Thread: Post your mystery tool.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

Sure have,,,, with black powder not jelly, quite a crump and the story I got with them were that they were used to split rocks/boulders where the unrestrained use of explosives was not permissible. At the demo it was being used to "reasonably" safely split chunks off of a slab of rock.

people who wanted to were allowed to (under supervision) pack the charge, insert the fuse, place the rod then the unit light it and run... (this was where I think I learnt the phrase "when doing this stand behind something big and heavy or someone you dont like)

I have done a fair bit of that work but in quarries and in conjunction with a main blast to break up oversize that cant be sold. We drill holes in them with the rig after they have been moved under a shot by a loader.

We put a small amount of anfo, a small booster and det and stem. We then tie it into the main shot to go off just in front of the main shot then the main shot falls on top of the rocks.

The other option today is expanding cement. It has a high lime content so heats up and expands. You drill a hole in the rocks, but in the cement and come back in the morning to a broken mess. Have to get the mix right or you end up with a heap of litle volcanoes.

If memory serves.....

the intended use (where I got to play with it) was for cracking off dangerous bits on rock walls on railway cuttings or roadways.

Id love to take one into work and calmly start setting it up to take off a stubborn or stripped out bolt. Fairly certain there wouldn't be too heavy an application of the "less is more" mantra.

no some sort of old track pin remover?
Ive seen similar 22 powered devices used for killing sheep.
cows get shot pigs get electrocuted with a big pair or tongs and sheep get a round rod fired into the skull.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHJuRvCPPf4&feature=results_main&playnext= 1&list=PL55A25433E37D945D]Black Powder Wood Splitter - YouTube[/ame]

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

If memory serves.....

the intended use (where I got to play with it) was for cracking off dangerous bits on rock walls on railway cuttings or roadways.

Id love to take one into work and calmly start setting it up to take off a stubborn or stripped out bolt. Fairly certain there wouldn't be too heavy an application of the "less is more" mantra.

This one was used for pin/bolt removal on tracks, showed my mate that I work for and he said he used to have one. It used to be part of his business up until the 70's to go around and take out pins/bolts in tracks.

Be more fun to just start making one in the corner of the workshop on the lathe and ignore all the "what's that's". Once it was finished set it up and yell, firing in 5 4 3 2

Originally Posted by tonic

This one was used for pin/bolt removal on tracks, showed my mate that I work for and he said he used to have one. It used to be part of his business up until the 70's to go around and take out pins/bolts in tracks.

Be more fun to just start making one in the corner of the workshop on the lathe and ignore all the "what's that's". Once it was finished set it up and yell, firing in 5 4 3 2

Pretty well all tracked plant sold in the last 25 years or so has SALT track chains (Sealed and Lubricated Track) other than specialist applications like sand operation. I can't remember when I last saw explosive charges used to pull track pins but it would have been before 1980, I think. Hydraulic twin portable track presses took over.

How difficult is it to buy explosives these days? I remember when pretty well any country hardware store or rural supplier had a case of gelly or blasting powder behind the counter. If you had a Miner's Right one could buy explosives no other questions asked. You got a Miner's Right at the police station for the asking and a small fee. Two mates of mine used to go fishing in the Bribie Passage with explosives. Hardly a soul lived up there then, 1960's, before the bridge to the island was built.

The short answer is you can't buy them. Those who can must have approval to buy them and also where they can be used from the mines dept. My mate was asked to train the army eng recently, they had to come to one of our jobs because the qld mines dep would not give them approval in time, that's how hard it is. You even have to get certified every 3 years.

You can buy incy wincy explosives at hobby shops, up to about a kilogram if you have the right bit of paper. They are called rocket motors
Black powder in a cardboard tube. The RAAF is our biggest customer for the big motors...