[Coral-List] Underwater Drill

Tupper, Mark (WorldFish) M.Tupper at CGIAR.ORG
Tue Feb 20 21:23:51 EST 2007


Dear A.J. and list,

I have used a hand-held drill to mount eye bolts into dead coral heads.
It was a pneumatic drill from NAPA, available from any NAPA auto parts
store for about $100 (I purchased a higher-end drill hoping it would be
a bit more rugged than the cheaper models). My drill lasted 2 years
rather than 2 days. I found that the trick was to NOT soak it in
freshwater after each use. Instead, soak it in diesel (yes, diesel)
overnight, then remove the casing and oil all the internal parts. One
other advantage of a slightly more expensive drill is that it may be
more powerful and efficient. I was drilling 1/2 inch holes 6-8 inches
deep, just as Kristen reports, but I could get about 7 or 8 holes
drilled with one 80 cubic foot tank. I think that once dead coral heads
have been worked over by various boring organisms, they might be easier
to drill than solid concrete. Just make sure you use a good masonry bit
- standard drill bits are meant for wood and won't get the job done.

Cheers,

Mark Tupper
The WorldFish Center
Penang, Malaysia


-----Original Message-----
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
[mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Kristen
Hoss
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 7:36 AM
To: Hajime Kayanne; aj.martignette at comcast.net;
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Underwater Drill

A.J.
   
  Vone Research has used inexpensive (about $30.00) pneumatic drills
from Home Depot attached to the low pressure side of the regulator which
was then attached to SCUBA tanks to drill holes in cement underwater.
The tank does not last long; however, we were drilling 1/2 inch holes 6
to 8 inches deep. It took a tank that held 80 cubic feet of air to drill
3 holes of that diameter.  We cut an inflator hose and clamped a quick
release valve onto it with a hose clamp and attached that to the drill.
   
  The drill will only work 1 to 2 days, and should be soaked in fresh
water after use in salt water.
   
  If you would like further assistance, please feel free to contact us-
   
  Kristen Hoss
  Vone Research
  Pompano Beach, FL
  

Hajime Kayanne <kayanne at eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp> wrote:
  Dear A.J.

If you still want to drill underwater by using a hand-pneumatic drill,
You may refer to:
Adachi and Abe (2003) "Air drill" for submerged massive coral 
drilling. Mar. Tech. Soc. J., 37(2) 31-36.

Best wishes,
Hajime

At 1:25 PM +0000 07.2.14, aj.martignette at comcast.net wrote:
>I have to drill some holes in pilings for large bolts that will be 
>used to mount water quality sensors. I would like to avoid having to 
>drill them with a hand drill. I know that you can use a pneumatic 
>drill hooked up to a scuba tank. I was wondering if anyone had 
>details on a setup they use and any modifications that are needed to 
>the drill.
>
>Thanks
>
>A.J. Martignette
>Research Assistant
>Marine Laboratory
>Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation
>900A Tarpon Bay Rd.
>Sanibel, Fl 33957
>_______________________________________________
>Coral-List mailing list
>Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list


-- 
Hajime Kayanne
Dept Earth & Planetary Science, Univ Tokyo
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