Lots of things could be mixed with AN

All explosives are legal to make and use federally. Storing them is the issue, well that and state laws.

ANFO is super common because it is so easy/unregulated. Easy to store and transport.

Storage, Transport, Sale and state law will be your biggest problems with mixing anything
In industry ANFO and other binary is used heavily for since they are easier from a regulatory (storage, transport, sale, state law) standpoint to use.
Huge industrial explosive mixer machines exist and tanker trucks that will give you a firehose of gelled explosives to fill your shots

There is non explosive rock breaker for that, it is some sort of expanding foam that is slower so it is useable near houses ect.
I dunno if babyfood jar size would work, id think you would need a longer tube that was filled so that it will make a "break line" IE they have multiple holes and multiple detonations at same time so it creates a big push at a weak point, im not sure if a hole baby food jar in depth would do that. and very unsure about the detonation set up. Im sure there are actual blaster people here who can give specifics.

If you find it's legal and start going down this road I'd recommend to start much smaller than a baby food jar.  ANFO is some powerful stuff......last thing you want is to launch a chunk of rock like you're Mythbusters throwing cannonballs through your neighbor's wall.........miles away. (if you haven't seen the story it's worth looking up)

Way overkill unless you are dropping full faces of granite. Drill hole, Use a fast burning pistol powder and tamp it with clay or water. Throw a big rubber mat over top for flyrock mitigation

In for answers to an interesting question.

How big of a rock? While way less fun a handful of feathers and wedges might be easier in the grand scheme.

Please just use betonamit or dexpan instead of an explosive. Even some feathers and wedges would be better than haphazardly messing with ANFO.

If you don't understand what you're doing with HEs you're just asking for trouble. Yes you can do what you're talking about legally - but can you do it safely?

Do you have backfill or thick rubber mats for tamping and prevention of flying debris? Do you have even a ballpark idea of the tiny difference in force required for cracking rock without launching versus totally shattering it and launching it? What's your planned standoff distance? E-match? Shock tube? Plain old fuse and cap?

If you insist on going down this road at least do a lot more research first.

I wish I could find the US Dept of Agriculture (or some agency) training pamphlet they used to give farmers on how to remove stumps from fields with ANFO.

To the best of my knowledge, binary explosives are not considered explosives until combined and at that point cannot be transported and must be used within 24 hours, so yes it's legal like tannerite within those rules.  The challenge being how to detonate it safely, reliably and thoroughly without the licensing to obtain blasting caps/accelerators etc that ARE considered explosives.

IIRC the pamphlet recommended using a 1/4 stick of dynamite or something to initiate the ANFO detonation in that training pamphlet so that'll tell you roughly how old it was

Are you thinking of the US Forest Service guide [PDF]?

Shit… now I’m on another list. GROG

Ah, then blasting might be the best awnser. I thought it was more big chunk above ground. Done right you could get the surface to crackle up nicely.

I had a couple bedrock points in one of the lanes that kept catching the box blade, whatever they were attached to was large enough to stop a 60 hp tractor right now. Made slits every inch with a demo saw and one tap with the sledge broke them off below grade and left me with a big pile of stone bread slices. Not real practical beyond about 4 inches though.

Dupont Farmer's Handbook of Explosives has good info on procedures.

https://www.loc.gov/item/12001281/

I'm not a SME on the use of blasting agents (ANFO)
I worked in a mine where 15 to 20 tons/day was commonly detonated.
Shit deserves respect.

While blowing stuff up is always the more fun/exciting answer , something like dexpan is far safer for us amateurs.

No it was like a hand drawn thing like you'd see more often in the 40s-70s.  But good find!

I would say no… “ANFO” is already mixed.

Tannerite is legal to posses and transport by unlicensed people without a permit because it’s binary unmixed, and once mixed must be used or disposed of onsite.

Unless you’re talking about mixing the AN and fuel oil on site (like tannerite).  Or AN+NM… or AmmonAL… or whatever binary.

How are you planning on (lawfully) detonating it though?  Can unlicensed people even buy/store blasting caps?

No and no. Also can't transport caps.

Weirdly it comes back to the initial question - without any type of FEL you can legally make primary HE and make your own cap.

For the love of God PLEASE DO NOT DO SO. But federally it is legal.

Won't black powder work?

No. Insufficient brisance by a mile.

 Anfo can get set off with a cap.  It's usually boosted though.

