in-stroke until the port n is uncovered. This admits the compressed air to the rear end of the cylinder, and as the area of this end of the piston is much greater than that of the shoulder on the other end, the piston is driven forward and strikes its blow. When it has advanced far enough to cover the exhaust port o, the air behind the piston is exhausted, and, under the constant inward pressure noted above, the stroke is reversed. The rotation of piston and bit is caused by the rifle-bar j. On the outward stroke, j, with its ratchet k, is free to turn under a couple of pawls and springs, and consequently the piston delivers its blow without rotation. On the inward stroke the ratchet is held fast by the pawls, and the piston and bit are forced to rotate through a small part of a revolution. The cylinder is fed forward with respect to the shell r, by rotating the handle p, which works a long screw-bar engaging with a nut on the under side of the cylinder. The shell r is bolted to the clamp s, which in turn is mounted on the hollow column or bar g, or on a tripod, according to the character of the work. By means of the adjustable clamp s, the machine can be set for drilling a hole in any desired direction. The drill makes from 400 to 800 strokes per minute.
The “New Ingersoll” drill, which may be taken as an example of the numerous machines in which valves are used, is shown in section in fig. 6. The steam or compressed air is distributed through the ports alternately to the ends of the cylinder, by the reciprocations of a spool-valve working in a chest mounted on the cylinder. The movements of this valve are caused by the strokes of the main piston, which, by means of the wide annular groove around the middle of the piston, alternately open and close the spool-valve exhaust ports. Fig. 3 shows the Ingersoll “Light Mining drill,” as mounted on a tripod, and in position for drilling a hole vertically downward. In the Leyner drill the drill-bit is not connected to the piston, but is struck a quick succession of blows by the latter. An important feature of this machine is the provision for directing a stream of water into the hole for clearing out the cuttings. For this purpose the shank of the drill-bit is perforated longitudinally, the water being supplied under pressure from a small tank, to which compressed air is led.
A rock drill of entirely different design, the Brandt, has been successfully used in Europe for driving railway tunnels. It is operated by hydraulic power, the pressure water being supplied by a pump. The hollow drill-bit, which has a serrated cutting edge, is forced under heavy pressure against the bottom of the hole, and is rotated slowly—at six to eight revolutions per minute—by a pair of small hydraulic cylinders, thus grinding and crushing the rock instead of chipping it. The bottom of the hole is kept clean and the drill-bit cooled by a stream of water passing down through its hollow shank. On account of its size and weight, this machine is not suitable for mine work.
Fig. 6.—New Ingersoll Drill.
Most of the machine drills are made in a number of sizes, from 2 in. up to 5 in. diameter of cylinder, the larger sizes being capable of drilling holes 5 in. diameter and 30 ft. deep. They range in weight from say 95 to 690 ℔ for the drill head (unmounted), the tripods weighing from 40 to 260 ℔, exclusive of the weights placed for stability on the tripod legs (fig. 3). The sizes in most common use for mining are from 212 in. to 318 in. diameter of cylinder. In rock of average hardness the best drills make from 4 to 7.5 linear ft. of hole per hour. For use in narrow veins, or other confined workings underground, several extremely small and light compressed air drills have been introduced, as, for example, the Franke and Wonder, the first of which weighs complete only 16 ℔, and the second 18 ℔ These drills are held in the hands of the miner in the required position, and strike a rapid succession of light blows. A large number of mechanical drills operated by hand power have been invented. Some imitate hand-drilling in the mode of delivering the blow; in others the drill-bit is caused to reciprocate by means of combinations of crank and spring. None of these machines is entirely satisfactory, and but few are in use.
Among percussion rock-drills operated by electricity are the Bladray, Box, Durkee, Marvin and Siemens-Halske. The Marvin drill works with a solenoid; most of the others have crank and spring movements for producing the reciprocations of the piston. Power is furnished by a small electric motor, either mounted on the machine itself, as with the Box drill, or more often standing on the ground and transmitting its power through a flexible shaft. Although rather frequently used, electric percussion drills cannot yet be considered entirely successful, at least for mine service, in competition with compressed air machines. Another type of electric drill, however, has been successfully used in collieries, viz. rotary auger drills, mounted on light columns and driven through gearing by diminutive motors. These are intended for boring in coal, slate or other similar soft material. Hand augers resembling a carpenter's brace and bit are also often used in collieries.
Whatever may be the method of drilling, after the hole has been completed to the depth required, it is finally cleaned out by a scraper or swab; or, when compressed air drills are used, by a jet of air directed into the hole by a short piece of pipe connected through a flexible hose with the compressed air supply pipe. The hole is then ready for the charge.
Fig. 7.Fig. 8.
Location and Arrangement of Holes.—For hand drilling in mining the position of the holes is determined largely by the character and shape of the face of rock to be blasted. The miner observes the joints and cracks of the rock, placing the holes to take advantage of them and so obtain the best result from the blast. In driving a tunnel or drift, as in figs. 7 and 8, the rock joints can be made of material assistance by beginning with hole No. 1 and following in succession by Nos. 2, 3 and 4. Frequently the ore, or vein matter, is separated from the wall-rock by a thin, soft layer of clay (D, D, fig. 8). This would act almost as a free face, and the first holes of the round would be directed at an angle towards it, for blasting out a wedge; after which the positions of the other holes would be chosen.
Fig. 9.Fig. 10.
When machine drills are employed, less attention is given to natural cracks or joints, chiefly because when the drill is once set up several holes at different angles can be drilled in succession by merely swinging the cylinder of the machine into a new position with respect to its mounting. According to one method, the holes are placed with some degree of symmetry, in roughly concentric rings, as shown by figs. 9 and 10. The centre holes are blasted first, and are followed by the others in one or more volleys as indicated by the dotted lines. Another method is the “centre cut,” in which the holes are drilled in parallel rows on each side of the centre line of the tunnel, drift or shaft. Those in the two rows nearest the middle are directed towards each other, and enclose a prism of rock, which is first blasted put by heavy charges, after which the rows of side holes will break with relatively light charges.
Explosives.—A great variety of explosives are in use for blasting purposes. Up to 1864, gunpowder was the only available explosive, but in that year Alfred Nobel first applied nitroglycerin for blasting, and in 1867 invented dynamite. This name was originally applied to his mixture of nitroglycerin with kieselguhr, but now includes also other mechanical mixtures or chemical compounds which develop a high explosive force as compared with gunpowder. Besides these there are the so-called flameless or safety explosives, used in collieries where inflammable gases are given off from the coal.
Gunpowder, or black powder, is seldom used for rock-blasting, except in quarrying building-stone, where slow explosives of relatively low power are desirable to avoid shattering the stone, and in such collieries as do not require the use of safety explosives. Gunpowder is exploded by deflagration, by means of a fuze, and exerts a comparatively slow and rending force. The high explosives, on the other hand, are exploded by detonation, through the agency of a fuze and fulminating cap, exerting a quick, shattering, rather than a rending force. Dynamites and flameless explosives are made in a variety of strengths, and are packed in waterproofed cartridges of different sizes. The grades of dynamite most commonly employed contain from 35 to 60% of nitroglycerin; the stronger are used for tough rock or deep holes, or for holes unfavourably placed in narrow mine workings, as sometimes in shaft-sinking or tunnelling. When of good quality high explosives are safer to handle than gunpowder,
