Yep, been there done that. 42" Oak log about 20' long & in a real tough spot. 3 bore cuts, some powder fuses & wooden wedges to fill in behind the powder. Split it right clean in 1/2 no problem. One wedge wasn't driven in tight enough though. Went up outta sight, never did find it. Made the log much easier to cut up.
don't know anything about c4 but I use 100 grain Pyrodex powder in my black powder deer rifle and thats more than I use in the wedge, wedge is 3" steel my muzzle loader maybe 1/8 wall go figure
How far does the wedge usually fly? I think I'd be painting that thing a bright color to see where its going or coming......
speedshop it doesn’t go four to five feet away,if you look at the stick of wood laying horizontal that I split you will see the wedge laying on ground that is how far it went
I was taught to use enough fuse so you can walk swiftly away and take short cuts. NEVER run, you trip and fall you are dead. That was for TNT, but the same applies here.
This is nothing like a IED. A IED is made from high explosive, usely unexploded ordinance, or APNO, ANFO,C4, ECT ECT. This is more like a black powder shape charge. Black powder is a slow burning powder, and just like anything it will find the path of least resistant, and that will always be the wood.
Gunpowder’s really not a mystery. Been around in various forms for centuries. Heck if it wasn’t for my experiments with gunpowder as a kid I never would have graduated high school. Never tried splittin a log with it though.
Understand that many of us urban types never had a rural experience with ordinance ( gunpowder or firearms). We had to train to learn in another situation that was not so much fun. All I know is the ordinance drills with dead serious D.I.'s who did notgive us what you call "fun". Just another life. Thx for the lesson though. I'll stick to mauls and splitters.
Back in grade school I used the encyclopedia Britanica junior edition to look up gun powder and found the formula. It was listed by percentages of sulfur, charcoal and saltpeter. Never made any of it go bang but it did shoot out a nice long tail when packed into a spent cartridge. We were putting our math learning to a good practical application. Don't think my parents knew what we were doing. Sulfur and saltpeter were purchased at the general store in town.
Yup, we did the same, but made shotguns with galvanized pipe, using broken glass or pebbles as the shot, and toilet paper as the wadding. Caught the grass on fire more than once. Purchased the saltpeter at the pharmacy, I don't remember where we got the sulfur, but is was easy to get.
You are right. Back then we tried to find practical applications for what we were learning in school. Don't see anything wrong with that
I'm wondering if in the last video, if they would have made he plunge cut, then put the powder in a aluminum foil envelope of sorts that it would have worked a little better than just dumping the powder in the plunge cut, and packing it in with a stick?? Adding a length of fuse before you put it in the cut.
