I love this I've been doing garnet hunting since I was a kid these are beautiful finds for sure. I find that pounding the mica off cracks the garnets I use a small screwdriver make a crack and dig in with new flat screwdriver tip it takes the stuff right off plus soaking in water for a few hrs before works extra great. Happy hunting everyone I love that I found others who like this stuff💖
Description of Meminer: very likely the best rock tumbling enthusiast to ever exist,super down to earth and a very chill person. If you hadn’t guessed already, you are my favorite channel for this stuff, you just have this charm to your videos that I cannot explain, like the same feeling you get when fishing with your grandpa and both you and your grandpa see a sunset and crack open cold ones, just pure peace. Also I’m gonna be tumbling moss agate soon, I love your results with your gems, also to the person who wants a better name for rocks, tumbled stones are also known as Nordic gems.
meMiner first step is done meminer! I’m gonna now be going to the second step, with my batch it ended up so banded, I got lucky enough to have a tricolored moss agate, there was a tiny red inclusion almost like RED moss, and the translucency is orange yellow blue hued, looks awesome but I won’t know what it truly looks like until all 4 weeks are done, also i did have a cracked stone and a few fractured pieces, I sanded those spots off with 120 grit to sand down into that fracture until it falls off or breaks off easy then I reshaped that part of the stone to remove the fracture completely, if you have a piece that’s really cool but fractured, it doesn’t hurt to give it a little hand sanding to fix it without breaking the stone into smaller pieces. I also made some of the more opaque moss agate stones smaller by smashing the opaque ones into quarter inch to half inch pieces and 1,2,3 inch pieces, so there’s stones of all sizes in my tumbler to make the tumbling effective with less grits. That’s my little trick for milking grit as long as I can since I’m pretty broke so I sometimes have to macgyver my way around things.
These are the largest garnets that I have found. Other places had garnets maybe the size of peas. As such, I was pretty happy with this spot. I was also glad to be showed the hammer trick. It speeds up cleaning.
You ought to make a trip to Marshall NC, we have public acces to Garnet Mines that Tiffanys mined years ago. The garnets are orange, apple sized, they fill your hand and are beautiful when polished. PEACE
I clean echinoids with a 6" wire wheel mounted on a motor. Rough wheel for removing heavy limestone and a finer one that polishes and removes the final bits of limestone. Might work for garnets too.limestone
Good luck with your project. I also heard that soaking ones coated in muscovite in water for a week helps. The muscovite swells and is easier to remove.
Very nice Garnet! Well except for the one from the old man hahaha. I don't have much advice for the tumbling as you're the expert on that one. Maybe try adding some material that is softer then Garnet, but harder then Mica? How I clean these is with crushed walnut shells and a blaster at around 50psi. Some of the stubborn areas I have to use a dental pick to get out the remaining bits. I think you're on the right path with what you're doing as it's getting them really clean! Good job.
I have noticed that the mica gets softer in the tumbler when tumbling wet and comes off easier. I will continue to play with the stones until I have an efficient process. Walnut shell might be good for putting a shine on the stones. I will give it a go.
@@meMiner to get the shine yes u need to find proper grit of what u are using but i have only polised up some seaglass that was not up to par .The thing is time 20 mins is nothing for a tumbler .But i have mine worked out with seaglass .Try 4 or 5 days .Cking periodically .This is beautiful .I think there may be amythyst here eastern canada .So fun tks
@@beneath.the.rosesluciddrea8470 the viniger is a mild acid and will help break up the mica as the gravel wares at it ,, I also us it on clad coins I find metal detecting
I would love to find someone to rockhound with! I'm in NY and I've found quite a bit of garnet right in my yard! I'm def gonna try this technique! Let us know if you find better ways!
you clean these very effectively with a spot cleaning gun (such as a mystic spot cleaing gun) that is used in the dry cleaning business. They can be bought for about 75-100 dollars on places like ebay.
Though I didn't get to mine them myself, rather I got them from a spiritual goods store, but I got raw almandine, pyrope and hessonite garnets and I must say, garnets are such beautiful stones
Good suggestion and gday! I tried a sonic cleaner, but it did not remove any of the mica. It did make the rock and mica really clean. However, It might instead be good as a final step to clean the garnets, but I think I will first try dry walnut shell in the tumbler to see if that will shine them up. I think I might also try an experiment using fish tank gravel instead of the stainless steel media. Thanks.
