Washer Detcord Mines from Vietnam

[@OPactual]

Maybe they put them around a tree trunk to direct the blast outward. Same premise as a improvised claymore. Blast will travel in the path of least resistance and hopefully have a more outward result.

[@RogerCharlamange]

That is likely exactly what was done, specifically for SOG, they would have likely been planting this mine while running from thousands of NVA lol, and they'd want a backstop to prevent them from being hit by any backblast.

[@rdsmith334]

Exactly what I was thinking. Nothing for it to “push” against.

[@instinctualhavoc]

Duly noted

[@greenbeen_079]

@@rdsmith334 this is exactly one things where the SF guys making a IED

[@darthhodges]

I was thinking an alternate way of achieving the same goal. If you braid it or thread it in a way that most of the items have det cord outside as well as inside it might give the objects enough velocity that you don't need to break them. Also, I wonder if setting it on the ground instead of hanging it might direct some the force in the same way.

[@sheldoniusRex]

The washers didn't work because each individual washer is aligned edge on with the shock wave which is it's strongest axis and there are so many gaps that the energy was able to flow between each individual washer and out into the air. The nuts worked as I would have expected. Have you considered that the improvised nut charge may not have been for anti-personnel use? They may have intended it for use like a miniature mine clearing line charge or a flexible Bangalore torpedo for setting off enemy booby traps or cutting wire. Of course knowing what these guys were doing on their typical recon patrols that seems unlikely, but if that guy was going out on a targeted raid against a known strong point it would make sense. In Iraq we used premade breaching charges when we were going out to find a specific insurgent. Most of these were detcord based. We also carried det cord and C4 for use in neutralizing suspected IEDs.

[@ifyoudontfailyouarenoteven6210]

Thank you for your service, Sir.

[@gojoe36]

Dido for IED detonation. The explosive force is too broad to be of any use for damage to personnel on any large scale.

[@Skankhunter420]

What you're discussing is completely oitside of the scope of this test. Why Edit: I think I might know why you sound like an asshat.

[@michaelwest9311]

My apologies for inadvertantly trying to steal your thunder about the washers. I didn't read your post or even watch the video because it was so obviously problematic. I bow to your superior knowledge and experience. Thank you for your service Sir.

[@PolumbiusTheThird]

@@Skankhunter420 no u

[@TucsonHat]

The thing in the picture is called Fragmacord. It's actually wire sections wrapped around blasting cord, not washers. They would lay them parallel down the sides of trails to kick off ambushes like long claymores Edit: XM-61/XM-37 Linear Mine

[@tek4]

This is the answer.

[@elitearbor]

Yep. It surprises me that they were unaware of this. Square iron wire, specifically. It fragments beautifully.

[@eljefeamericano4308]

Thanks for the info! I've read about SOG, but I either hadn't heard of this device, or forgot all about it.

[@BombproofCraftsman]

@@elitearbor could also be them playing dumb & turning this into a 3 part series leading up to an actual replica.

[@TucsonHat]

@@eljefeamericano4308Glad to help. I always thought I knew a fair amount about SOG and other special forces during Nam, but it feels like every day I learn about some wild new weapon/tactic/etc from the era that I never would have thought of in 1000 years lol

[@Matt-xc6sp]

Your guys' failures with detcord and hell cannons is still orders of magnitude more epic than most success. I'll watch every video so long as some day I can see you walk propane tank mortars onto target

[@angrydingus5256]

They're answering the questions that we didn't know we had, and keeping us from maiming ourselves at the same time!

[@DJTheMetalheadMercenary]

The retirement fund joke got me haha well played boys. Insofar as their use in 'Nam, a former SOG guy I see at the VFW said they'd usually lay them along the side of a path/ trail or at knee height for ambushes or a perimeter defense, they also spaced the washers/ nuts so they weren't bunched up touching each other on the detcord.

[@dirty_whiteboy6784]

I believe it is known as the Xm-61 Linear Mine (John Plaster's photo history of MACV-SOG ). Its actually square wire fragmentation coils crimped over heavy det. cord and not washers.

