Breaking stone or concrete ...??

[JRR]

Did I dream this....?

I thought I recently saw photos or video that showed a person breaking concrete or stone by hand:  First, using a carbide drill, a group of holes were drilled.  Then into each hole was placed a loose two-piece collet.  Then a tapered spike was placed into each of the collets.  A heavy hammer was used to strike the spikes until the concrete/stone split apart.  Look like a neat set of tools to have ... but, now I can's seem to find such.

??  Anyone have some info?   Thanks.

[Redoverfarm]

Google " breaking stones by drilling and wedges".  Couldn't copy the link to post but this is the manner you were talking about .

[Don_P]

If you google "Feather and wedges" I saw several sellers and a you tube.
Dry wood driven in holes and then wetted, water poured in holes and frozen, fire on top and then quenching with cold water are also ways of breaking up rock.

[JRR]

Well a big "DUH" back to me!  Thanks guys, don't know why I couldn't find these.

[Don_P]

Dexpan is another one I've used. It is a powder you mix with water and pour in the holes, then let it sit overnight and it swells and breaks the rock. Not cheap but I've used it under a house where blasting might have disturbed the china.

[JRR]

Dexpan is interesting stuff.  If a person had a super small job, could he use a portion of the Dexpan and successfully store the unused portion for later use?

[Don_P]

I had stored 2 cases for about 3 years leftover from a job and gave it to some guys a week or so ago. They offered to pay but it was old and I was curious and wanting the barn space back more than anything. I had bought it thinking I was going to hit the mountain again on the next job and got lucky. I ran into one of the guys at the store a couple of days ago and he said it didn't work. I talked to the excavator yesterday and we're not so sure, they did get the rock out. It isn't dramatic like dynamite it simply fractures the rock. The excavator said it wasn't a super dense rock which is where dexpan shines, I had used it on granite. So long story short, not sure, I wouldn't intentionally buy extra but if there is some left store it in a well sealed container, maybe with some of those silica gel packs in it