Highgraders Single Jack Adventure

I have been watching the Highgraders competition for years and found the Single Jack drilling the most fascinating.  The machine drilling was amazing but the skills and strength that were exhibited were far beyond me.  The spike driving, mucking etc. were interesting but did not ring my bell.  The Double Jack drilling was way dangerous and scary.

The Single Jack drilling attracted me like a magnet.  Whenever Single Jack was going on I just had to watch every competitor and every stroke.  During the other events I was inclined to wander off and get a beer but never during Single Jack.

I suddenly realized that I am 64 and Single Jack Competition is on my Life List.  Many things have been scratched off of that list due to undeveloped resources, lack of commitment or advancing age but this one was still within range.   It was clearly time to do this or scratch it off the list.

My big inspiration had been watching Grady Colby four or five years ago.  I was amazed to see him do about 400 strokes with a 4 pound hammer in the 5 minute allotted time.  His concentration and power was amazing.

I’ve pounded a lot of nails and busted a lot of rocks so I knew that my skills with a hammer would suffice but I also knew that my endurance and strength were sadly lacking.  The first big problem was where do I get hand steels?  I had the skills and equipment to make my own steels and I also had a scientific engineering background so I figured I could high tech the competition with sophisticated alloys and contracted heat treating.

I had the very good fortune to encounter Grady Colby at his restaurant in Ridgway.  I told him of my interest in Single Jack and he was very enthusiastic and supportive.  Grady explained that this is a traditional rather than an evolutionary sport.   It was then clear that I needed to make some traditional high carbon steel drills and figure out how to heat treat them or have that done as a service.  Fortunately Grady had split a 2.5 ton mill run of 1085 high carbon steel with Emmit Hoyl.  He was willing to provide me with all that I needed.  I could have spent many hours, maybe had to wait for a mill run, paid shipping etc. etc. etc.!  Having 1085, 1” hex stock available “here” was a huge break for me. Grady also explained in detail the characteristics of the drills which helped me a great deal.

I spent about a week machining the steels into the appropriate dimensions for the competition, that 1085 is a booger to machine.  Even with carbide it was a serious chore.  I found that I had to take cuts of around .005” or risk chipping the carbide. (For reference, a typical human hair is about .005”).   With such thin cuts it took about 100 passes for each of the 6 steels that I made.

While all this drill steel fabrication was taking place I was trying to build up my strength and endurance.  At first I was just working out with a 5# barbell.  I eventually mounted a short length or railroad track on a tree stump and began wailing away with my hammer.  I worked up to 300 strokes in 5 minutes.  I was doing 5-6 hundred strokes a day for about 3 weeks.  The problem was that I was making a hell of a lot of noise in the neighborhood.  I talked to all my neighbors, explained what I was doing and how long it would last.  I promised to keep my pounding confined to 10:00am to 6:00pm and to stop immediately if anyone was particularly disturbed.  My neighbors were entirely supportive and did not complain.

I eventually went down to the Miners Park and drilled some holes in the real rocks.  I had the additional good fortune to get some coaching from Bumper Williams.  I did not have much of a hammer technique and certainly didn’t know my way around a rock.  Bumper watched me drill and as clueless as I was, it was great to get a clue or two.

In the two days before the competition I drilled 3 6” holes.  I’d hoped to drill 6” in the competition but the best I could do was 6” in 15 minutes, no way was I going to do 6” in 5 minutes.  My big problem was not strength or endurance, it was accuracy.  I managed to hit my thumb almost every day.  My thumb was very bruised and sore and that compromised my grip on the steel.

When I finally got to compete, I only managed a bit over 3” within the 5 minute time limit.  What really limited my performance was my lack of accuracy.  I had bashed my thumb so many times while I practiced that I didn’t dare strike with full force for fear of seriously injuring myself if I missed.

After drilling only 3” I was surprised to receive many congratulations and handshakes from the other competitors.  Having had no real mining experience, I expected to just be ignored.

I would like to give my whole hearted thanks to Grady Colby, Bumper Williams, Eli Doose, Steve Martinez and Emmit Hoyl for their help and support in my effort to learn how to do this remarkable activity.  I would also like to thank my many friends that endured 3 hours of drenching rain in order to see me drill.

Gary Hansen