Boulder Removal using Fire Starting/Spalling

[@demolitiondavedrillandblast]

Hi Charles, I've done quite a bit of rock work, all kinds of methods, to speed up and get the most out of this process, use a leaf blower to make the fire very intense and then tip a wheel barrow full of ice water over it.

[@webopus]

Dave, I tried a smillar method on an isolated boulder. It worked quite well. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@kgrimsley2]

Yes. I've done this with rocks this size. Make a big hot fire. Use a leaf blower to make it super hot. Let it heat for several/many hours (6 to 10). Then hose with cold water and hit with sledge hammer. Spray more cold water on the cracks. It gets reduced to liftable chunks in under an hour.

[@kgrimsley2]

@@articfrost3569 Rocks are full of small cracks. Heating causes materials (like rocks) to expand making the cracks larger. The rapid cooling causes the rock to quickly contract making the cracks much larger and weaker. The sledge hammer takes advantage of these weak areas. This is why regular (non-pyrex) glass (bowls/dishes) should not be put on a cold surface after being heated. They will crack or break.

[@skibum415]

@@webopus, I've been enamored with how these two earth elements (Fire and Earth) interact with each other. Accordingly, I've been looking it up on KZbin for a while now. It's so fulfilling to see the before and after and that you have reclaimed an area that was less functional. In any case, the term most others are using for this process is "fire-setting" as opposed to "fire starting". Best wishes in your future projects.

[@webopus]

@@skibum415 Hi, it was an enjoyable project that brought the whole neighborhood together. Thanks for your observations and comments.

[@jasonwong8038]

Charles, thank you very much for you support , we all need your blessings , your senators and people have given us full support n God bless America 🙏🙏🙏

[@tbirdracefan]

I think building a fire around it was excellent idea! I bet a leaf blow would have intensified the heat a great deal and make it go faster. looked like a much more enjoyable job too.

[@webopus]

Hi -actually we did use a leaf blower at one point. It made it go a LOT faster. Thanks for the comment.

[@K-dog2020]

I'm removing quite a bit of rock but did t want to use explosives or a hoe ram as the ledge goes under my garage. I used a rotary drill with a 1.5 " bit and then use a product called Dexpan. It works quite well. I've remove well over 50 ton of rocks with this stuff. Best way to get it is from Home Depot as you get free shipping.

[@webopus]

I've heard of Dexpan and perhaps another commenter mentioned it. My problem was that the rock I was dealing was EXTREMELY hard/dense. I went through a drill bit every few holes. And because what was revealed of the boulder was only the tip of iceberg, expansion would probably have been of little aid. Still, thanks for the info and comment, Have a good one, :-)

[@TheWestlandgirl]

Wow! What an accomplishment! Everyone involved strengthens your friendships together. Different methods worked better than others but all made a difference.

[@webopus]

Agreed. It was a community project. Thanks for the comment.

[@philipwai5083]

I go along with the fire method! I have had the same experience some 12 years ago in Hong Kong! It took me about two weeks to crack the big rock, similar size to this big rock! I found if at the end of the day of the fire, take a session of beating the rock with a big hammer, and most importantly sprinkle water on the rock! The beating will open up cracks inside the rock and water will shatter the cracks further! After cooling off the night time and start fire the next day, the heat and cool sessions weakened the rock! I have been told that, this firing method had been used by our forefathers to claim lands in the old times!

[@webopus]

Hi Philip, Yes this is an ancient method of breaking boulders and for mining. I'm happy to hear you had a successful experience. Thanks for the comment.

[@vsiegel]

Demolition grout is another interesting method, it works probably the same way like Dexpan mentioned elsewhere: I think it works by getting crystal water out of some carbonate, and then adding water, which makes it expand.

[@webopus]

Good to know. Thanks for the comment.

