Blasting soft Granite to enlarge a dam

The farmer had been gradually enlarging his dam over a long period of time and he had found a few hard bits that refused to budge, looks like a good time to introduce the ultimate power tool - High explosives!
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[@willtricks9432]

You go from 50% more to double and that's when he gets boulders on his roof. Nice work

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

- It's a fine line between pleasure and pain.

[@rockman531]

Hi Dave, Uncovered booms are always the best! Stay safe in the heat! Jim

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

You got that right Jim.

[@billlane7486]

Am I the only one who got the feeling Dave was eyeing up the dead trees with the thought of how good they would look being turned into instant match wood? ;)

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

hehehehhehehe....

[@andrewallason4530]

Awesome seeing open shots. My sheep are too bloody wilful to be scared off by a gunshot. If they see me out hunting bunnies, they come over closer to watch.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Thanks Andrew.

[@paulcooper2897]

A great way to start my Sunday morning! Thanks for sharing 🇨🇦

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Our pleasure!

[@jwaterous224]

Perspective from fifty meters away makes me appreciate the size of the works here Dave! Looks like they're going to need to move some rocks before they ask you back!

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Yes, there is a fair bit there JW

[@TheWarySamaritan]

Dave, it's great to see some of your blasting without the need for the protection of blast blankets. It's always a pleasure to watch you work. You're both a Craftsman and an Artist at what you do.

[@davidhandyman7571]

Hey, Dave. Have you considered being a comedian? You certainly cracked that rock up.

[@stephencoster9532]

Hiya Dave, Another smashing video; thank you. I love watching the initiator run across the face and then watch the deep charge lift and separate the blocks. Stay safe, Steve...

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Glad you enjoyed, it looks a lot better in low light.

[@sirskidney7998]

Great work Dave. Always good to watch an uncovered shot. Many thanks for the video.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Thank you Sir, there is some very large uncovered shots coming up on another farm when we are out of the fire risk season... stay tuned.

[@Zendukai]

I'm with you Sirskidney, open shots... are the bomb lol, yeah pun intended lol

[@sirskidney7998]

@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Really? Can’t wait!!

[@TrevorDennis100]

I didn't know there was such a thing as soft granite, but I have just asked Google and am not really any the wiser. We do love uncovered blasts, but this was not as spectacular as some of your road clearing jobs. Still, the client's big white shed has no holes in the roof and you could get on the road for home. One of my brothers used to work in Formula 1, and with Melbourne being the last race of the season the teams get some free time afterwards. So my bro and some palls thought it would be cool to drive to Alice Springs. By the end of day one they realised they had barely made a dent in the journey, so the next day they drove back to Melbourne. That's one heck of a big country!

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Hahha... yeah, quicker to drive across Europe than Melbourne to Alice.

[@KPutubing]

Howdy from Sacramento, Dave! Always great to see another video from ya. Cheers!

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Hey, thanks KPT, more coming soon.

[@bobbaer869]

What a way to start my Sunday morning. Thanks Dave 👍👍

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Enjoy!

[@jimwilloughby]

I really liked that super slo - mo shot. I never knew there was such a thing as soft granite. Its almost a contradiction of terms.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

There sure is Jim.

[@madmax3864]

Wot a nice one ☝️ Dave from madmax Melbourne 👍👍👍👍🇦🇺😎😎😎

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Thanks for watching Max.

[@MrLukealbanese]

Excellent work Dave

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Thanks Luke.

[@williamjacobs236]

Another great video Dave .

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Glad you enjoyed it William.

[@tokencivilian8507]

Nice. Way to start off with a bang. And that 2nd shot - sweet. The riiiiiiippppp. And nice bulking. You blowed that up real good.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

It did Blowed up real good, just hope he took my advice and got a bigger machine in.

[@morrislouiseeagle7161]

ooh free range rocks into pebbles - what a treat thanks Mr D for sharing this with us - much appreciated -please stay safe and well sending regards

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Glad you enjoyed it MLE.

[@alexdrockhound9497]

Explosions in the first few seconds of the video? Starting out with a bang!

[@brianpatrick9480]

Always enjoyable. Thanks for the video!

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Glad you enjoyed it Brian.

