If you had told me a week ago that I'd be watching a guy break up a massive rock with a hammer, I'd have laughed in your face. And yet, it was one of the most entertaining and educational things I've seen all day. Well done you.
Thanks for tuning in 525 there is about 245 rock breaking videos on this channel, most of my work is with explosives www.youtube.com/@demolitiondavedrillandblast/videos
I love seeing explosives deployed as much as the next guy, but this video shows off skills that were used as far back as ancient times and they are every bit as relevant and useful today. Great job, mate.
It wasn't till modern day that a fellow said "I think I'll build my house on top of that huge outcrop of rock because it will be so much easier to to remove the rock crawling around on hands and knees afterward."
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Did the Egyptians have steel feathers and wedges,? maybe wooden plugs soaked in water,but I'm damned if I know how they bored the holes with the metals they had,Wasn;t it Aliens ?? 🙃🙃
@@MrOlgrumpy Not taking anything away from those guys, but their rock is/was cake by comparison. Once a dent/hole gets started it's "just" a matter of working the dust into a paste and working it. True bamboo chopsticks from one's favorite carry-out will put up a good fight when twisted into a rock with a tad of water. When the rock is more like concrete, all the "easier". I think it's more of a toughness vs hardness plus a little water and a lot of time. Alien intervention, however, cuts out a lot of slaves and lets the whole process fit into a youtube clip.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast could of been the "atlantians" that the egyptians learned from. there is a lost civilization from western africa from ~12000 years ago before the sahara became a desert. people often mistake it for atlantis since barely anything is known about it.
Watching you struggle with this boulder makes me think how hard it was for the people back in the megalithic era to cut and move mega rocks. Thanks for the video Dave.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Very interesting video on the topic, ua-cam.com/video/6KUDu40BC5o/v-deo.html by UnchartedX, an Australian guy that travels around Egypt looking into all this type of thing. It seems they had technology more than soft metals and persistence, we just don't quite know what, fascinating topic, have a watch of the video if you have the time.
Dave, there is something very satisfying about pounding in those wedges, as the pitch keeps going higher until you finally hear the pop as the rock finally splits. That is a lot of rock for a single guy to split and move by hand. My back started to ache just watching. Good job 👍👍
After slapping that rock around a bit, you had it talking your language. Nice job, Dave. That was quite a workout under that house, to start the year off with. Always enjoy your videos, Dave. Thank you for making them. Cheers.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast - Thankfully you got paid ;) The only time I ever did this was when my dad had me split a couple of boulders when I was 16. I think they were both probably smaller than that one, but they sure felt like it was the literal mantle of the earth when I was doing it!
You must have arms of a blacksmith after all that hammering. The "click" or "pop" sound that occurs when the rock cracks is so satisfying after much hammering. I think I'll have a nap after watching you work so hard.
That Dave was a challenge for sure - and very physical and tedious. You must have been well pooped after all that. Bravo sir :) One for the record books!
Yeah... this one was a shocker++ low angle holes = difficult and uncomfortable, large diameter = slow, Very hard Rhyodacite rock = #%$$#*!! am I done yet??
Love how you can hear in the video how much force each plug and feather is making from the xylophone-like sounds the rock makes on the last ~15 hammer hits.
Nice little plug and feather job ! Nice methodical work and you got it all out in nice pieces ! Many years of experience shows every video :) cheers Dave 👍
For some reason I wasn’t notified about this video so on Friday, March 10, 2023. I finally found it. I sell hydraulic hoses and some of them instead of being crimped are swaged. There is enormous friction when that happens. We use STP oil treatment designed to be used in engines usually ones that are worn after many years of use. We try various kinds of grease and lubricants recommended by the manufacturer of the fittings, but I can tell you, STP is as good, if not better than anything we’ve ever used, including the lubricants recommended by the manufacture of the fittings, and the tooling to install them. The viscosity is heavy, it doesn’t run easy, and probably in your case could be brushed on. I am not sure it’s available in your country, but chances are, it is.
Well that is interesting, yes we have STP here, I used it once a long time ago to quiet down an old Datsun 180B engine, it worked well. I'll get some and give it a try YT.
Have you tried ELCO grease? This is advertised for use with hydraulic splitter plugs and feathers so I do not know if it will work for your application.
thanks Mr D for sharing this insight on how you use plugs and feathers - no idea what grease to use but i hope someone in the comments can recommend something cheeper that does the job as good as the stuff you where using - hard graft that job please stay safe and well sending regards
Great job Dave. Splitting rock has always interested me. I live near canals and dams that the rock was split by hand hundreds of years ago. I was always amazed by the workmanship when I was fishing near them.
Ahh, life with the scaling bar. At least you didn't have to use it overhead. Hard work for a young man, let alone a more experienced blaster. Great job forcing that rock to cooperate Dave.
Dave - you deliver man. Here I was asking you just the other day if you ever do the smaller stuff, like my brother-in-law had done in Coburg under his house - and shazam! Here it is. You're a legend Dave. Well, of course, a "legend" is a barely believable story, loosely based on fact - but don't worry about that. You are the real deal. 😂😂😂
My grandfather had a silver mine and he had many splitter like yours, he was using grease that was used to lube the arms on steam locomotives, it’s black/gray and very thick not expensive and yes extremely resistant to pressure.
Black/Grey grease has molybdenum disulphide in it, that would be good and I have used this stuff extensively in the past - it's really messy stuff to work with though.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast this is extreme pressure stuff for sugar mill gears etc. Yes it's messy but it's pretty cheap compared with what you are using. CASTROL SPHEEROL SBX 2. And yep, have used it on railway loco's etc with good results.
And here I am mixing heavy weight gear oil with graphite like a goon. I'm kidding, I use that for machine parts, I have no experience with mining or masonry.
