"Jim Wilkins" <muratlanne@gmail.com> writes:
>
> https://blog.artsper.com/en/a-closer-look/artwork-analysis-nighthawks-by-edward-hopper/
> The enigmatic couple are the painter and his wife, who was also a
> talented artist and capable chronicler of his work. She wouldn't let
> him use any other woman as a model.

Funnily enough, I know of this artist.
HIs work is sufficiently distinctive to have stuck in my mind.

Peter Fairbrother <peter@tsto.co.uk> writes:

> On 20/12/2023 21:59, Snag wrote:
>> On 12/20/2023 9:19 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
>>> "Richard Smith"  wrote in message news:lybkaoe9k3.fsf@void.com...
>>> ...
>> ...
> ...
> Peter Fairbrother

Done my Winter / xmas / lurghi season "asperg"!!!

Last year it was "Froude number" (basic hydrodynamics) related to an unusually rapid boat I worked on.
http://weldsmith.co.uk/tech/marine/221231_fhs/221231_froudehs_eg.html

This years is done!
Moving to West Cornwall it had to be
http://weldsmith.co.uk/tech/minerals/tunneldb_learn/240103_blast_info.html

I was in a pub in Camborne with a lot of ex (and some current) tin
miners. Who were explaining thing like "You just stick a stick of
dynamite to it with a lump of clay and it does a job" and "No, we
couldn't use gelignite in South Crofty - too hot - the rock was at
about 80degrees - it would have gone off by itself before we finished
loading it" (that would be an "ooops") - and the sort of things kindly
Cornish ex-miners will explain over a few pints of beer.

So I am really happy with what I did through the journey through the
shortest days of the year :-)

"Richard Smith" wrote in message news:ly4jfq17re.fsf@void.com...

I was in a pub in Camborne with a lot of ex (and some current) tin
miners. ...

-------------------------

I first read that as Cambronne, a French name from British military history.
https://www.napoleon-series.org/research/miscellaneous/c_cambronne.html

Victor Hugo dramatically fictionalized the event and added the "Word of
Cambronne" in Les Miserables.

Jim - I lost your message - but I want to say to all of you how happy
I am.
The shortest days are over and the days are visibly lengthening, the
cold (virus) season is running its course, the new year has started
and thoughts turn to its opportunities.
It doesn't matter that any one study - eg. any one book or article -
is read to completion, because the collage of pieces so far got me
where I need to be.
The topic "full-on mission" is a couple of days behind me now.

I went back to the mine and all was good, then in the eve. went to the
group at the working persons' club where posed with the guy and his
6ft rock-drill-bit - nd there was the lady sat at the bar with a
couple of rocks in front of her on the bar (maybe that's a "pulling"
technique used by ladies here?!)

So simply wanted to say to all - thanks.

I forgot to comment the obvious - when I set out I didn't know what
the goal looked like - then I realised I was there and it had come
into view.

"millisecond-timed detonators" set me going - idea that it is possible
to blast when there are buildings up above at the surface
(at the surface the maximum effect is the power of one charge is timed
milliseconds apart - yet at the blast location the effect for the
tunneling is the sum of all blasts).

However, the "learning payload" took me to realising this is boath
very expensive and far too complicated for learning "per-blast"

Then realising the answer is right there - in rock where "nothing is
going on" - drill a pattern of holes and blast one at a time - thereby
needing on a "cheap" single "no timing" detonator - and looking at
what each blast does - what you intended and what you see and why.
Lots of learning.

As I said, I had no idea what the destination looked like then you
realise you are looking at it "clear as daylight".

The comments and inputs prompted the path to finding I was at "the
goal" (for now).

"Richard Smith" wrote in message news:lyh6jpm797.fsf@void.com...

"millisecond-timed detonators" set me going - idea that it is possible
to blast when there are buildings up above at the surface
(at the surface the maximum effect is the power of one charge is timed
milliseconds apart - yet at the blast location the effect for the
tunneling is the sum of all blasts).

