I have some lapus nugets that I would like to break up and use in a
couple projects.

The only problem is that short of taking it out onto the sidewalk and
hitting it with a sledge hammer the stuff will not break.

Any suggestions?

First a little warning.. I have not tried this.

Buy a large piece of iron pipe and an end cap to use as a container. Get a
send piece of pipe and with end caps that will fit inside the larger piece. I
don't know if close fit or very small fit would be best. Use caps on both
ends of the smaller pipe. Drop the lapus nuggets into the large piece and use
the smaller to crush using a hammer if needed.

Stuart Johnson
Red Oak, Texas

In article rwU5d.125625$D%.85245@attbi_s51, william kossack
wrote:
I have some lapus nugets that I would like to break up and use in a
couple projects.

The only problem is that short of taking it out onto the sidewalk and
hitting it with a sledge hammer the stuff will not break.

Any suggestions?

While I was in Montana, I bought a cast iron mortise and pestile that
prospectors use. It works great for crushing hard stuff. I then sift it.
Nashville, Ga.

vise?

"william kossack" wrote in message
news:rwU5d.125625$D%.85245@attbi_s51...
I have some lapus nugets that I would like to break up and use in a
couple projects.

The only problem is that short of taking it out onto the sidewalk and
hitting it with a sledge hammer the stuff will not break.

Any suggestions?

First a warning - best to do this indoors so the neighbors don't get worried
about seeing a guy stuffing material into a capped pipe.

What you have in effect is a mortar and pestle similar to the type used in
Africa, rather than the more familiar-looking millstone variety.

"Stuart Johnson" wrote in message
...
First a little warning.. I have not tried this.

Buy a large piece of iron pipe and an end cap to use as a container. Get a
send piece of pipe and with end caps that will fit inside the larger
piece. I
don't know if close fit or very small fit would be best. Use caps on both
ends of the smaller pipe. Drop the lapus nuggets into the large piece and
use
the smaller to crush using a hammer if needed.

On Mon, 27 Sep 2004 13:24:39 GMT, william kossack
wrote:

I have some lapus nugets that I would like to break up and use in a
couple projects.

The only problem is that short of taking it out onto the sidewalk and
hitting it with a sledge hammer the stuff will not break.

Any suggestions?

Take it out onto the sidewalk and hit it with a sledge hammer. Well,
onto an anvil would probably be a bit neater, and maybe put it inside
a heavy plastic bag. Oh, and you'll have to change the bag
frequently, but it's a lot less wasteful than the sidewalk. I haven't
tried it with lapis lazuli but I've done it to plenty of turquoise.


--
Chuck *#:^)
chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply.


September 11, 2001 - Never Forget


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Hi Bill

It is time consuming but if you position your stones in a good
mechanic's vise one by one I think you should be able to crush them,
then again maybe you have to find someone from the railway co. and have
him ride the locomotive over them (G)

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

william kossack wrote:
I have some lapus nugets that I would like to break up and use in a
couple projects.

The only problem is that short of taking it out onto the sidewalk and
hitting it with a sledge hammer the stuff will not break.

Any suggestions?

This is basically the approach I have tried. I even had the neighbors
teenaged son have a go with a 10 pound sledge and all that happend was
that he bent the smaller pipe. All we got was a couple chips off the stone.

I've done malichite with this rig with no trouble

Stuart Johnson wrote:
First a little warning.. I have not tried this.

Buy a large piece of iron pipe and an end cap to use as a container. Get a
send piece of pipe and with end caps that will fit inside the larger piece. I
don't know if close fit or very small fit would be best. Use caps on both
ends of the smaller pipe. Drop the lapus nuggets into the large piece and use
the smaller to crush using a hammer if needed.

Stuart Johnson
Red Oak, Texas

In article rwU5d.125625$D%.85245@attbi_s51, william kossack
wrote:

I have some lapus nugets that I would like to break up and use in a
couple projects.

The only problem is that short of taking it out onto the sidewalk and
hitting it with a sledge hammer the stuff will not break.

Any suggestions?

"Stuart Johnson" wrote in message
...
First a little warning.. I have not tried this.

Buy a large piece of iron pipe and an end cap to use as a container. Get a
send piece of pipe and with end caps that will fit inside the larger
piece. I
don't know if close fit or very small fit would be best. Use caps on both
ends of the smaller pipe. Drop the lapus nuggets into the large piece and
use
the smaller to crush using a hammer if needed.

Stuart Johnson
Red Oak, Texas
================================
For harder stones, this may or may not work. If you can find a piece of
hardened steel, like a shock absorber rod or a king pin from an old auto
front end, you can grind a mild dome on one end and pound the other end with
the hammer. The pipe end you're using may also be too soft for hard stones.
If it shows signs of the stone digging in, a piece of tool steel (like you'd
make a scraper from) cut to fit inside the pipe cap may work. Once you get
past about 7 on the 1- 10 Moh hardness scale used for grading stones (1=
talc, 10=diamond, carbide is around 8), crushing becomes pretty difficult,
unless there are fault lines in the stones.
Good luck.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX

I bought a cheap disposal from Home Depot. I put raw Turquoise in it and
use a nylon stocking on the discharge side. I run it through several times
until I get the fineness that I desire. Then I mix it with epoxy and fill
the void. It cuts like a very hard wood but is manageable. Turquoise is
pretty soft. I've not tried harder stuff so don't know if the disposal
would handle the harder stones or not. With Turquoise it is very successful.
"william kossack" wrote in message
news:rwU5d.125625$D%.85245@attbi_s51...
I have some lapus nugets that I would like to break up and use in a couple
projects.

The only problem is that short of taking it out onto the sidewalk and
hitting it with a sledge hammer the stuff will not break.

Any suggestions?

william kossack wrote in message news:rwU5d.125625$D%.85245@attbi_s51...
I have some lapus nugets that I would like to break up and use in a
couple projects.
---------------------------------------------------

I tried the steel pipe approach. Although it crushed the stone, the
small fragments were mixed with steel dust.

A simpler method is to buy the crushed stone from Bill Baumbeck at
Arizona Silhouttes.I did and the crushed turquoise, malachite, lapis,
iron pyrites etc work well as inlays.
Larry
Hand Turned Pens at http://webpages.charter.net/lgottlieb2/

Of course a magnet would take care of that, handily.

"Larry Gottlieb" wrote in message
om...
william kossack wrote in message
news:rwU5d.125625$D%.85245@attbi_s51...
I have some lapus nugets that I would like to break up and use in a
couple projects.
---------------------------------------------------

I tried the steel pipe approach. Although it crushed the stone, the
small fragments were mixed with steel dust.

A night in the freezer followed by a fast plunge into boiling water ought to
set up some fracture lines, then you
should be able to crush them fairly easily? Or try crushing them immediately
after they come from the freezer,
they should be fairly 'brittle' then. Just a thought......

bill otten


"william kossack" wrote in message
news:rwU5d.125625$D%.85245@attbi_s51...
I have some lapus nugets that I would like to break up and use in a
couple projects.

The only problem is that short of taking it out onto the sidewalk and
hitting it with a sledge hammer the stuff will not break.

Any suggestions?