I work with this very problem frequently.   Several issues.   You really don't need the power of ANFO to blow up pasture rocks or even ledge.  ANFO often needs a booster charge just to set it off.   Tannerite would be great, if you can just set it off.    The key to reliable explosions is the initiator.   Blasting caps will set off Tannerite (I know - I've tested it), but you can't get the caps without a FEL.   FEL isn't that hard to get, but NH makes it pretty much impossible to get one.   Your state may vary.   You can't get a FEL unles you're in compliance with all state regs, too.   I know PA is pretty permissive, being a mining state.   NHSP are real assholes about it and bend the law to make sure only professional blasters and their employees can get a license, even though NH law specifically allows a "occasional farm use" limited license.    NHSP has it rigged so NO ONE will ever get one.

So I just do it the old fashioned way.   Black powder and cannon fuse.   On my last attempts, I got some TiteGroup on sale, so I used enough of that in a hole to blow up 15 fucking pistols.    But it just rifled up.    Part of the key is sealing the hole.   I used to use Rockite, which worked pretty well.  Then I tried much quicker and easier "take a tree branch & stuff it down the hole".   But at least half of those, the goddamn thing just rifles.   Very frustrating.      I'm going back to Rockite for capping/sealing my next holes.  

I think hole diameter may be a factor, too.   Back when I used to do a bunch of them, and had more success than lately, I was also renting a big air compressor and air drill for other things, so I could drill 1.5" dia holes deep, and fast.   I had much better luck with that.

Now I use a rotary hammer with 3/4" bit and it takes forever just to get 10-12" down.

I've even thought of ponying up and just renting the big compressor and air drill again, and just quickly banging out the dozen or so remaining ledge spots I have that are fucking up my mowing machinery.

Anyway, mowing season is about over, and I've got a million other pre-winter projects, so this will probably get put off again until next summer to get those last spots.

SUMMARY:   you don't need high explosives to blow up rocks enough to move them with machinery or by hand.   Black powder or fast pistol powder will definitely blow the hell out of big rocks and ledge.  BTDT.    For more power, if your HOLE IS BIG ENOUGH, you could put some Tannerite at the bottom of the hole and BP or TG on top.   I've tried it, but my damn holes are too small.   I think it would work better with bigger diameter, deeper holes.

Oh, and separately, I wanted to get a bag of AN to make some of my own Tannerite.   AFAIK, after 9/11 you CANNOT get AN any more.   Agway used to carry it before 9/11, but no more.   AFAIK, it is impossible to buy, at least in NH/New England, even if you have a farm and a legit use for it.

The non-explosives will work on rocks, but not ledge.   There has to be space for the pieces to move, and with ledge, it's all solid.

I generally get back about 50 yards.  Maybe 100 if I think it's a big charge.   But mostly I don't need big charges.   I just want to break the rock, not create a huge hole I have to then fill.   When my work goes well, it can launch some pretty big chunks.   Part of the key is when it goes off, LOOK UP.  You can see anything coming your way and dodge it.  Don't turn and run.

No, that's the whole catch, especially with tannerite.   Kind of hard to set it off with a rifle when it's in a hole in the ground.    Blasting caps would be ideal, and all I'd need to solve all my problems, but you can't get them without a FEL AND state approval.   Plus a magazine to store the caps.   A purchased magazine, even just for caps, could cost thousands to buy.  You can make one, but it has to meet specs, then be inspected and approved by state and ATF

Yeah but if you can’t get caps without a license you’re back to square one.

Confined BP actually CAN initiate old school dynamite, but that’s because it was NG based.  And just barely too (Nobel quickly switched to mercury fulminate because it worked so much better).  No hope BP is going to initiate AN-anything.

Is it legal to manufacture primaries or more sensitive materials (NG, fulminates, etc… not just binaries) on site for use on site as detonators/caps/boosters?

Edit:  
Interesting thought: bring some benzene, glassware, double boiler, hot plate, and Bullseye powder with you to extract the nitroglycerin?  Then just pour the NG in some drilled holes with a fuse to blast the rocks. Technically, you’re not “making/manufacturing” the NG… you’re just taking it out of the legally purchased smokeless powder.  Don’t forget PPE for handling the benzene and your lucky rabbits foot for handling the NG.

Don't even THINK about trying to manufacture your own NG or any other explosives.   Yeah, the old "Anarchist's Cookbook" and others had recipes.   I'm sure ATF has major cracked down on access to any real, useful precursors.   Plus it's dangerous as hell, and a good way to kill or injure yourself and others.   If you want to blow up rocks and especially ledge (called bedrock in other parts of the country, I believe), just do as I outlined above.  

No shit? It's that powerful?

