David Bradshaw Photos Volume XVIII

[whitworth]

[cmh]

Very nice rig all the way around

[ericp]

I'm looking forward to hearing about those detonator boxes, I love mining and blasting equipment. Looks like your rig has some serious mileage on it, very cool!


Eric

[jayhawker]

Those bear traps are hard on grips. Love the rig.

[curmudgeon]

Looks like all GOOD Working equipment, What caliber handgun ?

[bradshaw]

Appreciation to Max Prasac for hitching these pictures. And to Lee. Thought I'd pose the Ruger 03 .45 Colt/.45 ACP with a few other tools from the Hardware World. The leather is made for all day wear, for which flexibility I favor single layer belting 2-3/4-inch to 3" wide. The Bowie is an early 1960's Edgebrand from Solingen: forged blade with full tapered tang, flat ground flanks; a fantastic piece of steel that sharpens on nearly any available stone and cuts like fury. The sheath is sole leather, riveted to clamp the blade; affords protection for knife and user.

Good oiled leather isn't afraid of water and is quiet in any weather, a quality unknown to synthetics.

Eric.... as it sounds like you know, the twist blaster is a U.S. Army 10-cap machine. Twist it like you're choking a goose. The plunger blaster is an old magneto 50-cap box. Technique calls for pushing down like you want the blow the bottom out of the box. Maybe we can dig up a story or two on 'em.

Jayhawker.... Don't remember how I came on the bear trap. Thankfully, these things are strictly verboten in my neck of the woods nowadays.
David Bradshaw

[ericp]

I live in the Keweenaw Peninsula of the UP and there are a variety of interesting things out in the thick stuff for those that care to go hunting for it. On an archaeological dig a couple of years ago we came across the remnants of a plunger-style detonator made by the Atlas Powder Company. Atlas was the main supplier here for blasting supplies, initially black powder and later nitro (very short lived here, the workers didn't like it and the mine bosses had the good sense to not argue with the workers on this point) and later dynamite. When telling my neighbor about it he said "want to see a whole one?", a couple of minutes later he had a complete (and I assume functioning) box and an original tin of blasting caps he dug out of his barn. Both were turn of the century. He later gave them to the local archives where they are on display now. Never gotten the chance to handle a twist style, though I have seen one behind glass. Might I ask where you came across them?


Eric

[contender]

Once again,, some great pics from David! I looked at it and immediately said; "Working rig!"

[bradshaw]

Lee, aka Curmugeon.... the "Ruger 03" is a factory one-of-a-kind Bisley Blackhawk .45 Colt. Made in 2002, rebuilt to my criteria in 2003 at direction of Bill Ruger, Jr. Ruger directed service manager Dick Beaulieu work out details with me.

Original plan:
* Super Redhawk front sight.
* Long ejector, shortened 1/4-inch.
* Blued Blackhawk Convertible .45 ACP cylinder.
* Tighten endshake.
* Minimal, smooth forcing cone.
* Reduce cylinder gap.
* .45 Colt cylinder to be unfluted; .45 ACP cylinder to be fluted. That way, I could tell in the dark which cylinder was in place.

I gave the revolver to Ruger, who passed it to Dick Beaulieu, at which point I sat with Beaulieu to discuss details. Beaulieu immediately mocked up a rough frame with bare 5-1/2" barrel. An unfinished Bisley grip frame was held on by two screws (usual practice----forward trigger guard screw, plus one backstrap screw, for mocking up). Beaulieu fixed a KS411N "Silver Hornpipe" silhouette SBH ejector housing and SRH front sight base to the barrel with scotch tape. He pinned a finished .45 Colt cylinder in the in the frame and told me to show it to Bill. "Don't forget to bring it back," said Beaulieu.

As Bill, Jr., turned the mockup in his hands, he said, "We'll do it."

Within a week of that visit, Beaulieu called. "David, Bill and I discussed this, and, if it's alright with you, we'd like to make a stainless .45 ACP cylinder for your revolver."

"By all means," I said. I badly wanted the Convertible .45 ACP feature, and was perfectly willing to have a blued cylinder. There were no stainless .45 ACP cylinders, so this turned out to be the first.

Dick Beaulieu called in July 2003 to say, "Your revolver is ready." As I inspected the finished revolver in Beaulieu's office, Dick noted a few changes:
* New barrel. Dick called the revolver a "build, not a remake." The new barrel, with silver soldered Super Redhawk sight base, was drilled and tapped for the shortened long ejector. Ruger and Beaulieu specifically wanted only the hole for the special ejector.
* New unfluted .45 Colt cylinder, and special stainless .45 ACP cylinder, fluted.

