Splitting hard rock with plugs and feathers
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- Breaking rock the old fashioned way, these little plugs and feathers managed to break some really hard Rhyodacite rock.
An addition to my toolbox that comes in handy for small rocks when blasting is not practical.
Dave, You are a " Rock Star ", the man, the myth, the legend. Seriously, when it comes to rock, you are the man.
I only break stuff, I don't build anything.
I want to do the same thing. Where would I look to, to do this type of work?.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast I am not talking about building anything, I am talking about blowing up rocks, get it? ROCK STAR at blowing up rocks, gee.
Hi, I got some 'feathers&wedges' (as the eBay seller called them) recently and have tried them a few times on concrete and a 600mm diameter boulder of the local (really hard) sedimentary rock we have here in the Hebrides (west coast of Scotland). They are only about half the size of your ones but still produce amazing results. Their advantage over yours is the need for holes only 100mm or so deep and no more than 14mm or so in diameter - easily done with a battery operated 5kg SDS hammer drill and thus hugely easier than your setup. I was amazed at how easy it was to split these really quite substantial items with such puny looking tools - and really minimal time and effort. I found that giving the rock a little time to react to the wedges each time you did a run of taps worked best - and you can really hear it working as the sound changes as the crack moves through the rock… Also, you are much more likely to get the crack going where you want it (ie along the line of the F&Ws) if you only hit each F&W once or twice *sequentially*. Hitting one or more repeatedly before moving on to the next F&W tends to produce much more random results.
Hey... great work Martin, I'm glad that you are getting some good results. I have some of those very small ones also. I hope that you are using some grease on them.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Of course! (...not! - but I will, honest!) Have you ever used Autostem (or similar) 'non-detonating cartridges'...?
Yeah, I have done a bit of messing around with several types of 'non-detonating cartridges' and good old black powder.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Thanks for the reply. I'm planning a self-build here in the UK but it's quite a challenging plot with a lot of rock close to the surface and very steep in parts (where the house is going to go, of course). So, I did an Autostem course just before COVID and have bought a YN27 rock drill and plan to cut a sizeable chunk of rock off the hill to make a platform for the house (your videos have inspired me!). They usually spend weeks with a pecker doing the same, here - and at huge cost. So, should speed things up a bit - if I can get the cartridges (proving a bit tricky as there are no suppliers UK-based currently). They will probs have to come direct from South Africa to a local airport and I collect from there to bring them back to the island (Colonsay, Argyll). Anyway, keep up the good work!
That wonderful crackling sound of rock breaking -- and another boulder bits the dust.
I was and still am apprentice to a master sculptor. He will get such a kick out of this video. We couldn’t use grease as Carrera marble stains. But a very satisfying video. I’m sending it to the master now. He’ll love it. Cheers
That's interesting, could you use Vaseline or even soap. If you like plugs and featherers I have some big ones and some hydraulic ones also czcams.com/video/SNw0XImDLOA/video.html and czcams.com/video/WMrcUoDIeTM/video.html and czcams.com/video/s4RwFc-hH3Y/video.html
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast I regularly used Vaseline to put big equipment together. I had a 5 axis robot to put together for the Stonybrook Foundation piece I helped with. We used Vaseline for all the crucial points of joinery. It was a pain to work with but we managed. The largest silicone bronze piece in North America. The Umbilic Torus. Look it up. Some of the best days of my life.
Thanks Dave for all your great videos. I switched to using Ivory bar soap about 30 years ago on my plugs& feathers, not near as messy, environmentally friendly and it works better. Cheers, Billy in B.C., Canada
Thanks for sharing that idea Billy, I'll give that a try as I have a tendency to get the grease all over me.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast And soap washes off. Because it's soap!
@@zavatone Good point!
Try putting a large elastic band around the top of the feathers between the top 2 outer lugs to stop them falling in the hole. Should hold nicely together with the grease. :)
We always kept a bag of "O" rings of the correct size handy, they could take a bit of abuse.
I always like splitting the boulders with no relief. Tell the excavator to dig around it so it has some place to break to. "I don't want to dig such a big hole". So I split it with the hydraulic splitter, then watch them struggle. After they dig around it, the rock just falls apart. I use an old tooth brush to spread the grease.Have fun, and stay young.