You are truly a master of your trade Dave. Lubriplate may make a grease that would work for your application. I've used it for metal on metal in machining applications, so they may have something that suits you. Cheers from Long Island, NY.
Another crackin job Dave! That looks like a good bit of basalt, fine grained and extremely hard. I dont know how you are not crippled Dave, your job is very hard on the body. I guess you would need to be a tall fella to do that job. I saw that bar bending quite a bit trying to pry the rock apart.
I wish it was Basalt Ade, there ain't no Basalt around here that is anywhere near as hard as this stuff, this rock is "Ferny Creek Rhyodacite" the only thing harder is strait quartz.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Nice one Dave - the fresh rock looks quite dark, that is why I thought it was basaltic. But a rhyodacite fits in well with the granites you are finding.
I feel much better about my own efforts prying rocks out of the ground after watching this. Good to see I seem to have worked out a good technique that is also used by professionals in terms of the non powered tool approach.
Ivory Bar soap, makes a great pressure resistant lubricant and quite cheap. I have never used it to split stone but I have used it when I worked for a local house mover. We would use it to lubricate the metal beams when sliding the house onto their trailer wheel segments. If it can withstand the weight of a several hundred tonne home, I would think it would also work for lubricating plugs/feathers while splitting stone. If you look up the info on grease tech, most all of them use soap as a thickening and lubricant agent anyway. The only difference with your grease is they've added in the metal. Thought I would pass this along in case you want to give it a shot.
Well with another spin around the sun under way what better thing to watch on YT! Another great video thanks Dave, this truly closeup look at what to me is bloody interesting, a technique to bust rock apart which i guess is as old as time itself... That's a satisfying ring when things are really under pressure as the Plug is struck & just when you think the next blow will be even better.... silence the crack has happened! Very cool!
Have you considered using an Antiseize product? They are designed to handle high load, slow speed engagements. They are messy, but definitely reduce friction under high load.
Hi Dave, Many thanks for the great videos as always. I have had to break out rock in the past on jobs. I have used "Cheepo" HT Engine grease. The Thick type. Works a treat. Just out of interest I went and checked the prices of some of the more exotic goo for this job. Over US$ 600.oo a liter.......They are mad! I am not going to pay for some Bodger's mistress as well for this stuff. Titanium Dioxide powder is inexpensive. Its used in paint etc. It just thickens up the grease. And is neutral chemically. All that the surfaces need to do is just slide past each other, and not bind. When you see that Porsche wizz by your Ute!! Well then...........Someone who has not been price checking has paid for it. All the best for the New Year from us out here in Darkest Africa. Cheers Mate. David.
Thanks for your input David, I have had an expensive incident when using cheap grease on my hydraulic splitter - the sliding faces welded together! Post some video next time you do some rock work.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Interesting! No I was just using the manual stuff. Thanks Dave, I have a big road job coming up. Out in the boondocks. I have a John Deer 2140 Front loader that we are over hauling the hydraulic seals on. So when that is done, I will send something. Most of the stone is metamorphic sandstone's. And is tough stuff. However it is very good dimensional stone for building with. Many thanks. David
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Just get any powdered soft metal you can for cheap, that is not iron/steel, and mix it 50/50 with a the cheapest grease you can find. Add oil if it gets too thick. Should work fine. Anti-seize grease is just different compounds mixed with grease. But you just need to not bind, so anything will work.
Yep.... that area has boulders everywhere. Morning Dave. I finished my covid(never want it again!) N off to work and see this. I can delay departure till i finish watching.
I've tried other grease, that white stuff for the hydraulic splitter is the best. Pricy though, yes. Had some heavy Moly-Lube that was ok for feather and wedge, but didn't perform as well. Just a lot of heat and pressure. One thing you probably already know about, but I didn't see you using was a cone bit for your breaker. Once I split under a boulder, I fiind a few small holes with inch and a quarter chisel bit, then just pop em apart with the cone bit. Might save you some time. Works best in harder rock like a granite or whatever grey monstrosity you just split here.
An old stonemason's trick: whilst driving the plugs trickle some water across the split line, as the crack is forming some water will follow spliting the stone. I've seen large quary stones split by adding water after a series of short plugs have been tension, the result is amazing. Cheers
Thanks for shouldering these boulders Dave! For anyone asking if the stone really makes that sqeaky sound when being uprooted it sure does! I've seen at least a couple You Tubers using battery powered grease guns on heavy equipment and was wondering if the tubes of grease they use might be available in the titanium dioxide variety? Packaging is everything these days and the tubes could be easier to manufacture than the cans so mabey less money than cans?
Oh, I would love one of those grease guns, I have ruined several of the regular type... but have you seen the price of them?? Have not seen similar grease in cartridges.
Yep the cracking agent works well for us especially on the real big rocks. before cracking agent we would drill large holes in rows then hit the drill area with a large air chisel and that would usually work also. Ha I commented before I saw the vid.
Those large wedges for the hammer drill looks interesting. What brand are they? I have assisted a guy that uses powder cartridge (Simplex) for rock splitting. Are you using something similar? Benefit is reduced safety arrangements and you can more easily control how strong the explosions should be compared to dynamite. We have splitted rocks within buildings as well as several cubicmeter large rocks next to roads using those powder cartridges.
The big ones came from Brunner and Lay brunnerlay.com/ I have spent a lot of time evaluating various brands of cartridge smokeless powder products as well as good old black powder but nearly all of my work involves regular high explosives. - You get a lot more bang for your buck.
