Hi Folks,
Has anyone heard of this tool? I found one and am not sure what/how it’s used. On the business end it is a bit mushroomed resumably from pounding on it with a hammer.
The writing on it says: No 14 FOR 6-8-10-12-14 RAWLDRILLS and it’s made in England. Also looks like different bits can be mounted in it and the ends of the bits are pyramid shaped to a point.
Most Inet references link its use to masonry, I think.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 1/31/2008 1:56 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Replies
My memory is vague, but I think I may have seen some of these as a kid. It's for drilling holes in concrete (and maybe stone) that are sized to fit various kinds of anchors. I'm guessing that the bit unscrews or otherwise detaches from the handle; that's why different sizes are listed.
The Rawl company was the originator of the concept, and "Rawl plug" or "Rawl anchor" has become sort of a generic name for them.
Nowadays, people just use carbide-tipped masonry drill bits and hammer drills to make the holes, of course.
The Rawl company is still in business: http://www.rawlplug.com/
-Steve
Edited 1/31/2008 2:23 pm ET by saschafer
Hi Steve,
If you look at the tool there is a small elongated hole near where the bits are mounted, presumably to allow prying off the bit? The shanks are square.
I've been to the Rawl WEBsite but didn't find a reference to this tool. Also noticed that some Google hits point to tapcons which we used to connect sleepers to concrete slabs.
Thanks for the reply.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
"I've been to the Rawl WEBsite but didn't find a reference to this tool."
They probably last made them 50 years ago.
-Steve
Hi Bob,
I think Steve's got it. It looks similar to what we used to call a " star drill ". Used for drilling concrete or masonry by using a heavy hammer. The ones I remember using were single sized. I don't miss using them at all. Aren't hammer drills wonderful?
Paul
Edited 1/31/2008 2:52 pm ET by colebearanimals
Yup, he never ceases to amaze me!
The point is like a pyramid point, for lack of a better description. It's kinda funny with all the fuss over a simple tool like this. Too bad it couldn't talk, EH? Imagine the tales it could tell.
Found it in the landfill. Too bad someone doesn't dump out a bunch of old planes......... I keep hoping.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bobby
Anybody in the concrete business { :>) } knows what a star point drill looks like!
I've got about 10 of those things. Of course, they're all tucked away in a tool box with a big sign on it that says "Do NOT OPEN unless you want a tool that will give you an INSTANT HEADACHE". They come in different sizes for drilling different holes in concrete. The guy on the bottom rotates the bit after each hit while the guy on top swings da big hammer. They guys that had the holding job usually had hands that looked like a twisted train wreck.
That's why everybody uses a hammer drill. I've got several Pionjar gas operated hammer drills that'll punch a 1 1/2" diameter hole in 6" of concrete in 10 seconds!!
Try that with that thing you got there!
Jeff
Edited 1/31/2008 7:22 pm ET by JeffHeath
Edited 1/31/2008 7:23 pm ET by JeffHeath
Bob, back in the day --way back-- the rawl fiber plugs were good anchors, today it's plastic. polish these rawl drills up and mount them for display. Paddy
Bob,
My father, a plumber, had one of these tools. He used his exclusively for anchoring toilet pedestal pans to terazzo floors. He would drill a group of marked holes, fill them with loosely rolled sheet lead, and drive a countersink screw through the pan base into the eye of the roll.
By using a lead washer under the screw head, he could "feel" the degree of pressure to 'snug' the screw to hold the pan without risking the over-stressing of the porcelain.
I forgot to mention that he always coated the brass screw with lard. Of course, he was long gone before powered drivers came on the scene.
Lapun.
Lapun,
Good to hear from ya. Glad to see some of you oldtimers sharing your experience with us neophytes here in Knots. I'm an oldtimer, but only since 2004!
Thanks for the input. I found this old tool and didn't have a clue what it was actually used for. Obviously it was some kinda punch/boring mechanism. I get a kick out of finding old tools and the history behind them, as well as there modern day replacements.
A while back I posted a discussion about a Swan (?) beam boring device. I'd sure like to hear from more folks about old tools. Man if those old tools could talk! I keep listening to my Stanley #45 hoping it will lead me to a #55.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 2/1/2008 8:07 am ET by KiddervilleAcres
Bob,I appreciate your rapid response. We are obviously much of an age.I am intrigued to see your reference to the beam boringunit. Although I have never seen one of these units, I believe they were very popular here in the days of morticed and tennoned housing construction. I did my apprenticeship when this practice was losing favour here. We used the old brace and bit for starting the mortices, and since we could only purchase hardwoods in those days, this was 'hard yakka'indeed, but it was excellent muscle development activity for us young fellas.I have been having some fun with a very old Stanley 130, but my Stanley 45 was lost to 'mates'(?) thirty years ago.Lapun.
Lapun,
Here's a pic of the Beam Borer.
View Image
It's now in the posession of a friend. It was his fathers and was used quite a lot. I was contemplating using it to bore round ¾" dogholes, but have since found a better way to make them.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob, I have the twin to that beam borer, The metal tab on the top beam is missing the spring clip that keeps the mechanism up and locked. Any Ideas as to the use of the two extra holes on each arched section ? Other than maybe securing the unit to a beam. Your lucky to have original wood , When I got mine it was all dry rotted and falling apart. Wondering also about the use of round shanks and the set screw.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Hi Bruce,
I no longer have the borer. A friend of mine wanted me to restore it for him and I got to thinking that might not be a good idea what with the patina and all. Besides he's just going to hang it on a wall for decoration/conversation piece and he agreed.
That's quite the history about this old tool, rawldrill. Lots of old tools make you think of how hard they must have worked back in the day. Also, when you look at some of the furniture that was made back in the 18c. you get an appreciation for their craftsmanship and skills.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
So Bob,
If we used this Rawldrill years ago, does this make us an "oldtimer"? Jeeeez Louise! I believe I still have one stowed away in a toolbox and a more than a few fiber plugs.
T.Z.
History lesson, Star drill, Jack drill evolved into the Jack Hammer and Hammer drill. DoubleJacking = A pair of men using a Jack(drill) and a sledge, one on each. Drilling stone the good old way. A story told to me by a very old neighbor who told about his Grandfather who quarried the sandstone foundations for their house and barn from the two small quarries back in our woods. Three valleys back, He used mules and a slip scraper to make the path along the sides of the hills. More stone was used to create dams(bridges) over the creeks than was used in the foundations.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Steve is 'right on' about the use for drilling concrete and then using a Rawlplug to anchor a fastener. As I recall, some of the Rawlplugs had a lead interior. The things really worked but in old, well cured concrete with good aggregate it was a big job just to get one hole.
I used a 2# ball-peen hammer and after my wrist got tired my left hand really took a beating from mis-aimed swings.
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
I have a couple of rawl drills, different sizes. Before hammer drills or small roto-hammers were used these tools drilled the hole. After the hole was drilled, a rawl anchor was installed to take a screw. The rawl anchors came in 36" lengths of braided fiber with a hollow lead core.You cut the length you needed and inserted the piece in the hole. A pair of side cutters cut the lengths easily.
mike
Bob
My dentist used one just like this on my last visit. Worked great! :) Tom
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