Hello I have lived in Idaho my hole life and have been working with Idaho garnets a trick I discovered years ago get your self a cab machine and clean your garnets in Minutes and find the star a lot quicker using your polishing wheels
If it doesn't crack evenly just rotate the garnet as you tighten the vise. (tighten -- release -- rotate and tighten) keep doing this procedure until it cracks open.
meMiner. I moved out here to Peterborough about two years ago from Oshawa. I’ve not been rock collecting since I was a kid. My little cousin has taken an interest though. I went out to the east coast last summer and brought her back some nice sea glass, shells and beach rocks. I’m thinking about getting her some polished stones for her birthday. 🙂
Hello, i have star garnets from Idaho. I too did what you did. Thought is to save your garnet dust when you break them down, use that to get to final product. I put mine in for about 2 weeks with steel and sand. My next step is to use diamond dremel tool for final polishing. What are your thoughts on final polishing?
I learned the quality of the crystal greatly affects the outcome. Weathered garnet does not improve much with whatever you do, but sometimes even those have a section which could be cut with lapidary equipment. A flat lap is better than a dremel, but you use the tools that you have. With whole garnets, many people do not like the rock to be altered or polished.
So yes, i am investing in diamond bits to get shape, then thinking i need diamond sandpaper various grits, to get polished...I want to take a few and put them in few chemicals, let me know if you tried, lemon juice, vineagar, or acid..... want to see what happens, have you tried.... always willing to share my stupid mistakes so we all get a win
I continue to learn from questions and comments. Sometimes, someone will look at a problem thru a different lens and come up with a really good thought. That said, it will depend upon what mineral your garnet is covered in. If it is muscovite, then lemon, vinegar, coke, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or muriatic won't have much of an effect. The best thing so far that I have found is simply soaking them in water for a few weeks. which seems to make the muscovite swell, making it easier to remove. I was told about another chemical by a really knowledgeable guy and I told myself "self, I have to remember that", and of course I don't. It was some kind of liquid from a swimming pool supply, but not muriatic. If you have a different kind of rock to remove, then maybe an acid would be worthwhile to test on a sample.
May I suggest more medium ceramic is hard enough to get rid of mica but soft enough not to damage stones, and high grit tumbler salt (powder), with a high MOHs it shouldn't be an issue garnets are really quite hard, tumble for an hour at a time. The problem is there's to much space in the tumbler to allow the rocks to be tumbled correctly, you yourself said empty space in the tumbler is a waste of effort, as the rocks float on the slurry, they need to be immersed in it, hit all the time by the medium and ground down by the salt. Good video, enjoyed it. Was on vacation for a bit and didn't realize I had missed so much.
@@meMiner well so far where I am at no lockdowns, other places are though, I guess. On to lighter subjects. Around here we have garnet hill, up by a town call Ely, I guess it's pretty well known for what it produces, we have allot of corundum as well as opals and agate and quartz and just about everything else I think, because of all the volcanic activity and geothermal going on really brings it out here, our garnets were formed around the same time as our opals, we also produce black opals, not like Australia but still very nice. One really cool thing about opals here is they still contain non carbonized material, inside an opal here will be non fossilized material, wood that is actually wood and not stone that is literally 40 million years old opalized pine cones or tree branches. Oops sorry just sort of ran on there.
@@robertbradford3461 For sure, there is some good collecting if you can get access in Nevada. I'd love to find opal like you describe. Someday, I would also like to check out the turquoise near Reno. I have a bucket list for Nevada and Arizona. Maybe when I retire I can spend a winter down that way.
@@meMiner well I'm sure the winters here would be less cold then the winters there, but it's still chilly and can sometimes be downright nasty, especially up by Ely and over to the opal fields, might want to make a early summer trip up north here, then a late fall early winter trip down south. Either or, hard detecting and hounding in the snow, and extreme heat.
I am totally ignorant of this. However I couldn't help but think about the hardware store. Some brads or tacks? You can get steel or copper. How about some brass nuts? Steel nuts?
Hi mate I’m looking at your right hand. Please correct me if I’m wrong but you look like you have fluid build up on your wrist. If wrong ignore me sir just want you to get it checked out if you haven’t. Anyways cheers I live in Western Australia and garnets are in good supply so I appreciate the advice..🇦🇺👍💪🇺🇸❤️
I have looked around Orillia and have not found much. There used to be an old railway hub where rock from Cobalt (Silver) was transferred for refining in Deloro. I have not looked there, but have heard they dropped some of it. Probably my best advice is to head east to Bancroft and join up with one of their rock collecting tours. They take you to a few spots and show you what to look for.