[@theking-kh2wc]

you can blow up any kind of huge boulders by lighting a bonfire on top for 4 to 5 hours then just pour buckets of cold water on top....then BOOM but remember to stand well back as its like dynamite .... ancient technique

[@webopus]

We tried the dousing technique as well, but it didn't have much effect on this ledge. The type of rock seems to determine the success as well as the size. Dousing works well on isolated boulders, however. Thanks for the comment,

[@Sugarsail1]

gun powder is cheap and fast.

[@mystuff1405]

THE FINDER Thanks. I wondered what would happen if dry ice etc was used on hot rock.

[@mystuff1405]

Sugarsail1 Don’t think this works well in town. Neighbors sht their pants.

[@hausaffe100]

i wounder what would happen if you put hot fire ( with presurised air supply) into a core drill hole

[@webopus]

I have no idea, but it sounds like an interesting experiment. Thanks for the comment.

[@makattak88]

I wonder if you splashed it with cold water like a sauna, certain types of rock will literally blow up when dealing with drastic temperature changes.

[@webopus]

Yep. Tried it. It's very effective when used on isolated boulders, but this was part of a ledge and didn't do much because the coolness of the rock below the surface negated it. Thanks for the comment,

[@crazymaze22]

You should've got the rock really hot then cooled it down really fast with some hose water or a bucket of ice water

[@webopus]

It's not included in the video, but tried that. It didn't provide the results we expected and we had to start all over again with a new fire. That technique works better with isolated boulder that is exposed on numerous sides. It did work well on a smaller boulder I spalled after this one. Thanks for the comment.

[@living-wellon-less5669]

Have you tried getting it hot then dumping cold water on it?

[@webopus]

There have been quite a few comments suggesting the same thing, and in fact we did try that. But because it was a ledge rather than an isolated boulder, it was not as effective as we hoped. Still, patience and determination won day. Thanks for the comment

[@tracybeme1597]

Your best bet would be an electric cement pneumatic breaking hammer. You can rent one at local hardware stores for like 50 bucks. There's an old way called flashing where you heat the rock and throw ice cold water on it. The thermal expansion/contraction cracks the rock. This takes a long time too.

[@webopus]

Fortunately, the job has been accomplished with fire and I've moved to Arizona where there is nothing BUT rocks. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@Briebabcock8052]

Not to nit pick, you should've just rented a hydraulic or pneumatic jackhammer. But I guess wanting to see if an ancient technique. What I can say what people do wrong the most, reguardless to the rock type, is the fire needs to be extremely hot for a long time. That way, when you go to rapidly cool the rock down, there is maximum thermal penetration in the rock structure and the rapid cooling will cause the hot air pockets in the rock to burst apart. As for the time length, I forget.

[@webopus]

Stephen, Hi. Part of the point of this was to do it cheaply and using resources at hand.This is a method I had heard of so it became a neighborhood experiment. This particular "rock" was merely part of a larger unexposed ledge, and the best we could do was whittle enough of the top off to level it with the ground. The next year I did an isolated boulder and the process worked much faster. Thanks for the comment,

[@mystuff1405]

Why not jack hammer on day 3 and onward? What if you put dry ice or such on it when hot? Man, you don’t give up on anything i bet. Nice job. Front end loader and pound it like concrete on day 5-6? Thanks for video. Didn’t know about heat and spawling.

[@webopus]

I looked into a jack hammer, but they were expensive to rent as were the replacement bits. This was a slow, patient process that didn't cost a dime and employed a nature versus nature kind of strategy. I like a challenge. :-) Thanks for the comment. Have a good one. .

[@timtravasos2742]

Congrats. Well done.

[@webopus]

Thanks. It was fun as well as educational.

[@auspicious113]

you could invite some young people and have a rock concert

[@Derna1804]

Hardcore dad jokes right here.

[@JodBronson]

Nah, sell them rock - cracks! 😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@webopus]

Michael, As a classical musician, I would probably lean toward some chamber music, but thanks for the suggestion, :-) Have a good one.