[@RobbTZombie]

I’ve read a lot of books from former MACVSOG guys, watched a lot of interviews and they were absolutely kings of improvised explosives. I don’t remember ever hearing or reading anything about this specifically, but it’s also very possible the SOG guy in that photo cooked up the idea himself and thought he’d give it a go, although it clearly didn’t catch on as things like this quickly spread around through SOG when they worked well.

[@spero-sx5qy]

I remember reading about this exact mine with the same picture it's called a linear mine they were not very popular they picked up almost exclusively right before the claymore was introduced and were used by special forces the idea was wrap the cord around the washer facing all direction and command or tripwire detonate

[@cynic3068]

Yeah I dont know how that "mine" was used in 'Nam, but in the Finnish military we were told to lay detcord on the ditch opposite to our ambush. Just one or two strands is enough. When the enemy jumpes on the ditch when the ambush is sprung...you just push the button. Everybody lying on top of, or kneeling on, the detcord is gonna get wounded. Plus it sort of shakes you up when you realize everybody in the squad just got hit..

[@williamburton757]

I did some research and it looks like the photo was of XM-61 Linear Mine, and not an improvised device of washers.

[@fuzzaybunnay8532]

Will Burton? Did you used to live out by the cliffs?

[@williamburton757]

@@fuzzaybunnay8532 i have no idea what that means

[@DoRC]

It makes sense that the washers wouldn't get damaged. If you think about it each washer is an individual part and presents very little surface area to the detonation. This is especially true in comparison to the diametrical thickness of the washer.

[@joeprimal2044]

Look closer at the photo of that guys IED. Those are not washers. They are little pieces of pipe or pipe fittings or something of that sort. Being a longer and skinnier tube than a nut or a washer they would develop more internal pressure and send fragments with much more velocity.

[@zumbazumba1]

In original picture is a square wire that has notches cut inside.Then its warped around the cord like a spring.

[@earlycuyler2295]

Hey, i know this is kinda out there, but if you guys want targets, i got you... I work at a wood shop running a cnc machine. when i need to replace tge waste board i cut it into wooden targets. im kinda proud of them. They interlock to form their own stand and everything. People seem to like them. When i take them to the open range people adk me to leave a few for them. I make more than i can possibly shoot, and they arent really worth selling. Let me know if your interested.

[@guardian7572]

X Vet here of that time and place. Try taking your detcord and doing a seven strand then, putting nut's, bolt, or any other item taped around that in layers. Might get a better result. ( I did demo work while in the service ) And I went there while I was in. Blew up a lot of bobby traps with explosives in them while pounding the paddies.

[@MrAPCProductions]

Hearing multiple members of CCN speak on recent podcasts in the last few years, the high and tite cord or bowtie grenade was not meant to leave the body of the person carrying it. It was the last act of a captured solider to take as many with his and make sure he would never be a prisoner. John Stryker Meyer talks about this specifically in several different Jocko Podcasts. The cord is wrapped in a way to destroy as much of himself and his gear while taking as many other with him as possible. The bowtie grenade was to remove the operators head and destroy the radio he would be carrying.

[@xinloi5032]

Used as a booby trap or in an ambush: bury in trail the length of the kill zone command detonation after ambush sprung, those that drop to trail for cover do not get up. Trip wired at choke points around FSB or night harbor sights. These are improvised devices because claymores were not always available, or a LURP or. HAWK team were moving light sans ducks and full combat load. Normally only engineers had access but midnight small stores or an AK or SKS could get you set cord, blocks of TNT and C-4 to play with outside the wire.

[@bob_the_barbarian]

Yet another reason that trail is more properly spelled "d-e-a-t-h t-r-a-p."

[@tacticalrepair]

Looks like the original picture setup was a combination of nuts spaced apart with small cut sections of copper tubing that would've been from the air system of either e deuce and a half or a five ton truck. I seem to recall actually reading about this in one of Dick Marcinco's books years ago. The nuts fragmented because they had more internal surface area for the blast to press against than the washer's tiny cross section. You try this with some soft nuts and copper tubing and you'll get results.

[@zumbazumba1]

In original picture is a square wire that has notches cut inside.Then its warped around the cord like a spring.

[@lairdcummings9092]

"...Show what doesn't work." Valid science. Experimental investigation fails far more than it succeeds, but with each failure comes new knowledge.