Beaulieu wanted the revolver to become a production model. Such was not to happen. After examining the finished revolver, Bill Ruger, Jr., nodded his approval. I passed it around the office. With Ruger standing in the doorway of his office, Brenda, his secretary, said, "David, you now have a factory, one-of-a-kind Ruger."
David Bradshaw

[bradshaw]

Eric.... thanks for the anecdote on Atlas Powder Company. The "tin of blasting caps" sounds like standard caps made for crimping on underwater fuse, not EBCs (electric blasting caps). My plunger, or push-down, blasting machine was made by CIL (Canadian Industries Limited). I imagine these magneto machines were all made to a standard pattern. Magneto, the harder you crank it, the more juice you get. Battery powered or auxiliary source machines, the good ones, produce a strong uniform current, important for long strings with delay patterns. The main advantage of the magneto machine is absence of battery-dependence. I've done controlled blasting at 20 below zero, which plays hell on batteries.

I first encountered plastic-tipped bullets while moose and bear hunting with Canadians. Their ammunition was made by CIL. Nosler would later adopt the plastic tip and call it the Ballistic Tip.

Atlas made great stick powder for controlled blasting, with a high nitroglycerine rating, without the hazard of nitro. Fumes were still real, and you haven't had a powder headache until you've been on your hands and knees. The blaster has to be the first one on the site to check for any unexploded powder or primers, before anyone else can inspect the shot. A guy I worked with, the late Don Matthieu, watched a bulldozer operator defy his command to keep back after a shot. The crawler blade set off unexploded powder. The blast vectored over the blade and sheared off his head. Matthieu said that, for a moment, the headless driver continued to drive, or so it seemed. After that defiance, Matthieu brushed off another fool on a dozer by tossing a stick primed with safety fuse his way. I once had to warn an impatient excavator operator. I climbed on the excavator and asked the operator if he really wanted to sandwich dynamite between the bucket and himself. He backed off.

Nitroglycerine dynamite is the best powder for some jobs, such as ditching in wet soil, but not for controlled blasting with delays. Shock wave propagation can skip past the millisecond-delay process and cause an "instant." Vibration and "fly" (airborne material) are then not controlled. Nitroglycerine has a Velocity of Detonation of 25,000 fps. Atlas Power Primer runs around 18,000 fps. Det cord, 23,000 fps. C4 ranges up to 27,000 fps. Slower velocity is better for heaving rock.
David Bradshaw

[bradshaw]

Contender and cmh.... the first photo shows leather after a vigorous rub with mink oil. The last photo shows leather thirsty for treatment! While I have never sorted out which exact treatment may be the best, this we know: good leather craves and deserves nourishment.
David Bradshaw

[whitworth]

Sept 18, 2013 10:43:53 GMT -5 bradshaw said:

Eric.... thanks for the anecdote on Atlas Powder Company. The "tin of blasting caps" sounds like standard caps made for crimping on underwater fuse, not EBCs (electric blasting caps). My plunger, or push-down, blasting machine was made by CIL (Canadian Industries Limited). I imagine these magneto machines were all made to a standard pattern. Magneto, the harder you crank it, the more juice you get. Battery powered or auxiliary source machines, the good ones, produce a strong uniform current, important for long strings with delay patterns. The main advantage of the magneto machine is absence of battery-dependence. I've done controlled blasting at 20 below zero, which plays hell on batteries.

I first encountered plastic-tipped bullets while moose and bear hunting with Canadians. Their ammunition was made by CIL. Nosler would later adopt the plastic tip and call it the Ballistic Tip.

Atlas made great stick powder for controlled blasting, with a high nitroglycerine rating, without the hazard of nitro. Fumes were still real, and you haven't had a powder headache until you've been on your hands and knees. The blaster has to be the first one on the site to check for any unexploded powder or primers, before anyone else can inspect the shot. A guy I worked with, the late Don Matthieu, watched a bulldozer operator defy his command to keep back after a shot. The crawler bade set off unexploded powder. The blast vectored over the blade and sheared his head. Matthieu said that, for a moment, the headless driver continued to drive, or so it seamed. After that defiance, Matthieu brushed off another fool on a dozer by tossing a stick primed with safety fuse his way. I once had to warn an impatient excavator operator. I climbed on the excavator and asked him if he really wanted to sandwich dynamite between his bucket and himself. He backed off.

Nitroglycerine dynamite is the best powder for some jobs, but not controlled blasting with delays. Shock wave propagation can skip past the millisecond delay process and cause an "instant." Vibration and "fly" (airborne material) are then not controlled. Nitroglycerine has a Velocity of Detonation of 25,000 fps. Atlas Power Primer runs around 18,000 fps. Det cord, 23,000 fps. C4 ranges up to 27,000 fps. Slower velocity is better for heaving rock.
David Bradshaw

David, you bring back memories of near misses while clearing mines.......yikes. Sometimes I can't help but think that I got really lucky on more than a few occasions.......

[Seasons44]

Great photos David. the plunger blaster bring back memories!

[bradshaw]

Seasons44....alright! Keep that rack gear greased!

Whitworth.... My hat is off to you. Anything make hair stand up permanent, it is that kind of work.
David Bradshaw

[bud]

When I was a kid, they were blasting a larger gap in this road that tapered to a single lane because of the rocks. Our house was about 400 yds from the work site. After one of the shots I heard a huge crash/crunching sound, then noticed our 2 car detached garage was flattened ! That rock was over 100 lbs and 'flew' 400 yds to flatten that structure !