[@antony1974]

Recently watched an interesting documentary regarding hannibal and his crossing the Italian decent of the also, it proved that he used fire, Vinegar boiling on the rocks which altered the surface character of the rocks to create a way to descend, obviously this was over weeks. But interesting to see ancient methods still work. With a heck of a lot less fossil fuels being used up. Thumbs up chap!

[@webopus]

+antony1974 That piece of history sounds vaguely familiar to me. Perhaps it was in my subconscious and served as motivation. Who knows? I wish I'd tried vinegar. I use it for all sorts of cleaning and disinfecting. It's great for killing mold and mildew. Thanks for the comment and history lesson.

[@JodBronson]

Should have made a Table out of it, bring some Chairs + Coffee and call it " Hard Rock Cafe " 😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@webopus]

Ha! Thanks for the comments, Jordan.

[@Phoenixspin]

You murdered that rock!

[@webopus]

Indeed we did. It was a worthy project. Thanks for the comment.

[@Phoenixspin]

@@webopus You have blood, I mean rock dust on your hands.

[@rayanator105]

"When in doubt C4"-Jamie Hyeman

[@webopus]

Aha! That would have been great. A bit close to the cabin for high explosives, but sounds like fun nonetheless.

[@glowvid]

Why not use dexpan

[@webopus]

Hi, Over the years many have suggested certain types of expansive grout, but it was not appropriate in my situation. I was dealing with the tip of a ledge, not an isolated boulder. And besides, this was an experiment in ancient mining techniques and a lot more entertaining. :-) Thanks for the comment.

[@wilsonrawlin8547]

As others mention. Using blowers and fans to increase the heat. I would've rent an electric chisel hammer/jack hammer as well.

[@webopus]

Hi Wilson, yeah we tried about every technique and tool we had access to. If I were ever to do it again, I've learned a few things and I would do a few things differently. Thanks for the comment.

[@ckm-mkc]

There are chemical expanding mortars and you can also use feathers & wedges....

[@webopus]

Yes, other people have mentioned that. However, this was free and easy. I had plenty of firewood for the task. Thanks for the comment.

[@sonofstinkfoot9551]

WHY DIDNT YOU MAKE A DEEPER WHOLE BESIDE IT AN TUG IT OVER AN COVER IT?.

[@webopus]

Hi, I'm sorry I don't understand your question. Could you restate it?

[@sonofstinkfoot9551]

@@webopus I'm so sorry you didn't see this but once you see how easy it would of bin just using this 5 gallon bucket of goo! lol your gonna get mad! jk but now you know an knowing is half the battle!. G.I.JOE!! lol here`s a short video showing how this magic lol trick works its called ECOBUST! an it looks like yours an his is around the same size of rocks CHECK THIS VID OUT IT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND OVER 10 000 PSI AN ABOVE WITH ECOBUST GOO! LOL I would NEVER!!EVER!! of believed it if home depot tried selling me this stuff! but after drilling holes any things better lol have a peek!. lol kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2HYd6KQbMmUqZI

[@jasonwong8038]

Thank you for your clarification , I’m sorry 😋

[@webopus]

Jason, No problem. It was good advice. I used it water on an isolated boulder shortly after this video and it worked well. Do you live in Hong Kong? I've been there a couple of time and even considered moving there for a while. What a great place. But this was when it was still under British rule.

[@4dub802]

That worked really well I wanna try it out for sure.

[@webopus]

I recommend it. It's an inexpensive and entertaining way to solve the problem. Thanks for the comment.

[@scarnoir6566]

@@webopus Does the cracking moment still work on massive rock ground? I need to dig a well into rocky ground. rock starts at 10 cm depth , and I am 0.8 miles above sea level omg xD

[@webopus]

@@scarnoir6566Howdy. I really can't answer that. I'm not sure what "massive rock ground" might be. I know this method was used for mining centuries ago, so I suspect it might be a partial solution to your problem. Good luck on your project. Thanks for the question. Sorry I can't answer it.