You really need to post some videos Mark.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast…he still hasn’t :(
this made me smile
& even if i show them no one in Portland Oregon will ever know why
Thanks for watching, these little gadgets never cease to amaze me.
800👍's up thanks again for taking us all along with you for the great show
You bet
Very smart! So enjoyable to watch the simple method
These simple thingies give you that feeling of force, splitting massive rock just like that! Love them. There´s only one tool more satisfying to use. ^^)
The remote for the TV? "- )
Impact wrench? Chop saw? Framing nailer? Don't leave us dangling man!
Sounds like you are playing a demented xylophone when you hit the plugs 😂
I'll try to tune it next time.
Love the sound that makes when it breaking and Poppin
Wow! That was freaking amazing! Way to go.
Glad you liked it! You might like this one also - czcams.com/video/s4RwFc-hH3Y/video.html
Most of the feathers I've seen around have a curl at the top to prevent them slipping into the hole so the curl makes the feather too big to fit completely into the bore.
My large ones (45mm hole) are like you say, these little ones not so.
Trow and Holden in New Jersey sells shims and wedges. The shims have a bend at the top so you don't lose them down the hole.
I have not greased mine in the 20 years I have used them. I just keep them clean. Grease tends to attract rock dust.
Yours must be made out of good metal, the grease make it easier to get them out when you get them stuck also.
Fine work, colleague!
Dave thanks for the video I have a little quartz leader that is producing a bit of gold. It needs the country rock on either side removing so I can take out another section of the lode. I think feather and wedges will work great as I have a horizontal and a vertical face to break to.
Hope you hit the mother lode Jethro, the plugs and feathers can be remarkably successful in some situations and a heartbreaking failure in other cases. But if explosives are not an option, they are a very handy tool.
love it, you have inspired me to (excuse the pun) have a crack at a huge granite rock in my backyard i need gone
Let me know how you go.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast will do sir, its funny actually i might email you some details on my project as i was looking for a solution to the problem and came across your website for a non explosive solution. I was so impressed by your works. Cheers!
A magnet might be a good idea to keep with the kit in case you do drop a feather down. Great videos, thanks!!
Mmmmm...
Took my 8 year old daughter with me to split some wood today - she got a 2 pound hammer and a wedge. Fun times.
Teach her how to split wood with black powder - czcams.com/video/HbPs0VUq7eE/video.html
The power of the mighty inclined plane :)
That was cool to watch. Learn something new everyday.
Thanks for watching, please like and subscribe.
8:12 That rock acted in self defense!
They can be very sneaky!
It is worthy of mention driving the drill holes is very difficult, and that is a really potent drill// jackhammer hes got there , even if it isnt a "jackleg" mining drill or hydraulic vehicle mounted drill..... I have smaller drills and its suprising just how deeply these can drive a 1 1/4 drill steel into some pretty hard granite or country rock. The granite or Dolimite are both extremely hard , Its hard , slow drilling , . We even cut some bits, and weld rod extensions in with something like 7018 stick, arc welding and these are strong enough to drill deep holes with... Its Slow though .
Hi Joe, the drill is an Indian made MDS505L - copy of Atlas Copco RH658, I'm using 22mm hex drill rods and knock on ballistic button bits. Hole size here is 35mm.
I use a set of 10 that require a much small drilled hole that work fairly well for me. Even used them when demo-ing a concrete foundation with filled cores and rebar. Only thing I dont like about using grease is that it catches all the powdered rock so you have to wipe them off each time. I skip the grease but my feathers and wedges were inexpensive.
Subscriber # 787. Dave watching you split rock by hand was almost more satisfying than your blasting videos. Almost.
Surprised to see that there is still blasting going on around Melbourne. I used to hear it a bit as a lad in Lower Templestowe in the '70's, and friends owned a hire business that had large woven blasting matts made of sisal [I think], but thought blasting had gone the way of the Dodo.
Also played with a bit of stuff with the Engineers in Army Reserve, so watched with more than passing interest. Mark
Hi Mark, There is still blasting going on but not as much as there was in years gone by, back in the 70's everything that could not be managed by a backhoe got blasted, these days every earth mover has a 20 Tonne excavator with a hammer ant this will cope with all but the hardest of rock. That being said though it is generally quicker to blast a big mud stone (Templestowe) site cut than it is to slowly chip it away with a breaker. Most of the stuff that I get to blast these days is Granite and Rhyodocite - really hard stuff that ruin breaker points in a very short time, or softer rocks where access for a big machine is not possible.
fascinating! Now bring on the high school boys to carry off the rock! Job well done...
