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Post by greig on Oct 17, 2018 22:31:13 GMT -5
There are some pretty smart and/or creative people on this forum, so I thought I would ask for your thoughts.
I posted a Youtube video a week ago of my daughter cracking open a geode with hammer & chisel. Not one of my best videos, but the darn thing has already hit 50K views. It got the attention of a local rock shop and I now have a sponsor (free rocks - yippee!). I want to do them justice and am looking for video ideas - informative, funny, interesting, etc. The sent me a bunch of small uncracked geodes.
I thought about having Amy break one open by the "cracking" method this time (knocking one against the other in her hands). I don't really want to cut one with the saw, as that would probably be boring, unless I take off a finger in the process (or a Halloween fake finger - hmmm) I thought about taking some of the geodes to my hunt camp next week and pull them out for cracking by the crew one evening... It might be entertaining, especially if the night starts with a few wobbly pops. I was going to have Amy try opening a few with a cast iron pipe cutter, but then realized that the darn tool is expensive to buy and nobody around here rents one.
Any other ideas would be appreciated. In fact, if I use your idea, I will send you a slice of silver in appreciation. Win-win. The better the idea, the bigger the slice. ;-)
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Post by HankRocks on Oct 18, 2018 8:01:51 GMT -5
The geodes they are breaking in the video do not require the chain pipe cutter to open. I use a 1/2 steel bar and hold it in my hand, tapping lightly at first and increasing force as needed. If the geode does not respond, I just place it on the ground and apply even more pressure. I would recommend that the geode be placed on softer ground and thereby absorbing some of the force, making for a gentler breaking.
These particular geodes do not clamp well as they can be thin skinned and the pressure of tightening the clamp can crack or break the geode. My preference on any other type of geode is to cut and polish. I have had more than one person come by my booth and after seeing the polish halves I have out say they wish they had gotten theirs cut and polished rather than broken. They sometimes ask if I can cut and polish an already broken one. Usually I tell them that the ship has already sailed, but if they buy another one, come see me.
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Post by fernwood on Oct 18, 2018 9:12:45 GMT -5
Using a diamond wire survival saw. The kind attached to dowels. Since it is close to Halloween, have two people in costume using it. Maybe some Halloween type music in the background or the people saying Halloween type things.
So glad you have a connection with local shop and that your daughter is appreciating the excitement of geodes. They are one of my many favs.
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Post by rockjunquie on Oct 18, 2018 9:21:40 GMT -5
Compare cutting open a coconut to cutting open a geode.  |
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,718 
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Post by Fossilman on Oct 18, 2018 9:31:05 GMT -5
I start out with a small masonry bit, than a cold chisel... Just popped three open the other day... Many videos on Youtube with how they do theirs..
Cool video Amy.... Nice Geode..
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Post by MsAli on Oct 18, 2018 9:41:22 GMT -5
Well it is hockey season and I know you are a fan of the game
How about use one as a "puck" if (when) that doesn't work then chisel it as above but on a softer surface to get a gentler break (as said above)
Over the top Canadian accent, explain how they are formed, where they are from, how many types of Geodes there are, different methods used for each type, and make sure you throw in the name of the rock shop
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Post by MsAli on Oct 18, 2018 10:27:33 GMT -5
The back woods girl in me was pushing to set one up for target practice.
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Post by wigglinrocks on Oct 18, 2018 10:37:17 GMT -5
The back woods girl in me was pushing to set one up for target practice. I was thinking the same thing . But figured a high powered rifle , a geode at the 100 yard mark , wasn't the scenario he was looking for . |
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Post by MsAli on Oct 18, 2018 10:59:56 GMT -5
The back woods girl in me was pushing to set one up for target practice. I was thinking the same thing . But figured a high powered rifle , a geode at the 100 yard mark , wasn't the scenario he was looking for . I actually giggled when I imagined the scenario in my head greig how small are these Geodes ? |
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Post by fernwood on Oct 18, 2018 11:04:45 GMT -5
The back woods girl in me was pushing to set one up for target practice. LOL! Awesome tumbling material. |
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Post by fernwood on Oct 18, 2018 11:07:38 GMT -5
Think my Son in Law would be up for that one. Target practice with geodes, or any rocks/fossils. Fits his college experience, Military and Law Enforcement. He is in process of setting up a firing range at my place. Will have to tell him about this idea.
