Patent ID: 8006590

Claim:
An open-faced rod-spinning device for making and breaking joints of a drill rod, comprising: a drive gear including an open face; a plurality of drive pins coupled to said drive gear; a carriage assembly including an open face, said carriage assembly being rotatably coupled to said drive gear; at least one pivot pin extending from said carriage assembly; at least one gripping lobe coupled to said at least one pivot pin, said at least one gripping lobe having first and second gripping surfaces symmetrically positioned relative to said at least one pivot pin; a first drive pin positioned on a first side of said at least one gripping lobe; and a second drive pin positioned on a second side of said at least one gripping lobe; wherein upon rotation of said drive gear in a first direction, said first drive pin engages and pivots said at least one gripping lobe about said at least one pivot pin causing said first gripping surface of said at least one gripping lobe to contact the drill rod; wherein upon rotation of said drive gear in a second direction, said second drive pin engages and pivots said at least one gripping lobe about said at least one pivot pin causing said second gripping surface of said at least one gripping lobe to contact the drill rod.