Editing Cave digging (section)

==Technique==
On occasion, a newly discovered opening will be large enough for the average person to enter, but often they are too small and must be enlarged to allow entry. If the entrance is too small, it is enlarged using cave digging techniques.

Sometimes digging simply involves moving a few rocks and some [[soil]].  This can be accomplished with the bare [[hand]]s or may involve the use of folding army [[shovel]]s, [[root]]-pruning saws, hammer and [[chisels]], [[bucket]]s to move the material, and [[rope]] to haul the buckets if the opening is being enlarged in a downward direction.  Large tamping tools and [[crowbar (tool)|crowbar]]s are also useful in dislodging the rocks and soil as the digging progresses.  <ref>{{cite conference |first=William K. |last=Jones |title= DIGGING: GUIDELINES FOR CAVERS AND RESOURCE MANAGERS|format=DOC |conference=National Cave and Karst Management Symposium |pages=88–91 |date=31 October 2005 |location=Albany |url=https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1103&context=kip_talks |access-date=27 April 2024}}</ref>

Sometimes, the use of equipment and brute force is not enough to gain entry into the cave.  In cases such as these, serious diggers resort to more intensive means of opening the cave.  Many "digs" become large group projects, involving [[backhoe]]s, [[timber]] shoring, and even the use of large diameter [[well drilling]] methods.<ref>{{cite conference |first=William K. |last=Jones |title= DIGGING: GUIDELINES FOR CAVERS AND RESOURCE MANAGERS|format=DOC |conference=National Cave and Karst Management Symposium |pages=88–91 |date=31 October 2005 |location=Albany |url=https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1103&context=kip_talks |access-date=27 April 2024}}</ref>  

Where the main impediment is solid rock, entry may require rock shaving. This consists of drilling holes in the rock, filling them with a small amount of gunpowder, and then igniting it to fragment the rock into thin layers.<ref>{{cite conference |first=William K. |last=Jones |title= DIGGING: GUIDELINES FOR CAVERS AND RESOURCE MANAGERS|format=DOC |conference=National Cave and Karst Management Symposium |pages=88–91 |date=31 October 2005 |location=Albany |url=https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1103&context=kip_talks |access-date=27 April 2024}}</ref> A similar technique, called [[plug and feather]], involves driving wedges into lines of small diameter holes that have been drilled in the rock. As the wedges are driven into the holes, a crack forms along the line of holes, and the rock is eventually broken.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2013/01/03/cave-team-details-nine-hour-rescue-of-man-stuck-in-ogof-ffynon-ddu|title= Cave team details nine-hour rescue of man stuck in Ogof Ffynon Ddu|last= Roberts|first=Liz|date= 3 January 2013|website= grough|access-date= 14 May 2024}}</ref> A more recently developed technique is known as "capping", where a hole is drilled into the rock using a battery-powered drill, a small charge (commonly designed for use with a [[nail gun]]) is inserted, and tapped with a long steel rod in order to cleave off pieces of rock.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gardner|first1=John|title=Best Practice Capping Techniques|url=http://www.braemoor.co.uk/caving/capping.shtml|website=Braemoor|accessdate=17 December 2015}}</ref> An environmental and safety assessment should be conducted before blasting to ensure minimal impact to the cave environment.