Weld a short piece of flat steel to the feathers that’s at a 90* angle to the to the wedge.
One wonders if you combined a couple of those new compact battery powered jack hammers with a set of plugs and feathers attached at the ends, you'd have a pretty effective and low effort setup. I am imaging the shaft of the jack hammer fashioned to serve as the plug, flanked by the feathers, with a steel loop the goes around all three that has a diameter that wil allow for the feathers to go all the way through, up to their tabs. Anyway, just an idea.
Like a miniature version of the Darda Hydraulic Splitter - czcams.com/video/nIr74ebE7Hk/video.html
I learned something new! Thanks man!
stxrynn - your welcome
If you run across a blacksmith get him to make you feathers with an 3 to 4 cm 90 degree turn on the top. You won't lose as many down the hole.
It not that big a drama Robert, I also have a very strong magnet on a string.
ANOTHER fascinating channel ..... :)
CZcams teaches me so much! Thank you ...... :)
Thank you Marshall Man, I agree, CZcams is such a useful resource - probably the most informative thing on the net.
I've seen what can be done with wedges before, but hadn't seen the substance you injected to split the rock. Is that an expanding grout of some sort? Love your videos. Thanks for sharing.
The stuff I normally use is Expando - www.expando.com.au/what-is-expando .... Thanks
Now I know why those Crocodile Dundee movies were a big hit. We know what these guys do to get the strength to wrestle Crocodiles ;)
czcams.com/video/XfR9iY5y94s/video.html
satisfying cracking noise
It's music to my ears Collin.
My father got some like that from some show for $15 a pair or something. I have used them trying to split stumps up to use as firewood. Find a crack and tap it in with a claw hammer then start with a sledge hammer. Trouble with some stumps is the grain goes everywhere.
A bit of gunpowder is very helpful for splitting wood Link Night - czcams.com/video/HbPs0VUq7eE/video.html
Nicely done!!!!!!!
I’d like to make some, do you think they are regular steel or spring steel? Great video for us without explosives, cheers
Not sure Julian, there used to be a local blacksmith that would make them to order. You can but them very cheap online through Amazon, several sizes, these ones were to suit a 35mm hole.
Thanks for responding..... Here , let me ask you a question .. In the U.S. they used to use a special tool, that breaks boulde rs and large rocks without drilling at all . which sounds great to me . Its a steel saddle, chained down . Basically it uses a 12 guage blank to drive a heavy steel wedge so fast and so hard it will split some really pretty good sized rocks and boulders . Do you guys have that where you are ?????Where can I get one and info on them ???? Requires no drilling at all. You throw this thing on , chain it down into place , and pull yer Lanyard . Boom . Splits the rock. . I want it I think ., and I will fabricate it myself if I have to........ Here. look at this. This is called a " Black powder log splitting wedge " these were used in the old days before they had Hydraulic log splitters and chainsaws .. I actually made this, fabricated one of these ..., works great.
I've never heard of the 12# driven wedge Joe, but I've used a log splitter - czcams.com/video/O_iH1ESyYuc/video.html
Congratulations, most people havnt ever heard of black powder log splitters , but you knew ........ BTW the log splitter works a little better if you place it about 25 or 30% in from the outside of the log not the center . Gives a mechanical advantage for splitting wood. logs .......... As far as the 12 gauge driven wedge for stone breaking goes People are telling me stories about it but I have never seen one .These are almost legendary ..... I really would like to get a look at one. I might go wild and start building things .and it would be excellent to be able to break big boulders without drilling at all. .. I would bet money you would avoid drilling if you could......... I have some 3/4" 4140 well drilling rod that I can made a rock splitting wedges out of., just by grinding a wedge tip, heat, quench, then anneal appropriately And I can use some 4130
high carbon chrome moly extremely heavy walled pipe for the 12 gauge barrel .O.D. is 1 1/2 "and I.D. is 3/4". .
