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What other kind of banning could have occurred? As far as I know, they can't be bought in the USA...

Rare earth magnets for sale.

Hint: the fact that I can buy razor blades does not mean that the CPSC wouldn't bop me for selling them as toys.

HTH. HAND.

I don't know if a "real rock-hounding kit" is typically sold as a package/kit unless they are fairly crummy plastic knock-offs. If you look around you might be able to find a good one.

If you want the real thing, buy them an Estwing geological hammer directly or from a reseller, but ONLY with good safety glasses and work gloves to go along with the hammer (extra fancy: get the belt holster too). You might want to wait until they are older for safety reasons, because these things can be dangerous, and the safety issues with hammering rocks are not to be taken lightly (we're talking about potentially losing an eye here, and hammering your thumb ain't fun either). They must be old enough and responsible enough to always use the safety glasses. NEVER, EVER, EVER use a regular carpentry hammer for this sort of thing. The type of steel used is too prone to shedding steel shards. I'm fond of the flat-tipped hammers (better for fossils / sedimentary rocks), but depending upon what rocks they find interesting or the type of rock in your neighborhood, the pointed one might be more suitable.

To complement the hammer you might want to look into a proper hand lens, something else that most geologists carry [I've had no dealings with the guys at those sites, they were just the first ones to pop up in google that had a decent selection]. Starting out, an ordinary magnifying glass is easier for kids to use, but a geologist's hand lens ("loupe") is much more durable and compact, although a bit trickier to use (it is very close range). Don't be fooled by "high power" lenses -- 10x is all you need for most things in the field and more than that is usually horribly distorted.

7 to 9 is pretty early to start getting the "real" stuff. You might want to get something simpler, safer, and cheaper until they are a bit older, or get things that have multiple uses, such as an ordinary magnifying glass and a decent backpack (good for any kind of outdoor activity). On the plus side, though, even the best-quality "rock-hounding kit" stuff is a whole lot cheaper and durable than a decent microscope usually is.

I wonder how many households are breaking that law. Laboratory glassware makes great kitchen ware. These make nice containers for salad dressing, these are useful for decanting wine, and no kitchen is complete without a set of these. Real kitchen hackers like Alton Brown might even have a set of these in their kitchen.

I wonder how many households are breaking that law. Laboratory glassware makes great kitchen ware. These make nice containers for salad dressing, these are useful for decanting wine, and no kitchen is complete without a set of these. Real kitchen hackers like Alton Brown might even have a set of these in their kitchen.

I wonder how many households are breaking that law. Laboratory glassware makes great kitchen ware. These make nice containers for salad dressing, these are useful for decanting wine, and no kitchen is complete without a set of these. Real kitchen hackers like Alton Brown might even have a set of these in their kitchen.

I wonder how many households are breaking that law. Laboratory glassware makes great kitchen ware. These make nice containers for salad dressing, these are useful for decanting wine, and no kitchen is complete without a set of these. Real kitchen hackers like Alton Brown might even have a set of these in their kitchen.

No, seriously, dental picks. Absolutely the best tool to unstick fans, lever CPU's and chips out of their sockets, retrieve tiny screws and parts wedged in crevices, the list goes on. Probably the tool I turn to most.

Another essential is a long T-15 Torx screwdriver. With it, you can disassemble any Tier 1 box really really quickly. Ever try to change a board in a Compaq without one? Can't be done.

Several known good crossover cables, you gotta have'em. Why dick around with a hub or a switch?

Fish tape , and a very long highly flexible pole (fishing rods work good) for running Cat5 in a plenum. Essential. With the rod alone, it cuts your time to run the cable by at least half, as well as the number of ceiling tiles you have to remove by half

Finally, a good hardware troubleshooting kit

hth

Avant's Go Association
Indi's Go Association