Cutting Keokuk Geodes on a Tile Saw

Keokuk Geodes

Last week, Touchstone Beads here in Springfield, MO got in a few buckets of Keokuk geodes. The name may be misleading, but Touchstone Beads carries a wide variety of gems and minerals, including crack your own geodes! In the past they have carried a variety of sizes of Moroccan Geodes, but I was excited to see their selection of Keokuk Geodes.

Keokuk Geodes are found in the region where Mississippi and Des Moines Rivers intersect. Southeastern Iowa is the prime keokuk hunting Area, but they can be found into Missouri and Illinois as well.

Quartz is the most common mineral found in these geodes, as well as a wide variety of colors of chalcedony, and calcite. You can also find trace amounts of other minerals inside Keokuk Geodes, including dolomite and pyrite.

Cutting My Keokuk Geodes

I’ve purchased a number of Keokuk Geodes from Touchstone and cut them all on my 10” Wet Tile Saw. Keokuk Geodes come in a huge variety of sizes, from an inch to over a foot in diameter. Because my saw has a cutting height of around 3”, I selected a few rocks that I knew would fit. This is a bit limiting, but for my purposes of trial and error, I prefer a smaller rock that I can still keep a grip on but won’t potentially get stuck.

So far, I have had excellent luck cutting these rocks. Thanks to the water pump, there is very little dust and I have not had any issues with shards or chips.

Keokuk Geode Cracked with a Soil Pipe Cutter — Keokuk Geodes Cracked with a Soil Pipe Cutter

Most of my Keokuk Geodes have been very white in color, quite a contrast to the geode I had cracked at a show this year that was very yellow in color and had a large sprinkling of pyrite in one half.

Finishing and Polishing Keokuk Geodes

So far, my attempts in finishing my geodes has not gone well. I love how they look as is, but some of them have prominent cut marks from the saw blade.

I have tried on a few to hold the stone up to the blade after cutting to try to wear down the marks, but it always makes me too nervous to give it a good, honest go.

I have picked up a variety of sanding discs and tried an orbital sander as well as a sanding disc on a drill. Neither has proved promising and attempting to use the drill has caused a noticeable amount of pain in my elbow from the pressure and vibration.

For now, I will hang on to these samples until I assemble some sort of clamping mechanism or buy a variable speed sander.

Where to Find Keokuk Geodes

A Word on Safety

Celeste cutting a keokuk geode on a Diamondback 10" wet tile saw — Do as I say, not as I do….

Cutting rocks on saws is no joke! It’s important to gear up with proper safety gear every time you work with rocks. Dust and shrapnel are serious issues, but they’re easy to prevent.

Always wear a respirator, eye protection, and an apron if you will be working with rocks. Rock dust can be incredibly harmful if inhaled.

A note on using lapidary or tile saws, it’s a common misconception that you should wear gloves, or cut proof gloves. Please read the manual that accompanies your saw to make sure you are suited up properly. My saw specifically says that you should not wear long sleeves or gloves when operating.

But it also says don’t free hand cut so….use your best judgement!