A little machining is pretty easy......Rifle barrels are typically made of 4140 chrome moly,, with a rockwell hardness of about 55 or 57 but that steel is not available anywhere I can find in the needed size . But 4130 chrome moly is,available and that too is extremely strong .. In firearms 50,000 to 55,000 psi is pretty much standard for high power rifles, and shotgun ammunition usually runs around 12,000 psi . Loading 12 guage blanks to any power I need is pretty easy. .And a massive breech block will be required also. My contraption will be massively overbuilt for strength. though I am thinking the chisel ..end should be at least 2" wide so it splits instead of just driving a 3/4" rod into solid rock, and I am certain you have gotten a steel drill bit stuck in rock before .using a jackhammer.. I would rather avoid that. ........sandbags are a wonderful thing for safety.., especially while testing .
I've seen this on another CZcams video. Didn't even use a shotgun shell. Just a bullet cartridge.
@@zavatone Please post the video. There are a lot of tools for breaking boulders, but almost all of them require drilling into rock first to place a charge .. That is specifically what I want to avoid.......Details matter, I probably with have to fabricate one, because have not been able to find one in the united states . Dave will Understand, He LOVES DRILLING HOLES.......BTW, I have already made one, but its not good enough. pending.
G'day Dave, just wondering where you got these large Plugs and Feathers? What size are they? I cant find bugger all above 14mm wide.
Im in the NSW Riverina cutting mostly Granite.
To drill the stone im just using a 24mm Rotary Hammer so what do you suggest?
Cheer's!
HI Aussie, these items (35mm hole) were given to me buy a happy customer, he bought them on line from China.The big Plugs and Feathers as used in some of my other videos came from Brunner and Lay in Ballarat, I did try to buy some more recently and was told they no longer have them. I use all air powered drills - better power to weight ratio, they never overheat and some of the air travels down through the hollow drill steel to flush all of the dust and stone chips out of the hole as you drill. The drill I'm using here can do holes from 27 - 45mm, takes about 1 minute and a half to drill a 500mm deep x 35mm hole in medium granite.
Check out the Trow and Holden channel on CZcams.
If only drilling holes were as quick!
It's not fast to drill this rock!
you apparently didn't see the other video on youtube where the guy uses grass instead of grease to lubricate the wedge
Grass.... must be in a country where grease is too expensive?? It has been suggested to me that using a cake of soap is good and nowhere near as messy.
The grass guy is breaking a rather soft rock species using wedges made from rebar. He would get nowhere with granite.
Looks like you need a bigger hammer. A ten or twelve pounder would make short work of it. You can listen to the tones and tell when the rock will break.
It's not about brute force. It's about hole placement, grace and finesse. In other words, think about what you're doing.
Work smarter, not harder.
How deep do you have to drill the holes and what Diameter??
The first round of holes for the chemical cracking agent were 38mm and at least 2/3 of the rock thickness, the holes for the plugs and feathers were 35mm.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Thank You ! Bang Away!
What size are this set - see plenty of 9/16th advertised in the UK for not a lot
These ones are a fair bit bigger at 35mm.... That would be about 1 and 3/8 Inches (?)
Very satisfying Dave but harder than using dynamite 🧨 and not as exciting! Than you
Glad you enjoyed it Colin.
Hi Dave I’m in Melbourne, what do you do with the removed rock? I could do with lots for retaining walls :)
Hi SS, the rock goes various places, often to people that deal in rock, sometimes to a garden supply type place, sometimes to a crusher at a quarry or Alex Frazer etc. Do you have a truck?
I do, but it’s just a farm one, so not registrable. I have a few contacts so if you think you’d have a few loads, please let me know. (Rock type depending, I guess)
Strong magnet on a stick for recovering steel dropped in a hole?
the trick when playing
the wedgies & shims game
is bailing wire on the shims (feathers)
Yup.
use rubber bands to keep your feathers with the plugs
Great system! I imagine the hardest part would be the drilling. You need a bigger Gympie, maybe a four lb with a 15 inch handle
Yes the drilling is hard going, this method is best with thin rocks.
If you already have a big compressor for the drill and blasting isn't an option, wouldn't it have been easier to just break the whole thing into manageable chunks with a rivet buster?
