I want to blow up some big rocks

[Taz Baby]

Does anyone know a good way to blow up rock using legal explosive? I need to remove big rocks and someone told me about The Micro blaster. You don’t need a license to use it but it is costly. The blasting caps are cheap but the machine is what kills you. I cannot justify spending that much money on something I will use sometimes. With the same amount I can get a good solar panel, which I would use all the time. Has anyone blown up rocks? If so what did you use and do you need a license?

[Stg1swret]

Unless you've had training in using explosives, I'd leave it to the professionals.

[Stormfeather]

<=== Has plenty of experience with explosives. :P Would love to blow stuff up or help!

[ladyhk13]

My DH would love to help you!

[Taz Baby]

Does anyone know where I can look for someone to do that? Are there other ways to remove big rocks? Someone told me that you can drill holes in it, fill the hole with water and let it freeze. But that does not make any sense to me, lol. Any ideas on how to remove them?

[ak474u]

rent a backhoe with one of those concrete jack hammers and break it up, they use them to demolish bridges, so it oughta work.

[ladyhk13]

There are things called Feathers and Wedges. Is your DH going to be doing this for you?

[Sniper-T]

The only way drilling and water will work is if it gets really cold where you are. I mean REALLY cold. yes it does work, but it does take time. It will not shatter them into gravel, it will break them in half or so, depending on where you drilled your hole.

Please define "big rock" are you talking the size of an arm chair? volkswagon? short-bus?

The problem with exploding rock, is that it shatters into a million pieces, and these pieces exit from where the large rock was, really quickly.

So, unless these rocks are miles away from anything and anybody, not only do you need equipment to drill into them, and a cocktail persuade them, a primer to touch off the cocktail... you also need blast mats. You will probably also need a permit (depending where you are)

And lastly, you need to have some knowledge in explosives, and a healthy respect for things that go boom. A guy I went to school with liked blowing shit up, by grade 11 he was known as lefty, and his mom had to open the ketchup bottle for him.

I too have my blasting ticket, and have blown up some cool shit. But it isn't an exercise to jump into without training, or a mentor. If Storm is close enough to help, and his offer is still open, TAKE HIM UP ON IT!!

Or hire someone locally. Look in the yellow pages under demolition. Call some Heavy Construction companies.

Good Luck!

btw... what did these rocks ever do to you??

[Foghorn]

I too would not recommend blowing these rocks up yourself unless you have a good knowledge of explosives.

With a little more information we might be able to come up some ideas that will help. Do you know what kind of rock you've got? Give us an idea how big these rocks are.

Is getting a dozer to push them somewhere more desirable a possibility?
Good luck, Stay safe,

Doug

[Taz Baby]

Thank you for your help and your concern. Let me explain this “Blowing up rock” thing further. Maybe BLOWING up is too harsh a word, because you are thinking like using dynamite to blow up a mine. That is not what I am trying to do here. I am no expert on any of this. I am in no way going to use explosives that big. If you will look up the Micro Blaster, you will see what I am talking about using. You do not need a permit with it. I don’t want to blow the mountain up, just crack the rocks in smaller pieces so the backhoe can move them. There are several things I would like to do and it seems that every place I want to do it have rocks in the way. I want to put a cold storage building in the side of the hill. I want to dig into it so I will have three sides of ground around it. The only thing showing would be the door. There is an old one here behind the cabin but the cabin was built in 1897, therefore I have no idea how old it is and it is caving in at places. I need to build a road up to a ridge. Most of the way I can access it with the tractor to make the road, but in some areas, The ROCKS get in the way. I can’t afford to hire someone to make a road with an excavator, or what ever that thing is called, so that leaves that out. I am think (just thinking) of maybe digging a hole big enough to bury a cargo container for underground shelter or storage. I have a tractor with a backhoe on it (also a grabber thingy) but it can only do so much. Now to explain the rocks, we have shale, sandstone, bedrock and others that I have no clue on what they are. Mountains are all around us. There really is no way to tell how big these rocks are or how far into the earth, they go. We have a jackhammer but it runs on electricity, which I have none (except solar and genny). I am trying to figure out a way to make these big rocks smaller so I can remove the part of them that is in my way. Yes, it gets cold where I want to do this. Last year the coldest was 9 degrees. This winter has been a mild one; so far, the coldest has been 13. As far as safety goes, I want to survive the SHFT not die before it gets here.  Maybe this will give you more of a clue on what I want to do. Again thank you for all the concerns and help. BTW as far as getting a company to come do this that is a no-no. I can’t afford it and I don’t want (People) if you know what people I am talking about, to know I am here. Don’t they have to keep a log on where they go to use the explosives?

