Hello,
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I am a surveyor and have always used a pick. I am wanting to know the best tool to use. Some kind of demolition hammer power tool. Any suggestions?
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Depends on how deep and the condition of the asphalt. I like to do the least damage necessary, so if the point I'm after is fairly small and not too deep, I use a chisel to open a small square.
If the monument is larger or deeper so that a larger hole is needed, or the asphalt is particularly hard, we have a DeWalt hammer drill that works pretty well with a chisel bit.
When I was with the highway department we used a single-bit ax with a 30" handle. It personalized our "holes" in that they were around 5" squares. We also carried a propane hot-spotter with a long handle. It softened the AC really well for quick excavation but having a 3 gal. propane tank rattling around in the truck was sometimes a PITA.
Buy a 30" tire spoon, with angled spoon.
They are super hard metal.
I whack the back with a sledge.
It'll open things up pretty well.
Nate
Probably not allowed these days. But cotton picker spindles were set in cl of gravel roads for property corners. They eventually paved those old roads. What we would do was make a small hole with a rail road spike and poor a little gas on that spot in the hottest part of the daY move up the line and keep coming back as the asphalt softens and we got to a hard layer poor a little more gas and repeat. On a hot day in Tennessee or mississippi that asphalt would come out like digging a spoon into corn flakes. But you had to be patient and time it just right. Once we confirmed the spindle and located it we would add the asphalt back mixed with some patch and it would harden back up as if we we’re never there. I remember on one job we would set up over one with total station and site another and turn angles and offset those to the ditch bank. Old farms and curvy roads those old surveyors set every PC PT PRC PCC. Some had the practice as well as setting something at the PI’s and when they did it was awesome because it was usually not in the road so on e you had that you could nail down everything else.
Battery powered rotary hammer with a chisel bit. Drill a circle of small holes to start. Continue with chisel bit. If you haven't one of those substitute a cold chisel and engineers hammer.
If the asphalt is thick move to a digging bar like BSTRAND linked. I prefer the "pinch point" type, but to each his own.
Probably not allowed these days. But cotton picker spindles were set in cl of gravel roads for property corners. They eventually paved those old roads. What we would do was make a small hole with a rail road spike and poor a little gas on that spot in the hottest part of the day move up the line and keep coming back as the asphalt softens and we got to a hard layer poor a little more gas and repeat...
There's a real Frankenstein liquid compound called trichloroethylene. If you've ever worked in an asphalt lab you know what it is (and how it smells). It's used to wash the asphalt binder from pavement samples for gradation of the aggregate. It works SUPER. It will destroy any hydrocarbon goo it touches.
I've used it to melt holes in asphalt concrete pavement. It works amazingly well. Trouble is it removes all the oils from your hand, or anything else it touches. It gives off enough ether fumes to render a growed man unconscious AND it's impossible to keep in a tight enough container to keep it from evaporating. Not to mention it's a nasty carcinogen and can eat your guts out with a couple of whiffs.
In the '80s when I had access to the lab we used it from time to time to recover corners in asphalt. The EPA has since tidied up the rules on its use and storage making it difficult for a grubby old surveyor to obtain.
Good old geology hammer for me. It can chew through asphalt like butter.
@paden-cash I had a summer job working in a lab for fiberglass resin. My first time being introduced to acetone which i used a lot being a summer time helper cleaning up all the tools and testing items. It would clean up the glues and such off my hands very quickly. I did a lot of sweeping the floors wiping down the counters checking the temperature every 30 minutes as the lab had to stay at a certain temperature while performing the tests from sample batches. I worked 3 days then off 4 then 3 mid shifts off 4 then 3 night shifts. The old timers on night shift probably were the dirtiest old men i had ever known. Lol. I learned terminology that i had never herd before and my step dad said don’t you ever let your mother hear you talk like that she will beat you to death lol. My last week they started teaching me how to actually do the different test which was neat. Then I was back to school.
I always used lighter fluid on the schonestedt location and softened it up in layers as we dug. After shooting we packed back in layers and then sealed top with lighter fluid. Easy and convenient to carry.
Dewalt hammer drill, takes no time to make a perfect lil hole, then you can patch it.
@mlove5648 using that method you could roast some hotdogs and smores for lunch.