hard to find a decent pick these days.

hi all, my old pick has seen better days and brought a new one awhile ago,but found it to have to much of a curve in them to dig a straight edge.any way went back to the miners den and noticed they are all the same! what does everybody else use?

WHY DONT U JUST heat it up with an oxy and bend it to any shape u want..
I even welded 2 pieces of flat bar to each side to give me a broader scoop..
Struff blisters I aint goin to dig ya hole as well as fill it

regards
oneday69

G'day Blisters

We like the CC picks, this size suits me fine, "Prospector (handle length 750mm, pick weight 950gm)" http://www.ccpicks.com.au/

I think most of the detector shops would have them.

cheers dave

G'day Blisters I'm with Dave we have been using them for the last 3 years now... They are a little bit expensive but seem to last...

Cheers.

Mike.

thanks guys i think thats the brand ive got?will haveto check oneday will take you up on that offer:) but you gave me an idea, might get one of the numerious old timers pick heads out of the shed and get a tip welded on my old pick.got to be better wearing steel you would think.instead of wasting the thread another question.got a target under bedrock has anyone used drills to fill with a expanding product to break up the rock? if so what was used and where would you get it??

blisters wrote:has anyone used drills to fill with a expanding product to break up the rock?

You mean the one that goes bang???

This might work Blisters



Granpas' still got some out in the barn, say its still good, it's still sweating.

Blisters have you tried the Ezy dig range from CC picks?

I love the new CC Picks's Ezy-Dig range. We've been using them for most of last season and they are better than anything I've used in the past.

Awesome bite that makes short work of even the largest of holes. Bisalloy, so disgustingly strong and does a decent job on cap rock.
Much cheaper than thier original series of picks.

I wouldn't begin to tell anyone how to dig a hole, but if the edge isn't straight enough on my hole it just tells me my hole wasn't wide enough to start with, and to rectify it I just turn around and dig from the opposite side

I've been using them for the last few months & they are bloody awesome. As I'm only a short bloke I use a medium size one.

hi davsgold,no mate a silent one that dosen,t send rock in all directions! shiraz no bud trying to keep low key. yeah mt dug a few hence the name:) will check out the ones you recomend though.i spose you get used to a certain pick.has anyone heard of crackamite?or used it before??thanks also aus detect.

I'm with you Steve, the new Easy Dig CC picks are fantastic!!
Picked up the mudium from Kim a few months back and glad I did.

Cheers

Get yer free 20kg box of crackamite here, just pay for shipping..... from India

http://crackamite.in/freetrial

Looks like a cracker of a product.

ferrousfinder wrote:Get yer free 20kg box of crackamite here, just pay for shipping..... from India

http://crackamite.in/freetrial

Looks like a cracker of a product.

Could you expand on that???

yeah righto ff,sounds shifty to me to bud!:)so is there anything aussie that anybody can vouch for???

blisters wrote:yeah righto ff,sounds shifty to me to bud!:)so is there anything aussie that anybody can vouch for???

oi, buster, who started the crackamite thing...

Aussie oi, " Bristar " doesn't sound as good.... and there is a good chance it's the same shite with a different smell label.
But heck, it's aussie and they sure do need the money....

http://www.boral.com.au/productcatalogue/product.aspx?product=2272

or make your own....
CALCIUM OXIDE Ca-O 30-60%
HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM <0.1%
CEMENT MINERALS 30-60%
GYPSUM Ca-S-O4-2(H2-O) 1-10%

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zAaSWEF-86o

And another product
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6soi6LnnO2w&feature=player_detailpage

thanks guys, be interested to know of anybody that has used this expanding stuff before.by the sounds of it would be good for what you blokes call cap rock in the west.

Hi Blisters, As FF has mentioned there is a product called Bristar, I worked for a company W. R. Grace Australia in the 90s that supplied it some years ago,they have a sales office in Brisbane, it's a non explosive demolition compound that requires you to drill a series of holes in a particular pattern to a certain depth depending on what you are trying to break, rule of thumb from memory was about a ratio of about ten to one, e.g for 30mm holes with 300mm spacing, you fill the holes with the liquid compound cap them and wait for them to harden, takes about 20 + hrs, basically at the last point of hardening the product expands considerably and gives you the energy required to break the rock, concrete etc... I think it generally requires a face to break to, they use it in construction demolition in areas such as internal of buildings and such places not suitable for conventional blasting techniques,the harder the rock the better it works!, we supplied it to the rescue teams when that landslide incident happened at Thredbo in July 97, it works a treat! for controlled demolition, was expensive from memory there are a couple of types suitable for different climates.

Wayne.

Hey Blisters, I tried using a product called Expando - it sounds like the same stuff as the others mentioned. There are 3 different types I think depends on the temp in the area you're working. You drill holes, blow out the dust, add water to the powder to mix a slurry & pour it into the holes then wait 24 hours or so & it's supposed to expand & break up the rock. I tried it & drilled a crapload of 28mm holes in the rock I wanted to break up, mixed it according to instructions etc but it never did a thing!

Not sure if I did something wrong or what - maybe hole size too small? Anyway ended up doing it the old fashioned way with big hammers & lots of sweat. I think I still have a few 5kg bags of the stuff left as I didn't try it again. The link below will take you to the Aussie website that sells the stuff.

http://www.expando.com.au/technical-information#tips

Cheers, Andy

Hi Blisters, Check my ALOS picks out on ebay, top of range at offordable price, made from 4wd springs with side cutter wings to cut clean and scrape dirt from the hole. Ron

Hey Blisters,
Saw this ad on you tube ages ago. Might be what you are after?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt3TzjTwhM0&feature=pyv&ad=4272402332&kw=breaking%20rock

i make my own Blisters .... nothing special but they work well and are not as curved as the ones you buy in the shops.

i have made a couple for people and sell them for about $60-$70

thanks all for the advise and info will take me awhile to go through it all:) not a bad looking pick rustydog,what steel is it made from?like the sound of the one mt is using that can dig cap rock!

I just bought myself one of these. Is well made and very good value for money.
Cheers,
Rick

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ALOS-Fast-recovery-gold-digging-pick-suit-minelab-coiltek-detecting-/170977623962?pt=AU_Gadgets&hash=item27cf0f7f9a

We like the Waco picks. We've been using them since about the late 90's and the ones we have now we've had since 2004 and haven't worn them out or broke them yet. We use them for about 3 months solid each season in WA and then for a few weeks in Vic but we sharpen them each season. This has worn them down a bit but not a lot. If you are careful when you sharpen them and not overheat the metal they will remain hard and not wear away quickly.

We find they are just about the right balance of not too heavy or too light. Some of the other picks are simply too heavy to carry all day when you are getting on a bit.

We got our from Coiltek Gold Centre Maryborough.

Cheers, Jim

Rustydog wrote:i make my own Blisters .... nothing special but they work well and are not as curved as the ones you buy in the shops.

i have made a couple for people and sell them for about $60-$70

They look well made mate. cheers James

If you want straight walls, this might be the pick design your looking for Blisters.

blisters wrote:thanks all for the advise and info will take me awhile to go through it all:) not a bad looking pick rustydog,what steel is it made from?like the sound of the one mt is using that can dig cap rock!

i make all my pick ends from spring steel , they are then toughend . i have used thes on quartz , and all types of stuff and have had no ill effect to the pick