An Improved Process and Apparatus for Drilling Hard Rock.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Jan., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 17th Apr., 1890-Accepted, 17th May, 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process and Apparatus for Drilling Hard Rock.
A communication to me from abroad by OLAF TERP, Engineer, of Breslau, in the
Empire of Germany.
I, EDMUND EDWARDS, of the firm of Edwards and Co., Patent Agents and
Engineers, of 3, Southampton Buildings. Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
In order to drill deep holes in hard rock and to obtain specimen cores from the
holes, diamond rock drills have hitherto been used, and the well-known diamond drill
system is both ffective and reliable but at the same time so expensive that it cannot
be used under all circumstances where it is desired to obtain correct specimens of the
stratification of the rock passed through.
The present invention consists in the application of metal tubes of suitable soft
metal, by causing which to revolve in conjunction with granular emery or other
sufficiently hard material, holes.can be drilled through any rock, easily, evenly and
quickly, and cores can be obtained shewing correctly the stratification passed
through.
Instead of a tube of soft metal and emery powder, a hollow or solid cylinder of
emery may be used for drilling the holes directly.
If a metal tube is used it may be made of copper, zinc, tin, lead, soft iron or steel,
or other suitable metal. The method of drilling with it is the same as that employed
with the diamond drill, the tube being set in revolution from above by hand or other
power, and hard (Naxos) emery being supplied down it and passing under and round
the sharp square edge of the lower end of the tube so that as the latter revolves it
drills the hole with the assistance of the emery, and leaves a central core which is
broken off and brought to the surface in the usual way.
The working cost is extremely low as the metal tube is very slightly worn and only
a small quantity of emery is necessary, whilst the tube cannot heat as it works in
water which is admitted in a small stream whilst work is going on, whilst the
entire hold can be cleaned from emery and débris when required, by the injection of
a strong stream.
Holes may be drilled in any direction, either vertical or horizontal, and they may
be used for blasting and tunnel driving through hard rock.
The size of the holes may be of any desired diameter, thus possessing a great advan-
tage over the diamond drill, which will only bore holes of small diameter economically,
as the ring of diamonds for larger holes is very expensive, and the larger the ring
the greater is the consumption of diamonds, especially in rough-grained and uneven
rock, in which the steel setting is injured and distorted, so that it frequently happens
that the diamonds in such rock become loosened from the setting and lost.
Dated this 3rd day of Jannu- 1890
EDWARDS & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process and Apparatus for Drilling Hard Rock.
A communication to me from abroad by OLAF TERP, Engineer, of Breslau, in the
Empire of Germany.
I, EDMUND EDWARDS, of the firm of Edwards and Co., Patent Agents and
Engineers, of 35, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
L

page_text: do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, and accompanying drawing, (that is to say) :-
In order to drill deep holes in hard rock and to obtain specimen cores from the
holes, diamond rock drills have hitherto been used, and the well known diamond drill
system is both effective and reliable but at the same time so expensive that it cannot
be used under all circumstances where it is desired to obtain correct specimens of the
stratification of the rock passed through.
The present invention consists n the application of metal tubes of suitable soft
metal, by causing which to revolve in conjunction with granular emery or other
sufficiently hard material, holes can be drilled through any rock, easily, evenly,
and quickly, and cores can be obtained shewing correctly the stratification passed
through.
Instead of a tube of soft metal and emery powder, a hollow or solid cylinder of
emery may be used for drilling the holes directly.
The accompanying drawing is in illustration of the invention. A is a metal tube
which may be made of copper, zinc, tin, lead, soft iron or steel, or other suitable
metal. The method of drilling with it is the same as that employed with the diamond
drill, the tube being set in revolution from above by hand or other power, as for
instance by the bevelled toothed wheels shewn in the drawing, and hard (Naxos)
emery being supplied down it and passing under and round the sharp square edge
of the lower end of the tube so that as the latter revolves it drills the hole with the
assistance of the emery, and leaves a central core which is broken off and brought to
the surface in the usual way.
The working cost is extremely low as the metal tube is very slight worn and only
a small quantity of emery is necessary,
whilst the tube cannot heat as it works in
water which is admitted in a small stream whilst work is going on, whilst the entire
hole can be cleaned from emery and débris when required by the injection of a strong
stream.
Holes may
be drilled in any direction, either vertical or horizontal and they may
be used for blasting and tunnel driving through hard rock.
The size of the holes may be of any desired diameter, thus possessing a great
advantage over the diamond drill, which will only bore holes of small diameter
economically, as the ring of diamonds for larger holes is very expensive, and the
larger the ring the greater is the consumption of diamonds, especially in rough
grained and uneven rock, in which the steel setting is injured and distorted, so that
it frequently happens that the diamonds in such rock become loosened from the
setting and lost.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The apparatus for drilling deep holes in hard rock consisting of a tube of soft
metal, such as copper or soft iron, in combination with emery powder or other hard
grinding material, which by the rotation of the tube bores an annular hole, leaving
a central core which can be withdrawn with the tube, substantially as described and
shewn.
2. In drilling apparatus of the kind described in claim 1 the use of a hollow or
solid cylinder of emery, substantially as described.
Dated this 17th day of April 1890.
EDWARDS & Co.,
35, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Patentee.