PROJECTS: Remaking History
or more of constant drilling to drill through a
1"-thick rock. In harder rocks such as granite,
the material from which the sarcophagi of the
pharaohs were made, it takes far longer. But the
Egyptians appear to have been patient workers
for they drilled plenty of holes.
In this edition of Remaking History, let’s re-
create the ancient Egyptian stone drill.
REMAKING THE EGYPTIAN
STONE DRILL
1. BUILD THE FRAME
Use the construction screws to build the drill
frame out of 2×6 lumber as shown in Figure
B
.
When the frame is finished, drill a 1½"-diameter
hole in the center of the top piece as shown. Then
strengthen the frame by attaching the 1×2 corner
braces as shown in Figure
C
.
2. MAKE THE DRILL GUIDE BLOCK
Drill a 1½" hole in the center of the 2×4 drill guide
block (Figure
D
).
3. CONNECT THE COPPER PIPE TO THE DOWEL
Use the drawknife or other whittling knife to
remove slivers of wood from the round drill shaft
dowel (Figure
E
) so that a few inches of the
dowel can be inserted snugly into the copper pipe
(Figure
F
). It’s important that the copper pipe
and the wooden dowel are in alignment, meaning
the center lines of the pipe and the drill shaft
dowel align as closely as possible.
4. FINISH THE DRILL SHAFT
As depicted in Figure
G
, drill a ½"-diameter hole
at an angle through the drill shaft end opposite to
the copper pipe. Insert the crank dowel into the
hole and glue it in place.
Next, drill a hole for the 3/8" bolt through the
drill shaft 2" below the crank. Insert the bolt, and
then add the washers and nut as shown. You’ll
hang sandbags on it for weight in the final step.
5. FINAL ASSEMBLY
Fix the limestone workpiece to be drilled, with
the drill guide block on top of it, to the base of the
frame using the clamps, as shown in Figure
H
.
The drill guide prevents the drill from wandering
in the initial stages of drilling. (You can remove
the guide after the hole is ¼"–½" deep.)
TIP: Wrap a piece of masking tape around the
tube before you drill, and mark the spot you wish
to drill with a marker. This will make it easier to
start and end drilling the hole.
106 makezine.com
B C
E GF
D
William Gurstelle
M85_104-7_RemHist_F1.indd 106M85_104-7_RemHist_F1.indd 106 4/10/23 2:10 PM4/10/23 2:10 PM
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