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Post by mohs on Mar 3, 2009 15:38:05 GMT -5
Is there a way to tell before cracking it open?
A neighbor brought over a round rock. Thinks its geode.
I'm sure this as been discussed before. Us noobies! But I can post a pic later if...
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Post by texaswoodie on Mar 3, 2009 16:52:28 GMT -5
Get a rock about the same size and weigh both. If it's a hollow geode, it'll be much lighter.
Curt
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Post by mohs on Mar 3, 2009 22:57:25 GMT -5
Thanks Curt! The Eureka method, hey? I was out tapping that rock with a hammer, holding it up to my ear, listening. The neighbor asked what I was doing? Checking to see if it hard or hollow. I suppose that never works. Anyway here’s the rock or the geode in question. I think it just an everyday average round rock.
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Post by texaswoodie on Mar 4, 2009 6:48:41 GMT -5
Looks like a Mexican geode. Phoenix should have a rock club. See if you can get someone to cut it for you.
Curt
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Mar 4, 2009 9:43:45 GMT -5
Ed, I hope you're not really using a wood chisel on your rocks! LOL
Chuck
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Post by mohs on Mar 4, 2009 10:49:13 GMT -5
You guys really think it might be a geode?
Hey Chuck I have a WorkForce and will score the stone, and then... Yes, my plan was to use that wood chisel to crack that rock
What's wrong with that idea?
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Mar 4, 2009 13:18:00 GMT -5
Well, I guess nothing is wrong with it if you never want to use the wood chisel on wood again. Wood chisels are made so that they can be sharpened to a sharp edge. Cold chisels, by contrast, are not sharpened and are tempered so that they will withstand the punishment of rock. They're cheap ($4) and well worth the labor of trying to get a sharp edge back on the wood chisel.
If you've scored a line with the with WF, a wide blade screwdriver would also work (provided it is hollow).
Yes, it looks like it could be a geode given the shape. If it's solid, scoring it with the WF will not be enough because you really need to set up a fracture through the stone. That's where the cold chisel comes in.
Chuck
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Post by mohs on Mar 4, 2009 15:45:51 GMT -5
I have a cold chisel around here plus I sharpen things so I'm not to concerned a Mexican geode ya think ? hope our sheriff Joe doesn't get wind of that I'll have I.C.E. at the door!!
I like to do the Eureka method it was Archimedes who first weighed the Kings crown in water They wanted to know if it was really gold and Archimedes was taking a bath and came up with the idea to weigh the crown against a known weight and
Eureka !!
he yelled as he ran naked into the city square with the amazement of his solution
I'll try to restrain myself :nono: !! if my rock turns out to be a geode :blush:
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Mar 4, 2009 18:20:02 GMT -5
That's right; you did say you sharpen things.
It's generally pretty easy to tell a "floater" once you've hefted enough geodes. Some with a thick rind or filled with water can be a difficult test, though.
Be sure to post a pic of what you find! Chuck
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chinook203
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since February 2006
Posts: 849
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Post by chinook203 on Mar 4, 2009 21:42:46 GMT -5
I think its a Mexican geode also.....coconut geode.........they can be downright gorgeous inside
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Post by mohs on Mar 4, 2009 23:28:25 GMT -5
Thanks guys! I definitely post pictures even if it crumbles or I chip my chisel :nono:
The neighbor wants to crack it along the longer oblong side. I was suggesting the shorter route. Make any difference?
Plus do you ever scribe a line? So you have something to follow when scoring it on the saw?
and how would you? I was thinking a chalk line snap a line
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Mar 5, 2009 8:45:29 GMT -5
It doesn't make much difference which way you crack it. If you go the long way, the cavity will be more shallow. I just eyeball it when I'm cracking one with a chisel. I set the geode on the ground so that it is relatively stationary. After a few whacks there is a depression under it so that it doesn't roll. I think if you're rolling it on the saw, the blade should help keep you in a straight line. You could also wrap masking tape around it and mark a line on the tape, provided the saw didn't pull the tape off. It's not going to crumble. Now stop talking about it and do it! Chuck
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Post by akansan on Mar 5, 2009 12:00:36 GMT -5
I'd say masking tape would be a great idea - especially if you went to just one side of center. The chalk line would come off fairly quickly, I would think, with the water...
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Post by mohs on Mar 5, 2009 15:53:46 GMT -5
Ha ha chuck ! around here we don’t do anything quick Were contemplators! Mind power! we may crack that geode with just are brain waves ~~~~OOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM !~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yep I’m trying to find a compass to draw a line _______________________________________ There I go overusing my one brain cell again!
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Post by Jack, lapidaryrough on Mar 5, 2009 16:40:00 GMT -5
Most coconuts have eye`s on them, i don`t see them in your photo. They`re the flow canals between geodes as they form from the outside inward, and base points of Crystal sites of growth. Though your`s is the right color For a Coconut, From the Red Bed Area, The Black Bed Coconut`s had black area`s on the outside. This photo is ( One ) of a 900 Lb. lot from Rocky Joe`s Rock Shop Agate Beach Oregon. Closed in 1991. Jack picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Zr0201fWpmEZ5vjIe-U30Q?authkey=Gv1sRgCO2q2Yz71ci8zgE&feat=directlink
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Post by cpdad on Mar 5, 2009 20:45:06 GMT -5
go ahead and whack it already .....we waiting ;D....kev.
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Post by mohs on Mar 5, 2009 22:51:33 GMT -5
ya can't rush a Michelangelo ! :nono: ;D
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Post by mohs on Mar 7, 2009 19:37:00 GMT -5
I cracked this non-geode today and hearts came spilling out!!! ! Its a MIRACLE !!!! worthy of a Michelangelo
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Mar 7, 2009 20:00:45 GMT -5
That's too bad. It sure looked like a geode from the pic. And I'm the one who said it wasn't going to crumble. Had it been a geode, it would not have.
For future reference, did you tap all the way around several times before it split, or did you give it a good whack?
Nice looking hearts!
Chuck
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Post by NatureNut on Mar 7, 2009 20:01:44 GMT -5
Nice hearts... crummy geode!
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