[@MrOlgrumpy]

I always have to laugh when you work with "SOFT" granite,it must be a phenomenon in nature.🙃🙃

[@vsvnrg3263]

i think the geological term for it is decomposed granite. it is older than the stuff dave blasts closer to melbourne. western australia has lots of it, with an estimated age of over 2 billion years. this victorian stuff wont be that old.

[@kaboom4679]

Seen " rocks " so weathered /decomposed you can dig through it with bare hands . This includes granites and most every other rock type . Granite is quartz , feldspar , and mica . Quartz is the most common mineral ON the crust . Feldspar , is the most common mineral IN the crust . Why the difference ? Because feldspar is more easily attacked and weathered , turning into clay mineral , along with micas . These clays wash away and leave the quartz laying around mostly unaltered . So the granite in question was mostly a soft( ish ) mixture of quartz in a matrix of hard clay minerals with some still unaltered bits of feldspar and mica holding it together .

[@vsvnrg3263]

@@kaboom4679 , i remember the term 'decomposed granite' because costa on gardening australia (a popular tv show here ) used it for something. he might have been spreading it for pathways.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

@vsv nrg It is very popular for pathways.

[@billraccio3835]

Dave love all your video's. Knows you have a blast with your bangers!!!

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Glad you like them Bill.

[@Green_House]

You did a great job BUT that excavator looked a little undersized. At least it had a thumb! 👍

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Yes... 20 Tonne machine would be much better.

[@RogowskiBubba0864]

Morning Dave, thx for the video.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Morning!

[@ChrisB257]

Enjoyed the full splendor of uncovered shots. 57 hole sequence very nice and really very little fly rock. :)

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Indeed, I really should have put a bit more fairy dust in it.

[@richdillon2157]

Hey Dave, I really enjoy these None covered up shots you do. Gives me and other viewers a real look into a shot. Enjoyed your video, Thanks for sharing .

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

I enjoy them also Rich.

[@janne65olsson]

@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Hi Dave. The Guy from Sweden showing up again. 🤭 I wonder wath cind of Rock that were. It look a bit unusual. Maby some cind of Sandstone. 🤔 And you know that uncoverd 💥Bangs💥 get high ratings. 5/5 thumbs! 😎👍👍👍👍👍 Shears from Sweden.

[@art1muz13]

Very enjoyable video of a master blaster at work. It is always good to see another of Dave's videos. I am glad to see you are doing alright, and you have “Pyro Paul” there to help you out a bit and have some company.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Thank you very much #62... I mean Artemus.

[@art1muz13]

@Demolition Dave Drilling and Blasting I like copy and paste. Sometimes, I am lazy.

[@TheGingerGenius78]

Cracking video ! Love these on farm shots ! There looked to be some prime explosive recoverable firewood trees in the vicinity of that job 😉😉😉😉

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Heck yeah David!

[@TheGingerGenius78]

@@demolitiondavedrillandblast would absolutely love to come see / help on some of those jobs! I know it’s old hat to you but it’s still pretty awesome! And having spent 20 odd years doing big professional firework displays one does like a good bang !

[@leeroberts2134]

Nice to see you Dave. I am glad you are still blasting and throwing a bit of rock around, just the type of you tube I like 👍 👌

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

More to come soon Lee when I get some editing time.

[@cosmopezzolla996]

People may have thought you were enjoying the view when you were panning around with the camera.........but I'm pretty sure you were just looking at the boulders saying "I could break you and you and you and you!" Great video as always!

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

You are correct Cosmo!

[@vhostovich]

These slow motion views are the best, and from many different angles to boot, : ) : ) : )

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Thanks Vaughn, I have 2 little DJI Osmo cameras that are just like a Go-pro but better in my opinion that do the slo-mo and the time lapse scenes, thanks for watching.

[@timothypirnat3754]

Very cool open blasting Dave. It looked hot and dry there.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Not real hot on this day but very dry Tim.

[@swishswish386]

👍👍👍. Brilliant … Great stuff Dave

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Glad you enjoyed it Swishy

[@kevdimo6459]

Good to see you back blasting again Dave thanks for sharing mate.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

And thank you for watching and contributing Kev.