--------------------------------

As I understood it, the blasts are timed 0.1-0.5 Sec apart to let the rock
fragments exit the central opening at 40-70 m/Sec, and the charges are large
enough to fragment the rock but not so large they pulverize and pack it
against the opposite wall.

"Jim Wilkins" <muratlanne@gmail.com> writes:

> "Richard Smith" wrote in message news:lyh6jpm797.fsf@void.com...
>
> "millisecond-timed detonators" set me going - idea that it is possible
> to blast when there are buildings up above at the surface
> (at the surface the maximum effect is the power of one charge is timed
> milliseconds apart - yet at the blast location the effect for the
> tunneling is the sum of all blasts).
>
> --------------------------------
>
> As I understood it, the blasts are timed 0.1-0.5 Sec apart to let the
> rock fragments exit the central opening at 40-70 m/Sec, and the
> charges are large enough to fragment the rock but not so large they
> pulverize and pack it against the opposite wall.

I'll tread carefully - especially as I see how far I have to go and
all the practical ahead of me - having just one 1.5m-deep blast-sized
hole in granite to my portfolio so far...

Yes - groups timed about 0.1-0.5sec apart - broadly representing
radial rings of charges.

However, in those rings there will be charges on the same "timing" and
if you need to avoid the crockery on the mantlepieces in houses above
bouncing you do have to have a subsequence milliseconds apart.

I am told that in Camborne/Pool/Redruth in the mining times up 'til
the 1990's, even though the workings were by then hundreds of metres
deep crockery rattling was just the familiar thing...
Thousands worked in mining and many times that worked in something
related to or supporting by mining and that was life there.
The blasts were at an expected time, one infers from the following...
They blasted just after the end of the day-shift - all but the
blasters left, the charges were detonated and everyone left the mine
while the ventilation cleared the fumes. ie. by the arrival of the
night-shift of the trammers, who moved the ore to the shafts, where it
was finer-crushed and loaded into skips hoisted to the surface.

Digressing into other detail:

I need to check this, but I think the stopers wrote on the "cousin
jack chutes" the number of wagons-full they wanted taking away from
under the working ends of the stopes, so that just the right amount of
"head-height" room was left for them to continue next day shift.
Given the blasted mineral takes up more volume than it occupied as
solid mineral forming the lode - hence needing to create space to
continue. Then the trammers could make up a full load in their train
with any amount from the "cousin jack chutes" back where the stope was
already cleared to full height below the next higher level. I think
that nightly how-many-wagons is the writing you see on cousin jack
chutes see in video of abandoned-mine explorers.

I've got plenty more to find out about...

"Richard Smith" wrote in message news:lyfrz9j62y.fsf@void.com...

"Jim Wilkins" <muratlanne@gmail.com> writes:

> "Richard Smith" wrote in message news:lyh6jpm797.fsf@void.com...
>
> "millisecond-timed detonators" set me going - idea that it is possible
> to blast when there are buildings up above at the surface
> (at the surface the maximum effect is the power of one charge is timed
> milliseconds apart - yet at the blast location the effect for the
> tunneling is the sum of all blasts).
>
> --------------------------------
>
> As I understood it, the blasts are timed 0.1-0.5 Sec apart to let the
> rock fragments exit the central opening at 40-70 m/Sec, and the
> charges are large enough to fragment the rock but not so large they
> pulverize and pack it against the opposite wall.

I'll tread carefully - especially as I see how far I have to go and
all the practical ahead of me - having just one 1.5m-deep blast-sized
hole in granite to my portfolio so far...

Yes - groups timed about 0.1-0.5sec apart - broadly representing
radial rings of charges.

However, in those rings there will be charges on the same "timing" and
if you need to avoid the crockery on the mantlepieces in houses above
bouncing you do have to have a subsequence milliseconds apart.

