Growing up with Grandfather on his farm drilling companies started drilling NG wells about everywhere. Grandfather owned 1/16th of a NG well about 100 yds from the house. When drilling the companies would drill areas and set off charges for seismographs. After they left the area you could find lots of primer caps and miles of wire. So I had a steady supply for several years. Found a lot of fun uses for the primer caps.
As an apprentice in the 1960's I had to learn how to make wire rope choker eyes by hand, no other way.
I have a chapter in my manuscripts of my book about the time when I was 12 years old when my father left instruction to my first cousin that was living with us and a neighbor cousin ( 15 and 16 years old) and me about a water cistern he wanted us to make that was to have a 3' dia opening and a 12' wide bowl and 19' deep in solid rock that started about 5' down. He left and would be back in a few weeks and wanted it finished when he came back and left us with a case of dynamite and a paper bag of primer caps and a spool of primer cord. What could go wrong ? Grandfather stayed out at the barn building something the whole time.