[@SJR_Media_Group]

*_Demo Dave to the Rescue... boulders and bedrock don't stand a chance..._* Nice job and great video. Fun to see some shots not covered with backfill. Wide open areas gives you some flexibility. Slow motion clip at end was fascinating. Pulse is traveling so fast you can only see it slowed down. After pulse went down holes and into the explosives, there was a slight delay before over pressure lifted the backfill, so quiet, yet so powerful. *_I bet those boulders will just surrender next time... maybe not._*

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Good spotting Steven, the slight delay is actually the 400ms down hole delay built into the detonator, this ensures that all holes get the signal to fire before any nearby hole fires and causes the ground to move and possibly cut of the tubes going down adjacent holes - which would otherwise cause a "cut off missfire".

[@SJR_Media_Group]

@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Thanks for input. Hard to guess how long delay is when everything slowed down. That makes perfect sense. Don't need unexploded HE left in a bore hole.

[@andygray9285]

Nice job Dave.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Thanks Andy.

[@markmunro8753]

Thanks Dave. That was interesting to see.😊

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Glad you enjoyed it Mark.

[@Jammer.1]

I love the blast where you don't got cover them up !

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Me too.

[@09FLTRMM77]

MM77 Approved 👍🏼👍🏼………………………Uncovered shot AND an excavator with a thumb!?!?! Will wander’s never cease!!LOL! Good one today day Dave.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Yes, not often you see a thumbed machine around these parts.

[@Tiger351]

Nice job Dave, the sheep didn't look too impressed with it though lol. Hope you were alright with Friday's heat and took the day off yesterday (nearly hit 40 C here in NSW before a storm). Looks like it might take a while to clear the debris with that excavator as well, slightly undersized for the job I reckon.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

I took the day off also Robert, I have advised him about getting a bigger machine in. Thanks for watching.

[@kenore4003]

Needs a 550 Volvo like LD18 demonstrated on a 2 pond build. One scoop, all gone.

[@stillwater62]

Very enjoyable video of a master blaster at work. It is always good to see another of Dave`s videos. I am glad to see you are doing alright and you have "Pyro Paul" there to help you out a bit and have some company. Take care and be safe, Dave. Cheers.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Thanks for tuning in #62

[@ledoynier3694]

Nothing like grain fed, free range shots ! look at them go !

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Grain fed... = ANFO

[@frozenjoe6313]

@@demolitiondavedrillandblast. The regulations in Australia no doubt are different that in the U.S. for hauling hazardous materials . As you do bigger jobs you will probably need to use a separate truck hauling in a trailer loaded with about 50,000 pounds or more of fertilizer and leave it in a fenced, secure area complete with real live security.... After all, its only fertilizer until properly prepared. And then its a different story . . And yes, I used to be a class a simi trucker, complete with the necessary endorsements < I am retired>...... In case you didn't know in the U.S .hauling a lot of actual blasting agents themselves is a big production. We have to work with Department of Transportation to plan a safe approved route by truck , avoiding sensitive areas, have designated specific areas to park the loaded transports which are under constant watch, PLUS many, many mandatory procedures for storage magazines at the storage site... The security is very serious.. But you are going to need supplies for that if you are doing larger and larger jobs. . and where could you possibly find a used gang drill for cheap ??, maybe from a mine that went out of business.? Drilling one at a time is a real mankiller, and we are all getting too old to do that. You dont want to blast a aneurism or stroke out..... On the other hand , making money is pretty nice ..

[@xuejiaoxu6778]

Great video Dave thanks for posting. You don't see many machines with a thumb on them in Australia.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Very true, seems like a big advantage when working with rocks.

[@apollorobb]

Nice open Shots sir

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Thanks 👍

[@westvirginiaridgewalker]

I absolutely love your videos! Thank you for the great content, I appreciate it!

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

I appreciate that Eric, more coming soon when I get some more editing time.

[@kaboom4679]

Old crumbly course grained granite , surprised it broke as uniformly as it did . That pocket that turned to sand is pretty typical of rotten granites and gneisses . Perfect stuff for ANFO and any hard bits are easily broken with a small charge or three if needed .

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

You got it, sounds like you should be posting some video on your channel.

[@tugboat2739]

Howdy demolition Dave

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Howdy Tugboat, thanks for the visit.

[@scotthultin7769]

269👍's up demolition Dave the most explosive man and KZbin thank you for sharing 😎

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

You bet.

[@odc43054]

I would love to come and run the drill - for about an hour!😂

[@silentflier5144]

Nice work! Do you have to dig around after and recover all the used shot cord, delays, etc to keep the environmental people happy?