Please hold your samples in daylight, no the shadows, so we can get a better view of the stone's colour. I enjoy your videos quite a lot, keep them up, -please.
I still have a lot to learn. I took some video yesterday and looking at it, realize now camera was into the sun. No idea how I found sun as it rained most of the day.
@@meMiner An adjustable (two element) polarizing filter. which can give light to heavy polarizing can help, 1) to cut back the light in overblown direct lighting situations. and, 2) show clean, true colours in your samples, especially when fully polished; IMO. A larger lens hood will help. or a center post light stand with a clamp and matt black board shielding the lens from the sun or bright reflective objects including from water below the lens, and, always try to contrast light against dark or vice-versa. I hope this helps. Cheers!
I think if you used less sand you will get a better result..maybe cut it in half or less...it'll allow the garnet to fall harder against the sand and give it some grinding action...but great find..I'd be on the moon lol
The rocks will probably get a better polish with more time in the tumbler, but they will also lose their original shape which seems a shame. I need to collect some more to play with.
It works OK, but the crystal faces on the ones I saw done were rounded. I think the best bet is spend the time to find higher quality crystals rather than the ones that need "help". At least, that will be my plan next time I am collecting...
True, we just returned from a vacation in North Carolina were we went digging. I have some stones i'm not sure what some of them are. We did find some garnets, quartz and other too many to name. I was looking for the best ways to sand, cut or polish. We really found some cool stones. I have this one stone it seems to resemble garnet but i'm not sure. Is there any way I would be able to show you a photo or could we speak by email?
Where are you located to just go out and find garnets like this locally? when I look online I can only find 2 places that have garnets which are Emerald Creek National forest and then apparently in india? I would love to go out and hunt for these but i am in Georgia so I dont think I will be lucky enough to just go out and find them locally lol
About 6 hours north of the border. Near Field, Ontario. There is a band of rock that runs about 30KM that is stuffed with garnet. Bit of a hike from Georgia, but you would have fun
I tried grit and it wore down and rounded the garnets. Not bad a bad idea if the goal is to find material to cut. I was hoping to keep the natural shape of the crystal.
@@meMiner haha no worries 👍 it is of little difference really and not everyone knows their two different things. Mica probably is best haha I knew what you meant 😂 Really enjoyed the video too, I've struggled with cleaning garnets as well. I would really like to get a saw and try to cut some of them but another time perhaps
There are different grades of garnet. Fractures ones are only of value to collectors. Clear ones can be worth something to jewelers or wholesalers or direct to consumer. Do u have some?
I am not tried that and not even sure where to look for them. I guess that is what eBay is for. LOL I have done lots with walnut or corn cob, but it is too soft for this I think
Just use a utility knife and go up to about a quarter of an inch from the opening of the shell and cut through the paper pour it all out. It is not dangerous it will not go off unless you strike the primer on the bottom brass part of the Shell with white a hard rap.
Do you know what the matrix is made of? If it is muscovite, try soaking for a week in water to see if you can get it to swell from the moisture, which will make it easier to remove.
I love this I've been doing garnet hunting since I was a kid these are beautiful finds for sure. I find that pounding the mica off cracks the garnets I use a small screwdriver make a crack and dig in with new flat screwdriver tip it takes the stuff right off plus soaking in water for a few hrs before works extra great. Happy hunting everyone I love that I found others who like this stuff💖
Excellent advice!
Will try that! Thanks
We had fun finding the garnets with you! Great tips. I've got mine soaking and just recenlty started to scrape. Now I have to locate a tumbler.
Description of Meminer: very likely the best rock tumbling enthusiast to ever exist,super down to earth and a very chill person. If you hadn’t guessed already, you are my favorite channel for this stuff, you just have this charm to your videos that I cannot explain, like the same feeling you get when fishing with your grandpa and both you and your grandpa see a sunset and crack open cold ones, just pure peace.
Also I’m gonna be tumbling moss agate soon, I love your results with your gems, also to the person who wants a better name for rocks, tumbled stones are also known as Nordic gems.