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Post by fantastic5 on Oct 18, 2018 15:54:44 GMT -5
I love the video with Amy. I think the slow motion, with slow motion sounds at the end make it even more fun  I lucked into a soil pipe cutter several years ago at a mineral club camping/collecting trip. I traded some self collected obsidian for it. My favorite way to open geodes, if you don't have the chain cutter, is done by tapping. Select a light weight geode and hold it in your non-dominant hand. Imagine an equator line where you would like the geode to split along. Now, using a household hammer, lightly tap the geode along that line, while rotating it in your hand. That way you are tapping along the entire circumference of the imaginary equator. Continue this for several minutes, only tapping lightly and rotating the entire time. The geode should split rather cleanly along this line within just a minute or three. To make the video fun, have Amy use this method successfully with several pre-selected geodes, while you just keep taping on the same one with no success. Maybe end by sledge hammering it in frustration. I've really enjoyed watching your YouTube channel evolve over the past year. This summer I really liked the videos with AquaChigger. I bought a metal detector last winter and have really enjoyed not finding buried treasure  Ann |
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Oct 18, 2018 16:49:08 GMT -5
I was thinking the same thing . But figured a high powered rifle , a geode at the 100 yard mark , wasn't the scenario he was looking for . I actually giggled when I imagined the scenario in my head greig how small are these Geodes ? +1! I was actually bummed when someone else posted the idea 😄 |
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Post by aDave on Oct 18, 2018 17:21:07 GMT -5
I don't really want to cut one with the saw, as that would probably be boring, unless I take off a finger in the process (or a Halloween fake finger - hmmm) Hmmm...when I read this, visions of Dan Akroyd and the Julia Childs skit came to mind. You could always do something like that with your saw, but I think it might be a bit much for your sponsor.  |
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Post by MsAli on Oct 18, 2018 17:43:34 GMT -5
I don't really want to cut one with the saw, as that would probably be boring, unless I take off a finger in the process (or a Halloween fake finger - hmmm) Hmmm...when I read this, visions of Dan Akroyd and the Julia Childs skit came to mind. You could always do something like that with your saw, but I think it might be a bit much for your sponsor. That would be hilarious! |
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Post by MsAli on Oct 18, 2018 17:44:40 GMT -5
I actually giggled when I imagined the scenario in my head greig how small are these Geodes ? +1! I was actually bummed when someone else posted the idea 😄  |
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Post by greig on Oct 19, 2018 13:08:50 GMT -5
The geodes they are breaking in the video do not require the chain pipe cutter to open. I use a 1/2 steel bar and hold it in my hand, tapping lightly at first and increasing force as needed. If the geode does not respond, I just place it on the ground and apply even more pressure. I would recommend that the geode be placed on softer ground and thereby absorbing some of the force, making for a gentler breaking. These particular geodes do not clamp well as they can be thin skinned and the pressure of tightening the clamp can crack or break the geode. My preference on any other type of geode is to cut and polish. I have had more than one person come by my booth and after seeing the polish halves I have out say they wish they had gotten theirs cut and polished rather than broken. They sometimes ask if I can cut and polish an already broken one. Usually I tell them that the ship has already sailed, but if they buy another one, come see me. I like the idea about tapping the geode with a bar for a rough break. It is not a method that I have seen described online. I will give it a try. Send me your address via PM and I will send you a silver slice. Let me know if you want polished or if sending rough is OK that you can polish yourself. Unpolished probably gets thru the mail better as shiny seems get hijacked (disappears) sometimes at the border if the package gets opened. Funny about your recommendation regarding cutting the geode. The online advise is not to do it because it can harm the crystals inside. It seems to me that it should be a good method and I could polish the flats on the two halves afterwards. When you cut, do you just go right thru or run it in shallow circles all around the outside until the rind is removed and then crack it when the blade gets to the crystal? |
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Post by greig on Oct 19, 2018 13:24:54 GMT -5
The back woods girl in me was pushing to set one up for target practice. I was thinking the same thing . But figured a high powered rifle , a geode at the 100 yard mark , wasn't the scenario he was looking for . That would be funny, but probably disrespectful. I am moose hunting tomorrow and could tag it with a 45:70. Not sure there would be much remaining. I also thought about my skeet thrower. I modified it to throw a full beer can and was going to video "Beer Hunter". I could never get my daughter to agree that it was a good idea. It could also throw a geode or even a few at a time. However, not terribly respectful of the rocks. LOL |
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Post by greig on Oct 19, 2018 13:29:21 GMT -5
Using a diamond wire survival saw. The kind attached to dowels. Since it is close to Halloween, have two people in costume using it. Maybe some Halloween type music in the background or the people saying Halloween type things. So glad you have a connection with local shop and that your daughter is appreciating the excitement of geodes. They are one of my many favs. That might be a great skit. I will have to put on my thinking cap to see if I can make something like this work. My first thought is something like a Charlie Brown Halloween where the kinds look in their bag to see what they got: "I got a chocolate bar". "I got some gum" .... "I got a rock". LOL |
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Post by greig on Oct 19, 2018 13:44:50 GMT -5
Compare cutting open a coconut to cutting open a geode. Funny you should say that. I was going to have Amy and a friend open a few geodes but try to sneak in a small coconut for one of them to pick for cracking. Maybe make it blue or something so it is not obviously a coconut. If the prank works, that would be very funny... |
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