How to move the impossible rock

[westcliffe01]

We had a lesson in the engineering corps where a granite bolder over 8ft x 4ft x 2ft was brought in and one platoon after another was told to "have at it" and get it "removed" within 8 hours. Only hand tools allowed. After 2 days of blood sweat and tears (and there was quite a bit of blood from granite chips flying around) activity had kind of ground to a halt and most people had given up after trying the "brute force" method.

A few of us tried a completely different tactic. We took small hammers and inspected the rock for natural flaws. We then started tapping on the edges of natural flaws, which all rocks have. Didn't take 2 minutes and a piece the size of a brick seperated. We just kept following the line of the flaws and within about 4 hours we had the rock reduced to carriable size pieces. Drilling granite without real rock drilling equipment is out of the question and in our case was not an option. The area we were in had lots of sandstone and it offers a lot of different possibilities. A 0.50 browning would make short work of some sandstone...

The key thing is that generally the brute force methods are neither safe nor a good idea and totally unnecersary. Never heard of the product that was mentioned here but I think if you have a granite boulder those holes will be a problem..

 

[Rice Rider]

Splitting a giant rock by hand sounds cool and green, but when it all comes down to for me is time. I only get two full days (depending on the mountain weather) and eight hours of driving every week-end. I just don't have time to beat on rocks to break them down to a manageable size that I can move with my Kubota. There is just too much to do in the limited time I have.

 

[DELInstallations]

feathers and wedges are faster than dexpan, a few hits with a sledge and chisel, or hilti and no waiting.

 

[westcliffe01]

Don't misinterpret my comments to be condecending. You knew about that cool product and was able to drill the rock. You got the job done, kudos to you. If one of the 2 hadn't worked out, you would have had to explore other avenues.

 

[radioman]

No problem OP. We can wait for the pics and I heard about dexpan,but never knew about the cost. For the price of dexpan, it may be expensive, but no blasting permits needed which is a nice thing. It can be used anywhere pretty much right ?

 

[cowboy357]

Thanks for the info on dexpan Rice Rider , interesting site they have . I know this is off topic, & sounds stupid . but I was curious if that stuff would work on tree stumps , where it would be easier to get them out in smaller chunks . Looking forward to the pics. Bob

 

[Rice Rider]

Cowboy, I think the wood (unless old and very hard) would absorb the pressure the Dexpan creates. After looking at the cross section of the hole, it does not appear that the Dexpan expands that much. On both breaks, the fissure followed directly through the center of each hole leaving a perfect cross section to view. Good news is that the wife went up to the property last night so she will get some pictures. My fun begins when I get to move them this week-end.

 

[two_bit_score]

Cowboy, I think the wood (unless old and very hard) would absorb the pressure the Dexpan creates. After looking at the cross section of the hole, it does not appear that the Dexpan expands that much. On both breaks, the fissure followed directly through the center of each hole leaving a perfect cross section to view. Good news is that the wife went up to the property last night so she will get some pictures. My fun begins when I get to move them this week-end.

Good job. Good luck. Good thread.

Looking forward to the pics.

 

[horse7]

feathers and wedges are faster than dexpan, a few hits with a sledge and chisel, or hilti and no waiting.

This is the method I'm using to reduce many rocks too big to reasonably easily move, but not gigantic. I try to get the resulting pieces suitable for use in stone walls, not just a pile of shards only good for back fill-- doesn't take that much more effort.

The method is similar to Dexpan so far as using expansive force to split the rock: drill a string of holes, put in the feathers, then the wedges, wack with a hammer... gratification is more nearly instant and no waiting for the next day to move the pieces. One down side is that there aren't too many places that sell feathers and wedges, lots of places claim to until you actually want to BUY some.

If I had something really big to break up, or wanted a slab off a face, the Dexpan seems like a better solution.

 

[cowboy357]

Cowboy, I think the wood (unless old and very hard) would absorb the pressure the Dexpan creates. After looking at the cross section of the hole, it does not appear that the Dexpan expands that much. On both breaks, the fissure followed directly through the center of each hole leaving a perfect cross section to view. Good news is that the wife went up to the property last night so she will get some pictures. My fun begins when I get to move them this week-end.

Yep , Makes sense Rice Rider Thanks , Kind of what I thought , never hurts to wish though . Bob