[@auspicious113]

try wood splitting wedge when you start getting a crack

[@webopus]

The heat might have made that difficult. The heat held by the rock was unbelievable. We've moved back to Arizona, so I'm doubtful I'll be spalling boulders again anytime soon. Thanks for the comments and suggestion.

[@paulfogarty1034]

i had that problem before and i had a damage bottel of gas so made a bit of a frame and let the bottel of gas pour over the rock and let the gas empty out and one belt of a sledge and that was it it took only a hour in total

[@webopus]

An interesting solution. Thanks for the comment.

[@scottpecora371]

I know this was 7 years ago but having a leaf blower idling or a shop vac blowing would really drive up the temp

[@webopus]

Hi Scott, We did that as well. Seemed to help. Thanks for the comment.

[@rachidboutoughmas7642]

Wawww se jeant thanke you very match forever goode job 👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏💪💪💪💪🇩🇿🇩🇿🇩🇿🇩🇿🇩🇿

[@webopus]

Hi - Glad you enjoyed it. Are you Algerian? hal 'ant jazayiri? I noticed the

[@ColinForBooks]

very cool. fun to watch. and some very enthusiastic fans you got there! lol

[@webopus]

Hi Colin , Fun was had by all. Thanks for the comment.

[@flhxsflhxs5010]

man vs. rock....man wins!

[@webopus]

+Vstar Vstar Hahahahaha! You bet! I wasn't going to let a mere boulder get in my way. Thanks for the comment. :-)

[@dudes110]

tenacity is persistance with with reward!

[@webopus]

It also helps to have an obsessive personality. :-) Thanks for the comment.

[@toolstimber5953]

Could have saved a loooot of time by using wedges

[@webopus]

Fortunately I had a lot of time. Thanks for the comment.

[@NolanTyrrell]

Plugs and feathers would have saved you a lot of trouble.

[@webopus]

Nolan, Perhaps, but I knew nothing about those terms/devices until you mentioned them. They still would have required drilling deep holes and that was not very successful. Regardless, this seemed the simplest and cheapest method at the time. Live and learn. Thanks for the comment and education.

[@MilanDupal]

Well done, but charcoal + blower and water will act more efficiently.

[@webopus]

Yep. I used all of those on the 2nd boulder. It was significantly smaller and those items worked well. Thanks for the comment.

[@oscarvargas1491]

That’s when you just go rent a mini excavator with the jackhammer attachment buddy and bring the bucket with you so you can dig around it, cool idea cool concept but taking forever

[@webopus]

I had all the Time in the world and enjoyed the experiment using such an ancient technique.

[@pixelpatter01]

look up Sylentmite Trials 2009 on youtube. Also look up expansive mortar.

[@thelement3363]

that looks like comanche dam rock outside of lodi california

[@webopus]

Hi - I'll take your word for it. Thanks for the comment. Have a good one.

[@auspicious113]

you also need a campfire song book

[@gavinhill4121]

I know what it's like when you get a bee in yr bonnet over something like this, and just have to get it out. But I can't help feeling that a little more oomph behind the hammer and chisel, would got things moving faster - easy for me to say!

[@webopus]

Gavin, Perhaps if I had access to a real jackhammer I could have chipped my way through it, but the hardness of this rock was pretty significant. And because it was only a small part of a ledge made it all that more difficult. Besides, the Fire became a neighborhood project and took all the work out of it. Thanks for the comment,

[@MylesNicholas]

Gas generator or "boulder blaster" with one or two cartridges.

[@webopus]

I'll look into it. Thanks for the suggestion/comment.

[@abdullahnecaticaglayan6300]

Üzerine de soğuk su dökünce çıtır çıtır parçalanır.Daha büyüğünü öyle parçalanmıştır.

