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Post by greig on Oct 19, 2018 13:51:50 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 That skit might work. "How's it going, eh?" plus move the net for "car"! I will put on my thinking cap to see if I might be able to pull it off. Will let you know. |
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Post by greig on Oct 19, 2018 13:53:37 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 ? They sent me various sizes from 2"-6". I was going to use the wee ones for cracking by smacking them together. Still thinking about the larger ones. |
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Post by greig on Oct 19, 2018 13:54:24 GMT -5
The back woods girl in me was pushing to set one up for target practice. LOL! Awesome tumbling material. Hmm. That is interesting... |
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Post by greig on Oct 19, 2018 14:09:03 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 Thanks Ann. I had such a good time with Aquachigger. He is such a professional that he can pick up a camera, start to video and a few minutes later has an entertaining video that requires little to no editing. Me, I need about 50 minutes of video that I have to spend a few hours editing for maybe 7 minutes that I keep. I saw the same thing with Nugget Noggiin. The camera turns on and everything on the video is gold. Amazing. I hope to improve over time. The tap-tap method sounds like a winner. Someone else also described it, but PM me with your address and I will send you a slice of silver. Let me know if you have the ability to polish it. |
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Post by HankRocks on Oct 19, 2018 14:56:36 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? This type of geode lends itself to breaking by hand as the outer shell can be thin and easy to break. The difficulty I have found with this type is not ending up with 2 halves, but rather one decent half and the rest in small pieces. It's also a matter of this type have crystal structures growing into the cavity at odd angles. Using a Saw has the chance of cutting one of these off. It's why I use a light tapping method to see if a fracture will develop. These softer geodes are not going to polish very well as the outside skin is too soft,and the crystal structure within would crumble. The hollow Choyas usually have a decent layer of agate that will polish. With Choyas, even the hollow ones, the breaking by hand method would not really work. It requires the heavier pipe-cutter/chain tool. As I said I prefer cutting those in a saw. If you had a tile saw You could probably cut a few deeper notches that would provide a weak point for hand breaking. |
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Post by greig on Nov 25, 2018 11:14:31 GMT -5
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 26, 2018 19:46:49 GMT -5
Another great video greig! I really like that little light. Very cool! |
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Post by greig on Nov 26, 2018 21:44:03 GMT -5
I was surprised how well the little LED worked. Thanks for your feedback.
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Post by greig on Mar 6, 2019 18:50:34 GMT -5
The back woods girl in me was pushing to set one up for target practice. Well, I took your advice and a 45/70: |
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Post by rockjunquie on Mar 6, 2019 18:53:38 GMT -5
Yup, that opened it.  |
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Post by MsAli on Mar 6, 2019 18:57:35 GMT -5
The back woods girl in me was pushing to set one up for target practice. Well, I took your advice and a 45/70: I bout fell out of my chair laughing! That is one hell of a shot and I love the dog going to retrieve  |
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,718 
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 6, 2019 19:00:59 GMT -5
Pellet rifle would open those geodes that are from Morocco.... Hahahahahaha
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Post by greig on Mar 7, 2019 7:14:34 GMT -5
Daisy was a bit confused why there wasn't a bird to be found. The tarp didn't help at all. A 45/70 and 350 gn hollow point is definitely overkill, but it was fun to see what might happen.
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lookatthat
Cave Dweller
Whatever there is to be found.
Member since May 2017
Posts: 1,360 
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Post by lookatthat on Mar 7, 2019 12:25:34 GMT -5
Hi greig, another geode fan here. Glad to see you are still making the videos. I'm sorry I missed them the first time around.
With the really big geodes, if using the tap-around-the-perimeter method, I first decide which way to crack them, then put a rubber band around marking the line. I then make a series of dots on the geode with a marker marking the area I want to tap. I remove the elastic and go to work with a hammer and chisel, kind of making a groove or notch around the rock as I tap until I am at least once or twice around. After that I will start to tap harder as I go around until (hopefully) it splits where I wanted it to.
If you can get a geode-splitter (like my avatar), they are lots of fun and you could open geodes in a dramatic fashion. New ones are $600+ (US dollars, yikes!) but sometimes you can get a deal from a retiring plumber. Mine was about $150, including shipping. And you could give it a name.
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Post by greig on Mar 8, 2019 8:49:31 GMT -5
I'd like to have a tool to split geodes and would get one if I had a place to collect my own rocks. I have one geode left that was from the store and then it will be a while until I more to open. Geig
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