Hi folks,

Long time lurker, first time register and poster...
I posted my first post a few days ago, but did it "outside the watercooler" and figure it got pitched, but I am looking for an answer, so any help would be appreciated.

I will try to keep it brief, but there is a bit of background...
My grandfather recently had a stroke which left him rather absent minded about recent events, but for some reason, it sparked all kinds of memories from his childhood.

Knowing my long time interest in this "hobby", he told me stories of finding sweating boxes of dynamite in an old shed and how he handled it, as well as other similar stories.

One thing he spoke of was a mixture he and his brother used to make to blast stumps and logs when they were teenagers. He said his dad showed them how to do it. He remembers it was a 2 part mix, and one of the ingredients was plain ol' sugar. At first it sounded like a chlorate/sugar mix, or some form of "yellow powder", but when I asked him about chlorates, he had never heard the word before. I asked if it was a fertilizer, and he shook his head and said "No". But, he remembers it was something they had common access to back in the early mid '20's. Unfortunately, whatever the other compound was, it is lost somewhere in his aging mind. He also claimed it was good for heaving rocks out of the ground.

I am curious as to what that could have been. Nothing I can find in any of my pyro books, or online even comes close to what he was describing. He says they would drill a 1/2 to 3/4 inch diameter hole in the log or stump, and simply pour in the mix and light it with a fuze. He said it did a really good job.

Now, given the fact that it had to be something easily available to rural farm kids in the mid 1920's, along with normal sugar from "mom's sugar bowl" as he put it...I can't for the life of me figure out what he is referring to. I am sure he remembers it correctly, even though his mind is slipping. He recalls it quite vividly.

Granted, there are quite a few things we can make today that would do those things, but his description has me puzzled. It also has him stumped, and he finds himself discouraged because he can't remember. He says he can "see it", but can't think of what it was.

So, I am calling on you folks to see if anyone can shed some light on the subject. Nothing I know of could do what he claims, but he is quite sure of it.

Sorry for the long first post. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and thanks to all that can shed some light on it.

Bunker

I think it was a chlorate. I remeber reading magazines from those times and they hinted that kalium chlorate was readily available, and boys would go ahead an triturate it with sulfur every July 4th.

Hi Bunker,

sadly, it could be any one of a dozen of nitrates, percholrates or chlorates. Alas, they are all water-soluble white powders. They were/are commonly available, but they have hundreds of names from the "days of yore". Try running some of the older names for things past him - Saltpetre, for example - and see if you score.

I would think a chlorate would be a possible answer, but he probably didn't know it was called that. It could have been a generic name or a brand name, come to think of it. You could always ask around in the old hardware stores, if you live near where he grew up. Be careful how you phrase the question, though!

Edit: Don't forget, you shouldn't tag your posts with your name.

If the other component was purple it would have been KMnO4. KMnO4 and sugar is a fairly powerful mix. I don't know how readily available it was back then though.

Ive never imagined any sugar + KNO3 mix "heaving rocks", so I'd be a little confused if that was the mix. KMnO4 sounds better though.

KMnO4 was/is used in water treatment for wells and the like, so being on a farm it wouldn't be that uncommon. But It has been phased out over the past 20 or so years I beleive, but they still sell it for that purpose, its about $25 for a 5lb quantity, I think.

could your grandpa give you some physical characteristics, color, smell, stains etc

Bunker: I've read in a history book, back to the 19th century, where it says how russian revolutionarists used to prepare bombs without fuses, exploded upon hitting a hard surface. It says that, they used "Berthollet's salt" (which is potassium chlorate), sugar and surphuric acid in seperate thin glass bulbs. So, is it possible that your grandfather too used to call the "unknown" salt as the russians did?

Thanks for all of the input.

I would agree that Potassium Chlorate wouldn't probably be useful for heaving rocks. I could MAYBE see it working to split logs, but not for blasting stumps apart. Not with such a small hole, anyway.

The problem is, he remembered it being a white powder. That rules out Permanganate...at least Postassium Permanganate. I am unaware of any white Permanganates.

That's what has me stumped. The only substance that really fits would be a chlorate, but even at that, I find it hard to believe the mixture did what he claimed.

I have no doubt his childhood memories are correct. But, unless there is some long forgotten mix out there, nothing seems to really fit.

By the way, even though Permanganate doesn't seem to be the substance, you have me curious about the Permanganate/sugar mix. I may be asking questions about that in the future if my searches come up short.

Thanks for your suggestions. I would be happy to hear from anyone else that may be able to solve this mystery.

If Grandpa's blasting mix used the permanganate then go to a local
Sears store. 6 oz part #34415, 6 lbs part #34417. It's listed under
the "Kenmore" brand in the water treatment section. Just make
sure you pay in cash. No checks, no credit/debit cards = no paper
trail. This is where I found mine. If your Grandpa can recall anymore
details about "the other powder", I know we all would like to learn
about it. Sounds like your Grandpa had some fun - do the same ! :D

Bunker:
I think that your grandfather should supply you with more details: If he is really sure that there was no blasting cap crimped at one end of the fuse. Or, was there any temping done? I can not think about anything other than sugar-chlorate or sugar-ammonium nitrate mixtures. Guess there are some details missing in your grandfather's description. Otherwise, we will keep wondering about that nice substance :-)