CLEANING: To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

FOGGY WINDSHIELD: Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser.

FRUIT FLIES: To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2" with apple cider vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well. Flies are drawn to it.

DON'T GET LOST! In an open space where the ground is level, drive a stake into the ground. Mark the tip of the shadow that the stake casts with a small rock. Wait at least ten minutes then place another rock at the tip of the shadow. The line joining the two rocks will always run east/west no matter what time of day or year!
From Prospector 8/84

MAKE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER. Take an empty coffee can, fill it with 3 parts dry sand to one part baking soda. Mix well. Store in strategic places around the house, shop, garage and vehicles. In case of a small fire, sprinkle at the base of the fire to smother it.
From Pegmatite via Rock Chip Reporter 4/96

STERLING SILVER can be given a frosted look by roasting the silver in an oven for 20 minutes at 300 degrees F. This changes the surface copper in the sterling silver to copper oxide, which may then be dissolved in sulfuric acid, leaving a pure matte silver.

TO ERASE A SCRIBE MARK use the eraser on a common lead pencil. First, wet the eraser and dip it in 100 grit, erase and remark. The grit from the grinding wheel that is on the bottom of the pan works well.

CANDLE YOUR MONTANA AGATES just as you would eggs. Punch a small hole in the bottom of a two pound coffee can. Turn it upside down and place a light inside. It is surprising how the light coming through the hole will show the dendrites. Saves cutting time.
All taken from Cowtown Cutter 7/97, via Stoney Statement 07/11

TO CLEAN FERN FOSSILS, do not use wax, shellac, varnish, lacquer or spray plastic because they cannot be readily removed and they destroy fine surface detail. Museums use yellow dextrin to bring out contrast and help preserve the specimen. Mix a little bit of the dextrin with water to the color of tea and paint it on the fern itself, not the matrix and it will stand out.

DENTS IN HOLLOW BRACELETS can be removed by soldering a piece of wire into the dent and pulling outwards. When satisfied that the solder and wire are holding well, pull out with pliers or place in vise. Do not overdo the pulling. When finished pulling, cut off the wire and file carefully. Use graving tool if motif is to be refurbished.
From Al Bodman of Laphound News 11/91, via Crystal Ball, Santa Barbara

DARK HOUSEHOLD VINEGAR will dissolve epoxy glue by soaking overnight.
From Gems of the Toque 4/95, via T-Town Rockhound 7/96

A LITTLE GRAPHITE mixed with chrome oxide and applied to a muslin buff makes a wonderful jade polishing agent. When using chrome oxide for polishing jade, mix it with a solution of ½ water and ½ vinegar.