{"id":2588,"date":"2020-04-04T12:14:21","date_gmt":"2020-04-04T16:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/?p=2588"},"modified":"2020-04-04T12:14:24","modified_gmt":"2020-04-04T16:14:24","slug":"rockhounding-abcs-nice-tools-if-you-can-get-em","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/rockhounding-abcs-nice-tools-if-you-can-get-em\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockhounding ABCs &#8211; \u201cNice Tools if You Can Get \u2018Em\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cNice Tools if You Can Get \u2018Em\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Herkimer Diamond Mining &quot;Behind the Scenes&quot;\" width=\"525\" height=\"295\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kWWyqz2dMTg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Depending on one\u2019s budget, your mode of transportation,\nyour style of backpack or wagon, and the number of rockhounds in your party, a\nnumber of other tools can be helpful, and can be used depending on the locale,\npublic versus private lands for instance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One time we had returned from collecting geodes from a\ndried up creek bed in Southern Indiana. We had driven out to Southern Indiana,\nfilled the trunk of the rental car with geodes (probably stripped the shocks on\nthe back wheels of the poor rental car too), and drove back to Manhattan\u2019s\nUpper East Side. We had a strategy, and tool in mind to crack the baseball to\nhoneydew melon sized geodes, but we had one geode the size of a basketball, and\nno idea how to crack it. As we were driving through Manhattan, we saw some\nstreet workers repairing a section of street using a jackhammer. We were able\nto pull over and get the attention of the city workers, and we asked \u201cGentlemen,\nany chance you could help us out and crack open a giant geode for us please?\nWe\u2019ll gladly pay you.\u201d The city workers looked at each other, and then told us\nto \u201cget the hell out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we decided to get our own jackhammer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Best Herkimer Diamond Find Ever By American Geode\" width=\"525\" height=\"295\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iyXZmYYcEcE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A jackhammer is a very advanced tool, for use by\nmore than one person, with all of the protective gear we have discussed already\nfrom gloves to earplugs to protective glasses and goggles. As alternative to\nthe large upright jackhammer used commonly by city and construction workers is\ncalled a demolition hammer, sometimes a concrete breaker or electric\njackhammer. They are still heavy-duty tools that require fully understanding\nthe instructions, and adult supervision, goggles and protective gear, and more\nthan one person to help out and act as a spot. However, the hand jackhammers\nare designed to be held up to crack rock at an angle as well as vertically, and\nfor cracking a rock fa\u00e7ade with seams and crevices, the hand jackhammer is the\nfastest way to expose new stone surfaces. They are electrically powered, so\nrequire a generator, something else to transport to your site.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPoints\u201d to consider before Investing in a mini jackhammer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Consider your budget for such a heavy-duty power tool, and the gas powered generator that is required. Does it make sense?<\/li><li>Consider storage of this large tool and generator.<\/li><li>Can you lease a generator from a hardware store near your rockhounding site?<\/li><li>Does your car or truck logistically accommodate a generator, and are the rockhounds on this adventure ready to haul this very heavy equipment. <\/li><li>Power tools like an electric jackhammer can only be used on private property, if not your property, then with advance knowledge and permission asked beforehand of the property owner.<ol><li>\u201cDiamond Tip\u201d &#8211; For instance, we have hunted for geodes in Southern Indiana on the property of a personal friend from college whose farm is surrounded by acres of forest that contain an eternity\u2019s supply of geodes. He allows us to use a jackhammer and generator on his property to crack open the largest geodes that we could otherwise not move. As well, when we mine for Herkimer Diamonds in upstate New York, we have access to a claim on private property. The land owners receive an annual fee to mine a specifically designated area in the spring and fall. With that annual fee and right to the claim comes the permission to use power tools. So the instances where one can use a jackhammer are not plentiful, but if they are allowed, the return in ease of moving and removing rock is worth the financial investment and sweat the jackhammer requires. The stone in which Herkimer Diamonds are found in upstate New York is very hard dolostone, similar to limestone. It has very few crevices, breaks, or cracks at the depth below underground where the \u201cpockets\u201d of Herkimer Diamonds are found. So the jackhammer allows on to break open a smooth surface of dolostone, and break it apart section by smaller section until you uncover a cavity filled with Herkimer Diamonds.