[ak474u]

When I was a kid, we had a neighbor who was an oilfield engineer of some type, his father was also the 1/2 owner of a very large, now defunct oil field services co. and had access to explosives. He decided it would be a good idea to blast a tree stump out of the ground in his front yard in a neighborhood with 125 ft. wide lots... He was really safe and thought it out though, he put a wheelbarrow over the top of the stump, and put sand bags over it to contain fragments, he had his next door neighbor and his wife block the street to keep other cars from driving by while he was blowing it. He blew the wheelbarrow over his house, and into the pool of the neighbor directly behind him, and rained sandbags on all of the houses within about a 300 foot radius. The moral of the story is, even people who think they know what they are doing with explosives can make mistakes, AND just because you can, doesn't mean you should blow things up. lol

[Sniper-T]

ezebreak - Makers of Micro-Blaster, a compact and affordable system to crack rock and masonry, is safe and easy to use. (http://www.ezebreak.com/products.htm)

^
Very cool indeed.

I have no experience with this, but it certainly looks promising.

Have you priced them out yet? when you do, post the prices here, I for one would be interested in seeing them.

Other than the amount at a time thing I really see no downfalls to this, and assuming that you have the time and the equipment, it would certainly be viable.

So, you will need:
a decent compressor
a power source for it
a decent rock drill
a power source for it.

And the kit, of course.

So, if you bought a gas/diesel compressor, and an air drill. you just answered all your needs. Everything can be moved around in the bucket of your loader.

Sounds like a plan

:)

Aside: Another inexpensive way that we've broken rocks (aside from a sledge hammer) is with fire and water. Build a good hot fire on top of/around the victim rock. Burn it for several hours. Get the rock sizzling hot. Then throw a pail of cold water on it. Make sure you are wearing FULL protective gear, as fragments will explode in all directions really fast. Rebuild your fire, and repeat.

With this method, I have reduced a volkswagon (bug) sized rock to gravel in a weekend

[Optimist]

This is a technique that goes back to the 1920s in the oil patch. There, they used a star drill to punch a hole into the offending rock, (usually many holes, a few inches apart), inserted a sotol stalk, (many sotol stalks, per note previous), and built a large and roaring fire on top. The steam from the sotol stalks would crack the rock between holes....

[realist]

Taz the principal behind the mirco blaster is the same as with rock blasting. When ever you rock blast you have to drill holes to put down the explosives. Done correctly it works very well, done wrong and you cause damage. What most people don't know is it is the driller that is the one who determines how well the operation will go. People get very good money for drilling holes. A good blaster will be able to tell you the best way to shoot the rock. Different types of rocks are approached in a unique way. Since you have the backhoe moving the materials is not a problem. If you are looking for a blaster I would suggest checking with the local authorities that issue their permit. I suggest that you call and talk to someone you might find out that the cost is not that much. So that said if you want to keep it low key you might see about renting a rock pick for your backhoe and digging out the area.

[Taz Baby]

Thanks for the idea,s. I saw today on a mountainside that it had busted up a big rock. Now the other day I took pics of the frozen water that was on that rock. So I am thinking it cracked because of the water in and around it froze? So I am going to experiment on smaller rock about what was said about drilling holes and pouring water in them. Also like the idea about buiding a fire but some places that will not work. Thanks again and I will let you know how the water test goes.

[Optimist]

I wonder how drilling and stoping this with thermite would work? It ought to be a rock splitting technique, with that much heat turned loose down inside, under a mud cap.

[Sniper-T]

That would be a great way to quickly and intensely heat the rock, but it would still need to be rapidly cooled to fracture. So again the water would come into play.

Again, I would urge extreme caution with this, as I can tell you first hand that they will fracture in a projectile manor.

perhaps dumping a bucket on it from the safety of your tractor? (cover the glass of the windows!)

Incidentally, The opposite works too. I'll broken most of the rocks in my firepit by making stupid hot, fast fires in the heart of winter.

[Optimist]

Thermite on a frosty-cold day would probably work like gangbusters. ++ on the fracture like gangbusters....

[Sniper-T]

There ya go!... now this plan is coming together.

Now we're thinking like a colony!

[Taz Baby]

I thought Thermite was illegal. Are you guys messing with me?

[Sniper-T]

I don't know where you are, and it may be illegal in some places. That would be up to you to determine whether or not it is legal where you are.

That said, this is just for informational purposes:

How To Do Stuff: How To Make Thermite: (http://how2dostuff.blogspot.com/2006/01/how-to-make-thermite.html)

[realist]

It is good for metal but doesn't work for caca on rocks.

[Sniper-T]

huh? explain please...

[hank2222]

the company is called ezebreak and it website can be found by goggling the word mircoblaster and it comes up .The website address is www.mirco-blaster.com

[Optimist]

I thought Thermite was illegal. Are you guys messing with me?

Thermite is commonly used for oil patch welding, or shipyard welding where you are putting down metal in amounts regulated by 80 pound sacks of the stuff that leave 40 pounds or so of molten iron per sack behind. It's still readily available, last time I needed to weld shaft for the tractor.