[@webopus]

Evet, başkaları da aynı şeyi önerdi. Bunu denedik, ancak izole bir kaya yerine bir çıkıntı olduğu için, yalnızca marjinal olarak etkiliydi. Yorum için teşekkürler - Türkçe, daha az değil.

[@nofatchicks2315]

I saw someone comment that they would build a fire all around the rock let it burn for 4 hours then throw ice cold water on it and it would crumble.

[@webopus]

Yes, and a lot of similar suggestions. But as I explained it to these commentors, since we were dealing with an outcropping of a ledge, and not an isolated boulder, this did not work. I did, ultimately, build the fire all over and around the surface, but it was still a multi-day project. Thanks for the comment.

[@chickenseat1942]

boy was that a heck of a lot of work! Maybe an excavator next time? I guess that's just not a reasonable way to spend money though. You did alright in the end.

[@webopus]

+Tamer Khadre I was quoted a huge amount of money to excavate. But what you see is only part of a ledge that extends far into the ground. I just needed to do enough damage to make it level with the driveway. I had put up all my firewood for the winter, so I was looking for a project anyway. I'd heard of FireStarting and spalling as used in ancient mining techniques, so took this opportunity to test it. Thanks for the comment.

[@JosephE-yd6ks]

Hundreds of years ago quarrymen would split boulders by making holes in the rock along a line then in winter the holes would fill with water and freeze causing the rock to expand and split..you wouldn't want to be in a hurry using that method

[@webopus]

Nope. It's a slow, methodical process, but highly effective. It was while reading about ancient mining techniques that got the idea to try this. I was surprised at how well it worked. Thanks for the comment.

[@boneyfreak9197]

1" hole and 2kg of anfo = .13 of a second later..job done.

[@webopus]

Undoubtedly. But it was probably a bit too close to the cabin, and some large picture windows, for such pyrotechnics. Thanks for the comment.

[@brentsmith981]

Heat as hot as you can then throw a tub of water on it! Wear eye protection...it'll pop crack and explode

[@webopus]

Many other commenters and suggested something similar, and we actually tried that. The problem: this was not an isolated boulder, it was a piece of a ledge and needed to be whittled away. Thanks for the comment.

[@scottfoster2487]

Next time cover with a piece of old metal and use a leaf blower to force more heat into the rock.

[@webopus]

Scott, Thanks for the suggestion. However, there will be no "next time." I moved to Arizona, and all we have is rocks. :-) Have a good one.

[@giovannidepetris6335]

Wedges and feathers faster likely but this is romantic

[@webopus]

Giovanni, Indubitably. This is the lazy man's method. :-) Thanks for the comment.

[@MalawisLilleKanal]

@@webopus I'd disagree. Wedges and feathers combined with a drill hammer is the lazy man's method. ;-)

[@webopus]

@@MalawisLilleKanal Ha! I'll not dispute that. Have a good one.

[@Dowlphin]

That was a lot of effort and time invested. You could have called someone with a 'wheeled tool' to pick it up and take it to a natural habitat or to a loving family.

[@webopus]

Yeah, but that would have cost me $. I was looking for a do-it-yourself project that was free. :-) The whole community was involved. Also, it wasn't an isolated boulder. It was part of a much larger ledge. All I was able to do was whittle it down to ground level. Thanks for the comment.

[@Dowlphin]

Community empowerment is good. :-) As they say: "Land of the remove boulder for Free" :o)

[@allenoilspillpreventer8784]

You got it, congrats. Spallation is not well known of but works. Your boulder is buried which makes it harder to bust. Now that you are done, you may not want to know you could have gotten rid of it in 30 mins, but you could have. Here is a video of it being done in 15 minutes on a buried granite boulder half as big at Lake Tahoe. I friend of mine shot the video this week. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZjQnop-obGso8k It is just drilling 3/8" holes and inserting micro explosives that do not require a license. It snapped into 5 pieces and excavator scaped those away but hand power could have done same thing with prybars. In case you find another one this may be of inetrest to you.