Nordic Gems. I like that.
meMiner first step is done meminer! I’m gonna now be going to the second step, with my batch it ended up so banded, I got lucky enough to have a tricolored moss agate, there was a tiny red inclusion almost like RED moss, and the translucency is orange yellow blue hued, looks awesome but I won’t know what it truly looks like until all 4 weeks are done, also i did have a cracked stone and a few fractured pieces, I sanded those spots off with 120 grit to sand down into that fracture until it falls off or breaks off easy then I reshaped that part of the stone to remove the fracture completely, if you have a piece that’s really cool but fractured, it doesn’t hurt to give it a little hand sanding to fix it without breaking the stone into smaller pieces. I also made some of the more opaque moss agate stones smaller by smashing the opaque ones into quarter inch to half inch pieces and 1,2,3 inch pieces, so there’s stones of all sizes in my tumbler to make the tumbling effective with less grits. That’s my little trick for milking grit as long as I can since I’m pretty broke so I sometimes have to macgyver my way around things.
Very good ideas!! They cleaned up really good. Glad to see you got out to collect some if it's the spot I'm thinking of? That place is amazing!!
Those are very large Garnet crystals. It's insane how many flakes of Muscovite covers up a Garnet.
These are the largest garnets that I have found. Other places had garnets maybe the size of peas. As such, I was pretty happy with this spot. I was also glad to be showed the hammer trick. It speeds up cleaning.
You ought to make a trip to Marshall NC, we have public acces to Garnet Mines that Tiffanys mined years ago. The garnets are orange, apple sized, they fill your hand and are beautiful when polished. PEACE
I'd love to check that out someday. How do you polish them?
wow really??
@@meMiner do a google search. You use different grades of sands with course to finer later. It takes a week or two on each grade.
just got like 12 garnets today in nc
Caldwell county too
I havent visited your channel in a while...and i see you are still living MY DREAM !!!!! 💛💛💛
Welcome back. ;-)
I clean echinoids with a 6" wire wheel mounted on a motor. Rough wheel for removing heavy limestone and a finer one that polishes and removes the final bits of limestone. Might work for garnets too.limestone
It would be worth a try. Thanks
I've got a big bag of garments from my last rock hounding trip to North Carolina. I'm going to give this a try. Thanks!
Good luck with your project. I also heard that soaking ones coated in muscovite in water for a week helps. The muscovite swells and is easier to remove.
Hi Dig the garnets from Little pine NC. Unfortunately majority of these ones all have cracks and sand intrusions making it hard to polish down.., 🌿✌️
I had to stop the video at the 30 second point , I was laughing so hard at the old guy swimming trunk comment . OK, now back to the video .
I probably have to stop those kind of comments. It might be me soon. LOL
tess99991 gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, hanging out together .Lol. I had to say that .
Whew thank god I wasn't the only one..lol...but than every thing he said after had a new twist to it..lol
25 seconds in LMAO!!!!!! I just turned 59 in August and I can tell you gravity is starting to have an effect. hahahaha
Thanks for reply! Such a gentleman, and a scoler...
Very nice Garnet! Well except for the one from the old man hahaha. I don't have much advice for the tumbling as you're the expert on that one. Maybe try adding some material that is softer then Garnet, but harder then Mica? How I clean these is with crushed walnut shells and a blaster at around 50psi. Some of the stubborn areas I have to use a dental pick to get out the remaining bits. I think you're on the right path with what you're doing as it's getting them really clean! Good job.
I have noticed that the mica gets softer in the tumbler when tumbling wet and comes off easier. I will continue to play with the stones until I have an efficient process. Walnut shell might be good for putting a shine on the stones. I will give it a go.
@@meMiner to get the shine yes u need to find proper grit of what u are using but i have only polised up some seaglass that was not up to par .The thing is time 20 mins is nothing for a tumbler .But i have mine worked out with seaglass .Try 4 or 5 days .Cking periodically .This is beautiful .I think there may be amythyst here eastern canada .So fun tks
sir when tumbing those garnets after beating on them tumble with fish tank gravel and viniger ,no soap ,for about 4 hours, this should help a lot.
That's interesting. Why? When else would you use this method?
@@beneath.the.rosesluciddrea8470 the viniger is a mild acid and will help break up the mica as the gravel wares at it ,, I also us it on clad coins I find metal detecting
I love this I've been doing garnet hunting since I was a kid these are beautiful finds for sure. I find that pounding
🖕😁🖕
I wish I could go rockhounding with you one day. You sure look like you have a lot of fun rockhounding.
