I've decided to dig a hole

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4976]

An e-collar would be better. That way he doesn't have to set his beer down and get up from his lawn chair to reach down in the hole as it gets deeper.

[DoobieWah 1436]

If you don't hurry it up, someone's bound to find the body. 

[CleverNickname 1308]

Well, i have some bad news. I was up at the ranch-hole this Sunday, and must have got a rock chip in my eye. Upshot: I now have an ophthalmologist and both antibiotic eye drops and antibiotic eye ointment. Existence is pain.

On days we feel good - no aches, no balky back, no migraine, no fucking scratched cornea - we don't appreciate life as much as we should. Life is a damn miracle, and when Johnny Cash says "damn your eyes" he wasn't messing around. 

Anyway, I'll get back to the hole. I need to get 3 8ft 8x8 ptgc for the top, and hope they don't twist to hell.

But rest assured, I will return. Because now it's personal. Fuck you, Earth.

Edited October 13, 2022 by CleverNickname

[MaybeNot 1]

Whole update? What part of Texas is this? 

[davidg 4036]

Did you read the post above yours? He’s blind now and it’s probably hard to dig a hole when you are blind. He probably didn’t have his trainee hole digger fully up to speed to be able to take over the dig. He’s got a half dug hole now which is the worse kind.

[bolverk 29671]

15 hours ago, MaybeNot said:

Whole update? What part of Texas is this? 

I believe he mentioned upthread (or elsewhere) he's in the Concho Valley region.

[MaybeNot 1]

Ok, I was thinking the “San angelo bar” was a tool for digging rather than hydration. 
 

If mentioned elsewhere, my comprehension is bad enough without the childhood excitement of hole digging.

Get well soon Clever, I am subscribed.

 

 

[CleverNickname 1308]

I'm actually headed up tomorrow. I'm on the 183 corridor, south of Brownwood.  Hopefully will have some time to dig a bit. A doc had to pull that thing out of my eye all with a tweezers. Instantly felt so much better.

 

Also: 

https://t.co/kM7IAWfGBO

[elfenix 34232]

9 hours ago, bolverk said:

I believe he mentioned upthread (or elsewhere) he's in the Concho Valley region.

named for the tampico pearlymussel, an endangered species that may not be found here anymore

[RPM 26318]

Safety third, my friend! Before that is Safety followed by Safety.

[SimkinsMan 4386]

[RPM 26318]

How has the Arctic Wave affected the hole?

[tomahawk dunk 333]

58 minutes ago, RPM said:

How has the Arctic Wave affected the hole?

Colder than a well diggers ass.

[CleverNickname 1308]

Progress! The hole has been damp. Im not sure if that's ground water migrating (probably mostly through the top 20" of clay) or what. Just before Xmas I put down a 10x13 45 mil pond liner with the hope of being a little drier. Covered with cardboard and mulch to protect from boots and uv.

I also figured ventation would be good. Put in 4" sch40 through the side and up. Later, when I get deep, I can put a incline blower to move air.  Also got some 4x6 cut and tentatively placed. This will be the top of my first set. You can start to see the 30" clear width (after 2 3.5" widths and the space for lagging, the shaft timbering makes the hole cozy. I still need to knock out a little bit in the one corner but I'm pretty close to putting in the first set of hanging all thread and 48" span.

[UT_OB1 2218]

What is the 4x6 timber sitting on that is going to give it any kind of support?  Or is it resting on the ground and I just can’t tell from the picture ?

[CleverNickname 1308]

2 hours ago, UT_OB1 said:

What is the 4x6 timber sitting on that is going to give it any kind of support?  Or is it resting on the ground and I just can’t tell from the picture ?

I poured a concrete collar all the way around. I'll tie them into the longer 4x6s that I've built up pads for. Probably headlok screws from the side (but maybe regular lag scrolls) and maybe some extra all thread (cut the 72" down to 54" or so) to some 4x6 I'll use as a spreader. I was going to buy 4 joist hangers, but they are like $30 ea. Still might, dunno.

[horn4life 3760]

Should have cooked a pig in that hole before you ran the PVC.

[Ten Bears 2481]

Have you mentioned what the hole is for or are we still supposed to guess?

[conVINCEd 21469]

4 minutes ago, Ten Bears said:

Have you mentioned what the hole is for or are we still supposed to guess?

It puts the lotion on the skin or it gets the hose again.

[ChickenNuggets 1626]

The progress on this hole is slow...  In 8 months you've gone 4 feet. You wouldn't happen to be a little person would you?

 

 

 

[Pescado_Rojo 19416]

4 minutes ago, ChickenNuggets said:

The progress on this hole is slow...  In 8 months you've gone 4 feet. You wouldn't happen to be a little person would you?

 

 

 

It's obviously a government contract. His day job is working on I 10. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by Pescado_Rojo

[CleverNickname 1308]

Modest progress. I knocked out the concrete framing and out in some metal lathe with garden staples. Hoping it will help stabilize dirt.

 

I tried drilling holes for the hanging bolts, but I think I need a portable drill guide (ordered). Deciding if I need to scrap the ones that I fucked up. My progress has been slow, but I think once I get this first set of timbering in, I'll be able move faster. Considering pouring concrete between the frame and the walls. Might help water penetrtion and critters. That would be a hard day. Small batch concrete by hand always sort of sucks. Might put rull rubber or pond liner n the outside of the lagging. A little extra, but might keep the wood from rotting. Another thought is just a shit ton of expanding foam. Maybe foam and pond liner? Suggestions?

