
 Subj : PETN as a booster ?

 > How much PETN(by weight) would you need to use as a booster to set of ANFO
 > mixtures ? I mean the relatively insensitive mixes that use diesel.

        I am going from memory here, but it seems to me that a gram of
        Picric Acid was enough to initiate AN/FO.  It might have been 5
        grams tho, I can't remember.  I do know that too little just makes
        a mess and scatters the AN/FO all over the place unexploded.  Better
        to use plenty of booster and plenty of primary "just to be sure"....sq

        (further reflection has brought me to the conclusion that it was only
         one gram, you couldn't fit 5 grams into a spent .30-06 rifle cartridge
         with a quarter to a half a gram of primary.  I will say 1 gram Picric
         acid will set off AN/FO, so probably the same in PETN will work....)




 Subj : Other ANFO oxdizers ?

 > Can you use other oxidizers besides ammonium nitrate in ANFO mixtures ?
 > How about in other recipes that use ammonium nitrate ?

        Ammonium Nitrate is used because it is cheap.  As I recall, I had
success with ammonium perchlorate, potassium perchlorate and potassium chlorate
as well in a fuel/oxidizer mix.  The most energetic of the three was ammonium
perchlorate.  The most energetic fuel for me was aviation jet fuel, but
anything from blue or green gasoline to furnace kerosene will work.  :)

        These explosives however are very slow, won't punch nifty holes like
higher velocity explosives do.  The "boom" is lower in frequency too.  They
work well in heaving dirt, for example, a same weight charge of AN/FO and
RDX placed in the ground will have totally different effects.  The AN/FO charge
will toss the dirt into the air leaving a V shaped crater whereas the RDX
charge will push up the dirt but not toss it out.  Digging into the ground
will reveal a nice O shaped cavity where the charge went off, with the walls
of the cavity as hard as concrete and very smooth and dry.  A very odd thing
to behold.  It all has to do with detonation velocity, the faster charge tends
to compress the dirt while the slower charge tends to heave the dirt........sq

(anyone else notice these effects?  The dirt in question by the way was black
 sandy loam, the kind you find in clearings in wooded areas along near river
 banks.  The charge weights were different but hole depth was the same...)




 Subj : "SLOW DYNAMITE"

 > I knew somebody was going to mention ANFO.  Just a extra tip: Start with
 > about a cupful or so of the stuff.  
 > Brake fluid works too.  If you have a old car to
 > put on top of the rock do so, to keep the rocks down.  My uncle did this
 > to clear off land to build a sawmill.

 > The proper amount of fuel oil, by weight, is approximately 6%.



If you  need moisture resistant AN then consider using paraffin wax as a
substitute for FO. You can cast it and it is water resistant.

