Cutting a trench through rock

materthegreater said: Rockwheels: Rock Grinder & Excavation Attachment | Drum Cutter Explore RockZone's Rockwheels for efficient rock excavation, grinding, and trenching. Find high-quality attachments designed to tackle tough rock-cutting tasks. rockzoneamericas.com Click to expand... Not for one project, but if someone were available to cut it....... I pictured a hydraulic saw on an excavator. If there is such a thing, I haven't found it. I have used a cut off chainsaw with diamond blade to trench 6" deep in ledge. That is for short sections, EXTREMELY labor intensive. An air powered hand held hammer is not for old people.

Willie B said: Not for one project, but if someone were available to cut it....... I pictured a hydraulic saw on an excavator. If there is such a thing, I haven't found it. I have used a cut off chainsaw with diamond blade to trench 6" deep in ledge. That is for short sections, EXTREMELY labor intensive. An air powered hand held hammer is not for old people. Click to expand... Larger site contractor here has one a 330 or 340 equipped with GPS to grind rock slopes to grade. Don't know how productive it is though. Here's a rock saw for large excavators - #1 Quality Excavator Rock Saw | Quarrying, Mining, Excavation Our excavator rock saw is used in a wide variety of applications including dimensional stone quarries, excavation, mining, and earth moving. Contact us today! rocktools.com

CM1995 said: Larger site contractor here has one a 330 or 340 equipped with GPS to grind rock slopes to grade. Don't know how productive it is though. Here's a rock saw for large excavators - #1 Quality Excavator Rock Saw | Quarrying, Mining, Excavation Our excavator rock saw is used in a wide variety of applications including dimensional stone quarries, excavation, mining, and earth moving. Contact us today! rocktools.com Click to expand... I wonder how much one of those blades costs!

materthegreater said: I wonder how much one of those blades costs! Click to expand...

The price is so high that you're speechless?

materthegreater said: I wonder how much one of those blades costs! Click to expand... It's all relative to what the value of the operation is.

I ran one of these. It was used to cut a trench for under-drains along interstate highways. It would cut through asphalt and concrete. Straight trenches only.

Tinkerer said: I ran one of these. It was used to cut a trench for under-drains along interstate highways. It would cut through asphalt and concrete. Straight trenches only. View attachment 344858 Click to expand... Had to be one dusty SOB with that seat hanging so close to the saw.

materthegreater said: The price is so high that you're speechless? Click to expand... Well.........this is a reluctant landlord. Rented a building to a fabricator with an obsession for buying big industrial equipment. At this point he has sticker shock. Supply to the building is not going to power the new machines. I believe the Catch 22 of overhead upgrade prices it out of the question. I believe the setback of underground is ledge, maybe 100'. Code calls for it to be covered by 2" concrete. I am not confident. A 3-5/8 OD pipe wants concrete on all sides. I'm describing the required trench as 12" Deep, anything over 8" wide. Buying a $100,000 machine isn't in the math for this job.

Tinkerer said: I ran one of these. It was used to cut a trench for under-drains along interstate highways. It would cut through asphalt and concrete. Straight trenches only. View attachment 344858 Click to expand... Fist bump @tTinkerer I ran a much smaller version of that thing. Much smaller half the wheel size but doing the same job. And yes it was Dusty nasty noisy. I was cutting in a trench drain for about 4,000 ft down I-5.

The contractor I worked for had that dusty SOB on a purchase rental contract. We did many miles of interstate highways putting in under-drains. A laser controlled Vermeer trencher followed me, excavating the trench. It was rigged to drop 4 inch perforated drain tile in.

Willie B said: Dolomite ledge is tough. A 3' diamond saw on an excavator doesn’t exist. Your best non-explosive option is a hydraulic hammer precise, safe, and code-compliant, though slow (expect several days for 100'). Smaller rock saws or pneumatic breakers work too but are slower or labor-intensive. Blasting is fast but likely not allowed. Alternatively, NEC allows 2" concrete cover if full depth isn’t possible could save time and cost. Click to expand...

Depending on the cable diameter an expansion agent maybe a goer and lay the cable in the crack. No silly bugger will dig it up if the rock is that hard. Seen this done when I was working on the optic fibre installation. We came across a lump of pink granite, destroyed a moil in 8hrs on a 30 ton digger. The cable was to be laid at 1.2 metres or 800mm in condute. The phone company drilled a series of holes a filled the with the agent and next day laid the cable without condute at 500mm.

Tones said: Depending on the cable diameter an expansion agent maybe a goer and lay the cable in the crack. No silly bugger will dig it up if the rock is that hard. Seen this done when I was working on the optic fibre installation. We came across a lump of pink granite, destroyed a moil in 8hrs on a 30 ton digger. The cable was to be laid at 1.2 metres or 800mm in condute. The phone company drilled a series of holes a filled the with the agent and next day laid the cable without condute at 500mm. Click to expand... It seems to have boiled down to pushing all the cheap, large, industrial machines to a corner. The man renting the building won't be able to power them. The facility has only Delta 240,120,208. Most of the machines prefer 480 V three phase. Landlord isn't interrested in a $30,000. investment.

Next potential, Convert to 240 Single or multi Phase motors.

Willie B said: It seems to have boiled down to pushing all the cheap, large, industrial machines to a corner. The man renting the building won't be able to power them. The facility has only Delta 240,120,208. Most of the machines prefer 480 V three phase. Landlord isn't interrested in a $30,000. investment. Click to expand... I find it hard to believe that if he already has 3 phase of any kind that it can't be used to power his machines. Either rewire them or set a transformer. He can't possibly run them all at once unless he has a crew.

Birken Vogt said: I find it hard to believe that if he already has 3 phase of any kind that it can't be used to power his machines. Either rewire them or set a transformer. He can't possibly run them all at once unless he has a crew. Click to expand... The facility shares 200 amps at 240. Several buildings, several users. Hundreds of feet for voltage loss. Down to 5 buildings supplied with 100 amps in decending order. Tennant has a compressor needs 66 amps three phase at 240. Would be only 33 amps if 480. Big building seasonally houses a few other builders. I explained that I have capability to do much of what he hopes to do. I have 100 amps single phase in my facility. He is broken hearted that his auction bargain equipment won't work. I agree, a 5 HP air compressor will do what he needs. He already has giant welders pushed into a corner, he can't power, bought a chinese 45 amp single phase he thinks is magic.

DMiller said: Next potential, Convert to 240 Single or multi Phase motors. Click to expand... So far, it's one person year round. He thinks he will one day have a crew. The power on the property is antique. It started as 200 amps three phase, they kept adding more buildings, more machines. This was a big empty nearly unused building they rented out. I did mention his obsession with buying huge industrial machines, why not a big cheap industrial generator for his three times a year he needs to use BIG machines.

Hell I have a 1000a feed at meter for house and shop where was figuring on at least one other structure, just on single phase.