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.-- bs0u0155, Feb 23 2017 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.
Howevertheless, I can only [+] this idea.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 23 2017 // If the re launch of the Nokia 3310 proves anything, it is that people like possessions with a sense of permanence. //
If the re launch of the Nokia 3310 proves anything, it is that people are incredibly stupid and gullible.
// I have a hand drill, of the geared, egg-beater style //
Examine it closely. The familial relationship to the helicopter will become immediately apparent.
// Anyone who has casually disassembled** an AW will note that the mechanism is only about an inch or so deep. //
Anyone who has casually disassembled** an AW will also note that reassembly is far from a casual process.-- 8th of 7, Feb 23 2017 //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.-- xenzag, Feb 24 2017 That pretty much tells you all you need to know about art students ...
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.-- 8th of 7, Feb 24 2017 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.-- xenzag, Feb 24 2017 Changing gear on the drill would be a nuisance, as it would interrupt things. Instead, shirley what's needed is some sort of CVT?-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 24 2017 Very useful for drilling triangular holes that aren't perpendicular to the surface.-- RayfordSteele, Feb 24 2017 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...-- lurch, Feb 25 2017 Drills powered by 2-stroke motors exist, but are uncommon. Very, very useful, though.
Failing that, a small generator can easily power most hand-held electrical tools.-- 8th of 7, Feb 25 2017 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.-- RayfordSteele, Feb 27 2017 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.-- 8th of 7, Feb 27 2017 //Failing that, a small generator can easily power most hand-held electrical tools.//
In remote locations, hauling in a generator and fuel might be difficult. Could this generator be perhaps hand cranked? This would simplify proceedings.
//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//
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?
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.-- bs0u0155, Feb 27 2017 //I think most drill bits have a very slightly larger cutting face than the main body//
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.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 27 2017 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...-- RayfordSteele, Feb 27 2017 //but not for regular drill bits//
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.
//compensate for drill eccentricity//
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.-- bs0u0155, Feb 27 2017 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 ...-- 8th of 7, Feb 27 2017 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.-- RayfordSteele, Feb 28 2017 // they make my hand shake funny //
You should Lodge a complaint about that.-- 8th of 7, Feb 28 2017 One solution: when shaking hands with someone, stop drilling first. Or start drilling, perhaps...-- RayfordSteele, Mar 01 2017 //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 ...//
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.-- bs0u0155, Mar 03 2017 It's that sort of thinking that made St. Kilda the industrial and technological powerhouse it is today ...-- 8th of 7, Mar 03 2017 random, halfbakery