slitting spring bronze

Does every new soldier know all of that?

Fear not. I won't try it.

OK, but I'll bet you either researched it prior to burning it, or took someone else's demonstration of burning it before you lit your own C4, Lloyd.

Larry Jaques fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

By the time they've handled any, yep... every man above them who's ever done will (faithfully) pass it on.

Nope... took it on faith. One thing a well-indoctrinated soldier does is believe what he's told by anyone with one more stripe than his. He believes, because that's part of his job description.

Lloyd

\It was a common way to heat coffee or rations during the Vietnam era, at least among the Marines. 'Don't know about the army.

My cousin, a Marine sniper, told me much the same story as the one Lloyd related above. Like you, I expressed concern that he was carrying a kilo of it in his pack when he went out on sniper missions. Then he explained that it really was for heating coffee.

Yes..dynamite burns well, though not as fast as C4

Gunner Asch fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

15% won't. The low-percentage heaving grades have so much inert filler as to render them impervious to anything but a cap -- except for those that are 'filled' with nitrocellulose for gas production. Those burn like a candle.

Lloyd

Same here.

I guess I knew less about dynamite than I thought, thinking that fire or shock could detonate it.

Larry Jaques fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Heh!

Larry, "shock" IS what detonates it. But not the sort of shock it would get from dropping, or even pounding a stick (not on a steel plate) with a hammer.

Detonators' and blasting caps' primary purpose is to supply a shock of such a magnitude and rise time that it initiates explosive decomposition of the compound your using for blasting.

Some materials (most 'hand-carry' HEs) are totally insensitive to mishandling, and only capable of being detonated with a cap or detonator/booster, or with fire in a LARGE mass.

The old saw about "sweating" dynamite is true. If you see a stick of old stuff with glistening yellow droplets on the outside, then avoid it. The NG has migrated through the paper to the surface; and NOW it's sensitive to handling shock!

That happens rarely today. Most "dynamites" aren't even Dynamite, any more (which is nitroglycerine dispersed in inert fillers and gas- producing compounds). Most modern _so_called_ "dynamites" are ammonium nitrate/metal/oil/water emulsions that don't initiate at all - ever - without a strong cap or a booster.

Lloyd

LLoyd

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" fired this volley in news:XnsA1C8B57793E3Clloydspmindspringcom@216.168.3.70:

decomposition

I should add this:

Blasting caps are made with "primary explosives". These chemicals DO detonate instantly upon being set on fire. They require no shock -- so a fuse or an electrical resistance wire heater is enough. (yes, they're also sensitive to mechanical shock).

It's the detonation of the cap which sets off the detonation of the larger mass of high explosive, like C-4.

Caps use things similar to what's in percussion caps for firearms (but there are several compounds that work better for blasting, and would be injurious to the bores of guns, because of corrosion issues).

LLoyd

Du Pont came up with a explosive that is called Tovex. I am reasonably sure it is TNT with some additions. Anyway they wanted to make a film showing how safe it was and so had a demonstration where a case of dynamite and a case of tovex were burned. And lo and behold the dynamite exploded. Wonderful public relations.

However it turned out that the men setting up the demonstration knew that the PR types wanted the dynamite to explode and so had put some caps in with the dynamite. They did not want to keep setting up the demonstation until the dynamite happened to explode.

The story may not be true, but it ought to be true.

Dan

Ive never used 15%, only 30 (rarely) and 60% most often.

Shock "can"...and the higher the nitro percentage...the more likely

This of course does not include frozen then thawed dynamite...which can have a very hairy trigger...very dangerous stuff.

Old nitro...can have a significant amount of nitroglycerin leaking out of the individual sticks and into the sawdust in the box. I dont know what they use these days for packaging if anything..but when I worked for the Atlas Powder company dealer...nearly all true dynamite still came in wooden boxes filled with sawdust. Prills, nitramons etc etc...all came in cardboard.

In addition to laser and water jet, there's electrochemical machining; you could print it like a printed circuit board, and etch with ferrous chloride to part the strip.

Unrolling it and getting a photographic negative that long for an exposure, though, isnt an easy print process in this case. I've done smaller parts this way.

whit3rd fired this volley in news:cc7dd172-8168-44f4- snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

Ferrous chloride doesn't rapidly enter into a double-displacement reaction with copper. It's corrosive to most metals, but not like Ferric chloride.

Ferric chloride works to etch copper alloys, aluminum, some stainless, zinc...just about any alloy with metals more active than iron, but it undercuts...

Why would you do a photo-resist for something like that?

If I were inclined to try to etch an 80" long piece, it would be with a PSA resist film. (not ordinary 'tape', but a plastic resist with a special adhesive that doesn't bleed underneath like regular tapes do.)

Lloyd

Yes, I knew that much. ;)

Yeah, I've seen that a lot in westerns and knew it was true, too.

Thanks for the info.

I wish I had your experience there. Sounds like fun.

Me like things go boom.

Larry Jaques fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

That's why I do what I do!

Lloyd

You can stack the cutters and get just about any size you need. I have about 160 lbs of cutters stored in the back.

John

HE is fun, no matter if you use store bought or make your own.

Prima cord..is another fun toy.

Gunner