Ravine Digging

[CanadianBoy]

As most of you know,Snakeboy & I have being digging a very deep ravine dump for the last few months.
The digging problem is jumping around from place to place,what you have to is start at the bottom and work up,this way the slag & dicards are behing you.
Best to start at one side and work across and back again,this way the slag also becomes a platform to work from.
Place any discards to one side out of the way,who knows you may hear about someone who is interested in them even if you are not!!
But try not to break too many even if you find lots of the same,after all we've all found a dump with nothing but broken bottles,and its not a nice feeling or sight.
................................................................................................................

Well' up here in the Frozen North its about -20-- digging is over for another season............................
but I'm thinking of something like a portable ice fishing hut with heater and lantern
we could carry to the site,set it up for the winter and ...............

DIG!....DIG!.....YES!....we have the technology!!we can DO IT."To go where no frozen Canadian as Gone before.

"Whew,sorry about that". "Every so often I lose it,must be a fault line in the OLD brain."
Damn"I have to slap myself every once in awhile".......still an all!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Matt in NH]

Sounds like fun!![]

The Cellar Hole

 

[digdeeper74]

Not really a bad idea. Colman heaters aren't too expensive, and if you could keep two or three going all winter you might keep the ground diggable. If you try it, let us know if it works.

 

[idigjars]

Canadianboy, you have got it bad....... []
There's only one cure for you and that's to dig more bottles. []
Great idea with the portable shanty and heater. Good luck! Post some pics of your finds.

 

[Maine Digger]

Up in our neck of the woods we use them 'shanties' for ice fishing, I never though about using one to 'fish' for bottles..hmmmmmmm[]

 

[S.C. Warner]

I've always felt those broken bottles heartbreakers, but great incentive to keep digging! New here, but thought I'd pass this along as your post brought back the memory. My beloved Aunt, now long gone but not forgot was also a collector/digger, they lived in Snoqualmie (sp?) Washington (he was a Ranger so found a lot of mining dumps etc.) She made very good use of some of the embossed colorful pieces. By covering one of those giant children's punching balloons with paper mache, drying that, then remove balloon, fit and glue the broken bottle parts into the globe. This made a beautiful (least as a kid I thought so) stained glass type hanging light. The light bulb was inside and the outside of globe was shellac once the hangers were attached. The ambers, aqua's, cobalts with writing keep one occupied for some time. Far as I know this was her idea. It was always a treat to go visit her and Uncle Frank. She also kept the melted bottles, seems as though most of the dumps there suffered burn offs.
Great post on digging, thanks!
sc.

 

[CanadianBoy]

SC Welcome to the forum,thanks for the story,kinda cool,DJ.
I'm going to be putting up some pics of some of last years digs and finds.

 

[glassy eyed]

I used to work in a cemetary also in frozen ontario, Unfortunately people do die in the winter . They had this grave sized rig that was only about oh 2 - 3 feet high with a hole in one end that would fit a fairly large propane blowtorch nozzle with a twenty pound tank you could effectively thaw the ground. You could build a similar device from sheet metal quite easily. Or perhaps there is a cemetary surplus store somewhere in your neighbourhood where you could pick one up.

 

[S.C. Warner]

Thank-You very much for the Welcome DJ!
Really nice Forum! Hope you are keeping warm up your way!
sc.