T-Junction Dig 9 Report (part B)
10/20/01
The CCC thanks those that support our effort.
Paul Worsey has secured a donation of the explosives we will be using. He
is working to obtain a donation of the required blasting caps. Paul has
provided material from his lab for our initial work. Without his
credentials, expertise, and instructions blasting would be virtually impossible
in today's environment.
Danny Schupbach, a long time supporter, recently had two pneumatic drills
overhauled before loaning them to us for the duration. Danny has also
taken the initiative to ensure we have the tools and materials we need when we
need them. His technical and safety advice is invaluable.
Gerry Gattenby has provided steel and assembled two 4" pipe hole protectors
that we have now destroyed. Sorry about that Gerry. A heavy duty
template that he built is being used locate the drilled holes.
Saturday Ron Lather took the initiative and organized a crew to clean up around
the old sinkhole dig. They moved lumber and steel from the old dig to the
T-Junction dig and organized material at the old dig.
We thank Greg Fry and Chris Danuser for allowing up to play on their land.
Greg not only tolerates us, but also encourages us.
Finally, thanks to all the diggers that donated there time Saturday. This
includes Tom Lounsbury. Tom signed the attendance sheet but I neglected to
list him on the dig report. Tom's leadership on this project is
appreciated. Thanks also to Eddie Simmons. Eddie not only breathed
his share of rock dust on Saturday but spent time rounding up equipment during
the week and delivering it to the dig, on time, Saturday morning.
I would like to apologize to the two individuals that I ran off Saturday for
showing up unannounced and driving directly to the T-Junction. I later
learned that they had been invited by one of us and were there with equipment to
help. Help me avoid problems like this in the future by letting me know in
advance who will be there.
Help Wanted: If you can help with one of the following let me know.
1) We need a 3'-6" to 4' diameter by 7' long steel pipe or culvert to
sleeve the first 4 feet of the rock below the floor of the 8' steel tank and
extent up 3' above the floor for a safety rail. We will cut and hinge a
gate in the top section.
2) Heavy gage (10 minimum) electrical wire to run from the breaker panel
about 80' to the 8' pipe so outlets can be setup there.
3) Someone to build a plywood box to hold 3 squirrel cage fans (fans to be
donated by Aaron White) so that the inlet and outlet of the fans can be accessed
at a ring on the outside of the box. We could locate the fan box in the
silo or by the dig and duct a suction line or pressure line to the dig.
That would give us the option of sucking out blasting fumes or blowing fresh air
to the driller.
4) Sheet metal and or flexible duct for 3) above.
5) A very large chain or an anchor chain, (5 or 6 inch links) to hang in
the 9" hole to prevent large rocks from entering.
6) A culvert for the ditch in front of the school house, 12" to
16" diameter and a minimum of 10" long.
7) We are short on help for this weekend. Call or email to sign up
for Saturday or Sunday or both. Bring your helmet. We need a site
security officer and two blast crew safety officers. Any volunteers?
Rick Hines
913 897 4258
T-Junction Dig 9
10/20/01
Only 98' 2" to go!
Diggers signing attendance sheet: Greg Buckley, Terry DeFraties, Bill
Heim, Rick Hines, Andy Isbell, Dan Isbell, Jeremy King, Ron Lather, Ken Long,
Eddie Simmons, Aaron White, Chris Wolters, Carl Wagner, Paul Worsey
The third and fourth blast at the T-Junction dig were completed Saturday.
Blast 3 allowed us to remove 2' 6" and blast 4 took us down
another 2' 8" for a total gain of 5' 2" for the day. Only 98'
2" to go! The holes that received the charges were drilled as deep as
possible (2' 8") to maximize the gain per blast.
The cycle time between the two blasts was almost 5 hours. This compares to
a cycle time of a little over 2 hours last week. Most of the additional
time was spent removing the 4" pipe from the hole. The purpose of the
pipe was to prevent large rocks from falling down hole and potentially plugging
the 9-inch hole. The 4-inch pipe was flattened, bent and torn by the blast
(see attached photo). For the second blast of the day we used a 4"
I-beam to protect the 9-inch hole. It too was severely bent by the blast
but since we did not locate it as deep in the 9-inch hole extracting it was not
a problem.
Drill time for 6 holes was about 1 hour or about twice as long as last week.
The longer time was due to the fact that (1) we experimented with two
different drills to see which worked best, (2) the bit is wearing, (3) we
stopped several times to oil the drill by hand, (4) we drilled deeper. Drilling
deeper and the worn bit may have contributed to the drill locking up in the hole
a few times.
Both blasts were effective at pulverizing the rock to small rocks and dust that
went down the 9" hole with no plugging problems. We may be able to
eliminate the pipe used to protect the 9" hole from plugging. The
diameter of the shaft is being maintained at a minimum of 30 inches.
The sidewalls of the lower shaft seem quite secure following about 30 minutes of
cleanup work with a 35 lb jackhammer after each blast. The top 4 feet of
the shaft, just below the floor of the steel tank, is in loose rock that needs
to be sleeved before we go much deeper.
On future digs a site security person will be appointed to insure that all
people entering the area are on the list of diggers that have previously said
that they would attend. Do not show up unannounced. Do not drive
across the field to the T-Junction site unless you are hauling gear. If
the ground is dry and firm the site security person may make exceptions to the
driving policy.
Please let me know in advance what weekends you can work. We will try
to work each weekend until the blasting is complete. In addition to
having a crew available, working each weekend is dependent on explosives and
oversight being available from Paul Worsey and his students. They will
support us as much as their schedules will allow as long as we conduct ourselves
in a safe and responsible manner.
I would like to get as many CCC members as possible trained to help with the
effort. Please call or email to let me know when you will be available
to help.
We will work next Saturday and Sunday (Oct 27-28) and will try to do 4 blasts to
move the bottom of the shaft down 10 more feet.
Rick
913 897 4258