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MINERALS
portability
The 62 mm OD drill and its mast are man portable in a backpack. Of course, several loads of drill string components, water tank and battery are required for deeper borings, but no road or drill pad are required.
fast
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Two experienced operators can typically set up or break down a Shaw drill mast and drilling system in fifteen minutes.
infrequent tripping
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Because the Shaw 62 mm OD “deep” drill is a threaded coupling, therefore a hollow stem drilling system, if used in competent, unfractured rock, core samples can be conveniently captured at depth and then conveniently retrieved through the open center of the drill string on a series of threaded steel rods. In this happy case, drill string need not be removed from the boring. If, however, the rock being drilled is broken or otherwise weakened due to weathering, the core bit can become jammed by rock fragments wedged in its mouth or on its drill string. In these unfortunate drilling circumstances, the entire drill string must, of course, be retracted, extension-by-extension from the boring, the bit cleared, and then re-installed into the boring. “Tripping” is a time-consuming process, but sometimes cannot be avoided.
large cores
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The rock core diameter of the Shaw 62 mm OD Gen3 drill is 54 mm (2 inches), somewhat larger than the conventional NQ core diameter of 47 mm, and considerably bigger than the also frequently produced BQ core of 36 mm.
no permitting
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Generally speaking, drilling on public lands in the United States with the use of a normally handheld Shaw backpack portable drill does not require agency permitting because doing so “leaves no mark on the surface of the land”. There can be exceptions to this general rule, however; it always pays to check with governing authorities before initiating deeper Shaw borings. Very complete site cleanup after drilling, a very easy thing to do, will help to maintain good relations with public lands agencies.
Suggested mineral exploration mastheld kit 20 meters
$18,910
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. Is drilling with the use of the Shaw Gen3 mast a simple thing?
A. In its’ hand-held configuration, for normal geotechnical, prospecting and environmental uses, the Shaw drill is a simple, nearly self-explanatory tool. In its’ mast-held configuration, however, often necessary for advancing deeper borings for domestic water well installations or for some mineral investigations, its’ operation is more complicated. Videos (linked here) of field procedures will be helpful in educating the new user. Fortunately, once these basic Shaw drill procedures are well learned, they become instinctual and can be repeated hundreds of times without very much conscious thought.
Q. Why does the Shaw rock drill penetrate faster than conventional core drills?
A. There are two reasons for the Shaw drills’ exceptional rock cutting speed: (1) the Shaw rock bit kerf is relatively thin at 3.5 mm vs 7.0 mm -11.0 mm for conventional diamond core bits, and (2) the Shaw pedestal embedded segment (“saber”) bit allows for exceptionally efficient drilling fluid circulation around working diamonds in contact with the rock surface. Better drilling fluid circulation allows cuttings and heat to be flushed away easily. The Shaw core drill rock penetration ratesrate of 20 in. (55 cm.) per minute in medium hardness basalt is due, about equally, to these two factors.
Q. How important is it to precisely measure the gasoline and two-stroke engine oil components for the Shaw drill Kawasaki TJ 53 engine to achieve a 50:1 ratio?
A. The need to perform this job precisely can hardly be over-emphasized. A slightly reduced gasoline to two-stroke engine oil ratio fuel mixture can, and unfortunately for sad Kawasaki 53 owners, does, result in a burned piston head. A too high oil to gasoline ratio mixture causes oil fouling of spark plug, carburetor and muffler which, in turn, prevents engine starting. Most containers of two stroke engine oil have marks on the side for measurement in ounces or milliliters. Sometimes helpful printed schedules of ounces or milliliters needed per gasoline volume for various fuel ratios are presented on the oil product labels.
Q. Is it really necessary to file Shaw saber bits?
A. Yes, the Shaw drill operator must file his “saber” steel pedestal embedded bits whenever the half diameter water slots in the steel between diamond segments become noticeably shallow. One of the reasons that Shaw saber bits are very fast cutting is that there is exceptional drilling fluid circulation, from the water slots, over and between the diamond segments and their working diamonds. Diligent filing also allows for long bit life because the entire length (usually 18 mm) of the diamond impregnated segment can be used up before bit retirement.
