Explosive forming

I want to do some explosive forming. I don't know what I want to form yet, I just like the idea of blowing something up and making something useful. Where can I get the stuff? Do I need some license or something or just true desire, to buy the stuff?

Reply to
Tom Gardner
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In these days of "terrorist threat", chances are real good that you're going to need a license (which will almost certainly be a "token payment" by itself, but will probably require major cash to get the certifications for your facilities, storage bunkers, operating area, god-only-knows-how-many required "safety courses", background checks, umpty-bajillion dollars worth of insurance, and other "incidental" costs) plus permission, plus permitting the feds to implant an agent in your ass so you can be watched 23/7/365.

Precision explosives, which are what you're going to need to do anything more than "blow something up", of any serious magnitude are pricey - You don't do the stuff you're talking about with a bucket of ammmonium nitrate and a gallon of diesel - and anyplace that sells them is, especially with the current "orange level" threat, going to be requiring a license, and probably yards and yards of paperwork (in triplicate or more, I'd imagine) for any purchase, and will more than likely keep the bunkers locked until you produce one, AND the feds have approved the sale.

Welcome to America - home of the brave, land of the free...

Which is precisely why I say that the terrorists flat-out won on 9/11. Pre-9/11, something like you want to do would have raised eyebrows, but little more. Today, I'd bet it isn't possible for a newcomer to get started in the field without more documentation, paperwork, and approvals being required than what he/she can stomach to set up and fire his first test shot. And all in the name of "national security".

Reply to
Don Bruder

Quite a few years ago, I used to spend a fair number of weekends at my friend's placer mining claim. There was one huge boulder in a primo pool we wanted to dredge. We planned to blow it up at the end of one summer and let the snow runoff remove the pieces. To that end, I thought it might be somewhat wise if one of us knew what we were doing. I took a class put on by the local college. Teacher was an MSHA instructor, class was 18 hours, and the class covered among other things, Storage and Transportation, Regulatory Agencies, and several topics covering the selection and application of explosives. Much of that covered tunneling and open pit mining, but the instructor was happy to cover specifics of blasting the big boulder we wanted to get rid of. If you do take a class, be sure to ask the instructor about what you want to do and if they don't have specific knowledge, see if they can't refer you to someone with relevant experience. I would say a class of this sort should be mandatory before working with explosives. Particularly after 9/11, you will want to pay attention to regulatory agencies and storage/transportation. Be safe. If you screw up, there's a good chance you'll never know it, but your family won't be happy cleaning up the mess.

Oh, that boulder we wanted to blow; an early snow prevented us from getting in at the end of fall, and Mother Nature showed her power by moving a rock the size of my kitchen so far downstream, we never saw it again.... I never did get a chance to put any of what I learned to use.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Anderson

It's a bit stickier post OKC (9/11 didn't do much) but it is possible to do a lot if you have the space (acerage). In TN technically I don't need any licence and am specifically exempted from keeping records (agriculture) but it's tough to buy explosives without a type 33 BATF licence (user) or something like that. You can build your own magazines cheaply with a little immagination that will pass BATF inspection. I built 3, one for explosives, one for detonators, and a mobile one for transporting the goodies home (avoid the $100 delivery fee!). It is possible to get a day permit where you blow it all up in a day so you don't need a storage magazine. I'm a cheapscate, it's cheaper to buy a case (55#) and store it than trying to buy a few sticks at a time.

Reply to
Nick Hull

I have no idea what type of explosive power you need to form these things (what are we talking about? brass, aluminum, steel?) but you *could* build something like a quarter shrinker which might satisfy those cravings without getting involved in govt. regulations. It is metal "forming" after all heh heh :-p

http://205.243.100.155/frames/shrinkergallery.html No affiliation with them, but it is something I have always wanted to try.

Rick

Reply to
Rick

I saw something in a book of high school shop projects that used a shell from a gun to work. I think you smacked it with a hammer to set it off.

