Tips on cracking a Nodule?

[Rycomerford]

Hello everyone! 

 

Im just wondering if anyone has any tips on cracking a nodule open? Me and my geology hammer have taken a good whack at around the edges but all I’m getting is chipping and no splitting. 

My first time with a nodule. I found it on a trip to Lyme Regis. I’ve posted a picture of one of the chips with a few ammonites showing themselves. 

 

thanks for reading! 

Ryan 

[RJB]

I thik its time for a bigger hammer.  Also, a chisle may help.  You can always pick a side and start prepping.   Good luck

 

RB

[Rycomerford]

5 minutes ago, RJB said:

I thik its time for a bigger hammer.  Also, a chisle may help.  You can always pick a side and start prepping.   Good luck

 

RB

Thank you for the advice , I agree to quote Chief Brody, “I’m gonna need a bigger boat (hammer)” 

Gives me a reason to buy the new prep gear I’ve been eyeing up aha 

thanks again! 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I agree, a decent sledge hammer or a heavy hammer and a cold chisel. 

These Lyme Regis nodules can be incredibly tough, you'll usually end up with some splinters before it splits, if it ever does! 

[PFOOLEY]

"Sometimes you have to whack it"  - @Nimravis

 

@LiamL is a good concretion cracker...he might have some advice.

[Nimravis]

I agree with a bigger hammer.

[LiamL]

30 minutes ago, PFOOLEY said:

"Sometimes you have to whack it"  - @Nimravis

 

@LiamL is a good concretion cracker...he might have some advice.

Haha, not really. I just only keep the ones which split decent! 

It looks like a pyritic nodule to me and these can sometimes super hard.  I often leave them if they dont open with afew taps because i just end up cutting into my hand and it can spoil the collecting for the next day. Are you using a Club Hammer?

 

[JohnBrewer]

Safety glasses!

[Paciphacops]

I have very little experience cracking open concretions, but I have cracked quite a few rocks. Have any of you tried feathers and wedges? I would think that a row of drilled (shallow) holes along the edge would allow one to crack even the hardest concretion with feathers and wedges, in a fairly gentle way. Probably far less damaging than using a bigger hammer. 

[Rycomerford]

6 hours ago, LiamL said:

Haha, not really. I just only keep the ones which split decent! 

It looks like a pyritic nodule to me and these can sometimes super hard.  I often leave them if they dont open with afew taps because i just end up cutting into my hand and it can spoil the collecting for the next day. Are you using a Club Hammer?

 

No I was just using a normal brick hammer. I’ve scoured the tool shed and found a nice lump hammer that might do the job 

[Dinoguy89]

On 11/12/2018 at 2:21 PM, Rycomerford said:

Hello everyone! 

 

Im just wondering if anyone has any tips on cracking a nodule open? Me and my geology hammer have taken a good whack at around the edges but all I’m getting is chipping and no splitting. 

My first time with a nodule. I found it on a trip to Lyme Regis. I’ve posted a picture of one of the chips with a few ammonites showing themselves. 

 

thanks for reading! 

Ryan 

Hey there, I got to Lyme all the time and 95% of the time find things, it's about knowing your location. First of all that rock is massive and just about anyone would struggle to crack that open. Although you've not done a bad job. There are some ways you can increase your chance of finding ammonites at Lyme. Firstly look for the nodules that look like flying saucers. They should be oval in shape and have a nice grey colour. I usually crack the nodule in half, as this will give you more of a surface area to hit the second time round. Other give aways are looking for depressions in the rocks, this will usually indicate that a fossil is inside. For the larger rock a chisel can be used, hitting at different area will help to get a nice clean split. If you hit in one place you're likely to get pieces of rocks that chip off. Here is a recent calcite ammonite (Promicroceras sp.) I found at Lyme a few weeks back. Hopefully this has helped a little bit. Good luck for the future