HIgh explosives or low

[Mountaineer2020]

Headed into the sheriff's office tomorrow to get fingerprinted for the atf explosive permit. Got good info from here mostly from reading BlasterJ's posts and articles in the ICMJ. Still, I have alotta questions! Being a small operator I thought staying with the low explosives on the application would be better. Can a fella get by with Royex and autostem? The magazine requirements aren't as difficult or expensive. The atf application says I need to have the storage facilities in place before the permit will be issued. So, if I do put in for high explosives I need a type 1 mag? If I only put in for low explosives I need a type 4 mag before they will issue a permit? Last does anyone know a good source for magazines or a diy that won't break the bank. I found a type 4 using a rigid toolbox and truckbed liner on youtube which wouldn't break the bank. Trying to get it all put together before the melt.

 

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[BlasterJ]

Headed into the sheriff's office tomorrow to get fingerprinted for the atf explosive permit. Got good info from here mostly from reading BlasterJ's posts and articles in the ICMJ. Still, I have alotta questions! Being a small operator I thought staying with the low explosives on the application would be better. Can a fella get by with Royex and autostem? The magazine requirements aren't as difficult or expensive. The atf application says I need to have the storage facilities in place before the permit will be issued. So, if I do put in for high explosives I need a type 1 mag? If I only put in for low explosives I need a type 4 mag before they will issue a permit? Last does anyone know a good source for magazines or a diy that won't break the bank. I found a type 4 using a rigid toolbox and truckbed liner on youtube which wouldn't break the bank. Trying to get it all put together before the melt.

If you only do low explosives, you can get by with just a single job box lined with Herculiner or thin plywood to make a type 4. The setback/distance requirements aren't too bad either. Lots of semi-pro fireworks enthusiasts have been approved this way.

They probably won't let you put one in an attached garage, but a barn or shed is fine.

If you want to be able to buy Kinepak, detcord, dynamite, etc. for bigger jobs, then you will need a couple of type 1 or type 2 magazines. They can be built or found at auctions and refurbished.

What are you looking to blast?

 

[Red_desert]

One time I dug what looked like an old style blasting cap, which normally had a wire the center of top. Only saw photos of them in a magazine, wire missing... I think other types in photo used fuses. Got the attention of a park person, she hardly looked at it, then placed it down on stuff, in a trash barrel. I asked her to look at it and what I'd suspected the thing could be. Her eyes popped wide open, she slowly picked it up putting down in my hand. Told me to get the thing out of the park.

 

[Goldfinger450]

The mini blasters do not even require a permit to my knowledge and easy to use and inexpensive.

 

[Mountaineer2020]

If you only do low explosives, you can get by with just a single job box lined with Herculiner or thin plywood to make a type 4. The setback/distance requirements aren't too bad either. Lots of semi-pro fireworks enthusiasts have been approved this way.

They probably won't let you put one in an attached garage, but a barn or shed is fine.

If you want to be able to buy Kinepak, detcord, dynamite, etc. for bigger jobs, then you will need a couple of type 1 or type 2 magazines. They can be built or found at auctions and refurbished.

What are you looking to blast?

Quartz breccia vein primarily in drift. Cross cuts would be in aggrillite. Veins 3-5 feet in width. The veins and agrillite aren't solid there are lots of seams. At this point just prospecting trying to open up some old workings blast a few outcrops and boulders. I am hoping to drive 15 feet of tunnel to get into a parallel tunnel off one that had a messy cave in. I tried the microblaster and wanted something that could break more rock.

I'm thinking maybe start with the low explosives then move on up once I have some experience and time to build or buy a type 1 magazine. Wish this snow would melt! Gold bug is biting hard.

 

[BlasterJ]

You could enlarge a drift with the larger sizes and even the small ones will break pretty large boulders. You'll want a way to drill a 1 1/4 or 1 3/8" hole at least 2' deep. An SDS Max drill will do or an air drill if you can make it happen.

The 1.4 cartridges like Royex, NXBurst and Autostem work exactly like the Sierra Blaster, just larger. It's probably not worth investing in type 1 or 2 magazines for this initial need unless you just want to do it.