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Respectfully, that is not the case. I have some that does have play of color; the good stuff does. I will try to get a photo of some of it; it's rough and small and I'll probably have to mess around with lighting to get it to show. The vast majority of it is "meh", but some of it is really nice...

Thank you for your detailed response! I do have one piece of rough Andamooka, and the matrix of coarse sandstone does look very similar to this piece. There are some photos on mindat that look very similar, so it's very likely that this may be the source. I think I may give it a go regarding...

Are there any particular locales that they are located? Thanks! Debbie

Hello, all. It's been a while since I've posted anything. I bought this opal in matrix today and was curious about whether or not it was likely to be Australian in origin. The sandstone it's in is very coarse compared to what I've seen before, and I wondered if it could be Ethiopian, as I have...

Sorry, I haven't been here for a long time. Thanks so much, Bas, for showing this and how it works. I wish my machine had one! By the way, the fingernail polish inside the brake is working! Much, much easier than machining one. Even if it wears out, it's easy to redo. Debbie K

Really pretty sunstone! I was looking at mine day before yesterday and saying to myself "and just where did you think you saw a sheen?" I think it would be more accurate to call mine feldspar. I got so excited after looking at your post because my brake was indeed missing a lock washer. Went...

J: My coarse adjustment knob is threaded all the way through so this is not the problem. Closing the gap is the issue; as I am tightening the coarse adjustment knob it is unscrewing the bottom screw as I am having to tighten it down really hard to pinch the axle enough to keep the entire brake...

J: Yes, mine was set at zero, but it wasn't truly zero. I found that it was off about 1/2 -3/4 a degree. I really like this ability to change the orientation; if for any reason the lap gets out of level due to warpage of the base you can adjust out the difference. The fine tuner on mine is...

Hmmm, I'll have to find out what the laws are for collection in 1910 for the U.S. It fell and was collected on private land, so I think it's legal. I am troubled by the irregular shapes of the rocks in the metallic looking stuff. They seem too sharp for meteorite material. There is a...

Do any of you guys know if impactites can have any meteorite material mixed with them? I have a meteorwrong which has voids. It was picked up by my great-grandfather and grandmother in 1910 after a known meteorite strike in their area. They saw the light and heard the boom, went out the next day...

J: How's the switch install going? I'm delaying starting on machining the new brake and cheater, as I'm going to a metal supply place next week and hope that they have some rod that's closer to the right dimensions. I have a big hunk of aluminum, but no real accurate way to cut it; just a table...

One of the most beautiful faceted stones I've ever seen was a rutile https://www.gemsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Rutile-600x610.jpg . Most of the ones I've seen that have any clarity have a red cast to them and don't look like this. Have you ever found one good enough to facet? It...

I'm in Houston, no rocks here, except things that have been trucked in. I did happen to find a really good piece of shrinkwood in a bunch of landscaping rocks outside of a nursing home here once. You are so lucky to be able to go rockhounding and pick up something worthwhile; whereabouts are...

Very pretty! I love amethyst, fortunately I have a bunch of good, facetable grade in almost every tone and saturation of purple. I found this on Grainger...

J: I really don't know if you are going to find a faceting machine that is much better than this one is; I grouse about the worn out and broken parts on mine, but when everything is working properly I don't believe any other would be much more accurate. The mast is fantastic, the table is...

J: Part of my problem with the drip is that my "master lap" is a corian lap which is probably thicker than real ones. The tank was too low and I put on a longer bolt which helped a little, but I'm not happy with it. Did Zane say anything about how the "quick height release" worked? That would...

J: Here's a picture of the dops and the 45 degree holder. All the dops have a rounded end like the holder does. The three on the front left for the emerald cuts have no grooves. Debbie K

J: I've been using Graves dops, but I have a full set of the aluminum ones that are keyed for the quill on the Prismatic. I'll take a picture of them tomorrow as it's late here right now. Mine came with the machine, but I understand that they can still be obtained from Zane on the Polymetric...

I'm having problems having anything I submit posting, so if the others show up, forgive me for the repetition. Please post photos when you replace your motor. I'm hoping that this thread will help others in the future repairing their Prismatics. There's very little information about these...

J: Zane's dad was the maker of the old Prismatic machines. He still makes and stocks many of the old parts. I just couldn't afford the new cheater at the time which is why I made one. If anyone every needs to get in touch with him, call rather than email. He's a nice guy and helpful. Mine's a...