What kind of bits are you using to make the drill holes. So many I have used simply do not hold up and are only good for one hole and they are worn out? Also the air line you have there looks huge, can you please explain your air supply and how that works? Thanks
I'm using a rotary percussion pneumatic rock drill, a drill that is specifically designed for drilling blast holes in very hard rock. The drill is an Atlas Copco RH658, the air requirement is approximately 105 CFM @ 100 PSI. The air line is 1 inch inside diameter, 3/4 is ok for short runs but on this job I had 60m of air line out so I really needed the 1 inch line. The compressor is a Sullair DPQ 185 america.sullair.com/sites/default/files/2019-07/LIT%20Sullair%20185%20T4F%20Brochure_PAP185T4F201901-3_EN.pdf You can see the drill heads here - ua-cam.com/video/jg83MLOe5Q8/v-deo.htmlsi=pYkh0mG3K8ggNBHu
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast thank you very much for the response! I got a two-fer out of your recommended video, plugs and feathers and the magic goo both work on sandstone. Many thanks!
Thanks for watching Jethro, plugs and feathers were all purchased. The big ones came from Brunner and Lay, the smaller ones were bought on line from China.
Wow that's some expensive grease if it's $240 for a 1kg? tin, those 35 mm plugs and feathers are holding up pretty well given you said they were only a cheap set. It's always satisfying hearing that crack when the rock lets go using the plugs and feathers, maybe more so than the bang of explosives.
They are holding up well, a customer gave them to me when he worked out that they were not going to break a 2m rock. They were starting to get mushroomed on top so I re ground them over the break.
i could hear how hard that rock was you should get a large wedge and a concrete breaker bit for your hammer like the ones i showed you a while back those really open up the breaks and the concrete breaker will break up the smaller pieces faster than the wedges and often three or four chunks at once
Ive gone over to Mobilgrease XHP 322 , when ive used plugs and feathers to crack rocks, i used lithium grease at first but i got much more wear on the plugs and had to get new feathers every second job so to speak.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast I have to admit my first thought was to use a molybdenum disulphide grease such as XHP322 or even automotive CV joint grease. As you say the down side is that the slightest smear is very visible. You don't actually get any more on you than the white grease - it just shows up more.
I'm a miner/tunnel worker, and I havn't used that air tool much, probably less than 50 times. We call it knemater. It's so heavy, noisy and all around horrible tool for your shoulders, elbows and knees. I'm pretty sure you feel the pain every day, but I hope you don't.
I feel no ongoing ill effects Tompa, If I have had a really big day where I only drill all day, I feel a bit knackerd the following day but after that I'm fine. Yes, it is a tool that certainly sorts the workers from the watchers.
Nice work! Is that around a cubic meter or so of boulder? I like the 10 or 20g NXBurst 1.4 cartridges. Can drill the holes with an SDS Max and just need some old carpet and sandbags vs. the serious blast mats.
Yeah... some tiny little holes would have been easy and carpet is soooooo... easy compared with my blast mats. I did the last concrete mixer bowl with smokeless powder and it was super high strength shotcrete mix wit carbon fiber strands.
My fathers friend had a big rock to break in his field he used 10 stick of dynamite well it was enough to do the job but it shook stuff off the shelfs of a small store a mile and a half away. but it was fun.
Hi Dave, Great job! That was a lot of work! Incredibly hard rock! How long did that job actually take? Looking forward to the boom - booms again! Take Care, Stay safe. Jim
What grease did the old timers use for this process Dave? I'd have thought the grease used to adjust the track of a dozer would be strong enough for what your doing. The cockatoo squawk suggests you were around Grant's Picnic area in the Dandenong's, but I'm probable miles out!
Dave, I think a good quality anti-seize like Loctite LB 8009 might be worth a try as an alternative grease, it's designed to reduce friction under pressure and is used on forming dies.
Have been using feathers and wedges to move those big stubborn rocks on the croft for a few years, grease and a good hammer and you cannot beat the tune they make as they get to it 17:58
what rock type was that? I have similar rock in my AO (NORCAL) that just smokes Bosch SDS bits.Its blue on the inside.Where can one buy splittong wedges?
Pardon my lack of understanding, but was there no way to bring in a mini excavator with hydraulic jackhammer attachment onto the site? It certainly looked like one would fit in there easily enough, would've cracked that rock open in a couple of hours. They're pretty commonplace and a lot of bobcat and mini excavator hire companies would have one as an option.
Sounds like a good idea DV3 but there is 2 issues here to get a small digger in here you would have to cut a path in, get up steps etc. Ultimately it would fail as there is not a chance that a small hammer would break this rock, I have watched very large machines faill over and over on this stuff. - That is why I have a job.
I love the sound of when the feathers are really being loaded up and the frequency goes up till the rock splits. BTW what is the name of the rock you were splitting?
So how were the Megalith builders able to cut 100 ton blocks perfectly and fit them together without a gap where you couldm't get paper in between them... I would love to know what you think of those builders given you work with same materials....
They had some very good tools that do not show up in the historical or archeological records, good documentary on this - ua-cam.com/video/6KUDu40BC5o/v-deo.html
The ring of the stones takes me back to the smell of breaking them and the pleasure of getting them out .... thanks X3 for sharing your video with us .... the world is already better with people like you and I ; )
Diamond Hire and Sales in the UK is selling that exact same Darda grease, as best I can tell, for £45.00 per kilo. It seems asinine to ship grease halfway around the world, but it seems like it wouldn't take many kilos at a savings of AUD$160 per before the shipping fees have sorted themselves tidily. Rocbo, also in the UK, lists 1kg cans in their catalogue at £52.25. Here in the US it seems like industry is using Elco Lube Paste which also isn't remotely cheap (the price I'm seeing is twelve 1.25lb tins/6.8kg for USD$635/AUD$922 which works out to a bit above AUD$135 per kilo) but it's still well below that AUD$240/kg. Perhaps you can find a local supplier for that.