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Usually take home what I can.

[@Hutch400]

That came out nicely😀

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Would have done a lot better with a bigger machine though.

[@keithphaneuf9146]

Dave , it was nice to see Paul doing alot of the drilling this time around.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Yes, for sure Keith.

[@markissboi3583]

when i need a small deep lake built and need rocks blown out mite call dave & the lads :)

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Great idea Markiss.

[@Dcoool77]

Good one Dave =)

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Thanks #77

[@alfadoofus]

Good video even if it was short. great camera work as usual . I have heard a kiwi will scare sheep.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Glad you enjoyed it Christopher.

[@jcadult101]

Great stuff man!

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Glad you liked it 101!

[@eastunder55]

I didn't know that soft granite existed. It must be an Aussie thing like kangaroos!

[@AlexJBaldwin]

And Drop Bears. And Red Footed Bandicoots, and Rock Wallabies.

[@janne65olsson]

I am from Sweden. And Soft Granit is compleatly new for me. Her Granit is the hardest rock you of them all. 🤔

[@paulsto6516]

Good show!

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Glad you enjoyed it Paul.

[@franklinwerren7684]

That’s how you make gravel!!!!😅😅😅😅

[@AlexJBaldwin]

5:55 to 6:08.... The slow-mo made me think about the movie Tremors with Kevin Bacon....sand-worms

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

The next video will have a long trench shot slow-mo... stay tuned Doc.

[@AlexJBaldwin]

@@demolitiondavedrillandblast As Detective John McClane would say, "Yippee Kai-Aay MuthaTruckas!"

[@frozenjoe6313]

Very nice job, you didnt have to cover your shots . Seems like that changes the entire balance of the job, lots more drilling and blasting and no excavator work to cover. I hope this approach made the whole thing more profitable..

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Absolutely Joe.

[@frozenjoe6313]

@@demolitiondavedrillandblast . I did happen to google " used rock drilling gang drills for sale" they have tracked drills, drills on wheels multiple prices for little old lady drills who only did small jobs on sundays to monster rigs used in big quarrys and mines and are pretty much worn out. and of course Prices vary.. Some of those things are way, way too expensive.... Just shipping alone might break the bank But it costs nothing to look.

[@Wilbargosh]

Looking at the soil type, I recon the dam needs a liner. We used liners in the coal seam gas industry to store saline water. There is no seepage / subsurface loss and reduced erosion of the dam wall.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

I recon you are right on the money there Paul.

[@andyelliott292]

Soft Granite? there is a term I never coincided!

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Yes, too hard to dig but drills like cheese.

[@Wingnut_Stickman]

Dam sheep in the dam way.

[@MostlyInteresting]

Wow this look like quarry work but at a smaller scale. :)

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

It is!

[@MostlyInteresting]

@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Quarries are usually in a remote or cordoned area anyway. So they load um up!

[@suzysheer66]

10 Thumbs up for the slo-mo near the end, its fascinating to see the shock go down the tubes. Its like someone hated the flash / bang of fireworks, and buried them in the ground. :P Nice video as always Dave.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Thanks for watching #66, there could be nothing sadder than fireworks buried in the ground.

[@alexdrockhound9497]

inconsistent rock like that seems like a real challenge. Some turns to sand some doesnt want to break. A lot of the granite pegmatites i dig for amethyst crystals is like this.

[@janne65olsson]

I were wondering wath cind of rock that were. So it is some type of Sandstone?

[@alexdrockhound9497]

@@janne65olsson its decayed granite.

[@janne65olsson]

@@alexdrockhound9497 Thanks for clearing this up for me! 😎👍

[@resurgam_b7]

Ooh, I do love an undamped blast 😊

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

We all do B7.

[@gordondouglas5593]

Looks like blasting to make hill gravel to me.

[@bobjoncas2814]

THERE SHE BLOWS...LOL... GOOD ONE, KEEP SAFE..

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Keeping safe Bob.

[@frankrobinson8133]

good to see the name Terrock emblazoned on the shirt. are they still going strong? and another great video Dave.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

They sure are Frank, Paul does a bit of work with them and has filled the training role now that Norm has retired.

[@dennis2376]

They really need a bigger excavator, those rocks where huge. :) Thank you.