[@webopus]

Cool. Thanks. A great solution under the right circumstances. They were able to expose the entire boulder. Since mine was part of a ledge, I couldn't. That's makes a HUGE difference. Mine was also harder material. I destroyed several drill bits trying to drill a few shallow holes. It was some of the hardest rock I've ever encountered. It became an entertaining community project, so I don't mind the time we spent on it. Thanks again for the comment.

[@allenoilspillpreventer8784]

That is true , a boulder battle can be a lot of fun. I have moved them and blasted them. That boulder at Tahoe is very hard Sierra granite, their hoe ram did not touch it. So likely about a tough as yours. But drilling 3/8" is so fast compared to 1" or bigger. Volcanics can drill in 1 minute, hard granite can be 2-3 minutes. With 1.5" drill it seems like all day long. I have not used spallation on big things, but know people that do it. It works on micro basis, a torch can bore into rock. Thanks for you answer.

[@webopus]

That's for the instructive dialogue. Have a good one.

[@hmsdemolition8588]

LoL day 3 !!! 1 hour flat and joke covered up

[@webopus]

I have no idea what you mean, but thanks for the comment regardless.

[@blindbunyon7540]

I'm not gonna give you another burger until you pay your tab

[@BackyardBeeKeepingNuevo]

Shoulda used Dexpan.

[@webopus]

lakewood85 Others have mentioned similar products. But as I told them, since this was a ledge, and not an isolated boulder, the results probably wouldn’t have been ideal. Thanks for the comment and suggestion..

[@bilodeaum283]

next time check for ezebreak microblaster

[@webopus]

Will do, but as I've said to other commenters regrading these products - they work better on isolated boulders. I essentially had the tip of an iceberg to deal with. My "boulder" was only the visible part of a ledge representing only a fraction of the whole. Falttneng it was the best I could do. Thanks for the comment.

[@drudriver3660]

You might want to consider Magnesium which is also highly flammable, burning at a temperature of approximately 2500 K (2200 °C, 4000 °F). The autoignition temperature of magnesium is approximately 744 K (473 °C, 883 °F). You can find magnesium at sporting goods stores in small quantities sold as a fire starter. You can get a larger quantity at the junk yard many cars have gear boxes made of magnesium and is a fairly common item at most salvage yards. Be very careful with it 4000 degrees is nothing to make a mistake with so do plenty of research before you consider it’s use. Auto ignition is achieved easily with the propane torch that was used in the video. Again do some research first and know what you are messing with.

[@webopus]

Great idea! Wish I had thought about it at the time. Thanks for the comment and info.

[@drudriver3660]

@@webopus No problem Charles I have used Mag to remove stumps as well as large stones.. Mag burning is insanely hot and will split a boulder in a minute heat the stone then hit it with ice water it will shatter like glass. Again 4000 degrees Fahrenheit is no joke so do some research and know what you are doing before you do it.

[@drudriver3660]

BTW burning Mag is quite spectacular and intense keep the kids away while you use it kids seem to be drawn to it.

[@webopus]

@@drudriver3660 Well, I live in Arizona now where this is nothing BUT rocks, so my boulder splitting days are pretty much over ... hopefully. But this is good information to have. I've used magnesium as a fire starter during wet-weather camping, but never considered using it in bulk. Thanks again.

[@terrencewalsh453]

Heat the rock then spray water on the hot rock and it should crack!

[@webopus]

Thanks Terrence. If you read through the comments you'll see that has been suggested many times. It was tried and worked only to a certain extent because we were dealing on an outcropping of a ledge, not an isolated rock. Thanks for the comment.

