3RRL
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Post by 3RRL on Jun 16, 2008 19:36:22 GMT -5
I've read a lot about guys dealing with large rocks and boulders lately. In most of those threads, there is a reference to a liquid solution which you pour into drilled holes and it splits the rocks. Well, I got to experience it first hand with some boulders I had to split this weekend. Some of you may remember earlier this year where I had to repair a tricky turn on my dirt road. I had to cut down one side and build up the other in order to bank it correctly. I got the job done, but in doing so, I exposed the tops of 2 rocks which I could not shave down with the boxblade or FEL. They stuck up about 5 or 6 inches, so every time we made that turn it was a real good bump. I decided to get rid of them by trying to dig them out at first, but soon realized in order to get around them, I'd have a huge area dug out on that turn. Plus the road was rock hard. So I decided to go another route.     |
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3RRL
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Post by 3RRL on Jun 16, 2008 19:52:05 GMT -5
Even though it was hot in the mid-nineties, I decided to drill a bunch of holes into the rocks and try to bust them up with a 20 pound sledge hammer. About 2 years ago I bought a 1" hammer drill at Harbor Freight for 49 bucks, but have never used it. I figured it was a really good deal and could come in handy someday... for that price anyway. So I broke it out and used the largest masonry drill, a 3/4" by 8" long. There was a longer one, about 12" long, but I wanted to save it for later. Man, it is harder than heck to drill into solid stone like that. Where I hit quartzite in the granite boulders, it took up to 10 minutes to drill some of the holes. I was whooped after drilling about 20 of them in various places, trying to get them so when I whacked the rock, parts of it would split off. All I wanted to do was knock off the tops. But no luck as the sledge hammer just bounced off the rock when I struck it. This was really hard work drilling them holes and then swinging that sledge. I was already tired after toting all that other stuff up to the jobsite.     |
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3RRL
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Post by 3RRL on Jun 16, 2008 20:18:06 GMT -5
Realizing I wasn't making a dent swinging that sledge, I first decided to go at it with the backhoe again, but my small backhoe had a real problem getting past the smaller granite rocks that surrounded the larger ones... when that didn't work, I almost gave up right then. It was getting hotter and hotter too. But then I remembered the Dexpan or Bustar or Bentonomit ...all different name brands for basically the same thing. I called the local Mercantile and they knew that only in Fresno could it be found. That's a 2 hour drive for me, so I asked the to ask others in their store to see if anybody else knew about this stuff. Well, lucky for me one guy in the store said a place in Visalia carried stuff like that, 45 minutes away. However, my contractor was meeting me at the property in a couple hours, so I called him and asked if he could swing by and pick some up for me and he obliged. That was great. Knowing that, I started drilling more holes into the rock at about 45 degree angles so when the rock cracked, it would pop the tops off ...that's all I wanted. I ended up drilling about 20 more holes at least 6" to 8" deep. As a matter of fact, I busted the 8" drill bit and used the 12" long one hoping it would last. I ended up with 15 to 20 holes in each of the big rocks. Whew! You can see the enormity of the rocks, that part which was exposed. This is the stuff we got which is much like Bustar, but a product made in Spain.     |
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3RRL
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Post by 3RRL on Jun 16, 2008 20:34:14 GMT -5
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Post by 3RRL on Jun 16, 2008 20:39:51 GMT -5
Now to get to work with the tractor to backfill and compact the hole. Here is a view showing how the tops of those boulders stuck out above the grade, and then after I backfilled and graded the turn. I also made the turn a little wider by cutting the left side back. Next time up I'll fill and compact some more to get an even better finish on the turn.     Rob- |
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GuglioLS
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Post by GuglioLS on Jun 17, 2008 7:05:55 GMT -5
Rob,
Nothing like breaking rocks in the hot sun huh?. Sheesh what a PITA. Interesting stuff that Bustar, what is it made out of anyway? It must first dry at the end exposed to air, then expand internally? Is that how it works? I noticed it's not cheap either, I suppose it was worth it for what you were faced with. Would that H/F hammer drill go to 1.5" dia? I need to do something similar with some "expanding material" that has a velocity of about 36K FPS.
Your perseverance payed off, great results busting off the tops of those boulders like that.
Larry
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Post by stumpy on Jun 17, 2008 8:33:55 GMT -5
Rob, Great accomplishment there... Amazing stuff. My weekend at the farm wasn't very productive. It's was 100+ degree weather the last couple of days at my place.
