diff --git a/handbook/boltin.htm b/handbook/boltin.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 8cb894995..000000000 --- a/handbook/boltin.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,110 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0//EN"> -<html lang=en> -<head> -<title>CUCC Expo Handbook: rigging - artificial belays - bolts</title> -</head> -<body> -<center><h2>Bolt belays - placing and using</h2></center> - -Most people on Austria expeditions will be familiar with the use of bolt -belays from trips in the UK. In Austria, caves already explored will have -bolts with the hangers removed, which can be quite hard to spot. Anyone -hoping for a join-the-dots trip will be disappointed. These bolts can usually -be found fairly easily by anyone familiar with expo rigging, <i>provided a -good rigging guide was drawn up by the previous explorers</i>. Y-hangs are -common at pitch heads, so check that you find both bolts. Lower down, it is -as well to know whether a bolt has been placed for a rebelay or a deviation, -as it may not become obvious which until some way down the pitch. Such a -rigging guide is also useful to show which existing bolts should <b>not</b> -be used. Inevitably some bolts will be badly placed, or may become damaged. -It is as important not to use these as it is to find the right ones. - -<p>For new pitches when, as is often the case, good natural belays are -scarce, you must place one or more bolts yourself. Doing so puts you in -a position of responsibility both for the safety of future users of that -bolt and for the conservation of the cave. The aim should always be to -put in good bolts which will contribute to a safe rig with a minimum of -further bolting needed. - -<p>This is easier said than done, and there is ample evidence of this in -caves CUCC have explored over the years. The best place for a bolt may -be far from obvious until the pitch has been descended. Or maybe the best -place is obvious, but that place is hard to reach. It is tempting to try -to reach for the best placement, but overstretching or an insecure perch -may lead to a poor bolt in the perfect place. This is very much to be -avoided, since it is now impossible to put a good bolt in the perfect -place - the rock around the first placement will have been stressed and -another bolt should not be placed closer than about 20 cm from it. - -<h3>Placing bolts</h3> - -Placing a bolt is a simple matter of drilling a hole and inserting a rock -anchor. The bottom end of the rock anchor is expanded by some mechanism, -and thus grips tightly in the hole, resisting any attempt to pull it -out. The anchor is strongest if loaded at right angles to its axis, ie. -parallel with the rock surface. Hence for a vertical pitch, it is normally -best to place the anchor in a vertical rock surface. - -<p>The hole may be made in either of two ways. For the penalty of carrying -considerable extra weight, a cordless power drill is the quickest way to -drill the hole. The heaviest item is the drill battery, which must, of -course, be removed from the cave each time it needs charging. This method is -of the most use where a lot of bolts need to be placed on a pitch series -relatively accessible from an entrance. Lots of bolts are also needed for -climbs up or exposed traverses to reach inaccessible passages. - -<p><center><a href="../smkridge/161/l/boltin.htm"><img alt="(36k image)" -src="../smkridge/161/t/boltin.jpg" width=113 height=152></a> - <a href="l/bosch.htm"><img alt="(73k image)" -src="t/bosch.jpg" width=200 height=200></a><br> -<b>Bolting by Hand Using the Drill</b></center> - -<p>The older (and more reliable, but slower) method is to use the anchor -itself as the drill bit, driven in by use of a hammer. 8mm self-drilling -rock anchors have teeth around their bottom for this purpose. The anchor is -attached to a bolt driver, which is then repeatedly pounded with a hammer, -whilst rotating the anchor by hand every couple of whacks. When this gets -a little stiff, the anchor is pulled out of its hole and the dust and rock -chips blown out. The process is repeated until the top of the anchor is -just below the rock surface. A small conical "wedge" is then inserted into -end of the anchor (thin end into the anchor) and the pair put back in the -hole. Three or four good hard whacks with the hammer "set" the anchor by -driving the wedge into the bottom end, expanding it. Beware of hitting it too -many times, as this will start to weaken the rock around the anchor. - -<p>The hole produced by the power drill is a different shape from that -produced by hand - since the power drill bit has a pointed end. For this -reason, if a self-drilling anchor is set into a powerdrill hole, the wedge -will not be driven into the anchor and an unsafe placement will result. -Either use a form of anchor specially intended for the power drilled holes, -or finish the hole off with a self-drilling anchor to ensure the bottom end -is square. - -<hr> - -<!-- LINKS --> -<img alt=">" src="../../icons/lists/0.png"> -<a href="index.htm">Expedition Handbook</a> - Intro<br> -<img alt="--->" src="../../icons/lists/1.png"> -Back to <a href="rigit.htm">Rigging Guide</a><br> -<img alt="--->" src="../../icons/lists/1.png"> -<a href="look4.htm">Prospecting guide</a><br> -<img alt="--->" src="../../icons/lists/1.png"> -<a href="survey/index.htm">Surveying guide</a><br> -<img alt="--->" src="../../icons/lists/1.png"> -<a href="rescue.htm">Rescue guide</a><br> -<img alt="--->" src="../../icons/lists/1.png"> -<a href="photo.htm">Photography guide</a><br> -<img alt=">" src="../../icons/lists/0.png"> -<a href="../infodx.htm">Index to info/topics pages</a><br> -<img alt=">" src="../../icons/lists/0.png"> -<a href="../indxal.htm">Full Index to area 1623</a><br> -<img alt="--->" src="../../icons/lists/1.png"> -<a href="../areas.htm">Area/subarea descriptions</a><br> -<img alt="--->" src="../../icons/lists/1.png"> -<a href="../index.htm">Back to Expedition Intro page</a><br> -<img alt=">" src="../../icons/lists/0.png"> -<a href="../../index.htm">Back to CUCC Home page</a><br> - -</body> -</html>