Slicing Rocks in the Lab w/ Geochron Video

I've received several comments from viewers requesting some lab videos, so here is the first of many to come. When using wet saws such as the water saw or oil saw used here, be sure to take heed to the following:

1.) No loose clothing or bracelets.
2.) Always wear eye protection.
3.) A respirator is a must.
4.) Hearing protection is a must.
5.) A rubber apron is a must.

Be careful when dealing with brittle rocks, they can chip very easilly. Always be sure that you understand the cleavage characteristics of the rocks and minerals you're dealing with before attempting to cut them.

Save & Share:

bamboo4tameshigiri: I've used a wet saw plenty of times for cutting tiles.

WERTY1112: Getting more intressted in geology here. Might have to take a few courses in it!

orpiment99: I love the glow that some minerals pick up when cutting through an intrusive rocks. Makes for an interesting show when in concert with some sparks.

jumpperi: It looks really dangerous when you cut that rock. Im suppriced that you dont have much safety gear to protect you from cutting your arms or fingers while cutting those stones. Although Im sure your professionals that know how to operate things, but still.

TheDon001: I dont know about his saw blades, but I worked as a granite counter-top fabricator and we had really similar saws, though much larger, and the blades really cant cut you all that bad, they could take some good sized dings out of your fingers but they're diamond abrasive type cutting wheels. We had one saw you could run your hand against while it was running, your flesh was too soft for the wheel to get a grip on it and the water would help lubricate and cushion it. Cool vid Geochron.

TheCaptainLulz: thats because they dont cut the rock in the strictest sense, rather they grind out the material with diamond abrasives.

TheCaptainLulz: I loathe cutting pyrite. the stink of the sulfide can be really nasty.

Woad25: What do you do with the waste water when you're done grinding? I can't imagine you can just pitch it into the nearest sink.

Geochron: We have a special waste water collection system that processes all of our water.

Geochron: Exactly, it more or less grinds the material away. The most dangerous thing you could do is wear gloves, which would give you the potential of getting your finger or hand caught in the moving parts.

kalamain: This may seem like a silly question. But why would you 'cook' a rock?? Would you be melting it?

Geochron: You bake them to remove the latent moisture from the sample so that you run more specialized tests that require dry rocks. Certain mineralogical tests actually require you to basically melt and flux powdered samples, which also need to be anhydrous.

Ashybasha: I used one of those saws last year to cut rock cores :)

piprod01: Wow, that's pretty cool! :D It's interesting to see real geology! And it's funny that I kinda get it even though I'm still in high school. I like geology... But I put Molecular Biology down on my University application. If I get in I'm allowed to pick another course for the first 2 years study... I wanna pick Geology!

winstonsmith00: So can you use vinegar to give rocks an acid bath and get rid of softer materials? Some of the nice specimens she's found are included in sandstone and something else that appears to be sandstone but is much harder. I really need to learn more about this stuff since my daughter is always bringing home rocks with fossils in them. I polished up a few Petoskey stones (fossilized corral) but would love to do some cross-section cuts of them. Thanks

Geochron: Vinegar is often used to remove organic material. Sandstone has a high quartz content and won't dissolve using vinegar alone.

Leadman1989: so it's like a tile cutter

pilgrimpater: So great to see geology in the lab as well as in the field. Obviously two venues that have never been visited by any YEC "geologist". Bit worried about you reaching across the blade at 2:49 to switch it on. And i would hate to sneeze while holding the rock against the blade. You are very lucky to have embarked on such an interesting career. I wish i had stuck at it when i was younger but at least i have retained enough knowledge to debunk Young Earth nonsense.

hotcrotch: ...coool :P

themanwhoknew: You guys are just looking for excuses to use dangerous machinery It's pure genius

Geochron: My right arm is well above the blade at 2:49, so no worries there. The deck of the saw is actually quite large as well.

pilgrimpater: That's great. I was worried about the possible threat to your informative videos.

metalorg: Interesting stones

bailesie: Yay! I remember working in our rock lab, prepping samples to be made into thin sections. Oy, I had some good times in there. (even fell asleep from late night work!) Good ol' OU

Author: Geochron; Uploaded: Nov 8, 2009; Duration: 6:47; Views: 568

Tags: wet  oil  rock  saw  geochron  lab  geology  shawnee  state  university  ssu  portsmouth  ohio  slicing  cutting  sawing  thin  sectioning  rocksteady rockstar games rockschool rockstar north rockstar social club rockstar lyrics rockstar energy drink rock sound rockshox rocks and co