Here's a video showing exactly what I'm talking about.   These were done with BP and a fuse.  Also with Rockite as the hole sealer; I've definitely got to get back to using Rockite instead of pounding a wood plug into the hole.   This blows it up enough to get the rock out, but not so much you're in shrapnel danger or having to get a truckload of dirt to fill the hole.   In the video, you can see several places I already did, then this video shows setting off the last one in that area.
It's a short and Arfcom doesn't thumbnail YT shorts, so here's the URL for you to copy & paste.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eDcHimUy2Ew

Not so.  America built its railroads in the 19th century, primarily with BP.   I've used BP to blow ledge.   It has all the brisance you need (and not too much).   Look at the video I posted.

He was asking about BP to use as the direct initiator for ANFO.

Oh, sorry my bad.   Yeah, BP isn't going to set that off.   There's no home/farm need for ANFO anyway.   Even if you could get it, and the initiators (caps), and the booster charges, way overkill for any home/farm use.

I buy AN 50lb at a crack for making tannerite so no, it's not hard to get post 9/11.

If you're talking about rocks (as opposed to ledge/bedrock), your best bet, and simplest and most reliable solution, is an expansive grout like Betonamit, Dexpan, NXburst, or Ecobust.
Amazon and Home Depot carry Dexpan, probably the most common of all those types.
There's also something called the MicroBlaster, which I have looked into
https://www.ezebreak.com/
Like the grouts, it needs some free space on the sides for it to work. The pieces being pushed out need a place to go.

If you have ledge/bedrock, best bet is Black Powder or a fast pistol powder. Ignite with a fuse. I've heard there are electric matches, which would work, but I've never used.

I recall reading many years ago when I was more interested in these sorts of hijinks, that ANFO was amongst the most difficult to detonate compositions, typically requiring not just a blasting cap but a booster charge as well.

All good advice from prebans.
For me, rocks are not an issue.   307 Cat has handled rocks more than twice this big.   It's the ledge that's the problem, and it's right at the surface on much of our land.  The red-painted part on this rock was what showed, like the tip of an iceberg, in this food plot.

Wouldn't ammonal be a better choice than ANFO as it's easier to set off?

feather and wedge is actually pretty effective for that.  Youtube can teach you.

It's also safer/cheaper and extremely satisfying. Rocks have been split with wedges and mallets for many thousands of years.

It just sucks if you have hundreds of large boulders to do. At that point it's worth going a different route for sure!

Micro blaster is what you seek.

A blasting cap still might not be enough. ANFO is pretty insensitive and usually requires some sort of a booster explosive to set it off.

1. No easy source for benzene… at least I’m not aware of any off the shelf products that use it.

2. You sure Bullseye powder has nitroglycerin? Most smokeless powders are nitrocellulose base.

In all actuality, synthesizing nitroglycerin is not overly difficult (said from someone with a chemical engineering degree), as is the same with most other primary explosives. The problem is NOT setting them off when you don’t want them to.

AMMONAL is pretty much tannerite.

Exactly.

Hello everyone, I'm bit late to this discussion so I'll do my best.  I'm a FEL Type 20 and a PA Certified Blaster.  I routinely work with ANFO as well as multiple other types of HE.  Personally I love ANFO, it's cheap and is a slower HE which makes it perfect for moving earth and breaking rock, but it does have it's issues, such as can't use it in a wet environment and it is not cap sensitive, meaning a #8 detonator (aka blasting cap) will not initiate ANFO.  You need a booster charge.  In the industry, we typically use a Cast PETN booster anywhere from 90 grams to 450 grams, but a stick of dynamite also works just fine.  Now to sent off the initiator charge, we use a #8 Det. The initiation shock needed to detonate ANFO is far higher than that of black powder.

Now, to break rock you want to have the charge inside the rock and this is accomplished by using a "blast hole".  If not, you would need ~10x amount of the charge to brute force the rock into cracking. Same thing with knockings down trees with dynamite.  You can precision slice a 8" green tree with one stick of dynamite if you have a blast hole, while that same tree with no blast hole would require 3 sticks to brute force if you just taped to the side of the tree.  Rocks are the same way.

Lastly, commercial ANFO (premixed and typically purchased in 50lb for smaller jobs) is WAY more powerful then home-made stuff to such a degree you can't really compare the two, so keep that in mind when calculating how much you need.

In most states and federally, it's legal to manufacture and detonate HE without a license. BUT, you can't transport it, store it overnight, or use it commercially for profit, however many counties and communities have banned the use of explosives for non-FEL's, so keep that in mind.

In this Google Drive folder we maintain:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ts9DTGKJ7j9lO_lbNqP_5ajH5riUgp0x

There's a file called HE Gov.pdf that has a wealth of information about explosives and their uses.  It's a great read.

That's mighty kind of you - getting a decent copy of FM 5-250 is usually a pain.