting doublets is actually more skill than cutting solid opals it takes a lot of skill to make a tablet especially a good one I would like to see people actually putting a bit of personality into their doublets seeing them making them and doing stuff that's innovative with their tablets that would probably change the whole market perception of doublets
I have heard for decades that potch was the only right way but also lots of other opinions. As a man of science, I would think you would have a good idea about how to test this theory?
@OpalAuctions53Frogs sure, make a few doublets, this time just use clean material, but don't worry about colour, they are test doublets. You should pick 3 sizes- small medium large (I have just devised a way to measure opal size accurately in 1 or two seconds) the doublet probably had to be smooth round because irregularities create stress. Now make doublets. 20 groups of 5 for each size backing combo. Small potch Medium potch Large potch Small glass.... You have 9 combinations there... which means 900 doublets! Ok make it groups of 2.. That's 180 doublets. Now chuck your bag o' doublets in the oven set to 50 degrees, turn on for an hour, turn off for 5... repeat 4 or 5 times, then just record group, opal type size and cracked or not. I can use chi square tests on that data to give you a definitive result.
@@drfill9210 I have thought about experiments like this but I run into an issue. The epoxy 330 becomes slightly pliable at temperatures between 50-60C. Not enough to come apart, or even to lose integrity of the doublet but enough so that micro shifts in the size of the base material would be easily absorbed I think. So much so that I anticipate that there would be zero cracking. What I need is a way to test real life conditions over time
Very interesting outcome on doublet backing. Cheers for sharing Riley
Glad you enjoyed it!
Really dig your video's! Informative and interesting to hear from a professional! Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks for watching!
Good info. I love making doublets!
Me too! Every time I watch one of your videos my brain goes off road for weeks. I'm still cutting stuff with lasers in my drams :)
Awsome mate thanks for ur insight 👍🏻
No problem 👍 Thanks for your support.
Love your thinking Riley
Thank you!
Doublet. YES
This is the way.
Thank you! This was good information. Yes👍 Thanks TOG, I just
Subscribed
Many thanks! Lots of interesting stuff in the pipeline coming up.
Love it . Thats a very honest answer that makes sence
Thanks mate. So much emotion around this topic. Just think it needs some balance to keep the hot heads at bay.
Great information. I believe it's time for the opal industry to change. In watching a video from the 60s I realized it's still the same, maybe a different way, but it ends with the same cabs.. I've also noticed marketing and brand names affect the price, just like diamonds.
Well said!
thanks for sharing this - very generous
My pleasure!
There are some beautiful doublets out there. If making a doublet means that you can sell a piece for a higher price, and you make sure the buyer understands what it is, then it is perfectly fine.
This is the way!
@soozieq697-
I have a sister in Omaha i call SuziQ!!
Great name.
I love all opals.
Solid, doublet, triplet.
BUT; I CANNOT STAND IT when someone wants to pay the price of a doublet/triplet for a solid opal.
They say: "Well I got this opal for $10, why are you charging more."
"IT'S A DOUBLET/TRIPLET!"
Sounds like a great opportunity to educate and upsell to me!
I feel like you got so much for the boulder backed piece due to the kick azz pattern of that boulder. If it was your standard brown no patterned iron stone you would have gotten less. Also the glass seems like it would be a huge hassle to work with in comparison to the other options seen at Tuscon backing wise. Tiny shards etc etc. Just freaks me out I guess though opal is comparable with glass in some instances lol. Great video as always Riley!
Yeah I will need to do a lot more tests to be 100% sure about a predictable outcome and I will use some more boring boulder to make sure the rad pattern on this one wasn't adding too much but this is really just a little highlights reel. Hundreds of hours of research and footage into this project. Glass is so easy to work with compared to the others. It is clean, predictable and add a nice depth to the opal doublet when the slice gets really thin. It is so much easier to work with that I have to consider in my calculations how many more doublets I can make with glass vs the increased ROI on the boulder. It will be different for everybody but I reckon over the long run the glass would make up that 30% or maybe a bit more. To your point when I am working the glass from the sheet like in the video I have special puncture resistant gloves like Oyster shuckers use and glass cutting gear to get the piece down to nice working size for doublets. Once they are little pieces they are much less intimidating to work!
Like a GOOD TRADESMAN You use every bit of your MATERIAL.