Thanks for chipping in, I'm glad I asked that question, I have seen the Elco grease on Crowder (??). General consensus seems to be that any white lithium grease is good.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Glad you've gotten some solid answers! Disclaimer: I'm not an expert or a knowledgeable professional by any means; I have no firsthand experience with mining, drilling, or blasting. What I do have is a little better luck than some people with tracking down information online, and it makes a fun game of "how much can I learn in a few minutes about something I never knew existed yesterday?" Plus, if it helps a bloke out, even better.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I wonder if Vegemite would work? There must be a use for it.
Now there is an idea!! Pinned.
Vegemite is like soylant green
ttq⅚⁶⅚
Don't slander Vegemite. School canteen sandwiches were 5 cents back in the day. If you're hungry, they're f........ delicious.
Never been that hungry, never will.
If you had told me a week ago that I'd be watching a guy break up a massive rock with a hammer, I'd have laughed in your face. And yet, it was one of the most entertaining and educational things I've seen all day. Well done you.
Thanks for tuning in 525 there is about 245 rock breaking videos on this channel, most of my work is with explosives www.youtube.com/@demolitiondavedrillandblast/videos
I love seeing explosives deployed as much as the next guy, but this video shows off skills that were used as far back as ancient times and they are every bit as relevant and useful today. Great job, mate.
I have been told that it was the Egyptians that came up with this idea.
It wasn't till modern day that a fellow said "I think I'll build my house on top of that huge outcrop of rock because it will be so much easier to to remove the rock crawling around on hands and knees afterward."
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Did the Egyptians have steel feathers and wedges,? maybe wooden plugs soaked in water,but I'm damned if I know how they bored the holes with the metals they had,Wasn;t it Aliens ?? 🙃🙃
@@MrOlgrumpy Not taking anything away from those guys, but their rock is/was cake by comparison. Once a dent/hole gets started it's "just" a matter of working the dust into a paste and working it. True bamboo chopsticks from one's favorite carry-out will put up a good fight when twisted into a rock with a tad of water. When the rock is more like concrete, all the "easier". I think it's more of a toughness vs hardness plus a little water and a lot of time. Alien intervention, however, cuts out a lot of slaves and lets the whole process fit into a youtube clip.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast could of been the "atlantians" that the egyptians learned from. there is a lost civilization from western africa from ~12000 years ago before the sahara became a desert. people often mistake it for atlantis since barely anything is known about it.
Watching you struggle with this boulder makes me think how hard it was for the people back in the megalithic era to cut and move mega rocks.
Thanks for the video Dave.
Does my head in seeing what they achieved with simple tools and metals a lot softer than we have today.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Not sure if we have seen any of the tools as yet, maybe they used meteorite?
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Very interesting video on the topic, ua-cam.com/video/6KUDu40BC5o/v-deo.html by UnchartedX, an Australian guy that travels around Egypt looking into all this type of thing. It seems they had technology more than soft metals and persistence, we just don't quite know what, fascinating topic, have a watch of the video if you have the time.
Thanks for that Rhys, very interesting video, I will finish watching it later when it is too hot to work outside.
Slave labor and tribalism can achieve more than western media would like you to believe lol
Dave, there is something very satisfying about pounding in those wedges, as the pitch keeps going higher until you finally hear the pop as the rock finally splits.
That is a lot of rock for a single guy to split and move by hand. My back started to ache just watching.
Good job 👍👍
This one was quite challenging Jim, those large diameter, low angle holes are a shocker.
Damn! THAT IS WORKING FOR A LIVING! Highest respects, Sir.
Sure is Andrei, I'm built tough to take it.
After slapping that rock around a bit, you had it talking your language. Nice job, Dave. That was quite a workout under that house, to start the year off with. Always enjoy your videos, Dave. Thank you for making them. Cheers.
Yes it was! Glad you enjoyed it #62
Hope you were well compensated for dealing with that nasty rock. Small plugs and feathers sure sing when you hit them. Thanks for sharing, Dave.
Want a sds max breaker with an adaptor to fit the plugs,make life easier.
I did under quote it a bit but never mind.
Nasty Rock it was the start of little mountain 🤗🤗🤗🤗 great job too 👍👍
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast - Thankfully you got paid ;) The only time I ever did this was when my dad had me split a couple of boulders when I was 16. I think they were both probably smaller than that one, but they sure felt like it was the literal mantle of the earth when I was doing it!
You must have arms of a blacksmith after all that hammering. The "click" or "pop" sound that occurs when the rock cracks is so satisfying after much hammering. I think I'll have a nap after watching you work so hard.
It is very satisfying 55, can I have a nap too?
Howdy from Sacramento. Dave! I'm sure the homeowners were grateful for your efforts - those bits look manageable for disposal. Good work!
They are! Thanks for watching.
i love the sound as the rock cracks.i used to use a frost wedge to loosen up more.thanks Dave for the video.
Glad you enjoyed it Bruce, it is a lovely sound.
I dont know how I got here, but as I drink my beer after a long day. This is pretty freaking relaxing! Nice work!
hahahah... ah... very good Ted.
That Dave was a challenge for sure - and very physical and tedious. You must have been well pooped after all that. Bravo sir :) One for the record books!
Yeah... this one was a shocker++ low angle holes = difficult and uncomfortable, large diameter = slow, Very hard Rhyodacite rock = #%$$#*!! am I done yet??
The luck of these boulders, growing and rolling over for millions of years, only to get a geocidal encounter with DD... Rest in pieces.
Rest in pieces! Well said.
Do you think boulders grow?
@@42pyroboy 🪨 Grow Rolling down the river fromm the Glacier
@@42pyroboy yes but not like plants and other mammals but they do grow.