<\/li><\/ol><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>We have a friend who always carries half a dozen\ncrow bars in his truck. Crow bars are very useful when prying apart a very\nlarge stone. As you crack open a seam in a large rock, you insert the crow bar\nto sustain the pressure. Then continue the seam and pry it open even further\nwith another crow bar. By using multiple crow bars, one can open up and split a\nvery large rock, into more manageable sections.<\/li><li>Some rockhounds prefer to carry a walking stick,\nlike the ones used for hiking along trails. The terrain is likely going to be\nrough and rocky wherever you are, and if your rockhounding locale is on the\nside of a hill or mountain, or down a ravine, or along a river or creek bed a\nwalking stick may be very helpful to help maintain one\u2019s balance and\ncoordination. <\/li><li>Specifically for geodes, the soil pipe cutter,\nan old hand tool used by plumbers and water department workers, can be\nrepurposed into a very effective geode cracker. We bought ours off of eBay, and\nit remains at home for geode cracking after the geode collecting. It is a steel\nlever with a chain with teeth, and the chain would wrap around a water or\nsewage pipe, and then by applying pressure to the handles, and tightening a\ncrank that tightened the pressure of the chain, a plumber was able to split\napart water and sewage pipes. The same physics principles apply when you wrap\nthe chain around a geode. With enough pressure the geode splits in half. <\/li><li>Simon &amp; Schuster publish a series of books\nabout identifying trees, birds, and wildlife. If you are rockhounding with\nkids, any of those books can help motivate and encourage some additional\nactivity and curiosity in nature.<\/li><li>Rockhounding is a passion for men, women, and\nyoungsters who appreciate nature, and natural beauty, and also satisfies a streak\nand desire for treasure hunting in many of us. The challenges that face\nrockhounds, such as dwindling areas where one can explore and rockhound, access\nto private property being limited and denied by land owners protecting\nthemselves, are many of the same challenges that face our brothers and sisters\nwho explore with metal detectors. Many rockhounds are fascinated by gems,\nminerals, and crystals, as well as fossils. Some rockhounds only seek out gems\nand minerals, but some rockhounds are also metal detector enthusiasts. If that\nrockhound is you, then pack your metal detector and toggle between detecting\nand rockhounding if you are in a local where both are applicable.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rockhounds and Metal Detector Enthusiasts Unite!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cNice Tools if You Can Get \u2018Em\u201d Depending on one\u2019s budget, your mode of transportation, your style of backpack or wagon, and the number of rockhounds in your party, a number of other tools can be helpful, and can be used depending on the locale, public versus private lands for instance. One time we had &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/rockhounding-abcs-nice-tools-if-you-can-get-em\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Rockhounding ABCs &#8211; \u201cNice Tools if You Can Get \u2018Em\u201d&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2021,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,52,101,102,157,156,95,5,32,47,20,94,93,80,79,46,96,158,33,97,159,160,1],"tags":[76,55,40,78,77,67,3,163,131,133,39,164,84,81,135,4],"class_list":["post-2588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antiques","category-antiques-roadshow","category-conservancy","category-environmentalism","category-gem-and-mineral-clubs","category-gem-and-mineral-shows","category-gemstone","category-geodes","category-geology","category-ice-age","category-interior-design","category-jewelry","category-lapidary","category-museums","category-new-york-2","category-paleontology","category-peridot","category-rock-shows","category-science","category-star-wars","category-tucson-gem-and-mineral-show","category-tucson-gem-show","category-uncategorized","tag-american-geode","tag-diamond","tag-diamonds","tag-gem-and-mineral-club","tag-gem-and-mineral-show","tag-gem-and-mineral-shows","tag-geode","tag-geode-cracking","tag-geodes","tag-geology","tag-herkimer-diamond","tag-indiana-geode","tag-mindat","tag-museums-2","tag-paleontology","tag-rockhound"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2588"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2590,"href":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588\/revisions\/2590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.americangeode.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}