A Rivet Buster... err no, my 40 Kilo jack hammer will not touch this stuff, even a hydraulic breaker on a large excavator will fail. This is the mother of all hard rock.
Big rocks are in my yard. How can I get assistance to remove them
Where are you?
Use bike inner tube rings around the sets.
Thanks for that.
Where can I get these in Canada? I have a concrete patio which is about 4 inches thick and this might do the job.
The concrete will be easily broken, the steel in it could be a problem though, you may be better off with a demolition saw. you can buy these online from China or maybe Crowder supply in the US
" I thought I'd try not being lazy for once and got some real tools."
Good name Luke.
with todays magnets is it really a problem getting the feather out?
Just wonderful!!
Thanks Spikey, I've used these heaps and they never cease to amase me
That was quite cool! I actually thought he was going to use the jackhammer on them though.
I wonder what the story is with the other holes having been filled back up with some white substance.
You need some sound Joe so that you get the story.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast That is a true statement, but in the meantime I occasionally wonder about something or ask a question and hope someone would be kind enough to answer.
Smart ass much? It something like dexpan or eco bust. An agent you mix and pour in holes to set and expand over up to 72 hours. It breaks the rock by incredible expansion pressure.
In a situation where the rock is beneath water and you have to drain the water to get to it, can one still use the chemicals, if I drill a hole in
Hi Simeon, when I have wet holes I remove the water with compressed air and a "blow pipe" before I fill them witn the cracking agent. It does not matter if there is a small amount of water in the hole as the cracking agent is much heavier and will displace the water. If you have to load holes below the water line, this can be done using small diameter lay flat tube, use a broom handle or conduit to push the lay flat into the hole from above the water line and use a funnel to fill the lay flat tube. When the hole is full use a cable tie to seal the tube and cut off the filler section of lay flat.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Thanks a lot, this helps
can someone tell me why some people put grass in the holes to split rocks?
I've never managed to split any rocks with grass! Never heard of that one Boris.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast they put grass in the holes then the wedges and pound
top of feathers should be bent over at 90 and the wedges have a cross peace welded top will not fall in the holl
Thanks for that, the large one that I have for use in 45mm hole are bent over
Love your work Dave. When do I start?
Start today David, we have about half a truck load of very wet mud and clay to dig out of a trench wit a spade.
nice hat !!!
My old Orica hat
Funny you call them "little" Dave, The ones I use fit in a 9/16" (or 14MM) hole
HI Matty, I have to get myself some little ones like yours, My big ones use a 45mm hole and have a inch & 1/8 hex shank for driving with a jack hammer.
Post some video Matty
I just got some little ones like yours Mattywho, surprising what they will break!
what are the hole centres ? looks cool
Edit... these hole are very close. 38mm holes for the chemical cracking agent spaced 400mm and 35mm holes for the little plugs and feathers, spaced about 100 - 150mm
u really need a pry bar. theyll come out of those holes a lil easier with one
there you go didnt know that thanks mate
two new videos uploading now....
Drop a feather? magnet on a string
Brain over strength ! Love it !
Why wate money on the expanding grout that takes so long to sort of work when the shim does it so much faster? Drop your wedge/feather...move rock and look under it.
The plugs and feathers are good on thin rocks, on thicker rocks the break tends to crack out toward the free face, for long holes the cracking agent does a much better job. When you cant move the rock I have a powerful magnet on a string.
hi mate, what did you call this type of rock?
Rhyodacite - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyodacite
Awesome! another victorian extrusive rock. Id never heard of it until now.
One of the hardest
I like the singers
Hard part is drilling the holes.
Not that hard when you have the right tools.
what is the size of your drill bit?
the Chinese use grass as lube for rock pins
Only because they don't have any grease.
good show dave you seem to blow all the granite up why not give the headstone guys the rock ?
the rock is no good for the headstone guys after it has been subjected to high explosives as it is full of micro cracks and it will fall apart just as you are about to finish the scuplture, headstone whatever. If you are going to use the rock for such you must use black powder to split it or diamond wire sawing to gut it into transportable size chunks. Most of the granite used in Australia these days comes from India I believe.
Like splitting wood
Does not burn like wood though...
Easy as bustin a fart😂🤣🙃
🖐
💣💣👍🏻
poor mans anfo!
ANFO wins every time