It’s called accretion.
Now F off!! 😊
@@mitmobile5755 holy shit
Love how you can hear in the video how much force each plug and feather is making from the xylophone-like sounds the rock makes on the last ~15 hammer hits.
Oh yeah, it is telling me a lot.
Grease we use in Burma is 75% beef tallow, 20% beeswax, rest is used motor oil. Mixture is heated til past melting, mixed and put in a can to cool.
Hi, thanks for watching and contributing, that is a very interesting mixture, and very very cost effective!
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast It's actually an old colonial-era Brit mix, used also as lubricant for ox cart wheel hubs.
Mad Snake 👍 they don't build blokes like this any more. Respect mate
Thanks Adam, and thanks for watching.
This was way cool! Hey Dave, maybe with all the new members a video of all the tools in the tool box. This was the first time I've seen these.
He's got a playlist along the lines of "Breaking Rocks with Plugs and Feathers". These pop up from time to time.
Thanks for tuning in again Kelly, yeah... I''ll give that some thought.
First time watcher (now subscriber). Well done Dave !
Welcome aboard John.
Loved this video Dave, thanks for the great content! It’s much appreciated.
Thanks for tuning in Eric, more coming soon.
Hey Dave my grandfather used bearing gears from madmax Melbourne 👍👍👍👍👍🇦🇺love your work ❤️
Thanks MM, wondering if there is a typo there... should read bearing grease. Any grease is better that no grease MM. Thanks for contributing.
Nice little plug and feather job ! Nice methodical work and you got it all out in nice pieces ! Many years of experience shows every video :) cheers Dave 👍
Thanks David.
I like the way the rock starts to sing as you drive in the wedges, you can sure hear the pressure the wedges create on the rock.
It must be huge!
For some reason I wasn’t notified about this video so on Friday, March 10, 2023. I finally found it. I sell hydraulic hoses and some of them instead of being crimped are swaged. There is enormous friction when that happens. We use STP oil treatment designed to be used in engines usually ones that are worn after many years of use. We try various kinds of grease and lubricants recommended by the manufacturer of the fittings, but I can tell you, STP is as good, if not better than anything we’ve ever used, including the lubricants recommended by the manufacture of the fittings, and the tooling to install them. The viscosity is heavy, it doesn’t run easy, and probably in your case could be brushed on. I am not sure it’s available in your country, but chances are, it is.
Well that is interesting, yes we have STP here, I used it once a long time ago to quiet down an old Datsun 180B engine, it worked well. I'll get some and give it a try YT.
That was dam hard work Dave. Back to blowing them up, much more fun. Thanks for the video.
Yeah, can't argue with that, blew some up today.
You went old school on that rock. Great video
Still works very well Chris.
Have you tried ELCO grease? This is advertised for use with hydraulic splitter plugs and feathers so I do not know if it will work for your application.
Yes I have heard of this stuff, I think it was on Crowder Supply that I saw it.
thanks Mr D for sharing this insight on how you use plugs and feathers - no idea what grease to use but i hope someone in the comments can recommend something cheeper that does the job as good as the stuff you where using - hard graft that job please stay safe and well sending regards
Thanks again MLE, the consensus is a White lithium grease.
That broke up real good. Great vid as always DD.
Glad you enjoyed it TC, this rock is extremely brittle and always breaks up real good.
Great job Dave.
Splitting rock has always interested me. I live near canals and dams that the rock was split by hand hundreds of years ago. I was always amazed by the workmanship when I was fishing near them.
It was a lot harder hundreds of years ago.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Yes indeed. Back when men were real men.
@@ClintsHobbiesDIY And sheep were nervous.
Ahh, life with the scaling bar. At least you didn't have to use it overhead. Hard work for a young man, let alone a more experienced blaster. Great job forcing that rock to cooperate Dave.
It is hard work for sure.
Dave - you deliver man. Here I was asking you just the other day if you ever do the smaller stuff, like my brother-in-law had done in Coburg under his house - and shazam! Here it is. You're a legend Dave. Well, of course, a "legend" is a barely believable story, loosely based on fact - but don't worry about that. You are the real deal. 😂😂😂
I have done heaps of small ones like this Andrew. Thanks for watching.
i live in the UK and some of our old lead mines used similar tools and there is a reference to duck fat being used in one of the books.
Duck fat... Hmmm.... Thanks for the input CM
My grandfather had a silver mine and he had many splitter like yours, he was using grease that was used to lube the arms on steam locomotives, it’s black/gray and very thick not expensive and yes extremely resistant to pressure.
Black/Grey grease has molybdenum disulphide in it, that would be good and I have used this stuff extensively in the past - it's really messy stuff to work with though.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast this is extreme pressure stuff for sugar mill gears etc. Yes it's messy but it's pretty cheap compared with what you are using. CASTROL SPHEEROL SBX 2. And yep, have used it on railway loco's etc with good results.
And here I am mixing heavy weight gear oil with graphite like a goon.
I'm kidding, I use that for machine parts, I have no experience with mining or masonry.
Great work Dave, that stuff would polish up nicely.
It does! hard work though.
First 👍's up demolition Dave thank you for sharing
That was quick!
Plugs and feathers aren't as dramatic as blasting, but that method is just as effective. Nicely done, Dave. If that rock isn't granite, what is it?
This rock is Ferny Creek Rhyodacite.
Thanks 2x harder i needed 2 no what it was ,can it b cut 4 bench tops 👍😎
It could be cut into bench tops I suppose.
metamorphic?
@Phillip White - igneous - asud.ga.gov.au/search-stratigraphic-units/results/6619
Love the wedges, have used smal ones at the cabin. Love the sound they make when the rock splits
It's a lovely sound! Sometimes the slow tear and other times the pop.
