One Way to Split a Big Rock

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   Lee, that is a good tip. 

The fire & water trick sounds fun & can be done when clearing a field. It solves two issues at once, it gets rid of the debris, & helps get rid of the rock. Although, I suspect that dynamite is still funner.    

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cpt logger Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Joined: 23 Sep. 2012 Location: Western Colorad Status: Offline Points: 3043	Post Options Post Reply Quote cpt logger Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: One Way to Split a Big Rock Posted: 25 Nov. 2022 at 3:28pm
	Lee, that is a good tip. The fire & water trick sounds fun & can be done when clearing a field. It solves two issues at once, it gets rid of the debris, & helps get rid of the rock. Although, I suspect that dynamite is still funner.

mbullism Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Sponsor Member x 4 Joined: 29 May 2015 Location: MA Status: Offline Points: 4783	Post Options Post Reply Quote mbullism Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 25 Nov. 2022 at 10:52am
	Feathers and wedges around these parts...New england is full of gate posts and similar with the tell tale half holes along the corner of a split face. 'course, they didn't have a battery powered hammer drill That same hammer would have powered a star nosed chisel rotated by hand. That's where "hammer drill" likely came from
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Lee MN Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Joined: 13 Aug. 2008 Location: Harris, MN Status: Offline Points: 4950	Post Options Post Reply Quote Lee MN Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 25 Nov. 2022 at 10:24am
	The company I worked for did underground tunneling, either with a jacking shield or a TBM (tunnel boaring machine) they would often hit rocks and boulders and would drill them like that to split them or whatever it took, they had a couple different hyraulic wedge setups they used. My grandfather told me in the old days if they had a big rock in a farm feild they would build a fire on and around them and burn it for a few days getting it very hot, then poar water on them to crack them 😬 Lee
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cpt logger Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Joined: 23 Sep. 2012 Location: Western Colorad Status: Offline Points: 3043	Post Options Post Reply Quote cpt logger Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 24 Nov. 2022 at 11:19pm
	Dynamite is much more fun! My uncle used to drill holes like that & fill them with water. When the water turned to ice, it splits the rock. This only works in the winter time of course. I do agree that this is " Cool old school technology." as Oldpappy said. That tree is too tough to cut. It has survivor written all over it. Yes, I have cut a few trees in my time as well, but some trees have just earned the right to live.

Oldpappy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Joined: 09 Apr. 2018 Location: Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 4908	Post Options Post Reply Quote Oldpappy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 24 Nov. 2022 at 3:25pm
	Cool old school technology. I would have been more inclined to cut down the small tree to the right, but only because I have cut a lot more trees than rocks.
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Flatfender Ben Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Joined: 13 July 2014 Location: Nyssa OR Status: Offline Points: 2657	Post Options Post Reply Quote Flatfender Ben Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 24 Nov. 2022 at 11:42am
	That’s really neat! Thanks for sharing
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JeepFever Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Sponsor Member Joined: 07 Aug. 2012 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 2750	Post Options Post Reply Quote JeepFever Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 Nov. 2022 at 11:33pm
	My son wanted the sharp top of a big rock removed to make a trail easier to navigate. I had some "pins and feathers" from a previous landscaping project, (to split some basketball-sized+ stones). From what I read years ago, they would work on much bigger rock also, so I gave it a try yesterday. The pesky rock top. That triangle shape is just the "tip of iceberg" of a much larger rock The photo is after drilling (10) 9/16" holes with a battery hammer drill, then placing the wedges in the holes. Starting at one end and moving to the other, hit with hammer. After doing several passes back and forth, the rock split. Below is the result. Orange arrow shows top moved to side (after much effort, it was very heavy) the other arrow shows the widened trail path. This tool "pins and feathers" goes by a bunch of different names, but even though this name makes almost no sense, I thought it sounded cool. I thought I would share in case you had never heard of them, and might have a need to split a big rock. Edited by JeepFever - 04 Nov. 2022 at 11:36pm