I take the camera so everyone who watches joins me. LOL
ElGatoLoco698 I was thinking the same thing. What a nice man to hang out with for the day and rockhound
I would love to find someone to rockhound with! I'm in NY and I've found quite a bit of garnet right in my yard! I'm def gonna try this technique! Let us know if you find better ways!
Rachael Pollack hi I wanted to say I'm at the mass,vt boarder =) about 35/40 minutes from Bennington vt. Are you more North NY?
I’m in Southbury CT. I find small garnets.
You have such great ideas. love your channel
Thanks much!
Amazing garnets!
you clean these very effectively with a spot cleaning gun (such as a mystic spot cleaing gun) that is used in the dry cleaning business. They can be bought for about 75-100 dollars on places like ebay.
Someone else recommended one of those guns for cleaning rocks. I should get one. Thanks!
your welcome-I sent you a private msg through youtube with more info-you can access it through the creator studio
I get 1st dibs on one of them Garnets...Have been wanting to add one to my Crystal & Stone collection. 👍🏼💞
I would like to go back and collect some more. It is a 5 hour drive away, so might not be this year.
@@meMiner ...oh wow, that is a very long drive to go get them at.
Well, I will patiently wait on anything you want to share with me...lol 👍🏼🤔😂🤣
I would only go if it was a stop on the way to something else. I might be able to get out for a long trip one more time before the snow flies.
Though I didn't get to mine them myself, rather I got them from a spiritual goods store, but I got raw almandine, pyrope and hessonite garnets and I must say, garnets are such beautiful stones
gday from oz,i think i might try a good ultra sonic cleaner,nice video.
Good suggestion and gday! I tried a sonic cleaner, but it did not remove any of the mica. It did make the rock and mica really clean. However, It might instead be good as a final step to clean the garnets, but I think I will first try dry walnut shell in the tumbler to see if that will shine them up. I think I might also try an experiment using fish tank gravel instead of the stainless steel media.
Thanks.
Hello I have lived in Idaho my hole life and have been working with Idaho garnets a trick I discovered years ago get your self a cab machine and clean your garnets in Minutes and find the star a lot quicker using your polishing wheels
Thanks for sharing!
If it doesn't crack evenly just rotate the garnet as you tighten the vise. (tighten -- release -- rotate and tighten) keep doing this procedure until it cracks open.
Great advice. I also heard to soak it for a week in water.
OMFG the visual at :25 🤣 i am DED!!! HAHA
Looked like a ball sack. 😂
Have you tried a sandblasting using coarse sand jetting. It is easy and economics and also quickly. The sand will not damage the garnet
I tried a small sandblaster and was not satisfied with the results. I wasted quite a bit of material, as I did not do it in a closed box.
I just found a beautiful green one in vermont a big one
Rich color in those garnets.. And some mint growing in the back round..beautiful!
Funny about the mint. I tried to kill it but that just seemed to make it grow better. ;-)
@@meMiner that's awesome!! It smells good lol!
Very informative video.. Watching your video from Hunza Pakistan..
Thanks for dropping by. Very cool that someone from Pakistan can join me.
Pakistan is 5th largest country exporting Rough Gems.
Oh wow! Hello from Peterborough. 🙂
Peterborough, Ontario? If so, I am nearby (Port Perry) and you are closer than me to some great spots to collect rocks.
meMiner. I moved out here to Peterborough about two years ago from Oshawa. I’ve not been rock collecting since I was a kid. My little cousin has taken an interest though. I went out to the east coast last summer and brought her back some nice sea glass, shells and beach rocks. I’m thinking about getting her some polished stones for her birthday. 🙂
Hello, i have star garnets from Idaho. I too did what you did. Thought is to save your garnet dust when you break them down, use that to get to final product. I put mine in for about 2 weeks with steel and sand. My next step is to use diamond dremel tool for final polishing.
What are your thoughts on final polishing?
I learned the quality of the crystal greatly affects the outcome. Weathered garnet does not improve much with whatever you do, but sometimes even those have a section which could be cut with lapidary equipment. A flat lap is better than a dremel, but you use the tools that you have. With whole garnets, many people do not like the rock to be altered or polished.