[bolverk 29671]

17 minutes ago, CleverNickname said:

My progress has been slow...

 

Suggestions?

Speed up.

[Surly Bevo 24908]

24 minutes ago, CleverNickname said:

My progress has been slow,

Suggestions?

Backhoe

Edited January 13, 2023 by Surly Bevo

[Kennythetiger 9379]

23 minutes ago, CleverNickname said:

Suggestions?

Dig faster. 

[mininghorn88 2285]

Do I need to lend my expertise to this project to move it along?  I have access to equipment and explosives.

[AUinHsv 579]

From my comment on page 1 - back in May

Exactly...  I second the use of explosives and video

[miguelito 11262]

15 hours ago, Surly Bevo said:

Backhoe

What does South Austin's Mom have to do with this?

 

Besides big gaping holes I guess. 

[CleverNickname 1308]

Went ahead and bought 4 more 4x6s. Half of them are crap. Such a pain the ass to even fine 4 that I can use part of. Here's hoping they don't twist to hell as they dry out. 

[CleverNickname 1308]

I think this one has a bullet, but it was fairly straight so I bought it anyway. Ill chop the last 21" or so anyway. 

[ChickenNuggets 1626]

On 1/13/2023 at 4:58 PM, CleverNickname said:

Modest progress. I knocked out the concrete framing and out in some metal lathe with garden staples. Hoping it will help stabilize dirt.

 

I tried drilling holes for the hanging bolts, but I think I need a portable drill guide (ordered). Deciding if I need to scrap the ones that I fucked up. My progress has been slow, but I think once I get this first set of timbering in, I'll be able move faster. Considering pouring concrete between the frame and the walls. Might help water penetrtion and critters. That would be a hard day. Small batch concrete by hand always sort of sucks. Might put rull rubber or pond liner n the outside of the lagging. A little extra, but might keep the wood from rotting. Another thought is just a shit ton of expanding foam. Maybe foam and pond liner? Suggestions?

Seriously, I think if you're going to go to this much effort to strengthen the walls (which portends a pretty deep hole) you might want to consider a wider hole.

4 hours ago, CleverNickname said:

I think this one has a bullet, but it was fairly straight so I bought it anyway. Ill chop the last 21" or so anyway. 

^^ Armybrat has been fucking with your lumber.

[CleverNickname 1308]

10 minutes ago, ChickenNuggets said:

Seriously, I think if you're going to go to this much effort to strengthen the walls (which portends a pretty deep hole) you might want to consider a wider hole.

Go much wider and mine engineering says you need 8x8s and a spreader dividing it in half. Already I probably should be doing 6x6s, but that starts to get both expensive and too heavy to handle for one person. As it is 2.5x4 ID is attested as workable in hobby drift mines. Just big enough to have a decent haul bucket (maybe 30 gal) and hoist system, with room for a ladder and air/electric. I'm hoping to go down maybe 20 to 24 feet. One nice thing about 30" width is I could put 29" baker scaffolding in, once I get as deep as I'd like. Then I want to go lateral. 

[HeHateMe 884]

18 hours ago, mininghorn88 said:

Do I need to lend my expertise to this project to move it along?  I have access to equipment and explosives.

Yes please.

[RPM 26318]

On 1/11/2023 at 9:55 AM, Ten Bears said:

Have you mentioned what the hole is for or are we still supposed to guess?

He's trying to get to Albuquerque

[Ten Bears 2481]

[dieucla98 2942]

Hire some Frenchman and tell him you're digging a wine cellar. This would have been done before "Greg Davis is not our standard" became a FAA accepted call sign.

 

 

[Hate 20108]

On 1/13/2023 at 11:34 PM, mininghorn88 said:

Do I need to lend my expertise to this project to move it along?  I have access to equipment and explosives.

Username checks out.

[CleverNickname 1308]

First set is in! Hanging bolts set. Lagged two short sides.

 

[Lazarus Bocanegra 304]

nice hole

[JMFP 1120]

9 hours ago, Lazarus Bocanegra said:

nice hole

[horn4life 3760]

Well now that I've seen the framing....  It's sort of cool ain't it Luke?

Edited February 15, 2023 by horn4life

[VABuckeye 2472]

On 1/14/2023 at 6:26 PM, CleverNickname said:

but that starts to get both expensive

Sir, this is a cost is no object hole.

[UT_OB1 2218]

On 1/21/2023 at 4:49 PM, CleverNickname said:

First set is in! Hanging bolts set. Lagged two short sides.

 

Now I want to dig a hole. 

[CleverNickname 1308]

First set in. Shored up all sides. 

I need to get my jig saw and embiggen the hole a tad. My hole saw didn't want to cut all the way through. I thought I might need to come back and back fill, but it's tight. I may run a bead of expanding foam. Or not a little air exchange is probably good. 

After completed the sides I dug another 8 or 10 buckets full. 36" crowbar for scale. 

And here is my dirt pile. Spoils. 

[The Ace of Aces 5182]

A lot of work for a tornado shelter but hey safety is important so you do you.  

Edited February 20, 2023 by The Ace of Aces

[conVINCEd 21469]

17 minutes ago, The Ace of Aces said:

A lot of work for a tornado shelter but hey safety is important so you do you.  

My uncle had one of those installed within a week at my cousin’s house after that really bad tornado hit outside of OKC.  This seems like it is taking a little longer than a week.

[RPM 26318]

You need this dog.

 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

That's one fancy scorpion farm.

 

 

[UT_OB1 2218]

Did you die in a 4 foot deep cave in?

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4976]

It's been ten months...