You'd make a form that went in the bottom of the device. Put a disk of soft aluminium on top of it. Close the device which held the shell on the top and then BOOM!

I don't know if that was clear enough so I'll try as ASCII drawing

|---S---| | | ========= | | |_______| |FFFFFFF|

---------

The sheel is at S. The device opens at the = line. The FFFFF is a form, the line right over it is the material that is explosively pushed onto the form.

I'm sure you can start with a smallish shell and work your way up to a size that works for you.

Reply to
Philippe Habib

I would've hunted that boulder down and blowed it up! You must feel cheated!

Reply to
Tom Gardner

I understand that wire can be "explosively detonated" The plan would be to use a smallish wire connected to heavy cables. You charge up a large capacitor bank. When you connect the heavy wire to the capacitors the small wire goes "BOOM". No permission is need to buy the parts.

No guaranty Bill K7NOM

Reply to
Bill Janssen

Not entirely... The best way to split the boulder would have been with a few half sticks in drilled holes. Think hand held star drill and sledge hammer. We didn't relish the thought of that aspect of the task, and had even less interest in trying to get a gas powered rock drill down into the claim just for a one-time thing. (actually, getting it in would be pretty easy, humping the drill back out would have been a bitch)

Jon

Reply to
Jon Anderson

aye, this is the quarter shrinker I was refering to. You also generate one hell of an EMP, so I wouldn't want to have any electronics (phones, laptops, etc) close by.

Reply to
Rick

In that case, you make a shaped charge using a copper funnel, some PVC, or even half an orange rind, and drill your own shot holes. Mud capped of course.

Gunner

"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster

Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton

Reply to
Gunner

Also no wallets (credit cards or atm cards). Alan Wood

Reply to
Alan Wood

That is NOT a quarter shrinker, but a detonating wire device. The detonating wire can be used instead of a "blasting cap" to create a primary shock-wave for setting off secondary explosives. They use the detonating wires, for example, in nuclear bombs to accurately start the detonation of the explosive sphere around the core - to create as perfectly a spherical implosion shock-wave as possible. Krytrons etc. in addition for the electronics, to accurately detonate the wires. Anyway, the energy liberated by the wire is propably not enough for the forming with any reasonable setup, and would be MUCH more complicated than using chemical explosives to release the energy.

Anyway, what the original asked could be interested in is hyperplastic forming. See:

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's a book on subject:
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"quarter shrinker" is a variant of these devices, for example: http://205.243.100.155/frames/shrinker.html The exploside forming uses a "mold" with the material plate on top of it, vacuum between mold and plate, and water on top of the assembly - ie. mold and plate in water tank. Now, one detonates an explosive charge in the water. That's it. Some articles:
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many more with a web search:
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As to getting the explosives, I'd seriously recommend to take some course on the subject - there you'll learn of the appropriate laws (ie. what is required to buy/use/store the materials), and MORE importantly how to use and handle the materials safely.

Kristian Ukkonen.

Reply to
Kristian Ukkonen

Taking a course on the subject is easier said than done. Unless you are in the military, just finding a class to become a licensed blaster is harder than making explosives in the first place.

Greg H.

Reply to
Greg and April

In which case a federal license is not required (if for personal use).

Joel. phx

Reply to
Joel Corwith

I know that a detonating wire device is not a quarter shrinker, but they have esentially the same power supply (bunch of maxwell caps and a spark gap triggering device) to dump a huge amount of current through a wire or coil of wire (for the shrinker). The wire in a quarter shrinker also detonates and is only usable once per shrink.

Reply to
Rick

The issue ( as far as I'm concerned), is getting a Blasters license, not personal use. I have no personal need for explosives other than wanting to become a professional.

Greg H.

Reply to
Greg and April

Subject: Re: Explosive forming

Reply to
Joel Corwith

......and it's best done with the knowledge and training that comes with a blasting license.

Greg H.

Reply to
Greg and April

Try getting a job with a blaster as a helper and get OJT.

Reply to
Nick Hull

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