I am told that in Camborne/Pool/Redruth in the mining times up 'til
the 1990's, even though the workings were by then hundreds of metres
deep crockery rattling was just the familiar thing...
Thousands worked in mining and many times that worked in something
related to or supporting by mining and that was life there.
The blasts were at an expected time, one infers from the following...
They blasted just after the end of the day-shift - all but the
blasters left, the charges were detonated and everyone left the mine
while the ventilation cleared the fumes. ie. by the arrival of the
night-shift of the trammers, who moved the ore to the shafts, where it
was finer-crushed and loaded into skips hoisted to the surface.

Digressing into other detail:

I need to check this, but I think the stopers wrote on the "cousin
jack chutes" the number of wagons-full they wanted taking away from
under the working ends of the stopes, so that just the right amount of
"head-height" room was left for them to continue next day shift.
Given the blasted mineral takes up more volume than it occupied as
solid mineral forming the lode - hence needing to create space to
continue. Then the trammers could make up a full load in their train
with any amount from the "cousin jack chutes" back where the stope was
already cleared to full height below the next higher level. I think
that nightly how-many-wagons is the writing you see on cousin jack
chutes see in video of abandoned-mine explorers.

I've got plenty more to find out about...

----------------------------
You've gone far past welding.

A few years back there was some granite blasting within about 50m of my
house. They planted a seismograph next to the foundation to record the shock
intensity and fired much smaller shots than later and further away. That was
my only exposure to blasting practice. I caught most of the shots on video
just in case.

There was no central hole and they fired all the charges simultaneously as
far as I could tell. The blasts left deep pits filled with fairly large
boulders under the blasting mats, which didn't move much. After they left a
neighbor collected all the scrap metal and gave me a 3" drill bit with round
black (carbide?) buttons. The granite here is somewhat fractured and
contains many finer grained dikes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_hotspot

On 1/7/2024 2:00 PM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
> "Richard Smith"  wrote in message news:lyfrz9j62y.fsf@void.com...
>
> "Jim Wilkins" <muratlanne@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> "Richard Smith"  wrote in message news:lyh6jpm797.fsf@void.com...
>>
>> "millisecond-timed detonators" set me going - idea that it is possible
>> to blast when there are buildings up above at the surface
>> (at the surface the maximum effect is the power of one charge is timed
>> milliseconds apart - yet at the blast location the effect for the
>> tunneling is the sum of all blasts).
>>
>> --------------------------------
>>
>> As I understood it, the blasts are timed 0.1-0.5 Sec apart to let the
>> rock fragments exit the central opening at 40-70 m/Sec, and the
>> charges are large enough to fragment the rock but not so large they
>> pulverize and pack it against the opposite wall.
>
> I'll tread carefully - especially as I see how far I have to go and
> all the practical ahead of me - having just one 1.5m-deep blast-sized
> hole in granite to my portfolio so far...
>
> Yes - groups timed about 0.1-0.5sec apart - broadly representing
> radial rings of charges.
>
> However, in those rings there will be charges on the same "timing" and
> if you need to avoid the crockery on the mantlepieces in houses above
> bouncing you do have to have a subsequence milliseconds apart.
>
> I am told that in Camborne/Pool/Redruth in the mining times up 'til
> the 1990's, even though the workings were by then hundreds of metres
> deep crockery rattling was just the familiar thing...
> Thousands worked in mining and many times that worked in something
> related to or supporting by mining and that was life there.
> The blasts were at an expected time, one infers from the following...
> They blasted just after the end of the day-shift - all but the
> blasters left, the charges were detonated and everyone left the mine
> while the ventilation cleared the fumes.  ie. by the arrival of the
> night-shift of the trammers, who moved the ore to the shafts, where it
> was finer-crushed and loaded into skips hoisted to the surface.
>
>
> Digressing into other detail:
>
> I need to check this, but I think the stopers wrote on the "cousin
> jack chutes" the number of wagons-full they wanted taking away from
> under the working ends of the stopes, so that just the right amount of
> "head-height" room was left for them to continue next day shift.
> Given the blasted mineral takes up more volume than it occupied as
> solid mineral forming the lode - hence needing to create space to
> continue.  Then the trammers could make up a full load in their train
> with any amount from the "cousin jack chutes" back where the stope was
> already cleared to full height below the next higher level.  I think
> that nightly how-many-wagons is the writing you see on cousin jack
> chutes see in video of abandoned-mine explorers.
>
> I've got plenty more to find out about...
>
> ----------------------------
> You've gone far past welding.
>
> A few years back there was some granite blasting within about 50m of my
> house. They planted a seismograph next to the foundation to record the
> shock intensity and fired much smaller shots than later and further
> away. That was my only exposure to blasting practice. I caught most of
> the shots on video just in case.
>
> There was no central hole and they fired all the charges simultaneously
> as far as I could tell. The blasts left deep pits filled with fairly
> large boulders under the blasting mats, which didn't move much. After
> they left a neighbor collected all the scrap metal and gave me a 3"
> drill bit with round black (carbide?) buttons. The granite here is
> somewhat fractured and contains many finer grained dikes.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_hotspot
>