[@evilfluff6634]

My uncle was in Vietnam. He used nitro cord to get a sniper in a tree him and some others run in the woods hauling some cord rapping it around the trees bases after the cord went off the gun shots stopped and the sniper was found under a tree. Now his job was clearing trees and building runways and bases. But the funny thing is talking to a old vet is fun in it self but they all can B.S. better than anyone else I would recommend to anyone go talk to them they love to B.S. and don’t forget they will compare new to the old military and how soft they so beware. It is like talking to your grandfather about growing up in his day.

[@nastynate-lc7yf]

take a grinder an grind lines into the washers an nuts to make them slightly weaker so they will fragment like a pineapple grenade

[@jeffkirchberg]

Very good idea for sure. That would wreck shit

[@twestgard2]

Y’all need a big rolling magnet like we use for picking up nails on construction sites. Would save you a lot of time and you would find a lot more fragments.

[@jlambuth]

Not a bad idea. I want to build an oversized electro-magnet because they are awesome and would help with cleanup.

[@twestgard2]

@@jlambuth I actually own several rolling magnets of various sizes because the ideal one for a particular situation isn’t always the same.

[@surlyogre1476]

I was going to suggest a metal detector, but your idea is better, as the expended steel is just laying on the surface, waiting to be picked up.

[@twestgard2]

@@surlyogre1476 You’re going to have to be more surly, because “kind and generous ogre” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

[@surlyogre1476]

@@twestgard2 I'm evil, wicked, mean and ornery. And I have a nasty, ugly, temper to match. But that doesn't mean I can't recognize a good idea (even if it's not mine).

[@geraldharvill4699]

One thing I remembered from Bomb Disposal school. Was explosives gases will always take the least resistance. If you take a pile of black powder and burn it. It just smokes and burn. Put it a gun barrel with a bullet another out come. If you toke strands of 7 detcord and shape then in a star pattern, so it would make mini shape charges, plug the end with putty, or glue to seal it. The shape charge should cut the washers. Use grade 2 washers

[@tykaboom0113]

Washers are not hardened typically, allowing them the ability to stretch without splitting. Nuts are typically hardened to some degree. The equal and thin surface area and tension across the washers also decreased the likleyhood of splitting Nuts are thicker, AND have flats which gives them stress points where they can break.

[@andre51286]

In rhodesian war my dad made claymores out of plough dishes. He pressed plastic explosive on the inside then pressed 1000s of ball bearings into it and he had a half barrel of concrete with the dish pressed into it facing outside. They had these positions around the forward airfields and had a killzone triangle reaching out 250m and 250m wide. Essiantly 20x the size of a claymore

[@alanbutler7712]

That is well thought out! Our forefathers were generally smarter and had better reasoning than we do today, in my opinion. We just have more technology to access more information and utilize the newest developments/innovations.

[@ottopartz1]

There are fastener supply companies that sell nuts, bolts, and washers in bulk quantity for a fraction of hardware store prices.

[@FishFind3000]

Yep. I was supposed he went to home depot

[@weaponeer]

take large washers, heat them to cherry red and allow to air cool, then serrate them nearly all the way through (fingers of death) and reheat and drop them into water (super hard and brittle). (then do the same for the smaller washers). you only need a stack that's 8 to 10 inches long. for the small dia. washers use the largest detcord as practical and as many strands as possible. for the large inner dia. washers, you use rolled sheet explosive. hang vertical, and place targets in two columns directly in front approx 6 feet from improvised frag. I used to love my job.... lol

[@berryreading4809]

I bet having that wrapped around an actual tree would direct that frag nicely, probably help with velocity too 👍

[@zorro456]

Just a suggestion Cast Iron. It fragments really easy and is a low rent high tech metal for shells. German Army learned this by bleeding for it.

[@johnwanderin3872]

Saw someone mention the XM-61 linear mine and looked it up. It’s exactly what it is based on what I found. It uses a fragmentation coil that pre-segmented wrapped around the explosive. I would maybe wrap lengths of bailing wire or something around it maybe would work or springs of some kind.

