![]() ![]() The days of hand drills and braces were numbered though as the electric motor led to the invention of the electric drill in 1889 by Arthur James Arnot and William Blanch Brain of Melbourne, Australia. This meant they were far better for drilling metal which required a higher cutting speed. Hand drills could achieve much higher turning speeds than other drills. The hand drill, which was first pictured in 1816, used a handle attached to a drive gear to turn a pinion, which spun the drill bit. The advances in materials and accuracy of manufacturing during the 19th century also led to the next invention in drill technology. This led to improved chuck designs and the invention of the ratchet mechanism that would be used on some braces and hand drills. With the advances in manufacturing accuracy at the time, more complex parts could be made. Up until the beginning of the 19th century, advances in brace design consisted of adding metal plates to reinforce and strengthen the wooden frame along with simple clamp-like chucks, which allowed different drill bits to be used.Īt the end of the 19th century, good quality cheap steel allowed much stronger braces to be made. Wood was used to construct the first braces which had the drill bit permanently attached. The oldest remaining example of a brace came from an English ship that sunk in 1545. However, it did not appear until the early 1400s. The hand brace was the next big step forward in drilling. The auger was a metal corkscrew-like drill with two wooden handles at the top, giving it a ‘T’ shape.It was better suited to drilling wider holes than other drills that required several people to turn, so was used to drill very large diameter holes. Auger shaped drill bits are still used to this day in modern drills for drilling larger diameter holes into wood. ![]() Very large bow drills, which required several people to operate, were used for drilling larger holes.ĭuring Roman times, the auger drill became popular. This made it easier to move back and forth, rotating the drill.The bow drill could be rotated faster than the strap drill, speeding up the drilling process.īow drills were particularly popular in China, where they continued to be used until the beginning of the 20th century. The bow drill consisted of the two ends of leather from a strap drill attached to a bow. The first step forward in drilling was the strap drill, which had a leather cord wrapped around the shaft of a stick.By pulling the cord back and forth, the stone bit at the end of the stick could be rotated at a higher speed, making it more effective.Īfter the strap drill came the bow drill, which first appeared in Egypt over 6,000 years ago. Sand and other abrasive materials were often used to make the awl more effective at drilling. The awl was simply a sharp stone that was attached to a stick, then pressed against the workpiece and rotated by hand. Historically, drilling holes has always required considerable time and effort.The first human tool for drilling was the awl.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |