Micro Blaster 2?

[minerrick]

Those winches look wicked! I have never heard of them before, now I have a new item for wish list if I ever win the lottery or find a nice pocket. That G-120 should do it. How do you get that up to your site weighing in at 185lbs? $2400 is not that bad of a price considering it would likely pay itself off fairly quickly. Great post thanks for the info, you have really offered solutions to my problems.

The winch is very well engineered and we have been using it "commercially" for years with zero issues. I think the $2400 was money well spent in my VERY rocky situation. Without that winch, I would have, literally, been "up a creek". The winch I have is the one with the motor and pump separate from the actual winch. I got the 15' long hoses, which allows me to ensure I have a remote, flat location for the motor and pump, and then I can bolt the actual winch to whatever surface I want. I also purchased a really nice capstan winch a few years ago, but have never used it. I was planning on using it for the "portable" winch. But so far, no need for it yet.

We've been using "Master Pull" Aramid synthetic winch line as the abrasion resistance is amazing. Don't use the cheaper synthetic winch rope or you will be often replacing it from it rubbing once on a rock and then breaking. You have to pay to "play" in a boulder patch.

The winch components aren't that heavy. Invite a few young, strong, and enthusiastic friends in and it will get to where you want it to be.

Slinging big rocks is an interesting topic. I've tried lots of stuff: tire chains (too heavy for the beefy ones), cables with tire chains (work pretty good), synthetic slings (work well on angular rocks, but not round ones), surplus cargo nets (work well if you can get around the rock), and bolting on a winch attachment point to the rock (in situations where the rock is "stuck", or round and slippery). The winch attachment point is my option of choice for the bigger, more problematic rocks. I use Simpson "Titen" concrete bolts to screw into the rocks. The 5/8" x 6" long bolt is useful for attaching a snatch block to bedrock (I have NEVER broken a single titen bolt- bent, but not broken- shear is something like 35,000 lbs). The 5/8" by 3-5" bolts are good for attaching to the "stubborn" rocks. The 1/2" x 3" bolts are good for pulling out 3-4' diameter rocks and 3/8" x3" bolts are good for 100-400 lb rocks. I can usually re-use the bolts as long as the pull wasn't too extreme.

Hope this helps

 

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[Sticks]

All great info there Sir. I was going to ask for details on what winch line you went with. I was worried about running rope due to the abrasive environment. Trust me I'm taking notes on everything you say. I'm glad that you ref. one that is able to cope with those conditions plus it is lighter in weight. I have heard that if you snap the rope it wont come back at you like cable will is that true? I do like how your set up with the remote cables allows you to stand in a safe spot. Do you like those open blocks at all? Looks like they are able to quickly accept a rope instead of taking the block apart. I was going to run one just for returning the slip scoop after dumping cobble. What do you do about all the sharp edges you create? I know that I'm probably over thinking this but I have ruined many O' rain gear on sharp bedrock. I finally found a good brand that holds up but those boulders your breakin have edges that would open a person right up huh? I decided against selling my Table. I'm going to do another trip with the rope winch and SB this time, hopefully will make enough to get that new winch soon. Next year should be awesome. Thank you for all the wonderful advice, believe me I will heed every bit of it..

 

[Sticks]

!!!!!!CAUTION!!!!!! I just got off the phone with my Dad and was asking about running a generator with a GFCI cord and if that would protect me while drilling in the wet. He is a retired electrician and in his years doing construction he has seen a couple guys get electrocuted on a GFCI circuit. His point was you never know when they will fail and they do fail. When they do your done, curtains. $800 for a gas drill new is pretty cheap considering the other option requires a generator $200+ and a corded drill $100-200. Plus cords and such. I'm going with a gas drill. I am posting this for those that are ghosting this thread, Minerrick has already figured this out and is running a gas drill in his operation. This is one of those corners that one could cut but shouldn't. I am new to this end of mining, please all who read this thread understand that and DO YOUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE research everything and above all be safe. All of you are important and have vital knowledge to share with the rest of us. My many thanks to those that have contributed to this thread. Be well and make ready for what's to come.

 

[Sticks]

Let me be clear here, I am not in any way discrediting any thing that Minerrick has posted. It was me that said I was going to go with a corded tool in the creek. Personally I think the guy is a Genius. Anyway no offence intended.

 

[minerrick]

It was me that said I was going to go with a corded tool in the creek. Personally I think the guy is a Genius..

No genius here, just a regular guy applying common sense to unique problems. The internet is a great research tool, when I come up with my "what if I tried...?" questions. I had to laugh about the drilling in wet areas: believe me we thought about it, and no matter what idea we came up with, it just seemed too dangerous. Water and electricity are not a good combination. A friend of mine is designing an inexpensive, waterproof and safe, sds drill but so far he isn't ready to let me test it out.

As far as winching- I've never had a cable/rope break under stress on me. I am VERY careful when winching and if the winch is running and the rock isn't moving, I usually shut down and make the rock smaller. That's the problem with doing what we are doing- we are in a very remote location, and if someone gets an arm cut off or something scary like that, from a whipping cable, it would not be a good situation. So I am probably TOO safety conscious, but I like coming home in one piece. If a rope starts to fray too much, I get rid of it. When winching over rocks, I usually throw one of my cargo net pieces on the rock, so the winch cable is rubbing against a synthetic rope rather than a rock. Not to mention the good winch ropes are VERY EXPENSIVE, and I would rather not have to replace them often.

Sharp rocks- yup, that is the downside of "smaller rocks" is they usually are very sharp. In another thread I talked about my solution. For shoes (boots) I use Boggs or Mucks (expensive but they last a long time and they are warm and comfortable); for leg protection, I use what hockey players use to protect their legs from pucks- hockey shin guards that go up to my knees. I don't go near the rock pile without those on. Literally, daily, I take falls that would have shredded my legs on sharp rocks. I mean LITERALLY...... DAILY.... Those things are standard operational wear for me. If I am working at the claim, I am wearing them. ... Sounds stupid, looks even more stupid, but my legs are fully protected and not torn up.

 

[Sticks]

I agree, Muck steel toe for me. I wish they had the same warranty as boggs have. You can take a pair of worn out boggs in and get a new pair if the soles are still good. Slip and fall yes quite often but the mucks tend to grip quite a bit better than anything else I have tried. Nothing funny at all about the hockey protection I would do the same if I had it. I have sat on many o rock up there and wondered how they would get me out if I got badly hurt, the dangers are quite real. I believe that dredging has it's own dangers but serious hi banking is a whole nother deal. Love your posts

 

[minerrick]

Ebay is a great source for used knee guards (even used knee guards are in great shape compared to what a lifetime of hitting jagged rocks will do) and the price is right too- $9:

Pair of Tour CDN Hockey Shin Knee Guards MSX Shock Size M 13 14 | eBay

 

[Sticks]

I think that I found those Simpson bolts at home depot at least that is what the site said. It warned not to use an impact to install into hollow cmu? I hope that doesn't apply to this. I would like to use my makita impact to install. Could you point me to a fixture that you would use in that situation. Meaning what do you use to attach the block at that point? That's what I don't get here is the part between the bolt and the block. Is that something that I could fab out of 1/4" thick flatbar, hole for anchor and hole for a clevis or heavy caribiner? or is there a pre made anchor that would work better?

 

[minerrick]

It warned not to use an impact to install into hollow cmu? Meaning what do you use to attach the block at that point? That's what I don't get here is the part between the bolt and the block. Is that something that I could fab out of 1/4" thick flatbar, hole for anchor and hole for a clevis or heavy caribiner? or is there a pre made anchor that would work better?

I use a 3/4" drive, 3 foot long cheater bar socket from Harbor Freight ($20). Sometimes you need another rock to tap the bolt into the hole to get it started.

For the attachment point, I start with a 6" long piece of 3" or 4" channel iron. I'll try to describe what I do to it. Lay it flat on a table on its back. About 2" from one end I drill a 11/16" (for the 5/8" bolts) hole in the backing that is flat on the table (Titen Bolt Hole), then on the other end of the channel, I get a 10" long piece of rebar and bend it into a loop so that both ends of the rebar are aligning up with the thick, vertical sides on the inside of the channel, laying on the table. Make sure the loop is actually angled up (off the table) a bit so you can get a winch hook into it when the attachment point is bolted down. Then weld the rebar to the vertical sides of the channel. Some attachment points, I actually have the loop, maybe at a 60 degree angle off the table top, to be used in situations where the rock face is either vertical or angled up at a steep angle.