I've seen explosives in use twice as an adolescent/teen . A guy was
using half-sticks of dynamite to bust up the foundation wall of an old
electric train station across the road from my childhood home . He would
park a front loader in front of each charge to catch any debris from
coming across the street towards the houses . The other time U&I Sugar
blasted a large limestone* formation up on the mountainside above town .
A large chunk of hillside jumped , and a few seconds later the shock
wave hit . We were leaning against the side of a house , felt the whole
house move .
* The limestone was processed into lime , used in the beet sugar
refining process .
--
Snag
Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum

Thanks Jim, Snag. Adds to dimensions to understandings

"Richard Smith" wrote in message news:lyfrz9j62y.fsf@void.com...

I am told that in Camborne/Pool/Redruth in the mining times up 'til
the 1990's, even though the workings were by then hundreds of metres
deep crockery rattling was just the familiar thing...
-----------------------------
This is perhaps too technical,
https://wiki.seg.org/wiki/Seismic_attenuation
but it contains this:
"Completely dry rocks display negligible attenuation."
meaning the energy loss from blast to house may be only the geometric 1/r^2,
by the inverse square law.

Thanks everyone for the amazing depth and knowledge of help you provided
on this topic.
While visiting family in Australia

* the neighbour had worked in a gold mine in Aus. and explained some
realities I was unsure about

That sent me looking / searching online and I found

* As presented in
http://www.weldsmith.co.uk/tech/minerals/240205_yt_goldmine/240205_yt_goldmine.html
"Thanks - Mt. Baker Mining and Metals "Opening My Gold Mine!" series"
All explained there.
Link to the "YouTube" "channel" where the 17 videos are. Which tell an
amazing story.

I learned a lot.

Best wishes to all,
Rich S

On 06/01/2024 21:17, Richard Smith wrote:
[...]
> I was in a pub in Camborne with a lot of ex (and some current) tin
> miners. Who were explaining thing like "You just stick a stick of
> dynamite to it with a lump of clay and it does a job" and "No, we
> couldn't use gelignite in South Crofty - too hot - the rock was at
> about 80degrees - it would have gone off by itself before we finished
> loading it" (that would be an "ooops") - and the sort of things kindly
> Cornish ex-miners will explain over a few pints of beer.

Talking of small diameter brisant explosives for small-scale mining, how
about PETN detcord?

While usually loaded at 10 g/m for transmitting trunkline shocks and
directly initiating the more sensitive charges, it is also available in
up to 100 g/m loading, which is about 1/2" diameter, and possibly more.
It can be used up to 70C plus - one manufacturer says 107C is okay.

Not going to give you a huge face loading, but you could use fairly
close-spaced 1/2" holes?

Just an idea, I have no practical experience of this, but sometimes you
see detcord advertised for "pre-splitting", whatever that means.

Don't know about cost either, but I think a 50m roll of 100 or 150 g/m
should be a few £100's - and will last a long time. And it can be
detonated directly by standard 10g/m detcord, simple and providing a
saving on detonators, though you may need delays.

