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Post by Rocket Rockhound on Jan 8, 2021 17:11:19 GMT -5
Hi everyone,
I went on a Rockhounding trip on Lake Ontario and some of the rocks are to big for my tumbler. I was wonder if breaking the rocks up into smaller ones would cause a significant amount of fractures in them, making it more of a chore to tumble out cracks and what not. If this is something you’ve done before please let me know how it went.
Also here is a little video of that trip to Lake Ontario
thank you, Rocket Rockhound
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 8, 2021 17:39:36 GMT -5
Hi everyone,
I went on a Rockhounding trip on Lake Ontario and some of the rocks are to big for my tumbler. I was wonder if breaking the rocks up into smaller ones would cause a significant amount of fractures in them, making it more of a chore to tumble out cracks and what not. If this is something you’ve done before please let me know how it went.
Also here is a little video of that trip to Lake Ontario
thank you, Fastball Breaking them up will put fractures in them, unless they happen to break along existing fractures. For tumbling purposes, the rounded rocks are most desirable as they will spend less time in the coarse stage. What size tumbler do you have?
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Post by Rocket Rockhound on Jan 8, 2021 17:54:07 GMT -5
Hi everyone,
I went on a Rockhounding trip on Lake Ontario and some of the rocks are to big for my tumbler. I was wonder if breaking the rocks up into smaller ones would cause a significant amount of fractures in them, making it more of a chore to tumble out cracks and what not. If this is something you’ve done before please let me know how it went.
Also here is a little video of that trip to Lake Ontario
thank you, Fastball Breaking them up will put fractures in them, unless they happen to break along existing fractures. For tumbling purposes, the rounded rocks are most desirable as they will spend less time in the coarse stage. What size tumbler do you have? I have a 3 pound and a 1 pound tumbler. Yeah I try to stick with the nice rounded smaller ones but some of those big ones are hard to resist
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Post by HankRocks on Jan 8, 2021 18:22:40 GMT -5
Rocket Rockhound. The go ahead and break one up as a test and try tumbling it with a mixture of well rounded rocks, that way you can judge the results. You should find that the rounded ones come out nicer, if they are hard enough for a polish. Be careful breaking rocks, pieces do tend to fly in different directions. Protect your eyes.
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Post by Rocket Rockhound on Jan 8, 2021 18:39:22 GMT -5
Ok thanks for the help
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NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
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Post by NevadaBill on Jan 16, 2021 14:43:06 GMT -5
Welcome from the Desert Southwest! It has been my experience also that cracking rocks with a hammer will introduce fractures with some rocks. Not all of them. But some material is extra sensitive to this type of treatment.
Cool rock hunting though!
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Post by Rocket Rockhound on Jan 17, 2021 20:21:35 GMT -5
Welcome from the Desert Southwest! It has been my experience also that cracking rocks with a hammer will introduce fractures with some rocks. Not all of them. But some material is extra sensitive to this type of treatment. Cool rock hunting though! Thank you for the help Bill.
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Post by greig on Jan 17, 2021 23:28:49 GMT -5
If your don't have a saw and they are too big for your tumbler, then your only choice is to use a hammer. Or get a bigger tumbler. Good luck with your project.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,681
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Post by Fossilman on Jan 18, 2021 11:38:50 GMT -5
Howdy.... I know people that bust material up with hammers, seems to work mostly . Just make sure it's not expensive material that could be ruined from a hammer.... Tile saws are cheap to use just for that purpose..
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Post by woodman on Jan 18, 2021 12:02:05 GMT -5
Collect and keep the big ones until you get a bigger tumbler. Until you do get abigger one, they make a good flower bed display!
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Post by greig on Jan 18, 2021 12:57:25 GMT -5
Collect and keep the big ones until you get a bigger tumbler. Until you do get abigger one, they make a good flower bed display! Or make friends with somebody with a saw, or join a club that allows your to use their lapidary equipment ... The garden idea is great. I have stacked up quite a bit of rock hidden by summer plants. Sometimes, it is just fun to find them again.
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 331
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Post by electrocutus on Jan 18, 2021 13:43:43 GMT -5
I just invested in a cold steel masonry chisel this weekend to break rock chunks I bought that are too big for my tumbler. I haven't tried it yet but I am excited !