So yes, i am investing in diamond bits to get shape, then thinking i need diamond sandpaper various grits, to get polished...I want to take a few and put them in few chemicals, let me know if you tried, lemon juice, vineagar, or acid..... want to see what happens, have you tried.... always willing to share my stupid mistakes so we all get a win
I continue to learn from questions and comments. Sometimes, someone will look at a problem thru a different lens and come up with a really good thought. That said, it will depend upon what mineral your garnet is covered in. If it is muscovite, then lemon, vinegar, coke, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or muriatic won't have much of an effect. The best thing so far that I have found is simply soaking them in water for a few weeks. which seems to make the muscovite swell, making it easier to remove. I was told about another chemical by a really knowledgeable guy and I told myself "self, I have to remember that", and of course I don't. It was some kind of liquid from a swimming pool supply, but not muriatic. If you have a different kind of rock to remove, then maybe an acid would be worthwhile to test on a sample.
meMiner tumbling in diatomaceous earth?
May I suggest more medium ceramic is hard enough to get rid of mica but soft enough not to damage stones, and high grit tumbler salt (powder), with a high MOHs it shouldn't be an issue garnets are really quite hard, tumble for an hour at a time. The problem is there's to much space in the tumbler to allow the rocks to be tumbled correctly, you yourself said empty space in the tumbler is a waste of effort, as the rocks float on the slurry, they need to be immersed in it, hit all the time by the medium and ground down by the salt.
Good video, enjoyed it.
Was on vacation for a bit and didn't realize I had missed so much.
I will try that. I plan on collecting some more soon (when the snow melts) if we are not in lockdown.
@@meMiner well so far where I am at no lockdowns, other places are though, I guess. On to lighter subjects.
Around here we have garnet hill, up by a town call Ely, I guess it's pretty well known for what it produces,
we have allot of corundum as well as opals and agate and quartz and just about everything else I think, because of all the volcanic activity and geothermal going on really brings it out here, our garnets were formed around the same time as our opals, we also produce black opals, not like Australia but still very nice.
One really cool thing about opals here is they still contain non carbonized material, inside an opal here will be non fossilized material, wood that is actually wood and not stone that is literally 40 million years old opalized pine cones or tree branches.
Oops sorry just sort of ran on there.
@@robertbradford3461 For sure, there is some good collecting if you can get access in Nevada. I'd love to find opal like you describe. Someday, I would also like to check out the turquoise near Reno. I have a bucket list for Nevada and Arizona. Maybe when I retire I can spend a winter down that way.
@@meMiner well I'm sure the winters here would be less cold then the winters there, but it's still chilly and can sometimes be downright nasty, especially up by Ely and over to the opal fields, might want to make a early summer trip up north here, then a late fall early winter trip down south. Either or, hard detecting and hounding in the snow, and extreme heat.
@@robertbradford3461 I can handle cold. I am not a fan of temps over 100 F for very long. ;-)
Cool video
Nice man those are beautiful
You need to use sunlight or a flashlight, to show us thetransparency of the stones... Put more stones in at one time as well...
I am totally ignorant of this. However I couldn't help but think about the hardware store. Some brads or tacks? You can get steel or copper. How about some brass nuts? Steel nuts?
Hi mate I’m looking at your right hand. Please correct me if I’m wrong but you look like you have fluid build up on your wrist. If wrong ignore me sir just want you to get it checked out if you haven’t. Anyways cheers I live in Western Australia and garnets are in good supply so I appreciate the advice..🇦🇺👍💪🇺🇸❤️
Wondering if you would recommend a place near orillia to look I have two young kids who want to start
I have looked around Orillia and have not found much. There used to be an old railway hub where rock from Cobalt (Silver) was transferred for refining in Deloro. I have not looked there, but have heard they dropped some of it. Probably my best advice is to head east to Bancroft and join up with one of their rock collecting tours. They take you to a few spots and show you what to look for.
meMiner okay. Thank you
I’ve heard that near Barrie their is a place but don’t know the location
Wow very cool thanks. How do you spot them when they’re all encrusted?
You can see the bump in the muscovite (mica). The mica muscovite is like little sheets of paper around a marble or golf ball.
Could you check out the last video I posted and see if I found a garnet? 💞🙏💎
Bathing suit of an old man.... you are so sick.. I had to subscribe just for that joke... Keep on keeping on.
LOL I forgot about that.
Cat turds are a good grinding medium!
