Pump Drill
ClassificationsTools and Equipment-boring tools
Datemid 19th - early 20th Century
Made AtPapua New Guinea
Collection SiteSydney, New South Wales, Australia, Australia
MediumWood and fiber
Dimensions26 × 8 × 1 in. (66 × 20.3 × 2.5 cm)
Credit LineThe George Stanley Lodin Collection
Object number2015.17.15
DescriptionA pump drill is a tool used to bore holes into various hard materials. In Papua New Guinea, the pump drill was often used to make holes in shells that were to be used for adornments or currency. Generally speaking, a pump drill requires the addition of some sort of weight, or flywheel, in order to bore. The upright stick was turned by hand until the attached string was tightly twisted. At this point, the cross stick was pulled down, uncoiling the string and whirling the upright stick. The weight allows the stick to continue to move in a whirling motion as the string twists in different directions. The drill gets its name from the pumping motion one makes with their hands when pulling on the crossticks.On View
Not on view
19th Century
mid 20th Century
mid 19th to early 20th Century
mid 20th Century
mid 20th Century
mid 20th Century
20th Century
1715
1715
19th Century
c. 1500 CE
