South Crofty Spring 2009· Page 3

Mine exploration, photographs and mining history for mine explorers, industrial archaeologists, researchers and historians

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derrickman
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#41

I've always hated setting out holding bolts, a crap job with more scope for getting blamed for next to nothing than just about anything else I know

I won't guess who agricola is in case it's Ron Hooper after all...

''the stopes soared beyond the range of our caplamps' - David Bick...... How times change .... oh, I don't know, I've still got a lamp like that.

Roy Morton
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#42

It aint Ron that's for sure.
Didn't Ron pass on some years ago?

"You Chinese think of everything!"
"But I''m not Chinese!"
"Then you must have forgotten something!"

derrickman
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#43

I wouldn't be surprised. He was due to retire, but wouldn't, when I was at CSM - and that's 35 years ago.

''the stopes soared beyond the range of our caplamps' - David Bick...... How times change .... oh, I don't know, I've still got a lamp like that.

Knocker
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#44

I think he was a student several years after you derrickman! A comment made last week was, "I thought had got past being the worst paid on the site for the absolutley worst possible job!"

Roy Morton
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#45

As for setting out Bolts to tight tolerances, do you use the polystyrene cones around the bolts when casting the concrete? They give a marvelous 'after pour' flexibility to the bolts / studs, and generally means you have a floor to walk on to do the final setting and alignment prior to grouting in position.
To remove the cones just add a little heat or Acetone and watch the foam disappear. Can give you 75mm latitude each side of center, 360 degrees. :thumbsup:

"You Chinese think of everything!"
"But I''m not Chinese!"
"Then you must have forgotten something!"

derrickman
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#46

the cones are good, but not if you forget to wrap the head in Denso like someone I know did recently... :wub:

gas-axe on the bolt-holes in the column bases is quick'n'simple...

I did a fair amount of dimensional control on oilrig topsides at one time, now that's accurate work... stabbing cones within 3mm tolerances on the underside of a 27,000 tonne topsides jacked up 15m in the air...

''the stopes soared beyond the range of our caplamps' - David Bick...... How times change .... oh, I don't know, I've still got a lamp like that.

Knocker
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#47

The cones are great, but you can't use them when when you're fixing into an existing concrete base, We were using Hilti Hit RE500, which is amazing stuff in terms of strength (3 times the strength of the stansard stuff like some use for bolting) But it needs 24 hours to cure, particularly on large diameter holes.

The gas axe isn't quite as quick and simple when the column base is 50mm thick and galvanised.

Knocker
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#48

Sort of back to subject I see thin price is starting to take off again - without speculators this time! Its up 30% in the last month

derrickman
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#49

gas axing galvanised plate... eeewwww....... looks bad afterwards, doesn't it?

I usually prefer to drill through the footplate for fixing into existing slabs. Saves an awful lot of controversy... put one bolt to secure it and drill the rest to suit. The oil industry usually does it properly, by checking the as-constructed plate before fixing the bolts, but 'cheapness at any cost' civils methods aren't usually so thorough....

''the stopes soared beyond the range of our caplamps' - David Bick...... How times change .... oh, I don't know, I've still got a lamp like that.

Knocker
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#50

Thats what I would normally do, unofrtunately time and cost would have caused to many problems on this one, bearing in mind the holes had to be core drilled as opposed to conventioanlly drilled and each steel leg weighed in at nearly 4 tonnes requiring a 130 tonne crane

Alasdair Neill
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

16 years ago

#51

With trackless mining at Wheal Jane apparently there were problems with operator's seats being destroyed by the extreme acidic conditions & miners being affected by v.i.ds. Don't know how widespread the problem was. Nowadays I suppose this could be countered with cabs on the larger machines.

Intersting piece in the last Welsh Mines Soc. newsletter on development of the 'Celtic Miner' for working very narrow coal seams - the sort you would send children in to mine. Must look at the website referred to. Perhaps there is scope for further development in mechanised stoping of very narrow lodes.