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.

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