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Post by Rocket Rockhound on Jan 20, 2021 18:58:29 GMT -5
If your don't have a saw and they are too big for your tumbler, then your only choice is to use a hammer. Or get a bigger tumbler. Good luck with your project. Hello meMiner love the videos you make. Ideally I would like to do what you do in your tumbling videos with the tile saw to the rock but unfortunately I don’t think my apartment complex would allow a saw. So I will be stuck with the good old hammer for now.
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Post by Rocket Rockhound on Jan 20, 2021 19:00:14 GMT -5
Howdy.... I know people that bust material up with hammers, seems to work mostly . Just make sure it's not expensive material that could be ruined from a hammer.... Tile saws are cheap to use just for that purpose.. Thanks for the help. I would get a tile saw but I don’t think my apartment complex would allow me to do that here. But I do plan to get one when that’s an option
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Post by Rocket Rockhound on Jan 20, 2021 19:03:58 GMT -5
Collect and keep the big ones until you get a bigger tumbler. Until you do get abigger one, they make a good flower bed display! Definitely will be keeping some of the rocks unharmed from the hammer until I get a bigger tumbler. I found a nice big chunk of amethyst and I very much regret breaking that one up into three pieces. Thanks for the help
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Post by Rocket Rockhound on Jan 20, 2021 19:06:25 GMT -5
I just invested in a cold steel masonry chisel this weekend to break rock chunks I bought that are too big for my tumbler. I haven't tried it yet but I am excited ! Let me know how that works for you I’ve thought of getting a chisel.
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 331
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Post by electrocutus on Feb 5, 2021 12:47:44 GMT -5
I just invested in a cold steel masonry chisel this weekend to break rock chunks I bought that are too big for my tumbler. I haven't tried it yet but I am excited ! Let me know how that works for you I’ve thought of getting a chisel. Well, it took a while but I finally got around to breaking a few large petrified wood pieces into smaller ones with my chisel. I used a technique I saw on Youtube. I can't remember who it was but it is a good idea. I made a hole at the bottom of a plastic tub and use it upside down as a shield over the rock. I pass the chisel tip throough the hole to break the rock. This is definitely not for fine cutting. The pieces break the way they want, but it works. It obviously will work better on some tpyes of rock than others, but for my petrified wood it was good. In addition to eye protection I would also suggest ear protection. It often takes a few blows to break. I could tell which blow broke the rock because my ears started ringing :-) Good luck!
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Post by Rocket Rockhound on Feb 7, 2021 15:09:19 GMT -5
Let me know how that works for you I’ve thought of getting a chisel. Well, it took a while but I finally got around to breaking a few large petrified wood pieces into smaller ones with my chisel. I used a technique I saw on Youtube. I can't remember who it was but it is a good idea. I made a hole at the bottom of a plastic tub and use it upside down as a shield over the rock. I pass the chisel tip throough the hole to break the rock. This is definitely not for fine cutting. The pieces break the way they want, but it works. It obviously will work better on some tpyes of rock than others, but for my petrified wood it was good. In addition to eye protection I would also suggest ear protection. It often takes a few blows to break. I could tell which blow broke the rock because my ears started ringing :-) Good luck! Thank you for the advice and help!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 7, 2021 15:19:14 GMT -5
Well, it took a while but I finally got around to breaking a few large petrified wood pieces into smaller ones with my chisel. I used a technique I saw on Youtube. I can't remember who it was but it is a good idea. I made a hole at the bottom of a plastic tub and use it upside down as a shield over the rock. I pass the chisel tip throough the hole to break the rock. This is definitely not for fine cutting. The pieces break the way they want, but it works. It obviously will work better on some tpyes of rock than others, but for my petrified wood it was good. In addition to eye protection I would also suggest ear protection. It often takes a few blows to break. I could tell which blow broke the rock because my ears started ringing :-) Good luck! That might have been me. I use that method and I have shown it in my tumbling videos. I don't remember where I learned it though.
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Post by TheRock on Mar 1, 2021 14:08:10 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH Forum from S/W Michigan! ~Duke
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