[@AmericanMediaRev]

If you have just one boulder to work on it may not be worth it as costs about $750, but a SierraBlaster would blow the top off that in less than ten minutes. That is what I use for placer mining and getting boulders out of the way for 4WD trails. It does not require an explosives license it is exempt. This video includes it being used for same thing, blowing the top off boulders for a construction crew in Tahoe and other places. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGS4dWyra9ibes0

[@webopus]

Cool video, but a bit of overkill for the project I had. Still, it's good to know about these things. Thanks for the comment.

[@mdsuavejr]

What a waste. How about splitting it for firewood.

[@webopus]

Howdy. That's precisely what it was - firewood. It was necessary to complete the task, and worked beautifully.Thanks for the comment.

[@hadleymanmusic]

Make it like a bonfire

[@webopus]

Ultimately, that's kind of what we did. Thanks for the comment.

[@Brandis56]

WOW that looks like Blue Granite what a waste .

[@webopus]

Hmmm. That's interesting. A family member who was on the Mars Rover Project, and a quasi-geologist, told me what he suspected it was, but I honestly don't remember. I've never heard of Blue Granite, but I assume it's valuable. Well ... there's a whole lot more of it remaining. This was just the tip of the iceberg. Thanks for the comment.

[@pioneerAv]

Next video will show digging up the whole driveway and removing pieces of "Blue Granite" 😂

[@JodBronson]

"Blue Granite" 😂😂😂😂😂

[@1oldperson]

Rent a good concrete saw from the local Hardware.

[@webopus]

Howdy. This rock was HARD. I sincerely doubt it would have worked for a number of reasons. We used diamond bits on this thing and they were dull within minutes. Second, we were dealing with a ledge, not just an isolated boulder. Regardless, the fire worked and I've since moved to Arizona, so I never have to deal with it again. There are nothing BUT rocks down here and we actually want them as part of the outdoor decor. I wish I'd brought a few boulder with me. :-) Thanks for the suggestion.

[@abdullatif3874]

Add water on fire rocks cold water it will broken

[@webopus]

Tried that. But it was only minimally successful because this was a ledge, not an isolated boulder. Thanks for the comment.

[@emichaelschmidt]

Its 4 am and I'm stoned.....what's this neighborhood's excuse for watching a rock burn

[@webopus]

Ha! Then I guess you must be desperate for entertainment as well. However, cooking a rock was actually quite entertaining, or should I say, satisfying. It might be classified as Mountain Entertainment. Have a nice "trip". I'm envious. I've developed an intolerance to most intoxicants. Thanks for the comment.

[@luigicristiani7709]

n construction there are products that break up the concrete ... just see here on youtube and save a grueling manual work

[@webopus]

Luigi, Yes, indeed there are. Other commenters have suggested them as well. However, this outcropping of what was essentially a ledge was not conducive to these expansion products. In the long run, this was the most efficient and cost-saving process. Thanks for the suggestion and comment. Parlate Italiano? Io posso rispondere anche in italiano.

[@velvetbees]

A dinosaur must have pushed that over a cliff about a million years ago so it fell into your future yard.

[@webopus]

Hahahaha. Could be. Thanks for the comment.

[@MrDejast]

Drill one hole, insert TNT and boom!! Lots of pebbles.

[@webopus]

MrDejast I would have loved to do that, but even if I’d had TNT, it was a bit too close to the cabin. Thanks for the comment.

[@conradicalization]

Throw a 54 gal bucket on it after its well heated !

[@webopus]

I take it you've had some experience with this. :-) I've tried dousing them with water in the past. The results can be spectacular. The downside is that it dissipates all heat you've accumulated for the next fire. Thanks for the comment.

[@conradicalization]

Sure do I meant 5 gal bucket . Yes down here in Vieques PR we have a stone called ' Blue Bitch' hard as granite and I only took it 2 cycles and took it down 2feet ! Great job lots of patience you've got !