You didn't say whether the tunnel is through soft rock or granite?

Peter Fairbrother

Peter Fairbrother <peter@tsto.co.uk> writes:

> On 06/01/2024 21:17, Richard Smith wrote:
> [...]
>> I was in a pub in Camborne with a lot of ex (and some current) tin
>> miners. Who were explaining thing like "You just stick a stick of
>> dynamite to it with a lump of clay and it does a job" and "No, we
>> couldn't use gelignite in South Crofty - too hot - the rock was at
>> about 80degrees - it would have gone off by itself before we finished
>> loading it" (that would be an "ooops") - and the sort of things kindly
>> Cornish ex-miners will explain over a few pints of beer.
>
> Talking of small diameter brisant explosives for small-scale mining,
> how about PETN detcord?
>
> While usually loaded at 10 g/m for transmitting trunkline shocks and
> directly initiating the more sensitive charges, it is also available
> in up to 100 g/m loading, which is about 1/2" diameter, and possibly
> more. It can be used up to 70C plus - one manufacturer says 107C is
> okay.
>
> Not going to give you a huge face loading, but you could use fairly
> close-spaced 1/2" holes?
>
> Just an idea, I have no practical experience of this, but sometimes
> you see detcord advertised for "pre-splitting", whatever that means.
>
> Don't know about cost either, but I think a 50m roll of 100 or 150 g/m
> should be a few £100's - and will last a long time. And it can be
> detonated directly by standard 10g/m detcord, simple and providing a
> saving on detonators, though you may need delays.
>
>
>
> You didn't say whether the tunnel is through soft rock or granite?
>
>
> Peter Fairbrother

Is all granite.
No killas (Cornish name for metamorphised sedimentary rock).
Up on top of Carn Brea, hence entirely granite.

What the granite looks like can be seen in my webpage on
boulder-splitting
http://www.weldsmith.co.uk/tech/minerals/240314_rocksplit/240314_rocksplit_drill_feathers.html
The split sections...

I have seen vids for using these about 1/4inch cartridges to split rock
in USA.
Apparently won't do much if not confined, so have dispensation to be
purchased without presenting explosives licence.

Thanks for detcord idea.
You couldn't drill deeply at 1/2inch (clearance at 14mm)...
At the 32mm of traditional Cornish drilling, could get 2m to 3m (?) - (I
managed 1.5m in a few minutes).

Ah - I see - way to cheaply practice - do it in miniature - make little
cubby-holes for storing tools in in the side of passageways, etc.

My instinct says one problem - with 14mm drill at longer lengths you can
get, could not get water to flow down flutes to where cutting happening.
Turn drillings into a harmless slurry, but also keep the drilling-tip
cool doing a lot of work in this hard granite.
You will be knowing - the drill-bits used in the likes of the Cornish
Holman rock-drill and the American Gardner rock-drill (?) have a hole
down the middle for the continuous supply of water which the rock-drill
supplies.

Rich S

"Richard Smith" wrote in message news:m1o7b49gna.fsf@void.com...

What the granite looks like can be seen in my webpage on
boulder-splitting
http://www.weldsmith.co.uk/tech/minerals/240314_rocksplit/240314_rocksplit_drill_feathers.html
The split sections...

--------------------------------

Congratulations on your successful innovation that leaps a major hurdle.

When the corded hammer drill proved useless on granite I was lucky enough to
be given the big Makita (to fix) which drills 1/2" (13mm) holes into granite
adequately, and my jobs are close enough to the house to not need cordless
tools for the harder slogging in granite or 1" holes in oak.

I didn't know there was an application for a close quarters masonry drill.
I've used right angle drills only between house studs and under cars. The
contractor bought the Makita and a long 1-1/4" bit for plumbing and wiring
holes through concrete foundations. It takes spline drive bits which are
becoming rare, he replaced it with SDS Plus.
SDS = Steck-Dreh-Sitz, Insert-Turn-Seat.