[@theduke7539]

You might try cutting grooves into the washers to encourage fragmentation, or maybe wrapping the cord around an oil drum as a backer to direct the blast more.

[@butziporsche8646]

The nuts have a thinner cross section. The washers are thicker radially.

[@Zonkotron]

Yeah....the washers have - essentially - more pressure resistance in the radial than your typical gun barrel......

[@jtcustomknives]

I think it comes does to PSI. The washers have much less surface area exposed to the pressure wave compared to the nuts.

[@alexanderharris539]

One of my good friends was SF in Vietnam and I showed him this video. He said thay they would paint them green and they would be placed around tree trunks at leg level. The tree would direct the shrapnel and the curvature of the tree dictated the spread. The ends of the cord were left open so they could be attached by wire etc... and so the blast was directed forward giving them a "safe" zone. These were easier to carry than a claymore and they were designed to wound, not kill. A soldier that can't walk takes two more to move. One hit is minus 3 emeny soldiers.

[@BillyAbshier]

Won't lie, I appreciate this failed demonstration as much or more than I would've a successful one. Science!(-ish)

[@rhenderson9234]

We removed the powder from m 16 rounds and refilled them with c4. We then scattered the along the road. The thought was that a g I would never pick up ammo that he didn't know about, while V C would pick them up to use in captured 16's. Supposedly the c4 would drive the bolt back through their head. Don't know if it worked, maybe you could experiment with the idea!

[@wedohedoshedooowee828]

Maybe not thru the head but it would DEFINITELY destroy the gun when they pulled the trigger. Worst case scenario: they're unarmed or forced to use their pistol against you. Best case: they lose their hand and become a liability to the rest of their group. Spiked rounds are NO joke. I've seen people narrowly get lucky in videos where people in Afganistan (I think) shoot captured or found AK rifles using found ammo they found, the guy's gun ended up in many many pieces and he was lucky to have his hand afterwards!

[@daviddonaghy6494]

I’ve seen bobbytrapped ak rounds go off when the rifle was fired. Very impressive.

[@krellronas849]

Another reason the washers failed Is because of the small amount of surface area on the inside of the washer for the explosion to shear, relative to the actual width of of the washer.

[@25centsapop]

Love yall. Nuts held in pressure where as the washer has no surface area compared to the nuts

[@AllHopeIsLost1134]

The rifle is an XM177, an experimental version of the Colt Commando. You can tell by the muzzle break, which changed the way the rifle sounded to be more like an AK. Unfortunately that muzzle break changes the way it sounds, so the ATF considers it a muzzle suppressing device so regular folks can't own them.

[@stevehope6283]

What!??? Wrong video.

[@AllHopeIsLost1134]

@@stevehope6283 he mentioned at the beginning he didn't know what rifle the soldier was holding.

[@antkoz6370]

Very interesting tidbit.. Thankyou for that knowledge

[@jaysonlima9271]

I heard a rumor somewhere that using small 1-1½in long ¾" steel pipe and 4 strands of cord will do satisfactory... can't remember where I heard this of course

[@matchesburn]

I believe one of the Army field manuals had something similar to this but with heavy chains with detcord running through it.

[@ol6374]

It wasnt washers or nuts etc they were cut bits of cast iron pipe, normally put around a tree and also dropped down into tunnels, I knew a bloke called keith who was with macvsog in 71 he now owns a small post office in a village here n uk. He is a cool bloke and described them when I saw them on a picture like yours.

[@mopar_dude9227]

I would say it is due to the amount of surface area facing the washers have “facing” the blast compared to the nuts. Most of the energy of the blast simply goes in between the washers due to them being so thin. The nuts capture much more if the energy thus causing them to fragment.

[@TheMule440]

Relief cuts! Similar to glass. Make about 4 equalsmall cuts through the metal and hopefully that would weaken it enough to separate into 4 fragments per washer/nut.

[@jeffkirchberg]

You would think it would be obvious but who knows.

[@bubbahottep8644]

(1) Edge-on, the washers are not subjected to very much force per unit of area, so they will not tend to rupture. (2) Given radial placement of the washers, there will be a roughly even force in all directions, so the whole ones will not fly very fast or far.

