Rock Blasting / A Practical Treatise on the Means Employed in Blasting Rocks for Industrial Purposes

A practical manual that surveys the tools, machines, and explosive compounds employed to break rock for industrial work. It describes hand and machine drills and bits, tamping and firing appliances including fuses, detonators and electric ignition, and compares gunpowder, nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine-based explosives and their effects. The text explains explosion physics, blasting principles such as lines of least resistance and economical considerations, and gives step-by-step techniques for boring, charging, and firing both on land and under water. Practical chapters present machine and hand blasting workflows, removal of dislodged rock, and illustrative case studies of tunnel and heading operations.