You are truly a master of your trade Dave. Lubriplate may make a grease that would work for your application. I've used it for metal on metal in machining applications, so they may have something that suits you. Cheers from Long Island, NY.
Thanks Carey.
Another crackin job Dave!
That looks like a good bit of basalt, fine grained and extremely hard.
I dont know how you are not crippled Dave, your job is very hard on the body. I guess you would need to be a tall fella to do that job.
I saw that bar bending quite a bit trying to pry the rock apart.
I wish it was Basalt Ade, there ain't no Basalt around here that is anywhere near as hard as this stuff, this rock is "Ferny Creek Rhyodacite" the only thing harder is strait quartz.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Nice one Dave - the fresh rock looks quite dark, that is why I thought it was basaltic.
But a rhyodacite fits in well with the granites you are finding.
A great example of the proper application of force.
I feel much better about my own efforts prying rocks out of the ground after watching this. Good to see I seem to have worked out a good technique that is also used by professionals in terms of the non powered tool approach.
Thanks for watching 168, It's not my preferred method but it works when no machine access is possible.
Loved this video Dave, thanks for the great content!
Glad you enjoyed it Artemus, more videos coming soon (the real ones where I blow up stuff).
Ivory Bar soap, makes a great pressure resistant lubricant and quite cheap. I have never used it to split stone but I have used it when I worked for a local house mover. We would use it to lubricate the metal beams when sliding the house onto their trailer wheel segments. If it can withstand the weight of a several hundred tonne home, I would think it would also work for lubricating plugs/feathers while splitting stone. If you look up the info on grease tech, most all of them use soap as a thickening and lubricant agent anyway. The only difference with your grease is they've added in the metal. Thought I would pass this along in case you want to give it a shot.
Thanks for your input Scott.
Well with another spin around the sun under way what better thing to watch on YT! Another great video thanks Dave, this truly closeup look at what to me is bloody interesting, a technique to bust rock apart which i guess is as old as time itself... That's a satisfying ring when things are really under pressure as the Plug is struck & just when you think the next blow will be even better.... silence the crack has happened! Very cool!
Glad you enjoyed it Pete! It is a very simple solution that with a bit of practice can do quite a bit of work.
Quite a workout there Dave. You must go home rather weary after a day of that. Happy New Year.
I do Russell - I don't have any problems getting to sleep at night.
Great job,Dave! Yeah, too cheap perhaps this time but swings and roundabouts I guess. What is impressive is how fluent you are in rock 😂
Many thanks Sir, I have had a bit of practice...
Have you considered using an Antiseize product? They are designed to handle high load, slow speed engagements. They are messy, but definitely reduce friction under high load.
Yes, the titanium dioxide is a good antiseize, I have thought about using the copper drill rod thread grease, very messy though.
Nice job! Very labor intensive.
It really was... 6.5 hours all up.
Awesome work Mr. Dave! I wanted to jump in and help! That was Excavator Appreciation Day.
Your welcome.
Hi Dave, Many thanks for the great videos as always.
I have had to break out rock in the past on jobs. I have used "Cheepo" HT Engine grease. The Thick type. Works a treat.
Just out of interest I went and checked the prices of some of the more exotic goo for this job.
Over US$ 600.oo a liter.......They are mad! I am not going to pay for some Bodger's mistress as well for this stuff.
Titanium Dioxide powder is inexpensive. Its used in paint etc. It just thickens up the grease. And is neutral chemically.
All that the surfaces need to do is just slide past each other, and not bind.
When you see that Porsche wizz by your Ute!! Well then...........Someone who has not been price checking has paid for it.
All the best for the New Year from us out here in Darkest Africa. Cheers Mate. David.
Thanks for your input David, I have had an expensive incident when using cheap grease on my hydraulic splitter - the sliding faces welded together! Post some video next time you do some rock work.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Interesting! No I was just using the manual stuff. Thanks Dave, I have a big road job coming up. Out in the boondocks. I have a John Deer 2140 Front loader that we are over hauling the hydraulic seals on. So when that is done, I will send something. Most of the stone is metamorphic sandstone's. And is tough stuff. However it is very good dimensional stone for building with. Many thanks. David
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Just get any powdered soft metal you can for cheap, that is not iron/steel, and mix it 50/50 with a the cheapest grease you can find. Add oil if it gets too thick. Should work fine. Anti-seize grease is just different compounds mixed with grease. But you just need to not bind, so anything will work.
Yep.... that area has boulders everywhere. Morning Dave. I finished my covid(never want it again!) N off to work and see this. I can delay departure till i finish watching.
Covid get worse with every jab is the latest news... the stats are out.
I've tried other grease, that white stuff for the hydraulic splitter is the best. Pricy though, yes. Had some heavy Moly-Lube that was ok for feather and wedge, but didn't perform as well. Just a lot of heat and pressure. One thing you probably already know about, but I didn't see you using was a cone bit for your breaker. Once I split under a boulder, I fiind a few small holes with inch and a quarter chisel bit, then just pop em apart with the cone bit. Might save you some time. Works best in harder rock like a granite or whatever grey monstrosity you just split here.
Thanks for your input Bruce. I have never used a cone bit, think I'll have to get one.
An old stonemason's trick: whilst driving the plugs trickle some water across the split line, as the crack is forming some water will follow spliting the stone. I've seen large quary stones split by adding water after a series of short plugs have been tension, the result is amazing. Cheers
Never heard that one Chris, thanks for that.
Thanks for shouldering these boulders Dave! For anyone asking if the stone really makes that sqeaky sound when being uprooted it sure does!
I've seen at least a couple You Tubers using battery powered grease guns on heavy equipment and was wondering if the tubes of grease they use might be available in the titanium dioxide variety? Packaging is everything these days and the tubes could be easier to manufacture than the cans so mabey less money than cans?