[@webopus]

Blue Bitch - that's a wonderful name! It's surprising that an island has such hard rock. I usually think of the soft Hawaiian stuff when I think of an Island, but I suppose many are not the result of volcanic activity. A pal (un amigo y colega de Puerto Rico llamado, Justino Diaz) retired down there some years ago. I'm sorry I was never able to visit the Caribbean. Have a good one.

[@Thewhseman]

Pour water onto when hot....

[@webopus]

Did that. Works better on isolated boulders than ledges. Thanks for the comment.

[@jodydavis161]

2021 Still working on it Lol

[@webopus]

Ha! It can be a slow process, but highly effective. Thanks for the comment.

[@jodydavis161]

@@webopus Have you seen Echo burst you can get a Home depot? That's some cool stuff . yes rock is very hard in some cases ! My dad was a stone and brick mason so I split a of it .

[@webopus]

@@jodydavis161 Jody, I think you men Ecobust. Yes, I've gotten numerous suggestions of expansive demolition materials in the comments, but the problem in my case was that the rock was extremely hard and part of a ledge, not an isolated boulder. Spalling, I believe, was the simplest way to "melt" the exposed part of this ledge. I live in Arizona now where there is nothing BUT rock, so I'm getting used to them. :-) Thanks again for your suggestion.

[@jasonwong8038]

Pour cold water after a day burning , save a lot of time , should learn from the Chinese ancient miners

[@webopus]

Hi Jason, If you read some if the other comments you'll see that it has been suggested before. I actually tried it, but because I was dealing with a ledge, and not an oscillated boulder, it was rather ineffectual. Thanks for the comment.

[@BAMBAM3316]

Watched a guy burn a stump out with aid of a barrel before this video. Cheap entertainment I guess. Educational as well.

[@webopus]

KZbin is full of both knowledge and entertainment. I spend most of my morning looking through videos that pique my interest. Thanks for the comment.

[@cleaterose5914]

Dexpan

[@webopus]

Cleate, Other people mentioned Dexpan as well, but if you look through the comments you'll see my references to this outcropping being part of a ledge, and the efficacy of such a product was in question, Thanks for the comment.

[@jasonwong8038]

We need more than fire n water to help us out now from Hk 😂😂😂

[@СергейРяшкин]

F'kin' big rok!!!

[@webopus]

Сергей, Да, это был действительно пик огромного выступа. Спасибо за комментарий.

[@СергейРяшкин]

@@webopus Yeeeah! Fire and Iron - it's Power!!! What is the your state? Montana?

[@webopus]

@@СергейРяшкин Which do you prefer, English or Russian? I'll do both. This video was made in Washington State, but now I live in Arizona where there's nothing BUT rocks. Это видео было сделано в штате Вашингтон, но сейчас я живу в Аризоне, где ничего нет, НО не качается.

[@СергейРяшкин]

@@webopus let us english speacking...

[@СергейРяшкин]

@@webopus Yeah... Arizon is rocks only... and red sand...

[@bfknapp]

Caveman

[@webopus]

Ha! Yeah, it felt a lot like that. Thanks for the comment.

[@JodBronson]

Sell the cracks in your neighborhood! 😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@publicdomain1103]

ding dong

[@jimhill8272]

Rent a bobcat with a hammer on it

[@webopus]

Hi Jim, Yeah that would have been a good solution, but I wanted a free one. All this took was time and some firewood, of which I had plenty. Thanks for the comment.

[@jimhill8272]

@@webopus Time IS money

[@webopus]

@@jimhill8272 Not if you're retired. 🙂

[@jimhill8272]

@@webopus lol 😆

[@jasonwong8038]

Charles , yes I was born n live in hk which is now under siege by the police😂

[@webopus]

Jason, It's been all over the news here. These are difficult times for freedom-loving people everywhere. You have my best wishes for a Democratic outcome.

[@蒙生-z7e]

断龙脉啦✌(̿▀̿ ̿Ĺ̯̿̿▀̿ ̿)✌

[@webopus]

感谢您的评论