DIY: Rock Crushing

Study up on the rock that you're going to crush. If you're just busting up rock to make way for a home addition or a garden, your methods will be different than if you're looking for gold.

Acquire the tools necessary to crush the type of rock you're about to obliterate. For crushing an old driveway, a motorize chisel will likely be needed to clear away chucks of the rock. For quartz lods, in which precious metals may be found, you'll at least need a pick ax and some form of motorize crusher to grind the stone down. Otherwise, you'll have to crush one rock at a time in a mortar and pestle.

Find the right place to start crushing rock. The U.S. Geological Survey states that your first step toward finding gold in 21st century America is to study up on where the most quartz deposits have been found. The agency's website contains a fairly detailed run down of the locations where the most placer mines have been worked. Use of a metal detector will help you get even closer.

Start with your pick ax to test the strength of the rock. You may be able to easily break off large chunks to be crushed in a mortar and pestle or mechanical crusher.

Employ a hammer and chisel or mechanical chisel to form cracks in tougher quartz. The latter option adds speed, force and vibration to your efforts to make rock small enough to crush.

Crush rocks under a hammer or in a mechanical crusher when they're small enough.