A drifter drill, sometimes called a rock drill, is a tool used in mining and civil engineering to drill into rock. Rock drills are used for making holes for placing dynamite or other explosives in rock blasting, and holes for plug and feather quarrying. While a rock drill may be as simple as a specialized. .
The simplest form of rock drill consists of a long chisel or drill steel that was struck with a . , who worked unsuccessfully as a silver miner in the early 1860s before taking up journalism,. .
Rock is hard and would quickly wear out a plain steel drill bit. Typically the drill is tipped with an insert of a much harder material that can be replaced as it wears away, such as. .
In reciprocating power drills, the drilling cylinder is mounted on a feed-screw, such that as the hole is drilled and the drilling point recedes from the rock face, the drill-bit continues to move into it, while the anchor point (on the tripod or column) remains in place.. .
In 1849, J. J. Couch, an American inventor from Philadelphia, received the first patent for a rock drill. It featured a drill rod which passed through a hollow piston and was thrown against the rock.In 1851, James Fowle received a patent for a rock drill.
[pdf]