Q. How fast should hard rock drilling proceed with the Shaw drill?
A. A nearly foolproof way to determine the appropriate drilling rate for the Shaw drill is to listen attentively to the pitch of the running engine. If the pitch is too high, it means that the diamond bit is not digging into a probably very hard rock and is therefore failing to cut it. If the pitch is too low, it means that the engine is being overburdened or “lugged”. If overburdened, the engine’s centrifugal clutch may slip and be in danger of burning. The Shaw drill feed rate is extremely easy to control in hand held, or mast held configurations. The rigging package makes it even easier to control with finger-light control of rigging line tension. Learning the correct pitch of the comfortably but productively working Kawasaki 53 engine must be done in the field, and, once learned, will remain permanently in the operator’s “bones”. The Shaw engine should be run at full throttle at all times when working.
Q. Can the Shaw drill be used effectively in broken rock such as fault gouge or highly jointed, rock?
A. Yes it can; however, slippage and consequent double wedging of rock fragments against the outside of the drill string after they have been cut by the core bit can cause a drill string “lockup”. Rock fragment jamming inside the bit mouth can cause failure of the core to pass smoothly into the core barrel. This would be true, of course, for any core drilling system. Moving to a different boring location or routine “tripping out” or removal of the entire drill string and subsequent bit clearing are useful procedures in these suboptimal conditions.
Q. How deep can mast assisted Shaw drill rock borings be advanced?
A. Although the increasing mass of the drill string with depth and the horsepower (2.7 HP at sea level) of the Shaw drill are constants, potential boring depth depends somewhat on drilling conditions such as rock hardness and abrasiveness of the rock being drilled and on the skill of the operator. Less abrasive rock such as granite offers less sidewall friction and therefore the potential for somewhat deeper borings, while soft, lithic sandstones, for example, being more abrasive, might offer more sidewall friction which would limit boring depth. An experienced operator might be able to reduce downward force on a drill string to avoid burning his centrifugal clutch and continue to drill while someone less experienced would have to stop advancing a deep boring. A good rule of thumb depth limit of 20 meters can be used.
Q. How long does it take to set up the Shaw mast system in the field?
A. Shaw mast setup can take one man about twenty minutes. If, however, the mast is pre-assembled and rigged and is carried to the site and two men work on it, then setup time can be just ten minutes.
Q. Is there any limitation on the drilling angle to the vertical that is possible with the Shaw mast?
A. No, the mast beam angle to the vertical can be zero to ninety degrees, as long as the bit enters the soil or rock at a reasonably short distance from the bottom of the mast foot. A fully horizonal boring theoretically might have no contact with the ground. The mast, if properly anchored to the ground at the stakes, both at two equidistant points three meters from the mast and one under the mast itself and also pinned in place by the mast strut, is stable.
Q. Is rigging the Shaw mast difficult?
A. Yes, it is difficult. With the use of the rigging diagram supplied with the mast, however, a new user can do it. If the rigging is required for deep drilling (heavy drill string lifting) or drilling in very hard rock (for applying extra downward force) then it is best to use it. It is good practice to keep the rigging harness organized as a unit and leave it attached to the mast, if possible, or if that can’t be done, detached but in ordered bundles of line held together by Velcro strips and ready for easy carabiner re-attachment to mast system eyebolts. Leaving the mast and rigging together in an ATV trailer would be ideal. For short borings in normal rock use of the Shaw rigging harness is not recommended.
STEPS FOR SETTING UP THE MAST-HELD SHAW DRILLING SYSTEM
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Lay out all mast parts on a tarp beside the boring location.
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Select a specific boring location and lay the triangular mast head over it with the head’s three corners aimed at where the mast outlier stakes and straps might reasonably be located. Sometimes trees or above ground roots can substitute for mast stakes as anchor points.
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Start the engine drill, attach the drilling fluid hose to the valve at the handle assembly, and attach a rock core barrel and bit assembly over the water swivel nose.
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Take three paces (8 feet or 2.4 meters) outward from the forward point of the mast head, then; just in front of you, advance a short (6 inches or 15 cm) boring at a 45-degree angle inward, toward the mast boring location. Press an outlier mast stake into the boring. There is no need to remove the rock core. Repeat these actions at the other two outlier stake positions.
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Take away the mast head from the boring location and drill a short (6 inches or 15 cm) vertical boring at the mast stake boring point.
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Thread the mast stake into the heel of the mast foot.
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Assemble the mast beam by bolting the engine drill track to the two, 1 m. long extruded aluminum beam sections such that the track spans the break between them. Slide the three extruded beam section splicers in their channels till they also span the break and tighten their set screws.
