12 sticks of dynomite and a wild day

   / 12 sticks of dynomite and a wild day #1  

BWS

Silver Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
208
Location
seattle area
Tractor
kubota l3830 hst/723 fel
yesterday i was loading my new kubota l3830 with junk from are recently inherated farm when in the barn i found a large 5 gallon can marked "flour" i proceeded to pull it out of a special "milk{cool}room" and started hiiting the lid off with a hammer.the can was sitting in/on my tractor bucket.i got the lid off and noticed a waxy rag with something in it [like some tractor part we had seen wrapped up before]i grabbed the rag and lifted it up and started shaking it and to my horror about 10-12 sticks of 50+ year old dynomite dropped loose and ito the bottom of the can.i stood there shocked.i strarted to walk away and then turned around thinking "save the tractor" but turned again and started walking to the house.we just had a huge deal where a couple blocks were cleared on the news for something like this up here.i didnt know what to do.i didnt want to be on t/v so i walked to my mother inlaws place and told her about it and not to call anyone.my wife soon showed up and we decided to drive to the fire dept a few blocks away.they said "not are problem" and to call 911.so we called 911 and reported it.it took about an hour for the bomb sqaud to show up.they evaluated it and asked if i had some diesel.i said yes in the barn.so they ended up soaking it for about an hour then they set it off my tractor onto the barn floor.i then dug a hole with my bucket in the middle of the field and the walked it over,poured it out and lit it with a match.these guys were great.the were there all day.it was a slow procces[each step].granpa used dynomite to blow stumps up on the farm.[we should have known with the little blasting cap boxes we found].after it burned for while we went back to the barn to look around and found the original dynomite wooden crate and a switch box from the late 40's.got some digital pics of the hole thing.you'd think that if someone put dynomite into a metal can they would mark it? this can said flour??i was lucky yesterday,this was unstable stuff.i will be very cautious today opening stuff up.spent alot of taxpayers money yesterday.great team and they they didnt charge me and saved the new tractor.bws
 
   / 12 sticks of dynomite and a wild day #2  
BWS:

You were lucky. Glad everything came out alright. The waxy substance and any small drops of liquid or waxy substance on the sticks was probably nitro glycerin leaching out of the sticks. It is very unstable and could be set off just by jarring it or dropping it.

We often find old dynamite dumped or stored on public lands, especially around old mines. You did the exactly right by calling 911. A local bomb squad, or if you have a military base nearby, they usually have an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team who are trained to handle and dispose of old explosives. They are also glad to come, almost always at no cost to the calling party, to dispose of the material safely.

Glad everything came out alright and hope you don't find any more unpleasant surprises on your farm.
 
   / 12 sticks of dynomite and a wild day #3  
Hey, where was this? I didn't have the news on yesterday. You did the right thing by calling.
 
   / 12 sticks of dynomite and a wild day #4  
BWS, Do you want to sell the crate and the Switch box? If so let me know by private massage. Thanks, Von
 
   / 12 sticks of dynomite and a wild day #5  
Grandpa may not have marked it because he knew what was in it. Or, it might have been left over after the laws about possession of such things changed and he didn't want something sitting around that said Dynomite on it. (Hmm, I guess in that case it still would have said "flour" because he knew what was in it.).

I can remember my Dad blowing stumps with dynomite when I was just a little boy. Rules for handling and storage of the material were changing rapidly and by the time I was 8 or 9, he weren't blowing stumps anymore. Good thing you found it, it could have wound up in the wrong hands. Say those of a curious 8 or 9 year old.

Steve
 
   / 12 sticks of dynomite and a wild day #6  
Wow! What a story. Glad you and your tractor are ok.
 
   / 12 sticks of dynomite and a wild day #7  
/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Glad you are OK. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / 12 sticks of dynomite and a wild day #8  
Do you need us to pitch in for some new underwear? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
   / 12 sticks of dynomite and a wild day #9  
What did you do with the blasting caps you found? They are nothing to play with either. I had a similar experience with dynamite, but just used the two blasting caps to detonate the 6 sticks that also were very old. Made a good sized boom and a big hole. No stumps to blow and didn't want to mess with it any more than was necessary to move it to where I could blow it up. I guess one never really knows just how "unstable" it really is, and doesn't want to test it too much. Glad you knew to do the right thing. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / 12 sticks of dynomite and a wild day #10  
<font color="red"> great team and they they didnt charge me </font>
Yea but those tickets for the <font color="red"> FIREMENS BALL </font>are expensive /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
We (9 friends) were deerhunting in a public hunting area
the day before somebody dumped pounds of C4, detonators,
and old dynamite.
This is only a couple miles from my house.
Someone found it the next day and called 911, deputies (my
brother) went out and checked it and called munitions team
from Wright/Patterson in to take the materials.
The deputies had to stand guard till the next day when the
team got there.
Good thing it was winter w/ snow on ground or kids might
have found it instead. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
 
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