h a l f b a k e r yRenovating the wheel
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The electric power drill has been around for some time now. It's
popularity grew markedly during the second world war, enabling
the millions of women drawn into the manufacturing industries
to
make holes in things. Since then it has mutated into a lurid,
tasteless, plastic device with silly
batteries and associated
paraphernalia. I think they've run their course. The past
however,
is back. If the re launch of the Nokia 3310 proves anything, it is
that people like possessions with a sense of permanence.
I have a hand drill, of the geared, egg-beater style, that is on
it's
third generation of the bs0 family. I assume it was bought by
my
grandfather, and its lack of wear probably reflects the minimal
hand drilling required in the submarine building industry...
especially if you're already standing in a fully equipped machine
shop*. While it is useful, it is a touch limited. A single speed
might be OK for your common hipster, I've got work to be
getting
on with.
The power drill has popularized the idea of multiple speeds, and
this could easily be implemented into a hand drill. The obvious
choice is an adaptation of the Sturmey Archer AW 3 speed
bicycle
hub. Anyone who has casually disassembled** an AW will note
that the mechanism is only about an inch or so deep. As such,
the
mechanism could easily fit. The chain driven sprocket is now a
hand crank and the hub shell output is now the beveled ring
gear.
A shifter should be mounted on the handle for convenient mid-
drill
speed changes***
Now, like a bicycle, you have a gear for starting off, a gear for
normal operation and a high gear in case you catch a bit of a
tail
wind. Remember to add a couple of drops of 5W-30W oil every
year or two.
*during the build up to the war, a rival German company sent a
piece of steel that had been machined down to the thickness of
a
human hair. In response they spent a feverish few weeks pulling
steel capillaries. When a convincing facsimile was produced,
they
sent it with a note: "Good effort, but a little heavy. We drilled
a
hole down the middle of it for you."
**for curiosity only, a full rebuild is specified by the
maintenance
guidelines but not until the next interglacial period.
***remember to back off the torque a little.
[link]
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The Sturmey Archer hub gear is the work of the devil. Simple logic suggests that a chain going round a sprocket can only turn a wheel at the corresponding speed; therefore, it's obvious that the SA gear is based on non-Euclydian geometry and additional dimensions. |
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Howevertheless, I can only [+] this idea. |
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// If the re launch of the Nokia 3310 proves anything, it is that people like possessions with a sense of permanence. // |
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If the re launch of the Nokia 3310 proves anything, it is that people are incredibly stupid and gullible. |
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// I have a hand drill, of the geared, egg-beater style // |
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Examine it closely. The familial relationship to the helicopter will become immediately apparent. |
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// Anyone who has casually disassembled** an AW will note that the mechanism is only about an inch or so deep. // |
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Anyone who has casually disassembled** an AW will also note that reassembly is far from a casual process. |
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//If the re launch of the Nokia 3310 proves anything, it is
that people are incredibly stupid and gullible.// I'm still
using mine! My ultra cool art students think it's totally fab,
and often fondle it longingly. |
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That pretty much tells you all you need to know about art students ... |
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Nokias are rubbish. The antenna performance is totally pants, the RF PA is unstable and barely passes the GSM validation tests, the PCB build quality is pitiful, the audio quality is awful, and the display driver is incredibly power-hungry. |
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Ha - my ancient Nokia battery lasts an entire week. I can play hopscotch with my phone without damaging it, and like I say, it's the coolest of the cool, just like my students, who keep winning awards for their amazing work. |
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Changing gear on the drill would be a nuisance, as it would interrupt things. Instead, shirley what's needed is some sort of CVT? |
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Very useful for drilling triangular holes that aren't
perpendicular to the surface. |
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The multi-speed manual drill was indeed a thing. I got to use a Millers
Falls No. 87 breast drill when pegging together the gate posts at the
Antelope Spring cattle guard, about an hour and a half of dirt road
south of the nearest electricity. Being able to switch to the low gear
was nice when you're three quarters of the way through a juniper post
and the bit gets bound in a knot... |
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Drills powered by 2-stroke motors exist, but are uncommon. Very, very useful, though. |
