Cave digging
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Cave digging is the practice of enlarging undiscovered cave openings to allow entry. Cave digging usually follows a search of
Digs are in unstable parts of a cave and often need to be shored up with scaffolding or concrete to prevent re-collapse. It can be a dangerous activity, depending on the circumstances.
Geological cave indicators
Most of the obvious
If the discovered feature is either blowing or sucking
Technique
On occasion, a newly discovered opening will be large enough for the average person to enter, but often they are too small and must be enlarged to allow entry. When the entrance is too small, it is enlarged using cave digging techniques.
Sometimes digging simply involves moving a few rocks and some
Sometimes, the use of equipment and brute force is not enough to gain entry into the cave. In cases such as these, serious diggers resort to more complicated means of opening the cave. Many "digs" become large group projects, involving
Where the main impediment is solid rock, entry may involve the practice of rock shaving. For shaving, holes are drilled in the rock, filled with a small amount of gunpowder, and then set off to spall the rock off in thin layers. A similar technique, called plug and feather, involves driving wedges into lines of small diameter holes that have been drilled in the rock. As the wedges are driven into the holes, a crack forms along the line of holes and the rock is eventually broken. A more recently developed technique is known as "capping", where a hole is drilled into the rock using a battery-powered drill, a small charge (commonly designed for use with a nail gun) is inserted, and tapped with a long steel rod in order to cleave off pieces of rock.[1] An environmental and safety assessment should be conducted before blasting to ensure minimal impact to the cave environment.
References
- ^ Gardner, John. "Best Practice Capping Techniques". Braemoor. Retrieved 17 December 2015.