Removing rocks from the landscape

[ghmerrill]

Rocks... it either costs you to get rid of them, or you pay through the nose to get them....


I agree with Alan, I would love to have a few boulders around... the fist size stuff in the ground here is pretty much useless for everything, unless you are planning on using cement to hold it togeather.

Nice work Matt! having a drill like that would come in super handy, but around here, it would only see action on wood! possibly I could take out a mortgage on the property to pay for some boulders like that, but given what my wife thinks of my bamboo purchases, I can imagine what she would think if I were purchasing ROCKS!

[David]

Your project has me motivated to remove some of the bush hog banger rocks that have been tormenting me for years. I have considered explosives in the past but concern for what the neighbors might say (or do) has prevented that course. This seems just right for pecking away at some of the bigger limestone rocks that my small backhoe is unable to move. Once I have pecked them below ground I can just cover them with soil. Having grown smarter (or lazier) and less inclined to punish my 57+ y. o. body by yanking on a pull cord, I opted for a 7.5 amp Bosch Bull Dog Xtreme hammer drill in combo with an inverter to truck battery. I found a factory reconditioned drill with warranty for about 60% of the new cost, and when you consider the free shipping and no sales tax it works out to be about 1/2 price. I needed a big drill for some up coming projects anyway so this worked out great!

Question: Does the end of the 1/2" steel tube and the firing pin get damaged from the blast?

BTW- Any of you that want big rocks should come to Tennessee. We have plenty!

[Matt W]

David
No damage so far. But as I normally work with metal I haven't been too concerned, figuring I could fix or rebuild as needed. I'll be happy to send you some good photos of the detail of where I am now with the device version 3.0 .
Where I think I'm going: I just found Pyrodex commonly available in pellet form, 2 pellets = a load. Plan is to experiment with using the common 209 primers for ignition. Google pyrodex triple 7. This has potential to simplify, and take the brass out of the process. Just need to fab a tube that will hold and pop the 209s.
I would be interested to know how the inverter works out. I will PM you my phone # in case you want to ask more details about my experiments. 9 shots doesn't make me an expert but I will help if I can and hopefully learn from your experience.

Good luck .. Matt

[David]

Good to know Matt. I have fabricated a gravity powered firing device that seems that it should work, but I have not tried it yet. I'm going to be using a 308 rifle round, and I left the bullet in place but sawed it off flush with the brass. That way I don't have to fiddle with measuring, and sealing the powder charge. I would like to see your 3.0 build, there's nothing like experience when it comes to never tried projects.

I have been a muzzle loader hunter since 1987 when I built my first muzzle loader, and have used pyrodex. Two pellets of pyrodex would be a considerably bigger bang than a .45 long, but that may be what you are after. It would be similar to a small rifle round. Pyrodex can be difficult to ignite, much more difficult than black powder in my experience. You could partially fill the center hole in the pyrodex with black powder and that would solve that issue. Pyrodex is also slower burning that smokeless powder, but you might never see the difference in this application.

I'll PM my contact info to you also.

David

[Matt W]

Photos of both devices are here http://mattsbamboo.shutterfly.com/ album title Blasting Device. I haven't tried the one that holds the primer for the Pyrodex pellets yet.
David, When will you get to try your system?

Well the Pyrodex works great! More trouble to build a tool to hold the primer but other wise more convenient than fooling with loose powder and adaptable to hole depth etc. on the fly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osm2SqYUoo0

Matt

[Matt W]

Made an experiment today with a gravity device to set off the 45 ammo. Here is the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4mcEvc2OyA. For anyone interested, this seems to be a much simpler system. Only pulled a couple of shots before being rained out so it's somewhat unrefined so far and will only work in near vertical holes.

Matt