On 24/03/2024 08:29, Richard Smith wrote:
[..]
> Thanks for detcord idea.
> You couldn't drill deeply at 1/2inch (clearance at 14mm)...
> At the 32mm of traditional Cornish drilling, could get 2m to 3m (?) - (I
> managed 1.5m in a few minutes).
>
> Ah - I see - way to cheaply practice - do it in miniature - make little
> cubby-holes for storing tools in in the side of passageways, etc.

PLEASE NOTE: I AM NOT AN EXPERT ON ROCK BLASTING

I was thinking more like, for a person width and height tunnel, say 3x9
shots at 8" spacing, with 50cm deep holes with 40cm of 100g/m high
loading detcord and 10cm stemming, connected by some low loading detcord.

Or possibly better, 15cm hldc, 10cm stemming, 15cm hldc, 10cm stemming,
with a low loading detcord going past both hldc charges. Or even
8-8-8-8-8-10, if you can bear to do that.

Either no delays and only one detonator, or say divide it into four
sections and use maybe three delay detonators.

That kind of cautious blasting, if it would work on the rock (it should
be about right, but no guarantees), should not make too big a
disturbance with aboveground at 20m. It might even be unnoticeable, even
though it's a kilo of PETN.

For a hobby program.

As the tunnel isn't going to be very long - how long? one, a few, ten
meters? - it shouldn't take too many shots.

Not that cheaply though; but a 50m roll of high loading detcord will get
you maybe 5 to 8 shots. The low loading detcord will probably come in a
much longer roll, and cost a little less.

Say £100 per shot, or a little more at 60cm of tunnel per shot.

PLEASE NOTE: I AM NOT AN EXPERT ON ROCK BLASTING

> My instinct says one problem - with 14mm drill at longer lengths you can
> get, could not get water to flow down flutes to where cutting happening.
> Turn drillings into a harmless slurry, but also keep the drilling-tip
> cool doing a lot of work in this hard granite.
> You will be knowing - the drill-bits used in the likes of the Cornish
> Holman rock-drill and the American Gardner rock-drill (?) have a hole
> down the middle for the continuous supply of water which the rock-drill
> supplies.

I didn't know that, specifically, though I do use through-fluid cooled
drill bits from time to time. I don't know much about mining.

But I was only thinking of half a meter deep. That will still give you
some rock to cart away between shots.

And if you can drill some larger diameter unfilled holes as well, so
much the better. If the rock is only a few meters thick, you might drill
through on the first try with a larger longer drill.

Peter Fairbrother

Could you blast with black powder as a historical re-enactment without
official hindrance?

On 3/24/2024 4:22 PM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
> Could you blast with black powder as a historical re-enactment without
> official hindrance?
>

Don't know what the laws are Over There , but here in Arkansas ... I
have several part-containers of Pyrodex that I've picked up here and
there . Mostly yard sale stuff . My neighbor has some stumps . One in
particular is right in the middle of where he wants his driveway . The
plan is to drill it 1 1/2 inches and about 12-14" deep . Load about 2
ounces of Pyrodex R-S with a small charge of BP on top to ensure
ignition and pack the hole with clay . We'll use cannon fuse to initiate
the festivities . The objective is to split the stump into pieces he can
drag out with his front-loader .
--
Snag
"They may take our lives but
they'll never take our freedom."
William Wallace

On 3/24/2024 2:39 PM, Snag wrote:
> On 3/24/2024 4:22 PM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
>> Could you blast with black powder as a historical re-enactment without
>> official hindrance?
>>
>
>   Don't know what the laws are Over There , but here in Arkansas ... I
> have several part-containers of Pyrodex that I've picked up here and
> there . Mostly yard sale stuff . My neighbor has some stumps . One in
> particular is right in the middle of where he wants his driveway . The
> plan is to drill it 1 1/2 inches and about 12-14" deep . Load about 2
> ounces of Pyrodex R-S with a small charge of BP on top to ensure
> ignition and pack the hole with clay . We'll use cannon fuse to initiate
> the festivities . The objective is to split the stump into pieces he can
> drag out with his front-loader .