As a way of getting heat down-hole in rocks, it works a sight better than sotol stalks.... I've got about a quarter-bag left from my last bit of tractor work. Think I'll get out the star drill and give it a whirl after the rain dries up a bit.

[Taz Baby]

Thermite is commonly used for oil patch welding, or shipyard welding where you are putting down metal in amounts regulated by 80 pound sacks of the stuff that leave 40 pounds or so of molten iron per sack behind. It's still readily available, last time I needed to weld shaft for the tractor.

As a way of getting heat down-hole in rocks, it works a sight better than sotol stalks.... I've got about a quarter-bag left from my last bit of tractor work. Think I'll get out the star drill and give it a whirl after the rain dries up a bit.

PLEASE Let me know if it works. If it does please tell me how you did it. I am sure I am not the only one who could use this info.

[Optimist]

Heck, I'll post pics if it works like it ought to. Sandstone up here always has water in it, though, so it is going to fracture like the devil beating tanbarck....

[realist]

Sniper sorry I've been gone and I am trying to get caught up. Termite works great on metal for cutting/burning holes or melting it. On rocks I do not think that it would be worth the time. You would also have to have a bunch of it to do anything. If you were to get the rocks that hot you might be in for a heat explosion that would throw shrapnel (rock) everywhere. Also Taz depending upon where you live it might be illegal.

[Optimist]

Realist, the stuff comes in 80 pound bags. And I will just about guarantee that there will be steam, shrapnel and flying rock when that stuff goes molten downhole under the mud caps I am planning to stope with. Object is to crack the rock so it can be moved out with a shovel, pick and bar. I can see some nice apps for this where it is desirable to get rid of a big rock without collapsing the neighbor's well, via shock wave. Will try it when the rock dries out a little, and take pictures while I'm at it.

The time-consuming part will be drilling the holes. No power up on the ridge where I'm planning to do this bit of flummery, so the holes will have to be drilled with a hammer and star drill....

[Sniper-T]

Optimist... most major hardware stores have a tool rental center, you can save yourself a lot of labour just by renting a battery powered hammer drill.

They usually have the 24 or even 36 v ones for pretty cheap.

[Optimist]

I'll post pics when I am done. Hammer and star drill are a lot easier to hump up to the place I am headed than most other kinds of tooling would be. I've been needing a notch cut up there for a couple of years now, so now that Taz has given me a good excuse, it's time to do it...

[Sniper-T]

be glad you have sandstone, my friend, I've sunk some anchors/eyebolts in to some local rocks/Canadian shield, for anchoring boats, buoys, pulleys, etc. And let me tell you... pounding holes into granite by hand... really, is not a lot of fun.

[Optimist]

My dad worked several jobs up across the Shield back in the 1940s, gravity meter surveys. Your rock up there is something very hard and durable. Mom was born in Edmonton, so I have been up your way more than the average oil patch rascal...

[Sniper-T]

^
Awesome!!! If we ever get more than me back in here... I may create a 'Canadian Group' I'd make you an honourary member!

:)

[Optimist]

Here's some sites that have non-explosive rock breakers that look like they'd be a lot safer than the thermite business. I'm still going to do that one, but some of these systems look like they're a whole lot safer.

RockFrac rock splitting mortar for no vibration non explosive demolition of concrete and rock. (http://www.rockfrac.com)
Chemical Demolition Agent: Non-Explosive Concrete Demolition (http://www.demolitiontechnologies.com)
Expansive Corporation Home Page - non-explosive Expansive Demolition Agent (http://www.expansivecorp.com)
Crackamite Non- Explosive Silent Expansive Cracking and Demolition Agent Home Page (http://www.crackamite.com)
Dexpan Non Explosive Demolition Agent, Non Explosive Demolition Agent Dexpan, Dexpan Demolition No Explosive (http://www.dexpan.net)

I may be getting in touch with them in the next few days.

[Taz Baby]

Here's some sites that have non-explosive rock breakers that look like they'd be a lot safer than the thermite business. I'm still going to do that one, but some of these systems look like they're a whole lot safer.

RockFrac rock splitting mortar for no vibration non explosive demolition of concrete and rock. (http://www.rockfrac.com)
Chemical Demolition Agent: Non-Explosive Concrete Demolition (http://www.demolitiontechnologies.com)
Expansive Corporation Home Page - non-explosive Expansive Demolition Agent (http://www.expansivecorp.com)
Crackamite Non- Explosive Silent Expansive Cracking and Demolition Agent Home Page (http://www.crackamite.com)
Dexpan Non Explosive Demolition Agent, Non Explosive Demolition Agent Dexpan, Dexpan Demolition No Explosive (http://www.dexpan.net)

I may be getting in touch with them in the next few days.


wow I thank you so much for looking these up. I really do appreciate the time you are taking, Thank You.