[@alanbutler7712]

This is what I was thinking also. When viewing washers edge-on, the det cord would take the path of least resistance,, which is to escape in the space between the washers. Plus, the cross section is .5" to 1" in all directions. So, the force exerted on the edge of each washer divided into the thickness of the washer is a no-winner. The edge on thickness of the nuts versus the path of least resistance, (escaping out the hole at the top and bottom), for the speed of the det cord explosion was just not possible. Thus, most of the nuts fragmented regardless of whether they were hardened or not. As stated in other comments, this set-up is omnidirectional, versus a claymore being directional. So, a channel to force the washers and/or nuts in a single direction would be much more effective. However, if the shrapnel producing materials, (washers or nuts), do not fragment, then the force of the explosion is equal in all directions and essentially cancels itself out, and the explosive device is just a non-lethal bang. If you run one or two runs of det cord through the middle, but twist three to five of the det cords together on the outside, (so that they don't spread out equally around the exterior), would then provide the explosive power needed to fragment the washers, (if scored or weakened), or nuts AND provide the explosive force to propel them toward the intended targets. That should work somewhat well even if strung between the T-posts. But, inside the V of a piece of angle iron would be ideal for harnessing all of the explosive potential!

[@chrisbrent7487]

It appears the original one (MX-61) was a 25 foot length of waterproof detcord that had flat wire coiled around it at intervals. Sort of like a flat wire spring but with no space between the wire loops. The flat wire was scored at the back to enable it to fragment in small sections that would travel very fast. Each 25 foot length could be coupled together with special couplers. They were rolled out along trails and usually initiated by tripwire so when the enemy point man initiated it he and the 25, 50, 75 feet or whatever of trail behind him would be peppered with tiny pieces of frag moving at very high velocity and the concussive effect of the blast. Of course they could be initiated with a clacker remotely too.

[@marcuscicero9587]

introduced to the Claymore mine in Camp Pendleton as a boot. used a man size target made of 3/4 in plywood and it was virtually turned to toothpicks when the claymore went off. much more devastating than what is shown here

[@MrDrifter762]

also when is a claymore a omnidirectional? its pretty renowned for being directional. The whole this side towards enemy and all.

[@mfree80286]

There are spring steel coils made for insertion into/over copper or other base metal tubing to bend them without kinking, but still be able to remove. Detcord in a long one of those with some linear scoring done by dremel disc, that should approach what you were thinking.

[@nathanhyland910]

I’m probably not the first to suggest this, try and make a “Frankenstein” it’s just c4 packed into a roll of barbed wire, I kinda wanna see what that would do

[@critterjon4061]

This was actually a factory produced product called an XM-61 linear mine

[@1Thatstrangeguy]

Tractor supplies, Family farm and garden, and Rural king sell washers by the pound, All those washers could have been had for like $7.

[@Hellsong89]

Wait...they bought them BAGS?! I was wondering how the hell they spent that much money on damn washers and nuts..ffs

[@codycutshall2721]

Put it around a tree. Vietnam, a region full of trees about the same size as the loop around the SF guys neck. I would imagine it works to direct the shrapnel.

[@videoarchiveseries4365]

With the washers having so little surface area facing the explosive they have very little time to gain speed. So possibly weaving the det cord could work?

[@bsoul3177]

im so glad you did this, my young self was so interested in this kind of stuff.

[@tylerlowder2338]

The photo is of a XM-61 linear mine. -a guy on reddit.

[@ledwin8770]

I read about an impromptu mine used in Vietnam were a roll of barbed wire was stuffed with c4. I'd love to see how that works

[@HVYMOBILE]

Hey Ds'ss they aren't washers they are thin walled tubing cut in 3/4 sections! Saw these in 72 as we took SF's to the jungle in choppers!

[@finnaginfrost6297]

That checks out, the explosion would have to go through the tube wall, but easily goes around the washer

[@featheredskeptic1301]

The nuts are overall thicker and not as wide as the washers, so each individual nut was hit by much higher amount of force, allowing the blast wave to rip them apart. Looking at the picture of that Vietnam soldier, what he had wrapped around him looked more like a rope. It makes me think that those weren't so much washers as short pieces of pipe. Basically the thing would be like a detonation cord pipe bomb. Also, this would allow you to put much more deth cord in the bomb than the nuts and washers did.

