gbb
Squire
- Location
- Peterborough
I had a job in the 70s ...blowing dynamite up (well, a version i can't now remember of dynamite)
Shame there's no video, but i'll try to paint a picture for you..
Vale of Belvoir, pre the mega coal pits, we were surveying the region for coal. Part of that process was to drill hundreds of 10 ft deep holes, insert a 1lb stick of explosives (there may be 20 in a line, all blown one after the other) and recording instruments would pick up the seismic data and interpret if there was coal under there. This all went on all year.
My job was to detonate. heavy wooden box, a winder on it, a plunger and a firing button and a phone to converse with the recording lorry.. Connect the leads to the explosive wires. Foot on the plunger, wind up to charge, contact the recording crew to tell them you're firing, they'd give a warning blast on a klaxon, then use your toe of the same boot on the plunger to lift the firing button...and away it went.
We were doing a special deep blast at langar airfield, a 100ft drill hole that required a special rig (on the back of a huge american International truck IIRC). The hole took maybe a week to drill, using thousands of gallons of water to cool the bit. They then placed a circa 10lb charge down it.
I didnt detonate this one, but we all gathered at the safe point to watch, maybe 100 ft away, all sitting (luckily) in our Landrovers.
The klaxon went off to announce a detonation, we heard a low threatening 'currump' sound, felt the vehicles shake, then for a few seconds nothing but a gurgling sound...then we all sat open mouthed as a black geyser of water erupted into the air and shot up maybe 100 to 200 ft ft or so.
And then...it came down
...and in an instant, the windscreens of the Landrovers went black as the filthy water hit. 
We climbed out, to survey a black gloopy mess over eveything. It was miraculous no-one was outside their vehicles (perhaps with hindsight, the controllers knew this would happen and instructed us to get in our vehicles, i don't remember). You'd have looked like the creature from the swamp.
35 years or so later, i can still see that black geyser shooting up into the air....fantastic.
One of the VERY best jobs i ever had, very very good pay, outdoors all day with a bunch of young nutcases, hours between blasts to do as you pleased, it frequently got out of hand...we just went too far sometimes.
Shame there's no video, but i'll try to paint a picture for you..
Vale of Belvoir, pre the mega coal pits, we were surveying the region for coal. Part of that process was to drill hundreds of 10 ft deep holes, insert a 1lb stick of explosives (there may be 20 in a line, all blown one after the other) and recording instruments would pick up the seismic data and interpret if there was coal under there. This all went on all year.
My job was to detonate. heavy wooden box, a winder on it, a plunger and a firing button and a phone to converse with the recording lorry.. Connect the leads to the explosive wires. Foot on the plunger, wind up to charge, contact the recording crew to tell them you're firing, they'd give a warning blast on a klaxon, then use your toe of the same boot on the plunger to lift the firing button...and away it went.
We were doing a special deep blast at langar airfield, a 100ft drill hole that required a special rig (on the back of a huge american International truck IIRC). The hole took maybe a week to drill, using thousands of gallons of water to cool the bit. They then placed a circa 10lb charge down it.
I didnt detonate this one, but we all gathered at the safe point to watch, maybe 100 ft away, all sitting (luckily) in our Landrovers.
The klaxon went off to announce a detonation, we heard a low threatening 'currump' sound, felt the vehicles shake, then for a few seconds nothing but a gurgling sound...then we all sat open mouthed as a black geyser of water erupted into the air and shot up maybe 100 to 200 ft ft or so.
And then...it came down
...and in an instant, the windscreens of the Landrovers went black as the filthy water hit. We climbed out, to survey a black gloopy mess over eveything. It was miraculous no-one was outside their vehicles (perhaps with hindsight, the controllers knew this would happen and instructed us to get in our vehicles, i don't remember). You'd have looked like the creature from the swamp.
35 years or so later, i can still see that black geyser shooting up into the air....fantastic.
One of the VERY best jobs i ever had, very very good pay, outdoors all day with a bunch of young nutcases, hours between blasts to do as you pleased, it frequently got out of hand...we just went too far sometimes.