LOL
Totally lol at that part! 😂😂
My birthstone. Cool finds. What state are you in?
Ontario, Canada
@@meMiner I knew it as soon as you said: "eh?" Greetings from Québec!
@@AnonningAnon I sometimes sound just like Bob and Doug McKenzie, especially after a few adult beverages. ;-)
Nice thanks for the video
just use a large vice if you have one. it works great. mine is 6 inches across the top of the jaw.
I have one. I will try that. Thanks
Super friend iam from India i make tambale by hand
You can use bbs in your tumbler to.
Please hold your samples in daylight, no the shadows, so we can get a better view of the stone's colour.
I enjoy your videos quite a lot, keep them up, -please.
I still have a lot to learn. I took some video yesterday and looking at it, realize now camera was into the sun. No idea how I found sun as it rained most of the day.
@@meMiner An adjustable (two element) polarizing filter. which can give light to heavy polarizing can help, 1) to cut back the light in overblown direct lighting situations. and, 2) show clean, true colours in your samples, especially when fully polished; IMO.
A larger lens hood will help. or a center post light stand with a clamp and matt black board shielding the lens from the sun or bright reflective objects including from water below the lens, and, always try to contrast light against dark or vice-versa.
I hope this helps.
Cheers!
I think if you used less sand you will get a better result..maybe cut it in half or less...it'll allow the garnet to fall harder against the sand and give it some grinding action...but great find..I'd be on the moon lol
Somebody else recommended aquarium gravel and that also sounds interesting. I will have to collect some more and try it soon.
Where did you find those? Love it!!
Ontario (Canada) near Bancroft
Can you use glass marbles as filler media for pre polish and polish?
Yes. They work well for that. Not so good with coarser grit as they wear down. No big deal if you have lots of marbles
Yes..very good
My wife polishes my garnutz .
Keep her.
I bet they are awfully shiny
And I bet she has a secret oil that you all should share with us.
Ha ha. "Mixed Nuts = Gar Nuts:) "
Was joking but maybe give it a go if you have a cat like you said
When you get tired of those rough garnets, please let me know. I will be happy to shape them for you.
I have no idea where I put them. I will have to go back to that spot for more.
@@meMiner Maybe they’re in ur tumbler or an old coffee can?? What have u learned about cleaning gems since?
My Favorites
I'm trying soaking mine in Coca-Cola over night because I don't have a rock tumbler yet
I have seen people doing this, but not for hours but for days, weeks of for a month to polish the stones
The rocks will probably get a better polish with more time in the tumbler, but they will also lose their original shape which seems a shame. I need to collect some more to play with.
@@meMiner ohh it makes sense
How about a pressure washer? 🤔
I collected some more recently and will try using a fabric gun. Same idea
*Ruby and Sapphire likes this video
have you tried a sand blasting cabinet yet to remove the majority of the mica
I tried one. It works pretty good.
Those are river valley garnets fer sure. Hangs outta an ole’ miner’s bathing suit! 😂
I thought for sure they stayed in my pocket.
Nice !
what about using wet, dry sandpaper and sanding by hand?
It works OK, but the crystal faces on the ones I saw done were rounded. I think the best bet is spend the time to find higher quality crystals rather than the ones that need "help". At least, that will be my plan next time I am collecting...
True, we just returned from a vacation in North Carolina were we went digging. I have some stones i'm not sure what some of them are. We did find some garnets, quartz and other too many to name. I was looking for the best ways to sand, cut or polish. We really found some cool stones. I have this one stone it seems to resemble garnet but i'm not sure. Is there any way I would be able to show you a photo or could we speak by email?
my email is tess99991rocks@gmail.com. Considering where you probably found it, I am thinking ruby.
I will send you an email. I appreciate your time. Thank you so much.
Mix sand jewelery mix and soapy water with three garnets
How much are these worth? Ballpark... and can they be cut? Would that add value?
Some can be cut. I have no idea of the value.
Try Beach sand it's a little more coarse.
I also heard aquarium sand is good for the same reason.
Yes but it's expensive. You could try a construction site mixing and pouring concrete, you could talk them out of a bucket full.