[@stephensteinhauer3346]

Flexible pipe bomb. That makes sense.

[@s.armitage3963]

You need to wrap it around somewhere solid (like a tree trunk, vehicle, or concrete slab) to direct the balst.

[@howardbartlett3419]

My guess is that the difference in performance that you saw from different materials was mostly due to the alloy/heat treat of each material. Softer materials like what is used in many kinds of washers will be more likely to bend and deform to absorb energy instead of cracking and being thrown outward like what would be desired. Typically I would expect a more brittle/hard material (like what the nuts were probably made from) to fragment better when under heavy loads. Take this as you will, most of my experience with these kinds of things are from a mechanical engineering perspective and from things that I have noticed building/fighting combat robots.

[@rcmadnessstreetpirates6412]

Force=pressure x area. The area of a washer is to small and pressure will escape around them. If the washer were laying flat on top of the cord, the result might have been different.

[@Imafed42069]

Your channel is amazing! Nothing else like it on KZbin! I see millions of subs in your future. Good stuff hell yeah!

[@evilfluff6634]

The washers was bad because of energy can just slide between them. Use a copper pipe cut them in 1 inch pieces. If you look at the picture it looks like bullet cases on a string or something. Now with pipe you can score the pipe so it cracks up.

[@PaletoB]

Yea, the washers are really strong in that direction.

[@1911Drew]

I thought this particular demonstration would have yielded at least one camera getting 10x’d. Thanks for putting the video up.

[@lifeforce99]

Stick the washers on a length of ready rod, then run a cutting disk down them a few times to give them a weak point

[@Favorme44]

he is causally talking with something around his neck that could chip him in half. much respect

[@InternationalAcres]

Just a thought, when buying hardware don’t buy it at Home Depot. If you go the Tractor Supply Co. you can buy it by the lb. you also have the choice of grade 3, grade 5, and grade 8 hardware. It will be much better on your budget.

[@SFDISME]

I make knives, and heat treat them. I do it in 2 stages. First stage makes the steel extremely hard, and brittle, because it is inflexible. Second stage removes some of that super hardness from the steel to allow for some flexability. Heat the nuts and washers to bright yellow and dump them into water. That should be enough to make them brittle. That is ofcourse if they have a high enough carbon content. Also. Just a thought. Have a strand of cord running around the outside taped to the washers to give an outward push. A lot of energy is going into the breaking of the nuts. The washers will not break up, so will need a push

[@teeroux]

Use small sections of tubing. I'd try copper. Kinda like a macaroni necklace. The tubing will temporarily hold pressure enough to fracture and fragment.

[@copperlemon1]

Copper would most likely just rupture rather than fragment.

[@jeepdriver7603]

I think the lack l luster performance is due to the set cord running down the middle of the washes, so the pressure goes in all directions, without any net force in any one direction. Try this next time. Lay the washers flat on a table, in a line. Lay the set cord on top of it. Use duct tape to cover the det cord and stick it to the washers. When this goes off, the pressure is on one side of the washer, and it has a flat surface to push against. As someone mentioned below, if you wrap this around a tree trunk (set cord against the trunk) the effect will be enhanced.

[@SomeGuy-vo7we]

I can tell you exactly why this failed. SURFACE AREA and MATERIAL STRENGTH. Steel washers won't fragment, so the pressure causes them to lift and separate from each other and then the blast pressure just vents around each washer. Run this same test but substitute the washers and nuts for something like a dozen 2" long sections of 1/2" copper or maybe cast iron pipe and carve some crosshatch lines on them to encourage fragmentation.

[@geoffreyrichardson8738]

Det cord in the center applies force equally to the target, plus the force of the explosion will go around small thin hard object’s especially washers.

[@patrickw9520]

Score the washers at least 3 times each. A simple press with a jig makes a quick easy job of it, aka stamping them in. Gives them break points You want a good hard exterior, with score lines, like the stamped steel plate used in claymores, and the stamped casings used in frag grenades and charges. Too hard, they shatter unpredictably. Score them, predictable break points.