The snatch blocks I use are:

The Warn one: http://www.amazon.com/Warn-88898-Sn..._1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1415028450&sr=1-1 or ones of similar quality
And the cheaper ones similar to these: Amazon.com: Heavy-duty 20,000 Lb ATV Winch Snatch Block 20000: Industrial & Scientific Be careful using the cheap ones as I have had several instances where the block itself, came apart on a big pull. Again, I think the adage applies, you get what you pay for.

On big, complicated pulls, I bought a used "monster" snatch block off of Ebay, something like this: http://www.gunnebojohnson.com/johns...blocks/double-sheave/double-sheave-with-hook/ - New, they cost $500-$1000 but sometimes you can find them a lot cheaper. I found one for $130. The sucker weighs maybe 60 lbs, but it has two sheaves and has the hook at one end, and on the other end, there is a place to add a clevis so the winch hook can attach back to the snatch block for multiplied pulling power. When using something like that, in a location where "attachment points" are few and far between, typically means you need to have several synthetic winch ropes around that AREN'T attached to your winch in order to be able to do those really long pulls and for going in and out of the sheaves. I usually shorten the spare winch rope to the exact length I need by attaching a clevis pin with two half hitches (or other appropriate knot) at the appropriate length and then let the extra rope drag along the ground on the pulls. That synthetic winch rope is so expensive, I really hate cutting it if I don't have to.

 

[Sticks]

I've looked and looked hard online and the best deal that I can find for a gas powered hammer drill is from the microblaster site.$695 I think. That RyobiER160 is no longer in production. I have found many gas drills but they do not have the hammer feature. Is there any way when you have time could you look at both the winches plus and master pull site and maybe recommend the right synthetic rope and appropriate length that would fit on that winch? I can't afford it yet but if I can start my Wife thinking about it then maybe she will say yes when funds become available. It worked for the SB and drill lol. She saw first hand how hard it is to move boulders around. I do appreciate your time, I know your busy. Thank you... ps I would think that I'd need at least 100ft, I don't know how much of that would fit on that drum as it looks like it all has extra sheathing on it. I think that I could figure 8 the excess on the housing once the spool is full. Idk

 

[minerrick]

Sticks- You won't be able to purchase the ER160 anywhere except ebay. Be patient, they will show up. $695 is a lot of money, and truth is, I talked to the importer of those drills and those new drills aren't really that reliable. I guess there is a new production run of them that he is hoping they get better, but he didn't have any feedback on the new drills, yet.

It looks like I purchased the Masterpull winch line. I am very happy with it as it is very durable and doesn't fray easily. I didn't get the most expensive one that has the shielding covering the whole rope, thinking I'd be really careful where it was pulling against. The drum holds 100 feet. In my complex situation, 100 feet isn't enough to do the exact pulls I need, so I am using a broken length of the previous rope that only lasted a couple of weeks before breaking. In my situation, I am using roughly 170 feet of rope for my pulls, so it involves moving the clevis hooked spare rope out over the rocks for each new pull. A bit annoying, but it is what it is.

 

[Sticks]

Is that the 3/8" line? Would that motor and pump run a wood splitter? That would help me sell her on it lol. I can relate on the rope length. I was running 160' and only able to get two blocks in. I guess that I will grab a couple extra 18volt dewalt xrp batteries for my hammer drill and just keep them charged up for now. I will watch ebay for that ryobi. Drill bit length? The guy has those sierra tuff bits @ 12,14,16,18" and the upgrade at 16" only I think. Any recommendations there? Two boosters plus the primary round plus 5" would the 16" work for the longest bit? I was planning on a 10 pack of each bit needed.

 

[minerrick]

Is that the 3/8" line? Would that motor and pump run a wood splitter? That would help me sell her on it lol. I can relate on the rope length. I was running 160' and only able to get two blocks in. I guess that I will grab a couple extra 18volt dewalt xrp batteries for my hammer drill and just keep them charged up for now. I will watch ebay for that ryobi. Drill bit length? The guy has those sierra tuff bits @ 12,14,16,18" and the upgrade at 16" only I think. Any recommendations there? Two boosters plus the primary round plus 5" would the 16" work for the longest bit? I was planning on a 10 pack of each bit needed.

