Editing Garnet (section)

===Industrial uses===
Garnet sand is a good [[abrasive]], and a common replacement for silica sand in abrasive blasting operations.  Alluvial garnet grains which are rounder are more suitable for such blasting treatments. Mixed with very high pressure water, garnet is used to cut [[steel]] and other materials in [[Water jet cutter|water jets]]. For water jet cutting, garnet extracted from hard rock is suitable since it is more angular in form, therefore more efficient in cutting.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rapple |first1=R. Randolph |title=Selecting the right waterjet abrasive |url=https://www.thefabricator.com/thefabricator/article/waterjetcutting/selecting-the-right-waterjet-abrasive |website=The Fabricator |access-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>

Garnet paper is favored by cabinetmakers for finishing bare wood.<ref>{{cite book |last=Joyce |first=Ernest |editor-first=Alan |editor-last=Peters |editor-link=Alan Peters |title=The Technique of Furniture Making |edition=4th |year=1987 |orig-year=1970 |publisher=Batsford |location=London |isbn=071344407X }}</ref>

Garnet sand is also used for [[water filtration]] media.

As an abrasive, garnet can be broadly divided into two categories; blasting grade and water jet grade. The garnet, as it is mined and collected, is crushed to finer grains; all pieces which are larger than 60&nbsp;mesh (250&nbsp;micrometers) are normally used for sand blasting. The pieces between 60&nbsp;mesh (250&nbsp;micrometers) and 200&nbsp;mesh (74&nbsp;micrometers) are normally used for water jet cutting. The remaining garnet pieces that are finer than 200&nbsp;mesh (74&nbsp;micrometers) are used for glass polishing and lapping. Regardless of the application, the larger grain sizes are used for faster work and the smaller ones are used for finer finishes.<ref>{{Cite news |last=AlphaVariable |title=Garnet |url=https://alphavariable.com/blogs/news/garnet |access-date=2024-08-08 |work=AlphaVariable |language=en}}</ref>

There are different kinds of abrasive garnets which can be divided based on their origin. The largest source of abrasive garnet today is garnet-rich beach sand which is quite abundant on [[India]]n and [[Australia]]n coasts and the main producers today are Australia and India.<ref>{{cite book|last=Briggs |first=J. |title=The Abrasives Industry in Europe and North America|year=2007 |publisher=Materials Technology Publications |isbn=978-1-871677-52-2}}</ref>

This material is particularly popular due to its consistent supplies, huge quantities and clean material. The common problems with this material are the presence of ilmenite and chloride compounds. Since the material has been naturally crushed and ground on the beaches for past centuries, the material is normally available in fine sizes only. Most of the garnet at the [[Thoothukudi|Tuticorin]] beach in south India is 80&nbsp;mesh, and ranges from 56&nbsp;mesh to 100&nbsp;mesh size.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}

''River garnet'' is particularly abundant in Australia. The river sand garnet occurs as a [[placer deposit]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/237845/Garnet.pdf |title=Industrial Mineral Opportunities in New South Wales |access-date=2014-11-06 |archive-date=2014-06-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622152933/http://www.resourcesandenergy.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/237845/Garnet.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''Rock garnet'' is perhaps the garnet type used for the longest period of time. This type of garnet is produced in America, China and western India. These crystals are crushed in mills and then purified by wind blowing, magnetic separation, sieving and, if required, washing. Being freshly crushed, this garnet has the sharpest edges and therefore performs far better than other kinds of garnet. Both the river and the beach garnet suffer from the tumbling effect of hundreds of thousands of years which rounds off the edges. [[Gore Mountain Garnet]] from [[Warren County, New York]], USA, is a significant source of rock garnet for use as an industrial abrasive.<ref name="Klein-1993" />