Oh, I would love one of those grease guns, I have ruined several of the regular type... but have you seen the price of them?? Have not seen similar grease in cartridges.
You're a madman Dave.
Yeah, quite likely, It started when I was very young.
Excellent as always Dave,.....
Glad you enjoyed it #1
Thanks for another great video Dave and happy New Year
Happy new year David, plenty of work on my radar.
Yep the cracking agent works well for us especially on the real big rocks. before cracking agent we would drill large holes in rows then hit the drill area with a large air chisel and that would usually work also. Ha I commented before I saw the vid.
Line drilling this rock is just too much work for me.
Good one Dave. Thanks for sharing.😊
Glad you enjoyed it David.
Those large wedges for the hammer drill looks interesting. What brand are they? I have assisted a guy that uses powder cartridge (Simplex) for rock splitting. Are you using something similar? Benefit is reduced safety arrangements and you can more easily control how strong the explosions should be compared to dynamite. We have splitted rocks within buildings as well as several cubicmeter large rocks next to roads using those powder cartridges.
The big ones came from Brunner and Lay brunnerlay.com/ I have spent a lot of time evaluating various brands of cartridge smokeless powder products as well as good old black powder but nearly all of my work involves regular high explosives. - You get a lot more bang for your buck.
Tough job Dave almost looks like forced labour. Keep up the good work! Greetings from the Netherlands 😎
Thanks Arie.
What kind of bits are you using to make the drill holes. So many I have used simply do not hold up and are only good for one hole and they are worn out? Also the air line you have there looks huge, can you please explain your air supply and how that works? Thanks
I'm using a rotary percussion pneumatic rock drill, a drill that is specifically designed for drilling blast holes in very hard rock. The drill is an Atlas Copco RH658, the air requirement is approximately 105 CFM @ 100 PSI. The air line is 1 inch inside diameter, 3/4 is ok for short runs but on this job I had 60m of air line out so I really needed the 1 inch line. The compressor is a Sullair DPQ 185 america.sullair.com/sites/default/files/2019-07/LIT%20Sullair%20185%20T4F%20Brochure_PAP185T4F201901-3_EN.pdf You can see the drill heads here - ua-cam.com/video/jg83MLOe5Q8/v-deo.htmlsi=pYkh0mG3K8ggNBHu
thats some hard yakka dave. great job👌
It sure was Jason.
Well done as always Dave. Will plugs and Feathers work on sandstone boulders?
Yes they do, see here - ua-cam.com/video/rzwbaIqP-cA/v-deo.html
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast thank you very much for the response! I got a two-fer out of your recommended video, plugs and feathers and the magic goo both work on sandstone. Many thanks!
Thanks for the education Dave ... Cheer's Mate!
No worries
Tough work, I thought you where going to avoid being under homes. :) Thank you and have a good day.
One day I will give these jobs away... but there is almost nobody else to do them.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast sucks.
Love your work as usual Dave. Did you have those feather and wedges made or is there someone who sells them .?
Thanks for watching Jethro, plugs and feathers were all purchased. The big ones came from Brunner and Lay, the smaller ones were bought on line from China.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast thanks dave ill look them up.
12:25 that sounds so satisfying.
Sure does.
Thats exactly how they cut the stone for the Pyramids Dave, although they probably used cheaper grease.
They probably used the body fat of Jewish slaves.
Demo Dave becomes one with the stone. Gettin it done sir
Wow that's some expensive grease if it's $240 for a 1kg? tin, those 35 mm plugs and feathers are holding up pretty well given you said they were only a cheap set. It's always satisfying hearing that crack when the rock lets go using the plugs and feathers, maybe more so than the bang of explosives.
They are holding up well, a customer gave them to me when he worked out that they were not going to break a 2m rock. They were starting to get mushroomed on top so I re ground them over the break.
Another great video Dave .
Thanks William 👍
i could hear how hard that rock was you should get a large wedge and a concrete breaker bit for your hammer like the ones i showed you a while back those really open up the breaks and the concrete breaker will break up the smaller pieces faster than the wedges and often three or four chunks at once
Ive gone over to Mobilgrease XHP 322 , when ive used plugs and feathers to crack rocks, i used lithium grease at first but i got much more wear on the plugs and had to get new feathers every second job so to speak.
Thanks for your input Richard, I have used similar grease and found it to be good - accept I get it all over me some how... Thanks for your input.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast I have to admit my first thought was to use a molybdenum disulphide grease such as XHP322 or even automotive CV joint grease. As you say the down side is that the slightest smear is very visible. You don't actually get any more on you than the white grease - it just shows up more.
Parts of that rock looked like they had a very high iron content; I hope you managed to sell them on.
Yeah it does appear there is some hydrothermal alteration in there
Well done Dave ! Perseverance gets it’s just rewards. You must surely hate that reodacite rock ?
Yep... but it was the local rock that I learned on - as such every thing else is easy.
I'm a miner/tunnel worker, and I havn't used that air tool much, probably less than 50 times. We call it knemater. It's so heavy, noisy and all around horrible tool for your shoulders, elbows and knees. I'm pretty sure you feel the pain every day, but I hope you don't.
I feel no ongoing ill effects Tompa, If I have had a really big day where I only drill all day, I feel a bit knackerd the following day but after that I'm fine. Yes, it is a tool that certainly sorts the workers from the watchers.
Nice work! Is that around a cubic meter or so of boulder? I like the 10 or 20g NXBurst 1.4 cartridges. Can drill the holes with an SDS Max and just need some old carpet and sandbags vs. the serious blast mats.
