Granite Problem

[William Cowan <william@zzzzzzzzzzzzzz>]

G'day Jeff and Simon

My initial plan was to use a diamond blade in a wet saw. After talking to a
few people, it appeared this approach would be significantly more costly
than purchasing a heavy duty electric hammer drill and replacing the bits as
they wear. Considering there is between 5 and 8 cubic meters of rock that
needs to be removed, hiring a suitable tool is not really an option.
Besides, once I've finished with the drill, I'll be able to sell the "near
new, used only once" drill for a good price. It will still have most of it's
warranty left. The AEG PN11E looks like the trick at this stage. It is a
very heavy duty machine that comes with a 2 year warranty.

Simon, where can sets of plugs and feathers be bought in Australia for a
reasonable price? I found one company on the net that wanted over AU$100 for
one set! Half a dozen of those would set me back a bit. I had intended to
use spring steel off automotive swaybars. I have a few around that are 25 or
26mm dia. I'd cut them into straight lengths and grind a shallow taper onto
them. Perhaps a length of steel strap lying on each side of the hole would
be a close enough approximation of a plug and feathers.

A backhoe mounted breaker is not an option. The rock has a concrete
'ceiling' above it 2.1 meters up.

Cheers

William Cowan