Low-tech Magazine: Drills

December 15, 2010

Hand powered drilling tools and machines

Hand-powered devices have been used for millennia, but during the last quarter of the 19th century a radically improved generation of tools appeared, taking advantage of modern mass production machinery and processes (like interchangeable parts) and an increased availability in superior material (metal instead of wood).

One of the outcomes included an array of new drilling machines, but their heydays were over fast. These human-powered tools were not only a vast improvement over those that came before them, they also had many advantages in comparison to the power drills that we use today.

A 1922 breast drill (picture credit).

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Posted in Cover story, Drilling tools, Drills, Hand powered machines, Hand tools, History, Human energy, Human powered machines, Kinetic energy, Low-tech solutions, Obsolete technology, Tools, Zero emissions | Permalink | Comments (29)

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