I'd like to hear how that goes. I may or may not have some knowledge of
BP being easy to make firecrackers with, and Pyrodex in the same
packaging becoming spinners or rockets instead of going pop.

--
Bob La Londe
CNC Molds N Stuff

--
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG antivirus software.
www.avg.com

On 3/24/2024 5:17 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
> On 3/24/2024 2:39 PM, Snag wrote:
>> On 3/24/2024 4:22 PM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
>>> Could you blast with black powder as a historical re-enactment
>>> without official hindrance?
>>>
>>
>>    Don't know what the laws are Over There , but here in Arkansas ...
>> I have several part-containers of Pyrodex that I've picked up here and
>> there . Mostly yard sale stuff . My neighbor has some stumps . One in
>> particular is right in the middle of where he wants his driveway . The
>> plan is to drill it 1 1/2 inches and about 12-14" deep . Load about 2
>> ounces of Pyrodex R-S with a small charge of BP on top to ensure
>> ignition and pack the hole with clay . We'll use cannon fuse to
>> initiate the festivities . The objective is to split the stump into
>> pieces he can drag out with his front-loader .
>
> I'd like to hear how that goes.  I may or may not have some knowledge of
> BP being easy to make firecrackers with, and Pyrodex in the same
> packaging becoming spinners or rockets instead of going pop.
>
>

It's all about confinement . Lots of difference between a few layers
of paper and about 8"-10" of solid wood .
--
Snag
"They may take our lives but
they'll never take our freedom."
William Wallace

Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> on Sun, 24 Mar 2024 18:58:12 -0500 typed in
rec.crafts.metalworking the following:
>
>> I'd like to hear how that goes.  I may or may not have some knowledge of
>> BP being easy to make firecrackers with, and Pyrodex in the same
>> packaging becoming spinners or rockets instead of going pop.
>>
>>
>
> It's all about confinement . Lots of difference between a few layers
>of paper and about 8"-10" of solid wood .

Tamp it well, or you're likely to have a rocket launcher / cannon.

We once made a "signal gun" for the 4th out of a bored out chunk
of maple.
--
pyotr filipivich
"With Age comes Wisdom. Although far too often, Age travels alone."

On 3/24/2024 7:38 PM, pyotr filipivich wrote:
> Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> on Sun, 24 Mar 2024 18:58:12 -0500 typed in
> rec.crafts.metalworking the following:
>>
>>> I'd like to hear how that goes.  I may or may not have some knowledge of
>>> BP being easy to make firecrackers with, and Pyrodex in the same
>>> packaging becoming spinners or rockets instead of going pop.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> It's all about confinement . Lots of difference between a few layers
>> of paper and about 8"-10" of solid wood .
>
> Tamp it well, or you're likely to have a rocket launcher / cannon.
>
> We once made a "signal gun" for the 4th out of a bored out chunk
> of maple.
>

We are blessed here with an abundance of clay ... I was talking with
a guy that has some experience with this and he suggested clay as an
ideal tamping medium . There's a large flat rock right next to the stump
that I might lay on top too .
--
Snag
"They may take our lives but
they'll never take our freedom."
William Wallace

Thanks for encouragement.
My instinct is "never say it's until until it's done".
It's done. But it took some drive to get there.

I like your thinking Peter.
How to practice at manageable cost.
That's the crucial point.
Don't know what would happen.
Would be interesting to find-out.

"Jim Wilkins" <muratlanne@gmail.com> writes:

> Could you blast with black powder as a historical re-enactment without
> official hindrance?

Black powder can be had - you are allowed to own muzzle-loaders here in
the UK. With licencing yes; but "doable".

Whether a larger amount in the kg's could be had that way...

Black powder is used by stone masons because it will split rock without
any shattering.
It is on sale in bulk - but sure you would need a licence for that.