[@avilhelm1697]

The guy in the photo is John St Martin (RT New York One-Zero) and is around 1969-70. I believe these guys were flying in from Vietnam and doing ops specifically in Burma/Laos at the time of the photo. The nuts seem to be spaced with small sections of pipe or bushings with fragmentation cuts in the shape of a cross on them to aid in fragmentation. The pipe/bushings to space the nuts probably reduces weight and is more effective than just nuts or washers. Something to try?

[@SpaceFrawg]

String your projectiles on paracord long enough to spiral wrap that around the outside of the detcord, then, going in the opposite direction, spiral wrap a 1/4 inch strip of duct/100mph/gorilla tape, using just enough tape to hold the projectiles in place. That way shearing the projectiles is a non issue, they should easily launch.

[@adirondacker007]

If you have a Tractor Supply store nearby, that's the place for fasteners. You pay about $3.50 dollars per pound for grade 2. Significantly less costly. Especially when you don't need them to hold up for long.

[@sapper1-3g57]

Can you guys do a combat engineer series? Maybe barb wire claymore, platter charge, or soup dish claymore. Those engineers love explosives! Hooah!

[@mattfleming86]

Pro tip: Hardware is MUCH cheaper at Rural King and Tractor Supply. Sold by the POUND at ~3dollars a pound depending on location. The stacking/packing nature of these allowed for a large amount of mass around a small amount of propellant. So maybe an arbitrary spacer between each washer: foam, marshmallow, cardboard, plastic bead, etc. More unit energy/ unit mass of washer. I'd love to see this with some -LOCK- washers. They are split, made from a springier higher carbon and would likely depart the area better because of that initial pre-fab fracture point. AND be more likely to fragment into a couple pieces doing so. The Mass per Boom ratio would be much better, while still being able to pack tightly around the cord. If it were me and my money/materials, id go for the smallest lock washer that would fit on a single strand (so like 1/4" I'd assume. You get several hundred per pound at a farm store), use no spacers for the split lock washers, and hang it vertically. I love this shit too much. I should have chosen a different career. Thanks for the awesome videos.

[@pyrrhusinvictus6186]

We would just pack the bottom of an ammo can with C4 then fill it with nuts and bolts. Then we would bury half of it in a berm or put it in front of a giant rock. Never got to use them.

[@benjaminjarrett9816]

A joke just occurred to me, those plywood targets were more expensive than the munitions used lol. I love the video, thank you for the content.

[@freenarative]

The problem here is that you put the Det cord through ONLY washers/nuts. Go re-check the pic.... the GI in the pic has used spacers. This allows the shockwave to "throw" the frag, rather than be forced to "push through" the centre of the washers. In essence, the "washer only" creates an inch thick pipe that contains the explosion. The "spacer" method is more throw washer-push through - throw washer - push through etc

[@JugglesGrenades]

Actually ran into a few of these in 1969-1970. Wrapped around a tree trunk, and with a ring of bottles filled with Nuoc cham..... getting caught in it's blast radius can be VERY painful. If the fish sauce gets in the eyes, nose or mouth, IT BURNS 😱

[@comfortablynumb9342]

I guess nobody taught them not to play with food.

[@skullofserpent5727]

Badass!

[@JugglesGrenades]

@@skullofserpent5727 The VC were masters of making booby traps. My comment was obviously a joke. But they would salvage the explosive agent from an unexploded bomb by pouring boiling water over the case (after removal of the fuse), then use discarded C-ration cans as the casing for mines designed to be set off by a single soldier. They were so prolific at designing traps, the Army had to print a book to familiarize troops as to what to watch out for.

[@cuddzilla]

You have to "direct" the energy. You're allowing it to expand in every direction.

[@TechandTools1]

You guys put out some awesome videos, love watching stuff go boom! Keep up the hard work, I know doing these videos isn't easy. Jason, Missouri, USA

[@trailblazer632]

Nuts are a LOT harder material than washers. Washers are basically punched out sheet metal. They bend and deform. Nuts however need to be machined, threaded and made in such a way that they dont immediately round off when tightening or loosening them during normal use. If you want something to frag youll need it to be hard enough to be brittle to some degree as opposed to soft enough to be malleable and flexing instead of shattering. In all honesty your best bet would likely to use high grade hardware such as grade 8 or 10 nuts as they are going to be the harder material and have the most tendencies to shatter and frag out.

