Found a rock FULL of crystals-how to remove them?

[jason]

I was out biking/hiking around in the local foothills,and I took a break near some massive boulders.I'm a "rock hound", so I started looking through the piles of rocks.I found one about 8 inches in diameter, that has what looks like from what I can see,to be milky quartz crystals sticking out here and there (there could be others in there as well though).I've got a good field guide about mineral formation,but I don't really want to just start chiselling away, because it looks like a good find,one that I don't want to ruin w/my lack of skill.

anyone know how to do this?

There were a few more out there w/other wierd stuff in them,but they were to heavy to bring back all at once,so I'll have to go back tomorrow probably.

[CaCoDeMoN]

Maybe you should cut the rock in half  - it can be a geode...

[VesAn]

I'm not too familiar with rocks myself, but might a rock tumbler help in this case?

[jason]

I'm not sure what a rock tumbler is, and I don't want to just break it in half,just in case it isn't a geode,but does have a fine specimen locked within the rock.

I think I need to consult an expert-maybe I can talk to someone who teaches geology here at the college

[VesAn]

How a tumbler works in theory:

Put in a piece of rock with gems embedded in it.  Put in other pieces of rocks.  The tumbler vibrates, makes it's rocky contents hit against each other, the rocks sorta smash each others up into fine grained pieces/powders, and free the gems up.  The gems, which are much harder than the rocks, would stay intact from the process.

 Of course, there's more to it, and accidents with them do happen, but I don't know much more about them since I myself ain't that familiar with them.  They can cost a bit and are not worth it if you only have one piece of rock to tumble anyway.

 Edit: A number of people make a hobby out of tumbling, they go out hunting for rocks or buy rocks potentially containing gems and tumble them looking for gems.  It sounds like a fun hobby if you enjoy rocks/minerals and treasure hunting.

[Swarooptheone]

dunno, u must find someone good in geology and chemicals to dissolve grit.

Actually I have found some meteors while on a reservoir bank and they are dirty due to mud. I need a chemical to dissolve away the mud

[CaCoDeMoN]

You could drill a hole in the rock to check if it's a geode. You won't do nearly any damage, and you will know for sure. It's a better idea than extracting crystals.

[-lines-]

Tap it with a hammer or some other metal thing and hear if it's hollow. Use another rock to compare the noises.