The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-08-06
SHARPENING
MINE DRILLS
INGENIOUS MINER INVENTSjA
MACHINE WHICH DOES
THE WORK.
The Patents Have Been Secured in
Every Country in the World and the {
Secret Is Now Released-It's =
Great Labor Saving Device
Does the Work of Six Men.


For long years past, in fact with the
beginning of the new era in the inven-
ton of labor saving machinery of every
description, inventors of the mining
world in all civilized countries have
wrestled with the problem of perfecting
power machine for the making and
sharpening of drills, says Charles L.
Collins in the Pacific Coast Miner But
up to within a month ago no such piece
OF machinery has ever reached that
point of efficiency where it could be put
to practical use. Compressed air drilling
machines long ago proved a success.
but labor-saving device TOR sharpening
the drills themselves has, until lately,
baft1ed the efforts of all inventors as eff
feetually as the mystery of perpetual
motion.
To say that at last power drill sharp
ening machine is now in practical use
and being worked to great advantage.
and that its permanent success is as
sured beyond the limits Of dispute, is no
misstatement or exaggeration. The work
of invention and the perfecting of this
machine has been carried on secretly
since January last at the Black Oak
mine in Tuolumne county, Cal, but now
that patents have been applied for in all
countries secrecy is no longer neces-
sary to hide the fact that at this noted
mine can daily be witnessed in full oper-
alton the first practical and successful
power drill sharpening machine ever
built.
The outlines and plans of the machine
originated from the studious brain Of an
fvoy ions r01yrN r -.
it is named, thus furnishing the ideas.
from whence has sprung one OF the most
important inventions along the lines of
modern labor saving mining machines.
From time immemOrial many OF the de-
signs of the most useful and meritorious
inventions of the world have gone a.
begging or laid away on the dusty shelf
to be resurrected in after years. merely
because the unknown and penniless in
ventor failed to induce men of influence
and means to stand at his back. But in
the case of the inventor ]. B. Word, good
fortune directed his steps to the Black
Oak mine. After a detailed explanation
of the plans and the feasibility thereof
it took but few minutes time to con-
vince w. P. Scott and w. G. Scott, two
of the owners of the mine, that there
was no disputing the fact that the in
ventor's proposition had genuine merit
to it. The result was the spssdy con-
structiOn of machine from the model
and the placing of 1t for practical Oper-
atoms. With the altering Of some of the
original structural parts the machine
was brought to a state Of perfection and
now it is able. with but one hand to oper-
ate it, to do the work of six men.
The following description of this i'm
| portant invention, of which there is not
| the slightest doubt but that it mas come
to stay, will prove of keen interest to
everyone in any way connected with
mining.
| The machine occupies floor space two
feet square, stands 6 feet high and
weighs about 600 pounds. It is simple in
construction and can be readily handled
| by any competent blacksmith after half
| an hours experience. A circular anvil
20 inches in diameter revolves on a
heavy axis; working on this anvil is a
complete set of four tools necessary for
either the making or sharpening of
| drills; any power can be used, but for
| this one compressed air and water are
| brought into play; tool No. is dol
| lie" FOR sharpening the bit of the drill;
No. 2 is Vtool for splitting back the
| drill; No is a swedger and peener for
drawing out the corners of the drill;
|
corners to a uniform width. There are
| two hand levers and one foot lever for
! operating the entire machine and regu-
| lating the power. The foot lever con-
| trolls the hammer; by the mere touch of
| the foot the striking power of the ham,
mer can be regulated from the highest
| touch to two thousand pound blow, a
feature never before accomplished by
trip hammers without having to stop to
regulate the motor power; No. hand
lever raises or lowers the dead block, "
which lines into place to salt the length
of any drills-compressed air and hy-
draulic pressure controls the dead
block' of this machine; No. 2 lever con-
trolls the movements of the circular an
! vii. setting it in place for any tool re-
quired; and at the same time the tool is
raised by compressed air, SO that with
every stroke of the hammer the tool flies
up into place ready for each succeeding
stroke; lever No. 2 also controls the mo-
tor box and starts the anvil circulating
into any position required: the hammer
is regulated to almost any speed and
strength of blow by the foot movement
While the task of expla.aiion is COM
plicated, the entire operation of the ma
chine is very simple, and it Is worth a
long journey to any person to see Its
wonderful and effective work. Practical
tests have proved that this innocent
looking piece of mechanism, operated by
one man for three hours in the morning
can make and sharpen all the compressed
air machine drills used by the entire un-
derground force Of machine men in the
Black Oak mine. In other words. where
FDrD