1. 3/8" is good

2. For drill length, I usually get the 16" and 24". I think he is getting 48" which would be helpful in unique situations. Get the upgraded drills. I usually use 2 drills bits to drill a hole. They last longer that way (unless you are drilling underwater and then heat isn't an issue- but pulling the bit out of the hole often, is). Two boosters and the primary will give you a blast you will be proud of. I usually buy 50 packs of the charges as I go through them so quickly. Once you get a "head of steam up", you won't want to stop. Trust me on this. The SB opens up all sorts of possibilities.

 

[minerrick]

Sticks- in regards of using the hydraulic motor used for the winch, for a woodsplitter- I guess it could be done, but the woodsplitter would move too slowly (speaking from a guy who has a woodsplitter that does 5 cords an hour). I don't think there is enough volume of hydraulic fluid moved through the 1/2" lines to move any hydraulic cylinder very fast at all. It may take you a week to split a cord of wood using that hydraulic motor.

 

[Sticks]

lol ok I'll just make her come up and help this trip, she'll come around I'm sure. 5 cord an hour that's impressive.

 

[minerrick]

5 cord an hour that's impressive.

The caveat on the wood splitter is it only does that much with softwood pine (or straight -no large branches- trees), it has a 12 way split where I can put one 24" log in and 12 pieces come out. Homemade and it rocks, if I don't mind saying so myself.

 

[Sticks]

We burn wood now, ins company didn't want to let me put in a wood stove so I took an old walk in cooler and set it up with a stove in it and pump the hot air into the house. Nice thing is no mess inside and I get to stack 2/3 cord in the same box the stove is in so it's nearly kiln dried in a week. Found a good deal here on short Doug Fir logs $400 for a load aprox 5 cord delivered but my splitter has a wood handle and runs on food. lol But that's ok cuz I hate getting up to the claim and being out of shape. Usually takes 10 days to get my sea legs back up there. Post a pic of your splitter sometime put it in this thread if you want wont bother me or anyone else I'm pretty sure.

 

[minerrick]

We burn wood now, ins company didn't want to let me put in a wood stove so I took an old walk in cooler and set it up with a stove in it and pump the hot air into the house. Nice thing is no mess inside and I get to stack 2/3 cord in the same box the stove is in so it's nearly kiln dried in a week. Found a good deal here on short Doug Fir logs $400 for a load aprox 5 cord delivered but my splitter has a wood handle and runs on food. lol But that's ok cuz I hate getting up to the claim and being out of shape. Usually takes 10 days to get my sea legs back up there. Post a pic of your splitter sometime put it in this thread if you want wont bother me or anyone else I'm pretty sure.

Heck, splitting DF it may even do 6 cords an hour. My guess is since this is a mining forum, most folks wouldn't be interested in me wasting bandwith on pics of my woodsplitter. PM me your email and I will send you some photos. I need to move it tomorrow and I will send you some. I'm not to terribly proud that I spent over $25k designing and building a tool that I probably couldn't sell for more than $8k. Live and learn.... now my wife and I have a yard ornament that all my friends want to borrow this time of year. I won't sell it because I would never get my money out of it, so all my friends borrow it and have a hoot with it.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Next time I stop in show me your splitter Rick
We bought a 6 head Sierra Blaster system and igniting 6 heads at a time was impressive. We were slicing granite into slabs with it. I'm way behind on videos but it will be out soon enough

 

[minerrick]

Next time I stop in show me your splitter Rick
We bought a 6 head Sierra Blaster system and igniting 6 heads at a time was impressive. We were slicing granite into slabs with it. I'm way behind on videos but it will be out soon enough

Reed, did you try his battery operated ignitor? Very cool. 2 AA batteries. Works like a charm. I am looking forward to my first 8 head blast, as it will be one for the books.

Heck, here are the splitter pics. Reed if you want to try it on soft wood, you're welcome to borrow it. But you live where there are hardwoods, so it wouldn't be that beneficial for you. It doesn't have the tonnage to to multiple splits of hardwoods.