Dave
Well-known member
The stump removal thread reminded me of a story a co-worker told me.
This was back in the 50's when there were still lots of old growth fir stumps on farms that were 6 foot in diameter and up. You could buy dynamite at the local hardware store. Most farmers had some dynamite on hand and would work on stump removal as time allowed. Generally the idea was to put in enough powder to split the stump which was then removed piece at a time.
So Ted was about 7 or 8 at the time and following his dad around. The neighbor stopped by and asked his dad if he had some dynamite he could borrow. It seems that he had a stubborn stump he was working on and was out of dynamite. Dad said yes, it was down at the pump house and to take how ever much he needed.
I little later the dad told Ted that they should go watch this stump get shot out of the ground. So they drive down the road. They arrive just in time to meet the neighbor hustling out of the field. The fuse was lit. Dad asked the neighbor how much powder he put under the stump. The neighbor replied, "all of it." Dad turned to Ted and said we need to get back a little farther away. It seems that the neighbor was use to using 30% stumping powder. The dynamite he borrowed from Ted's dad was 70% ditching powder. A whole lot more powerful stuff.
So Ted and his dad pulled back on to the county road and drove a couple hundred yards down the road. The blast went off. Pieces of a 6 foot old growth stump went into orbit. One quarter of the stump with a lot of root connected went past them sitting there on the county road. Ted thought it was going to hit the Grange hall which was a 100 feet up the road but it didn't. It cleared the hall and landed in the parking lot on the back side of the building.
The moral of the story is that people who don't know what they are doing shouldn't play with dynamite. But it is fun to watch..... from a distance.
This was back in the 50's when there were still lots of old growth fir stumps on farms that were 6 foot in diameter and up. You could buy dynamite at the local hardware store. Most farmers had some dynamite on hand and would work on stump removal as time allowed. Generally the idea was to put in enough powder to split the stump which was then removed piece at a time.
So Ted was about 7 or 8 at the time and following his dad around. The neighbor stopped by and asked his dad if he had some dynamite he could borrow. It seems that he had a stubborn stump he was working on and was out of dynamite. Dad said yes, it was down at the pump house and to take how ever much he needed.
I little later the dad told Ted that they should go watch this stump get shot out of the ground. So they drive down the road. They arrive just in time to meet the neighbor hustling out of the field. The fuse was lit. Dad asked the neighbor how much powder he put under the stump. The neighbor replied, "all of it." Dad turned to Ted and said we need to get back a little farther away. It seems that the neighbor was use to using 30% stumping powder. The dynamite he borrowed from Ted's dad was 70% ditching powder. A whole lot more powerful stuff.
So Ted and his dad pulled back on to the county road and drove a couple hundred yards down the road. The blast went off. Pieces of a 6 foot old growth stump went into orbit. One quarter of the stump with a lot of root connected went past them sitting there on the county road. Ted thought it was going to hit the Grange hall which was a 100 feet up the road but it didn't. It cleared the hall and landed in the parking lot on the back side of the building.
The moral of the story is that people who don't know what they are doing shouldn't play with dynamite. But it is fun to watch..... from a distance.
