Drilling and Blasting Rock in the Forest – Testing a Surface Charge
Published at : 23 Dec 2025
*English subtitle available*
00:00 Fetching the mobile compressor with the UTV and bringing it to the garage
00:36 Replacing the air hose and function-testing the compressor
05:27 Taking the rock drills and heading out to the forest
07:30 Using the excavator to clear rocks before drilling
11:15 Picking up more air hose and fixing an air pipe for the compressor
13:07 Using the mobile compressor to blow dirt off the rocks before drilling
16:02 Marking where I’m going to drill with paint
16:36 Using the air drill for the first time drilling a rock
20:20 Going for a swim in the lake to cool off from the heat
21:08 Using water containers as weights for the rock drill
21:57 Testing the speed/feed rate of my three rock drills atlas copco rh 571 5l, rh 656 4w and pionjär 120
23:16 Drilling all holes needed for blasting the rocks
26:58 Going for another swim and then heading to the car bingo
28:31 Picking up dynamite and detonators
28:48 Blowing off the rocks to clear drill dust before loading
29:12 Arming the dynamite with detonators and loading the rocks
34:27 Blast 1 going off
35:00 Rock blast replayed in reverse
35:24 Rock blast in slow motion
36:35 Cleaning up rocks at the blast site with the excavator
38:04 Checking the hole material after the blast
39:02 Taking another swim in the lake, finding blue mussels
39:43 Digging out the rock to set up a surface blast
41:16 Loading a surface charge on the rock to see how well it works
43:07 Blast 2 — firing the 2.5 kg surface charge
44:15 Result of the surface blast with 2.5 kg of dynamite
45:30 Driving to the moose tower made from a machine cab to pick up a new switch for the mobile compressor
47:02 Replacing the starter switch on the compressor
50:12 Drilling the last rock with the Pionjar 120
50:52 Loading the rock with 250 g of dynamite
51:19 Blast 3 — single hole shot
51:43 Rock blast replayed backwards
51:58 Rock blast in slow motion
52:20 Result of the rock blast
52:51 Talking about legality and safety when using explosives in the forest
54:48 Going out with a bang