[@GARDENER42]

Digging that lot out will keep him occupied for a while...

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

I have advised him about getting a bigger machine in.

[@GARDENER42]

@@demolitiondavedrillandblast That's what I thought but at least the one he's using has a thumb.

[@davidholder3207]

Nice countryside and no swarm of summer flies. Northern Victoria? That blast looks like a miniature sticks of bombs dropped from a B52 at 40,000'. Could be sold to a movie company Dave who'd use it suitable CGI modified to represent a big blast on the enemy!! Is there a sort of "penetrometer" you can use to guage the strength of the rock thus giving you a better clue as to the amount of ANFA to use?

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Just a bit north of Kyneton David. You gauge the rock strength by drilling it.

[@briangarland9883]

Great vid! I wanted to ask how many hours you have on your air compressor... Also I have a funny story about sheep in Argentina. I'll get that to ya later!

[@chattonlad9382]

I have some funny stories about the sheep in Wales 🤣🤣🤣

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Good question Brian, this one is on it's second hour meter as the first one quit at 1800 ish hours and the replacement one has 1500 ish on it but it has been intermittent, mostly not working for about 2 years now. I had another compressor just that same as this one previously that was stolen, before that there was a larger unit that was also stolen, before that there was Compair 125 for a short time, before that there was a Atlas XAS50 for ages and the first one was a Compair CA1S for a short time

[@danosmixedgrill6067]

It looks like they were at least doubling the sise of that dam. Are those connectors between the charges shock tubes dusted with HMX on the inside? Cheers Daniel.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Yes, HMX +aluminum

[@eddiekilby]

👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@OtherWorldExplorers]

Were those boulders that you showed up on the ridge deposited there from glaciation?

[@vsvnrg3263]

not likely in australia. i guess you are in the northern hemisphere. i dont think there are any such features in australia. this continent never went through what the northern hemisphere has been through in the more recent ice ages.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Those are rounded by chemical weathering. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKKUkGCanat2h9U

[@vsvnrg3263]

@@demolitiondavedrillandblast ,i watched your link. very informative but she failed to mention that the roundness is caused more by the exaggerated forces of exfoliation because temperature changes are acting on both the top and sides of sharper corners.

[@gino7444]

Do you use gel tamping Dave?.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Not in this case.

[@jimsvideos7201]

You need a paintball gun loaded with either curry sauce or mint jelly. I think the sheep would get the hint 😄 But seriously, great fun.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

I like that idea.

[@Green_House]

Made me think of Letsdig 18 and the Animal Hospital. 😬

[@cliffjohnson2273]

what kind of explosive how many holes would you need. to remove 30 ft tall by 150 ft long hill of snow

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

A lot!

[@mckaypaterson2519]

Did they find any gold?

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

No time to look.

[@grumpyg9350]

👍👍👏🏻👏🏻

[@scruffy6151]

👍👍👍👍

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

💣💣

[@damiandelapp5490]

Why such a small Machine?

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Yeah... I told him what we needed and this is what the local guy had.

[@carl_h]

nice just to drill and blast in a wide open area.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

You got that right Carl.

[@keithmoore5306]

soft granite is an oxymoron Dave!! and those 209 primers are louder than most 22 rifles believe it or not!! you know it's kind of ironic removing rock for a damn most likely made of concrete which basically artificial rock!

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Just a soil dam this one, think it would benefit from a liner though.

[@keithmoore5306]

@@demolitiondavedrillandblast still the rock would bolster the dirt! most soil dams over are just clat with rock rubble on the water side!

[@Michael_CS615]

Must be nice to not have to cover occasionally.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

For sure Michael.

[@killingoldgrowthsince]

Looked like poor steaming.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

It was a detonating cord shot - they always shoot the stemming.

[@killingoldgrowthsince]

@@demolitiondavedrillandblast Crushed rock shouldn't.

[@aquilaaudax6033]

✋🏼🇦🇺👍🏼

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

That was quick.

[@RolandElliottFirstG]

I have had quite a few sheep in the past, in my opinion they are a dumb animal, they always go in the direction they are not supose to go in, most sheep farmers may dissagree but that is my opinion.

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Agree.

[@kenore4003]

They are born just looking for a place to die.

[@olejrgenkiil6735]

i fart louder

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Be careful that you don't shoot the stemming.