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Failing that, a small generator can easily power most hand-held electrical tools. |
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For a truly clean hole here clearly what's needed is a
manually-powered Wimshurst generator and capacitor,
and a laser of sufficient power. Try and not burn the
wood in the process. |
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For a truly fast hole here clearly what's needed is a precisely machined shaped charge of monocrystalline HMX, orientated along the crystal's axis, with a <formulation redacted> metal liner to constitute the EFP. |
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//Failing that, a small generator can easily power most
hand-held electrical tools.// |
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In remote locations, hauling in a generator and fuel
might be difficult. Could this generator be perhaps hand
cranked? This would simplify proceedings. |
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//make it seem as though the whole hole is being
drilled at almost the same energy input from start to
finish, rather than getting more difficult as it
progresses// |
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Hmm, I think most drill bits have a very slightly larger
cutting face than the main body. Theoretically this is
desirable, once you have made your hole, why would
you want to interact with that material any further? In
fact, this could explain why my cheap nasty drill bits
bind up and my expensive ones don't, in spite of the
initial drilling rate being similar... perhaps I should run
a little abrasive over the central section of the bit? |
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Rather than a CVT, what could be useful here is a
clutch. Hand drills, even more so than bicycles, suffer
from somewhat pulsatile power delivery. At high speeds
this isn't as much of a problem, there's a bit of inertia in
the system. Perhaps a good adaptation would be a post-
gearbox flywheel component followed by a manual
clutch. I think the drill bit should be surrounded by a
tube, or sewing machine style "foot", this should be
placed on the material and the drill cranked up. Very
little torque is transmitted to the bit at this point. The
drill is pushed toward the material pushing the "foot"
into the body. The clutch engagement is progressively
increased by this action. This would allow you to drill
into the material and then back off, building up
flywheel inertia and then go back in. |
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//I think most drill bits have a very slightly larger cutting face than the main body// |
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That's true for masonry bits (which have super-duper-hard teeth at the front end), but not for regular drill bits. If you put a (non-bent) drill bit on a flat surface and roll it, it goes in a straight line, indicating a uniform profile. |
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What are these non-bent drill bits? I require mine to be
pre-bent in order to compensate for drill eccentricity.
For my own eccentricity however, I have yet to find a
cure... |
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//but not for regular drill bits// |
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hmm, extensive googling suggests there is no support for
my half-hearted reasoning, masonry bits are obvious,
obviously, they even paint them sometimes. I have no
reason for a masonry bit however. Masonry is a material
of the elite, not for the colonies. |
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//compensate for drill eccentricity// |
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ha! my nasty cheap battery drill adds about 0.3mm to
every hole! Unfortunately 4.7mm drill bits or 5.3mm
bolts don't really exist, I doubt I'll be threatening Boeing
with my amateur construction efforts any time soon. |
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Put a low enough bid in and they'll buy from you. After all, they bought the battery packs for the 787 on ebay 'cos they were cheap ... |
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Isn't there a Ministry of Funny Handshakes next door
to the Ministry of Silly Walks? They could help you
develop that into something really special. |
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// they make my hand shake funny // |
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You should Lodge a complaint about that. |
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One solution: when shaking hands with someone, stop
drilling first. Or start drilling, perhaps... |
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//Put a low enough bid in and they'll buy from you.
After all, they bought the battery packs for the 787 on
ebay 'cos they were cheap ...// |
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On top of the excellent value bs0 services clearly offers,
I would like to highlight the intangible benefits of the
bs0 services attitude and culture. Recently, using
ignorance and leverage, bs0 services freed a 6mm hex
bolt. Traditional engineering expertise may have
insisted that the bolt was "captive" and "keyed into the
frame" and that the bolt "should be removed using the
5mm head on the other side". Rest assured the bolt is
now permanently emancipated and the oppressive days
of the frame's regime are over. |
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It's that sort of thinking that made St. Kilda the industrial and technological powerhouse it is today ... |
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