Yeah... some tiny little holes would have been easy and carpet is soooooo... easy compared with my blast mats. I did the last concrete mixer bowl with smokeless powder and it was super high strength shotcrete mix wit carbon fiber strands.
My fathers friend had a big rock to break in his field he used 10 stick of dynamite well it was enough to do the job but it shook stuff off the shelfs of a small store a mile and a half away. but it was fun.
He was luck that bits of rock did not come down through the roof.
Hi Dave, Great job! That was a lot of work! Incredibly hard rock! How long did that job actually take? Looking forward to the boom - booms again! Take Care, Stay safe. Jim
It took me 6.5 Hours Jim.
What grease did the old timers use for this process Dave? I'd have thought the grease used to adjust the track of a dozer would be strong enough for what your doing.
The cockatoo squawk suggests you were around Grant's Picnic area in the Dandenong's, but I'm probable miles out!
The Egyptians used body fat of Jewish slaves.... Closer to Belgrave station.
Dave, I think a good quality anti-seize like Loctite LB 8009 might be worth a try as an alternative grease, it's designed to reduce friction under pressure and is used on forming dies.
I'll have a look at that.
Congratulation Strong Maen.
Just curious what the time span for that job was? Were you able to get that done in a day?
6.5 Hours from arrive to packed and ready to leave.
Wow so early in the morning, nice work .
Only because the upload speed was miserable last night, so I went to bed. Thanks for watching Roland.
Have been using feathers and wedges to move those big stubborn rocks on the croft for a few years, grease and a good hammer and you cannot beat the tune they make as they get to it 17:58
Thanks for tuning in Hugh, your vegi garden looks good, post some video of rock splitting.
Triple D, nice work. If you ever get to Montana in the summer, I got a place for you to stay and a rock in the driveway.
Sounds great Dan, I hate going on planes though as I often have explosive residues all over me.
what rock type was that? I have similar rock in my AO (NORCAL) that just smokes Bosch SDS bits.Its blue on the inside.Where can one buy splittong wedges?
brunnerlay.com/contact/
Pardon my lack of understanding, but was there no way to bring in a mini excavator with hydraulic jackhammer attachment onto the site? It certainly looked like one would fit in there easily enough, would've cracked that rock open in a couple of hours. They're pretty commonplace and a lot of bobcat and mini excavator hire companies would have one as an option.
Sounds like a good idea DV3 but there is 2 issues here to get a small digger in here you would have to cut a path in, get up steps etc. Ultimately it would fail as there is not a chance that a small hammer would break this rock, I have watched very large machines faill over and over on this stuff. - That is why I have a job.
I love the sound of when the feathers are really being loaded up and the frequency goes up till the rock splits. BTW what is the name of the rock you were splitting?
Ferny Creek Rhyodacite - asud.ga.gov.au/search-stratigraphic-units/results/6619
Keep em coming Dave, from this side Dave they all look about the same hardness lol
Well... let me tell you, this rock is the real thing, the only stuff harder is Quartz, Topaz and then Diamond.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast oh I never doubted you for a minute.
...LOOKIN' GREAT, NICE JOB. KEEP SAFE IN '23...
Thanks Bob.
A that’s how you do it hard work and a lot of skill thanks for sharing Dave
Yeah.. I am a bit broken after that one and drilling in the heat again today.
Wow, really interesting job. Quite satisfying to see it finally crack - but I'm not the one having to swing the hammer :)
Swinging the hammer is the easy part Johnathan, drilling the large diameter, low angle holes is a shocker. Thanks for watching.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast You are built tough sir!
So how were the Megalith builders able to cut 100 ton blocks perfectly and fit them together without a gap where you couldm't get paper in between them... I would love to know what you think of those builders given you work with same materials....
They had some very good tools that do not show up in the historical or archeological records, good documentary on this - ua-cam.com/video/6KUDu40BC5o/v-deo.html
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Great video - blows my mind.
In uk we have a high melting point grease used on brake parts called copper slip might be worth a go. 🇬🇧
The copper is a good high temp anti seize.
The ring of the stones takes me back to the smell of breaking them and the pleasure of getting them out .... thanks X3 for sharing your video with us .... the world is already better with people like you and I ; )
My pleasure Marlon, plenty more splitting videos - ua-cam.com/play/PLlnBeA_am1Q09hRijr2cHEkpoGI9I-kS4.html
Diamond Hire and Sales in the UK is selling that exact same Darda grease, as best I can tell, for £45.00 per kilo. It seems asinine to ship grease halfway around the world, but it seems like it wouldn't take many kilos at a savings of AUD$160 per before the shipping fees have sorted themselves tidily. Rocbo, also in the UK, lists 1kg cans in their catalogue at £52.25.
Here in the US it seems like industry is using Elco Lube Paste which also isn't remotely cheap (the price I'm seeing is twelve 1.25lb tins/6.8kg for USD$635/AUD$922 which works out to a bit above AUD$135 per kilo) but it's still well below that AUD$240/kg. Perhaps you can find a local supplier for that.
Thanks for chipping in, I'm glad I asked that question, I have seen the Elco grease on Crowder (??). General consensus seems to be that any white lithium grease is good.
@@demolitiondavedrillandblast
Glad you've gotten some solid answers!
Disclaimer: I'm not an expert or a knowledgeable professional by any means; I have no firsthand experience with mining, drilling, or blasting. What I do have is a little better luck than some people with tracking down information online, and it makes a fun game of "how much can I learn in a few minutes about something I never knew existed yesterday?" Plus, if it helps a bloke out, even better.
I know that was a lot of hard work, but very entertaining to watch. Were the ears plugs for the hammering or that very loud bird? Lol👍👍👏🏻👏🏻
Both GG.
most excellent! Cheers from Up Over!
Thanks for tuning in again JW.