Interesting idea.
yes beach sand with a handful of larger sand particles not quite pepples .or the sandpaper in powder forget the name
Where are you located to just go out and find garnets like this locally? when I look online I can only find 2 places that have garnets which are Emerald Creek National forest and then apparently in india? I would love to go out and hunt for these but i am in Georgia so I dont think I will be lucky enough to just go out and find them locally lol
About 6 hours north of the border. Near Field, Ontario. There is a band of rock that runs about 30KM that is stuffed with garnet. Bit of a hike from Georgia, but you would have fun
You must be looking up star garnets. That’s what we have at emerald creek. These are reg garnets. Or red garnets. And u can find them lots of places.
Show bonita pedra já to inscrito no canal super Like do Francisco stones Brasil
thanks like upand subscrib .. how to pulish this rok granate
Why not grit?
I tried grit and it wore down and rounded the garnets. Not bad a bad idea if the goal is to find material to cut. I was hoping to keep the natural shape of the crystal.
4:15 looks like you found something your cat left in the sand/litter box
Have u every used a vibratory tumbler
I had one and quickly broke it because I overloaded it with silver ore. I will get another and be more careful
I have some garmet please tell me accual prise this garnet
I collect for fun and don't have a store, so I am not a good one to ask about prices. Maybe someone else will see your question and comment
Is it a combination of muscovite and biotite? Black mica
I always mess up on muscovite vs biotite when talking into a camera. I should just say mica and keep it simple.
@@meMiner haha no worries 👍 it is of little difference really and not everyone knows their two different things. Mica probably is best haha I knew what you meant 😂
Really enjoyed the video too, I've struggled with cleaning garnets as well. I would really like to get a saw and try to cut some of them but another time perhaps
how much costs a gram of raw garnet?
I have no idea. Sorry.
I was going to say that about the kitty litter box, And you said it, what I was thinking, I Like me Miner, you think like me
I would have tried fine grit in stead of sand.
I thought about that and didn't want to grind away any of garnet face. If I were to try again, I would try 500 grit (prepolish) to see if that helps
hi, can I buy some rough garnet from you?
I don't have any good ones left.
How much is a carat granite, Professor. Thank you
Where I live, granite has no value unless you can crush it and sell by the cubic yard for driveways.
Thank you for your reply . I am Moussa from Algeria, and you are from which country?
@@moussouni8495 Canada
There are different grades of garnet. Fractures ones are only of value to collectors. Clear ones can be worth something to jewelers or wholesalers or direct to consumer. Do u have some?
@@meMiner I think he was talking about garnet not granite. Lol 😂
Have you tried butternut shells , they're hard and brittle as glass (;>)
I am not tried that and not even sure where to look for them. I guess that is what eBay is for. LOL I have done lots with walnut or corn cob, but it is too soft for this I think
To use in your Tumblr you should go by a box of 25 3.50in. 10ga#2 and#4 shot size Bismuth waterfowl shotgun shells and you're all cleaned up.
B
Just use a utility knife and go up to about a quarter of an inch from the opening of the shell and cut through the paper pour it all out. It is not dangerous it will not go off unless you strike the primer on the bottom brass part of the Shell with white a hard rap.
I can buy bags of shot at a reloading store. I'd rather fire shells at waterfowl because they are quite expensive. Thanks for the tips.
Wet the sand to get better results; very runny consistency
I have ame stone 690 gm.hardnees 9.
xin lổi bạn ở đất nước nào?
Canada
I would of used a knife and picked off all the mica possible first. You should flat lap the crystal faces.
At that time, I didn't have a flat lap. I have one now. I hope to collect some more to play with this summer. Thanks for the advice.
What state are you hunting?
Ontario (Canada)
Try wet sand...👍
Play sand, is not course (regular) sand.
The sand that was in my daughter's sandbox was from the back of my property. I remove a foot of dirt and am into glacial sand.
OOOO PRETTY 🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾
Thanks Mary Jayne
xin được làm học trò?
a student?
Found some Almandine or Pyrope in a gneiss matrix
How should i get em out, Ive been using a dremel to expose them.
I want to find palm sized ones
Do you know what the matrix is made of? If it is muscovite, try soaking for a week in water to see if you can get it to swell from the moisture, which will make it easier to remove.
@@meMiner okay i will try it
And not sure about it, steel cuts it though, vinegar doesnt really do much at all.
You should have left the cat turds in the sand. Thats the secret!
hehe
لدايا ميتلوها في المغريب
Use cat litter next time
Dry?
Borax ive seen another utube use borax
I have borax, but have not yet tried it
Lol 😂
Batu
:28 seconds lol