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WTF? Micro/shaving? Blowing up the rock kit?


billcoe

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What could possibly go wrong here? Bang! http://www.onrope1.com/store/index.php?p=product&id=674&parent=2

 

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"What is Micro-Shaving?

Micro-shaving is the process of removing manageable chunks of rock in a controlled manner. Basically, a hole is drilled, cleaned, then loaded with 1-2 of our power loads. The safety pad is centered over the hole and the held in place by the detonator firing pin. After adequate safety measures have been taken, a couple of whacks with the hammer and BANG! You have fractured the rock in several ways. "

 

 

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That's funny, I was looking at that site yesterday and wondering the same thing. What's "micro" or "controlled" about an explosive charge in a variable medium? If you're looking to do a little hold sculpting you'd be better off with a compressor and an air chisel or perhaps a diamond chainsaw...

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I had a pretty wild conversation with a climber friend who does mineral collecting in abandoned mines, mostly in Arizona. He does all kinds of whack things (and recently bought the aforementioned diamond chainsaw) to extract specimens from the walls, including using his aid get to get to things 50' off the deck in the ceiling of big rooms and such. I'll wager he's one of the target markets. I don't think cavers engage in much cutting or blasting in natural caves, that stuff isn't any more widely accepted than chipping in the climbing world.

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seems like it'd be hella more dangerous than on a cliff too! i've been reading "salt" lately, a history of that tasty product, and it mentions that over the previous centuries dozens of salt miners from celtic times, 2k+ years ago, have been unearthed in salt mines where caveins trapped them - the salt in the caves generally totalled preserved their corpses and even increased the brightness of their clothes :)

 

the closest i care to get to caving is climbing "the mines of moria" at smiff :P

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the closest i care to get to caving is climbing "the mines of moria" at smiff :P

 

Its a poor choice of sport for us big guys

my favorite "caving" expereince was finishing the top of iconoclast/whatever on scw in late october - following he pressure chamber in the dark w/ a pack on - an extreme sense of claustorphobia choking hte life from me - falling out into the darkness, hanging in space - my fat prusiks sliding on the sport rope we were climbing with - ow!

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