Like a GOOD ARTIST You use whatever you want :)
All that time as a chippy in my blood now :)
Thanks @ R.
Will do more work on my doublets from now on.... Cheers!
Quick question?
To reset a messy one, of which [sadly] I have plenty,
would be soaking it in acetone bowl be okay to remove the thin opal from the backing material (i.e. remove epoxy) ?
Yes, as long as it is Australian Sedimentary opal and you have used 330 Epoxy, a long soak is the easiest and safest way to break the bond. It will also not hurt the opal. Just make sure to whipe the opal down after you take it out and use appropriate PPE to keep the acetone and black goop off of your hands.
Great "rant".
Somebody has to say it!
A quick sorta-related question, as you have been cutting for years. I have heard folks from America mention that they have found cutting obsidian can sometimes mess up and contaminate their wheels - and the contamination can be almost impossible to get rid of, have you ever noticed anything like that with using the glass backing, as obsidian and glass are kissing cousins?
Funny I have worked with Obsidian when I was younger Knapping but that period never overlapped with my lapidary work. I have not heard this about obsidian and contamination though.... It is so close to glass and opal it is hard for me to believe that it would cause any issues but maybe....
Hey mate good to hear from you I'm about halfway through your video and you're starting to talk about unscrupulous people selling tablets and I think that quite frankly that's the least of our worries in the Opal industry the more unscrupulous people other people who sell worthless rough and say that it's worth a lot more than it is might I also add the people who are most likely to sell you rubbish rough at the same people who will have cast that off from their high quality Opal and then complain about people selling Dublin finally apologies I'm using voice to text so you get some weird stuff and no full stops
More problems than we can shake a stick at. Have to start somewhere...
If it gem material. Yes to doublet. IMO Mintabie makes the best doublets. So I stick to that.
So much Mintabie is quality colour but runs in wicked thin bars so yeah, definitely great for doublet making!
@@OpalAuctions53Frogs I doubt using grey base material in your experiment gives a definative answer on what is the best backing for doublets. Won't make a difference on results. Crystal is best for doublets.
@@paulkeating944 First time I have heard that about crystal. Why do you think it the best?
@@OpalAuctions53Frogs Using crystal for doublets
@@OpalAuctions53Frogs Black Potch on crystal. It still all opal then.
The only doublet you should make should be from Black Potts because if you don't and you make an unstable Opal and crack it and that just hurts the industry you have to make a stable I pull the only way to do that is backing it with black the next thing I'm going to say is that cutting doublets is actually more skill than cutting solid opals it takes a lot of skill to make a tablet especially a good one I would like to see people actually putting a bit of personality into their doublets seeing them making them and doing stuff that's innovative with their tablets that would probably change the whole market perception of doublets
I have heard for decades that potch was the only right way but also lots of other opinions. As a man of science, I would think you would have a good idea about how to test this theory?
@OpalAuctions53Frogs sure, make a few doublets, this time just use clean material, but don't worry about colour, they are test doublets. You should pick 3 sizes- small medium large (I have just devised a way to measure opal size accurately in 1 or two seconds) the doublet probably had to be smooth round because irregularities create stress.
Now make doublets. 20 groups of 5 for each size backing combo.
Small potch
Medium potch
Large potch
Small glass....
You have 9 combinations there... which means 900 doublets!
Ok make it groups of 2..
That's 180 doublets.
Now chuck your bag o' doublets in the oven set to 50 degrees, turn on for an hour, turn off for 5... repeat 4 or 5 times, then just record group, opal type size and cracked or not. I can use chi square tests on that data to give you a definitive result.
@@OpalAuctions53Frogs
Vid on measurement:
ruclips.net/user/shorts9MPJZqpujZg?si=oOzdbFQJWD3lYLbK
@@drfill9210 I have thought about experiments like this but I run into an issue. The epoxy 330 becomes slightly pliable at temperatures between 50-60C. Not enough to come apart, or even to lose integrity of the doublet but enough so that micro shifts in the size of the base material would be easily absorbed I think. So much so that I anticipate that there would be zero cracking. What I need is a way to test real life conditions over time
@@OpalAuctions53Frogs car dash board
Illegal? What are you supposed to do with supper thin opals put them in a jar on the shelf to look at? No Make a doublet ! 😎🇺🇸
This is the way.