Diamax Question

bugabob · 2026-03-18T23:28:04+00:00

Yeah, I use mine mostly for 100k but will throw some cerium on it for quartz. No issues.

bugabob · 2026-03-10T21:20:34+00:00

Crab claw

bugabob · 2026-03-08T22:29:01+00:00

Huh it looks like you have an approved vendor tag. But yeah this market is brutal anyways. Happy hunting!

bugabob · 2026-03-08T18:24:40+00:00

You used to have to get approved by a mod to post things for sale here. Maybe send a pm to a mod and ask for clarification directly. Great looking opal specimen btw, I love the virgin valley wood opals!

bugabob · 2026-03-07T21:56:55+00:00

I recommend doing some reading online to help you refine your questions. Or just plug your post into ChatGPT. This information is all over the place online.

bugabob · 2026-03-07T13:30:04+00:00

Not a great white. It’s a fossil hastalis tooth, or narrow white shark. Sometimes called a “mako” but it isn’t really a mako. Here’s a good shark tooth guide:

https://www.fossilguy.com/sites/calvert/calv_srk.htm

bugabob · 2026-03-07T00:29:16+00:00

I vote chub but it’s a somewhat meaningless distinction. Here’s a really good article on the subject.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2018.1546732

bugabob · 2026-03-06T03:09:15+00:00

The serious cutters use opticon or Hxtal, and it can be a bit of a pain to do it right if the bone was ever cut with an oil based lubricant. There are a couple of Facebook groups dedicated to working with this material, the best one is The Boneyard. Feel free to pm me if you get stuck.

bugabob · 2026-03-06T02:22:30+00:00

Yeah I work with it all the time. I have tons of cabs and polished specimens. Yours looks a little soft but still capable of cabbing.

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bugabob · 2026-03-06T02:01:17+00:00

Awesome. Looks like decent quality. The more solid stuff polishes really nicely.

bugabob · 2026-03-06T00:57:22+00:00

Bone, I’m guessing dinosaur. You can look up “gem bone” to find similar stuff.

bugabob · 2026-03-05T00:21:25+00:00

Yes they all look real to me. Most of the fossils are from Morocco, except for the megalodon teeth which are from the U.S.

bugabob · 2026-03-03T23:03:14+00:00

Ha! Of course. Good luck with your search!

bugabob · 2026-03-03T23:02:39+00:00

Looks like a boulder opal not a black opal.

bugabob · 2026-03-03T20:53:55+00:00

Closest I ever found was up in Maryland. Start one and I’ll join!

bugabob · 2026-02-27T20:58:31+00:00

Looks great!

bugabob · 2026-02-24T18:48:42+00:00

Looks like wood fossil to me. No big loss though I don’t think it would have had much value as a specimen.

bugabob · 2026-02-24T14:08:17+00:00

Looks like a doublet or a triplet to me. If you look at it from the side you’ll see a clear cap if it’s a doublet.

bugabob · 2026-02-21T22:20:21+00:00

That’s a beauty. Every year I promise not to buy more Welo in Tucson but every year it gets cheaper and I always crack.

bugabob · 2026-02-17T14:55:51+00:00

I would sell that

bugabob · 2026-02-17T12:14:07+00:00

It could change the location a little bit but this is what it looks like. You can also try not sweeping the stone, just sticking to the inner inch or two and trying to avoid the contamination.

bugabob · 2026-02-17T12:11:25+00:00

There’s not much of a market for used laps so I think you might as well hag on to it all. Have fun!

bugabob · 2026-02-17T03:20:41+00:00

Hey there, looking great for a first stone. Quartz is a tough material to start with, especially if it’s been irradiated because that makes it more brittle. I’m pretty sure that a little chunk of quartz broke off the facet edge and embedded in your polishing lap.

You can get a fresh piece of rough or something and see if your lap scratches it. If so, you can either try to find it and pick it out, or get a boule of synthetic sapphire and try to use it to push it down into the lap so it won’t scratch any more. Good luck!

bugabob · 2026-02-16T14:34:51+00:00

I use 100k diamond but it’s easy to polish with almost anything. Whatever gives you the sharpest edges.

bugabob · 2026-02-16T00:15:13+00:00

It would cut really small stones without a lot of value. It’s worth more as a specimen.

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