[@GreenCanoeb]

A typical nut will be in the 35 Rc range. Washers, unless hardened, will be dead soft. I think a combination of the softness plus minimal surface area for the pressure wave to work on saved them from fragging. Looking at the MACVSOG photo it appears the mine is made of tubes rather than nuts or washers. I think tubes will be much more satisfying.

[@trailblazer632]

@@GreenCanoeb could be. It would probably depend in the material of the tubes as well. I would expect vietnam era to be either cast iron pipe cut up or perhaps a copper or aluminum tubing if that was the case. The aluminum and cast would probably work out the best as copper is extremely malleable in most cases. Looking at it from a modern perspective id still choose either a cast iron piping or perhaps something like dom tubing. Steel might work well if it was made with fracture points but this seems more like a quick and dirty ambush device rather than any sort of serious time investment like using steel with fracture lines built into it.

[@shawnclifton4742]

As a Canadian; I approve of these videos.

[@dougsmith2954]

Stuff a coil of barbed wire with explosives. In the mid/late '60s this was an improvised booby trap referred to as a Frankenstein. The charge must be powerful to be effective.

[@fletcherreder6091]

Something about having the serial numbers strung like charm bracelets is hilarious. Having that be the ATF approved way of doing it doubly so.

[@thomasbaker9787]

Would you guys be willing to do a fugas bomb 💣 🤔 I went through JOTC in Panama 🇵🇦 in 1989, SF instructors taught us how to make the device. A little C4 inthe bottom of a 55 gl drum, then add nails, glass bottles, cut up c wire, Styrofoam to make it thick and sticky, a mix of diesel and gasoline, put the lid on and wrap with cord. Bury that at a 45degree facing out at the perimeter, and you just created a wall of hell for any surprise guests in the night. It was spectacular in the day.... at night it would have been crazy man.

[@Hank1371]

It is still used today. Mainly for photo ops lol

[@weldingbiker1]

Cut nicks into them to create stress risers. Similar to grenade's. Great video and many thanks for making it.

[@fjr1010]

We used lock washers with spacers, try that.

[@fredscott1702]

These types of improvised mines (from what I can gather) weren't Omnidirectional. They were laid against an object, such as a rock, a tree, etc. and used as a directional weapon. I believe, pre-scoring the nuts and washers could enhance performance, as well as possibly annealing them to soften the steel.

[@andyf4292]

wit hthe washers,, the blast would act from the inside to the outside of the washer, so as far as the forces are concerned, its dealing with 10mm steel.. so unless you notch the washers theyre going to take that all day, IMHO

[@Raunadraug]

Devices like these were ideally used either to initiate ambushes, or in enclosed spaces where claymores were more difficult to camouflage. To my knowledge, washers were never actually used like this in Vietnam, but I imagine detonating a device like that in an area where the individual washers could freely bounce around would cause a significant amount of havoc at the very least.

[@user-sz4ve6nb9y]

Aren't claymores directional not omni?

[@leepalmer3634]

Failure is just success outside your parameters. Keep going.

[@daltonc690]

You should make one with a pvc pipe, detcord in the middle filled with bbs.

[@MarkHahn]

Yeah maybe perforate the nuts and washers. Or weaken one side of each. Cool video! Wild to see how they improvised weapons back then. Very cool 👍

[@HALO-2304]

Boy, I'd hate to be the guy that mows the lawn of the blast range. 😂

[@Jack-Surreal_Panes]

Just a let's try this out thing. As a 12B, we never used anything like this. Definitely not a breaching charge. When using set cord to blast a lock, door, cut thru chain link, etc...you want the set to be in contact with the material. Now, you could add nuts to add weight to keep it taunt on a target.

[@knobjob2839]

Try pull tabs from cans. I like this type of testing. Sort of like Taofledermaus with explosives.

[@shady473gamingcm3]

You've gotten a lot of great suggestions here. I look forward to part 2 of ace ventura vietnam... I mean Ordnance Lab.