A Long Drill Bit

by John

I have not been looking forward to attaching the Trevithick Dredger Engine to its base.

I needed to drill through the steel plinth and the wooden plinth, and then through the top part of the base.  Trouble was that the boiler and engine were in the way.

And it was not feasible to tip the whole assembly upside down and drill from underneath.

Ahah! what about a long drill?   I measured it.  The drill would need to be 450mm long!  Even a long drill bit, ferociously expensive, comes at a maximum length of 150mm.

So, I made a long drill bit, 5mm diameter, 600mm long

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That is a new 5mm cobalt drill bit, silver soldered into some 8mm drill rod.  Could have been a bit shorter, but it was long enough.

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Using the long drill bit, I was able to drill through the steel support, and through the top wooden layer of the base.   Then bolted the parts together.   And was then able to place the engine and the wooden layer on their ends, and to drill the remaining holes from below, confident (fairly confident anyway), that nothing could go wrong.   As in the above picture.

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Meanwhile, I had added the valve which controls the boiler feed pump output, and connected it to the boiler feed pump.

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Boiler feed pump valve.  This valve was left over from the vertical boiler project.  Just right, when I have repainted it.

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Next I must drill a 5mm hole through all layers of the base.   150mm!  4 holes, one in each corner.   The long drill made today will not do because the 8mm shank is too thick.   I must make another long drill, with a 5mm diameter shank.  Watch this space!