Working W Crystallized Corals

[xonenine]

A good half of the rugose and branching corals I find crystallized/agatized,They are great for cabs, translucent and colorful with amazing structure.

But I have often wanted to cut/polish the crystallized corals in a manner so that the whole coral/branch will be translucent.(not just in cross section, but the whole length left intact)

Intuitively knowing it wouldnt work, I tried polishing/wet sanding the sides of some rugose and branching corals anyway.

I am assuming it will never look translucent like it does in cross section because of :

a)porosity,

b)refraction,

c) direction of the structure of the coral,

d) direction of the crystal structure in the corals, which radiates from center mostly, just like the coral (i am in essence cutting "end grain" when I polish the sides of a coral.

Is there a filler or better way to polish these?, I'd like to try.Thanks.

[jkfoam]

xonenine,

If they are agatized it should'nt matter what direction they are cut and polished. And I have cut and polished cabs from large crystals of quartz in all directions. I wet grind with diamond wheels, sand wet with silicon carbide disks and polish with diamond on crystalite pads. If the problem is porosity or the interfaces of small crystals you might try a product called Opticon available at most lapidary/rock shops. Also if possible you might try posting a picture of the problem you are experiencing.

JKFoam