WEEKEND DIGGING PICS!

[dirtflicker]

HAHAHAHAHA Me and my diggin' partner like to have a few Bud Selects while we are out digging!

Warren, Generally, we have to dig down past 4 feet before we get any good stuff at all. The best layers of the dump are from 6-14 feet deep....which make it a hard dump to dig for most people. My digging buddy and I have been digging there for more than a year so we have conditioned ourselves to dig those deeeeeeep holes.

Thanks for all the nice comments guys....this is a great forum!

 

[flasherr]

How do you get out of a 14 foot hole? do you have to cover it up each time or is it safe to start where you left off. i woud think after you got the first part of the 14 it would be easier to just continue to widen it slowly. Glad you are finding nice stuff
Brian

 

[dirtflicker]

Brian,

Getting out of a hole that deep is tricky because my partner and I choose not to clutter up the hole with ladders, stools, etc.... What we do is dig small steps into the sides or back of the hole so we can get out quick if things get ugly. I also wear a hard hat when digging past 5 feet so I don't get slammed in the hear with a falling stone or brick.

 

[youngpup]

Nice finds dirt...I'm starting my first dig this weekend...anything you can reccommend to me so i don't break any bottles when i start?

 

[atdadump]

Dirtflicker
I saw your post about "Tired of Hearing this" I for one certainly wouldn't change your lifestyle of digging. I think what your doing is sending everyone in this group the impression that "Trenching" is ok and safe. I've dug for thirty plus years and have dug some nasty situations myself. Getting away alive and well each time you dig does not make you a professional. All the digging buddies in the world, plus a backhoe wouldn't save your ass in a slide when your pinned 14 feet down. Posting pictures like this is misleading to the newbies and to anyone who digs for bottles. However, we all will meet our maker sometime but being exumed to be reburied just doesn't seem like fun to me for your family and friends. It's certainly not worth that for any bottle. People of the Group, It's Important to keep in mind, digging like this is not a safe and exceptable way to dig. If your going to dig that deep, don't trench. In the least leave the back side of the hole open and level to get away. I don't mean anything personal Dirtflicker, and good luck with the digging. If I was the Moderator of the group, I wouldn't even let you post pictures like that! Be safe people!!!! Just an opinion

 

[Bottleman]

Dirtflicker, that hole looks fine to me. Now if you were tunneling at that depth it would be a different story. I have seen diggers dig down deeper than that at a dump with a skinner hole too. As long as you have a buddy to spot you and watch for those little crumbles that fall from the walls before a cave in. I have looked back at some of my digs and thought to my self “what the hell was I thinking tunneling like thatâ€! I remember a few years ago I tunneled 8 feet under a rock the size of a pickup truck and about three minutes after I got out of the hole is came sliding down into my hole a shook the whole ground. I defiantly would have been killed if I was in there.

~~Tom

 

[dirtflicker]

Hey atadump.....I would love to see you dig a hole that deep and and large enough to walk out the backside....If you have been digging for 30 years you would know that digging a hole at that depth takes a lot of work and to make it large enough to just walk out would take a week....so I guess in your 30 years all you have done is dug in 2 ft farm dumps. The way it sounds to me......you probably can't even pick up a shovel. Why don't you come down and show me how to actually dig a safe hole instead of preaching about it on this forum. I am also glad you are not a moderator on this forum because all you are is a backseat driver....If you have been digging for so long....lets see some pics of your extensive bottle digs!!!!! All you do is pop into forums and poke at people who can actually dig a hole because you are jealous there are others out there that still actually dig their bottles....not buy em on ebay! I appologise to the ADMIN of this forum, but I am not going to let this guy come into this forum and belittle me in front of my fellow diggers. He should mind his own business if he only has insults to share.

 

[CALDIGR2]

You guys are killin' me with your whining over deep diggin'. I have more than 45 yrs of DIGGING experience, and have dug by hand to a depth of 27 ft, straight down. It took three of us 3 days to get to the bottom of the hole. Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY! Pulling out quality bottles does a lot to reduce the "pucker factor" and claustrophic feeling from being enclosed in dirt. The privy was brick lined, which helped to hold the soil from collapsing. A LOOONG ladder is a must.

The trenching method is preferred, but if space is limited you just have to make do. Nowadays, at age 60, I much prefer having some machinery to remove overburden, particularly if the layers are of unstable materials with excessive weight at the top. Most dump situations that I have experience with are are suffuciently sized to allow a backhoe to be used.

From the looks of your glass, dirtflicker, I'd say that your layer dates from the early 20th C. The gin is a typical style of that period, as are the others. There are no applied tops or lips, and the the neck finishes are tooled. The lack of embossed bottles is another indicator of the pre-ABM era. There are probably some "throw back" bottles in there, too. Most dumps have them, as people used containers until they were empty and often re-filled them time and again. Keep at it, don't undermine too far, and ALWAYS use the buddy system. 4 or 6 eyes are better than 2.

Mike

 

[grimdigger1]

Digging that deep is fine if you are a seasoned digger ,with a partner to watch the sides and give warning if he sees a few trickles of ash,,
A digger was killed in the UK a couple of months ago and he was only 3 feet down but decided to tunnel under some clay capping
The person in question was a relative new comer to digging ,,the old hands know the ropes and yes accidents can happen but the experienced digger knows the signs something is about to happen and can respond to it ..
We were digging a railway embankment site last year and we got down some crazy depths but digging in teams of 4 it was safe enough

 

[dirtflicker]

I want to thank CALDIGR2 & grimdigger1 for backing me up on this....I am not a toddler....I am a grown man and if I want to dig a 14 foot hole I have the right to do it. I dig my holes as safe as possible and understand the risk involved. I have not been digging 30 or 45 years...but I have been doing it long enough to know if you are not careful.....you WILL pay for it.....maybe with your life. If my photos make others in here feel uncomfortable, I appologise, however, I have the right to post them until the moderators or admin of this forum tell me I cannot.....and thats what I will continue doing. Some diggers dig deeper than others. The dump I am digging may be a turn of the century dump....but I enjoy digging it....why????....cause I love digging old stuff!!! NUFF SAID????? CAN WE ALL GET OVER THE DEEP DIGGING THING NOW???