Recent content by Splinter

Well, it's been a few years since I posted this piece of rough with much excitement. I finally got it cut and thought I would post the result. Very happy with the outcome, beyond my expectations. 3.8 carat cushion when finished. Little bit of blue left in the culet that shines up through the...

Thanks for the reply Moneybox, hard work out there in WA with the crowbars etc. Bet it was worth it for them though. Wish I could say it has been a long time between drinks out at Warwick Qld, but truth is that it was a 4 year walk to the pub for the first one :lol: .The new tector (SDC) has...

Success...tiny, but first one with the tector. Came out of pipe clay about 200 m East of the puddler at Durikai.....Finally got one. Was starting to think it was impossible.

Update on the holiday trip.....no yeller, bet you guys ain't suprised, LOL.....but , had a bloody ripper of a time out there with the missus, camped at Glendon and did Durikai (North + Carbean Rd for a day) and Talgai (Shanty Gully) + other walk in locations(my 2wd Starlet is a good rig but has...

Well, after having my Eureka stolen from my house (along with everything else of any liquid value that I once owned some 18 months ago, I'm heading to the shop tomorrow to pick up an SDC. Then heading out west of Warwick for five to seven days to roll the dice (on an uneven surface ;)). Boy, I...

Yes definitely time for a "party" hahaha then the faceting. Unfortunately I think the blue when you look through the C axis is a little on the dark side and takes a lot of light out of the yellow, so may need to be trimmed down a bit. Looking to get it professionally cut, as I have not started...

Long weekend in the creek at Billabong Blue, taking advantage of the dry to access some wash that is usually well under the water table. Approx 11 ct. Was getting crumbs for two days, then out of nowhere it came. Was a happy camper.

Nice stones Fox. This has probably been posted before, but is a pretty good guide....take a look! https://facetingacademy.com/learn-faceting/learn-faceting-free/rough-class/ Must have been a real rush digging those. Great job! Nothing better than seeing big ones in the sieve.

Update: Had a crack at the sheen optimisation method on a black star. The rough was highly irregular, and somewhat translucent under strong back-lighting. Had I oriented the stone by the crystal growth outlines, I would have got it wrong by a long way by looking at the finished product. Sheen...

Star refractol that is. I see there is a difference and it has a higher RI than the standard stuff. Cheers again Lefty.

Thanks Lefty, I'll give it a go and see if it paints a clearer picture for me. I'll see if I can get my hands on some refractol.

Just cabbed my first star. I was very happy with the result, however, on closer inspection, the star was not centered. The error, after some research now seems obvious, I did not cab perfectly perpendicular to the c-axis. Having selected the rough based on an iridescent sheen just as a "try and...

Thanks Rh62, D79 and also everyone else for the likes. Wishing you all good luck in your prospecting ventures. Cheers all and happy hunting :pickshovel: :D

Finally got some stones worth posting. Took me quite a few visits, but I finally hit a good patch in the creek at Bb Blue.

Thanks for the tip Gimp. I thought your advice might be the case, Y being a pretty tough spot to get to. Goughs Gully is tempting me, but looks like it would take more than a day to access and have a good go at. Couldn't help noticing that X is apparently state forest to the North of McLeod's...