Tom
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Post by studor on Jun 17, 2008 8:42:52 GMT -5
Rob Neat solution but I think I still like fertilizer, fuel oil and a cap ;D Probably a lot harder to get these days and the noise might attract some attention  . Up here those rocks would reappear next spring with the frost thaw but I'm guessin that is not a big concern where you are. If you ever have to do it again, think about renting a diamond coring bit -- they will go through rock without all the grunt of those carbide jobs. Better be careful -- now that Loretta has seen your new skill you may find yourself making rock fountains |
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3RRL
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Post by 3RRL on Jun 17, 2008 10:33:36 GMT -5
It certainly was a lot of work, but worth it to me. I take a lot of pride in grading my dirt road, keeping neat and smooth. Those boulders were annoying every time I ran the box blade over them it would jump up in the air, and I would lose all the little rocks I'd collected in the box. I'd have to stop and pick them all up by hand and throw them off the road. Not to mention the bumpy ride going over that section. Rob Neat solution but I think I still like fertilizer, fuel oil and a cap ;D Probably a lot harder to get these days and the noise might attract some attention . Up here those rocks would reappear next spring with the frost thaw but I'm guessin that is not a big concern where you are. If you ever have to do it again, think about renting a diamond coring bit -- they will go through rock without all the grunt of those carbide jobs. Better be careful -- now that Loretta has seen your new skill you may find yourself making rock fountains Studor, I'd like to hear more about your fertilizer and diesel concoction. It might come in handy for me. My nearest neighbor is 1/2 mile away so I'm not worried about an explosion. My neighbors in general leave me alone as I have a reputation for being a weirdo anyway.  They pretty much stay clear of my place as it is. Maybe you could email or PM me your recipe? |
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3RRL
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Post by 3RRL on Jun 17, 2008 10:37:26 GMT -5
Rob, Nothing like breaking rocks in the hot sun huh?. Sheesh what a PITA. Interesting stuff that Bustar, what is it made out of anyway? It must first dry at the end exposed to air, then expand internally? Is that how it works? I noticed it's not cheap either, I suppose it was worth it for what you were faced with. Would that H/F hammer drill go to 1.5" dia? I need to do something similar with some "expanding material" that has a velocity of about 36K FPS. Your perseverance payed off, great results busting off the tops of those boulders like that. Larry What is that going 36K fps Larry? And I don't think the hammer drill is made for 1-1/2" holes, but you could try it. It worked well under the hot conditions, but I can tell you it gets heavy quickly. Even holding the spring loaded trigger was hard to do. Loretta wanted to try it so I let her. She got a hole started about 2" deep and had to quit. |
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3RRL
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Post by 3RRL on Jun 17, 2008 10:41:10 GMT -5
Rob, Great accomplishment there... Amazing stuff. My weekend at the farm wasn't very productive. It's was 100+ degree weather the last couple of days at my place. Tom Yeah, I figured it would be hot at your place already. I just looked at the weather report and it's going to be 100°F this week at my place. ONe thing, you get more rain than I do at your place, so that's a little relief from the heat anyway. Of course that brings it's own set of problems, right? |
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3RRL
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Post by 3RRL on Jun 17, 2008 12:36:16 GMT -5
We saved the rest of the stuff in a sealed plastic bag in a cool, dry place as instructed.
I'm sure now there will be some other applications for it around the property. I'm glad I read about it or I would still be up there trying something different or maybe have to live with the rocks? One video I wanted to post was when I was blowing out all the residual dust out of the drilled holes. It was pretty cool, but Loretta left her camera at camp. So when she gets it back, I'll post it. I made a long tube for the air gun to get to the bottom of the holes, and when I blew out the dust it looked like a geyser!
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GuglioLS
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Post by GuglioLS on Jun 17, 2008 22:01:56 GMT -5
What is that going 36K fps Larry? Ammonia Nitrate and Nitro Methane (ANNM) Two part sticks, a 1.5" dia X 8" long plastic tube containing Ammonia Nitrate (white fertilizer powder), add a premeasured amount of nitro methane (red liquid made for model airplanes and racing cars) both are relativity inert (the nitro is highly flammable) but when mixed together they become a high expanding and high velocity explosive, only a cap will set it off. Ammonia nitrate and fuel oil (ANFO)l Ammonia nitrate fertilizer saturated with diesel fuel, an inexpensive, highly expanding, and relatively low velocity explosive that takes a very high velocity impact to get the reaction going, I don't think a cap alone will set it off. Normally it's set off with a small amount of high velocity explosive like (ANNM) Getting your hands on all the ingredients now a days is virtually impossible, especially the caps. But hey, what do I know  Larry |
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Post by studor on Jun 18, 2008 7:17:40 GMT -5
Larry great minds or fools!! -- a cap will set off small amounts of ANFO (especially if a "booster" is used -- see You Tube 5kg ANFO) but I have not worked with any of this stuff in over 20 years. I think the recommended formula these days is 50 kg ammonium nitrate, 3 quarts diesel fuel, one stick of tovex, cap and safety equipment . Unfortunately with the use of this stuff by PNLU (people not like us)as you said it is extremely difficult to get all the parts without promising your firstborn  There is an industrial minerals mine about 5 miles from my place and the blasting foreman there will take out rocks as kind of a community service (for a fee of course) If I blasted all the rocks in my lane I would have a quarry ;D When I was a kid, every farmer had "caps and sticks" for removing rocks. It is still relatively common around here for the bomb squad to be called by auctioneers doing estate sales when they start cleaning up the barns and find grandads stash of things that go boom. |
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Post by captinjack on Jun 18, 2008 11:37:51 GMT -5
I had an oil pan buster rock right in the middle of my road that I took the top off with black powder. After trying to dig this rock a couple of times, I gave up and decided to blow the top off. Simply drilled a half inch hole with a cordless drill, poured in the BP, inserted fuse and plugged with a stick.
We had to do a second shot and that was it! The top of the rock was blasted away and end of problem. It was easy and actually fun. We video'd it for posterity.
We often shoot guns so the blast noise was no big deal for the neighbors.
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They pretty much stay clear of my place as it is. 