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Attach the mast head to the beam by tightening nuts over the three bolts of brackets mounted on the upper aluminum beam.
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Insert the mast stake into its boring which leaves the assembled mast in an approximately vertical position.
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Deploy a ratchet strap and tightener assembly by attaching one of its’ end hooks to its tip of the mast head and its’ other end to its’ respective ground stake. Do this for the other two ratchet straps.
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Mount the engine drill lower carriage the track near in the track gap at the top of the mast. Use the track pin to hold the engine drill at waist level.
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Place a bullseye level over the flat back of the engine to establish vertically.
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Tighten the ratchet straps one at a time until the mast is perfectly vertical and the straps are adequately tensioned to achieve mast stability.
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Attach drilling fluid line to water swivel, start engine, attach core barrel to water swivel, lower the bit through the mast foot, open fluid valve and begin boring
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If the first few centimeters of core are actually soft soil, regolith and/or vegetation rather than rock, stop the boring at intervals, lift the drill and drill string several times, clear the bit of this overburden until the bit finally enters competent rock
NON-VERTICAL ANGLE BORING WITH THE USE OF THE SHAW DRILL AND MAST
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Most of the Shaw drill and mast setup steps are the same as those for vertical boring except that in the non-vertical configuration only two outlier ground stakes are employed rather than three and a rigid strut, attached to the head and pinned to the ground, is used to restore the masts’ stable tripod configuration.
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Following installation of outlier ground and mast stakes, a set of short strut sections and a shaped ground tip must be threaded together and then slipped through the pivoting strut holder attached to the backside top of the mast head.
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Once the strut is in its pivoting holder, the mast can be leaned back on its pivot heel to its’ approximate angle for the angled boring and then secured with set screws located on each side of the strut holder.
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Using an inclinometer placed on the upper surface of the mast beam, the desired angle of boring relative to the horizontal can be found and the mast held to it by moving the strut relative to its holder and then tightening the holder set screws.
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Two ratchet straps can now be tightened equally to hold the mast head securely to its’ ground stakes.
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Drilling can now proceed normally, although “bit weight” is less than normal in angled positions.
ROCK CORE SAMPLING WITH THE USE OF THE SHAW GEN3 “DEEP” DRILL
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Stop the engine drill, disconnect the drill string from the water swivel with two pipe wrenches, and raise the engine to a chest high position, hold it in place by clipping its’ left handles assembly bar lanyard to an eyebolt of the mast head.
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Raise the drill string one section up and secure it to the mast foot with the use of its’ slide forks.
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Remove the long carriage pin on the right side (as you face the drill) of the drill carriage and allow the drill to pivot to left and out of the way. The lanyard, positioned behind and across the mast beam, will hold the engine drill securely during sampling.
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Attach a core breaker to a threaded rod and then assemble a rod string and inserted it into the hollow stem of the drill string.
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Remove the core breaker and rods assembly by pulling them up by hand through the forward opening in the mast head. Three-meter (10 feet) sections of the rod assembly can be disconnected and left in the mast for convenient use later in the sampling exercise. The lower, threaded male ends of these rod sections should be placed in the mast foot to keep them clean.
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Use this breaker and rod string, with a “T” handle to strike the top of the core forcefully. rock assembly will break, at or near its base in the boring, especially if it is a long core or if the rock is naturally jointed.
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Retract the rod string and core breaker assembly from the drill string, possibly in 10 ft (3 m) pieces.
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Detach the core breaker from the rod string, attach the inside taper core catcher, rebuild the rod string until the core is contacted again. Press the core catcher over the core and then lift up. If the core has been caught, the rod string will feel heavy.
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Retract the rod string, core catcher and rock core from the boring.
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Push the slide forks sideways to allow lowering of the drill string.
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Add one extension of drill string, swing the engine drill back into position on the track, re-insert the carriage pin, lower the engine drill over the drill string and re-connect the water swivel.
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Resume drilling normally.
BASIC SHAW DRILLING PROCEDURES
Bit dressing
Sintered diamond core bits can only cut rock when diamond crystals protrude above the bit segment metal matrix surface. In abrasive materials such as sandy soil, erosion of the matrix around the diamond crystals is rapid: the bit can cut at its maximum rate. In non-abrasive rock drilling, however, in hard, uniform materials such as granite or jadeite, the working diamonds of the bit segments tend to be planed down to the level of the segment matrix and thereby lose their cutting power. In this hard rock drilling case, the segment matrix must be artificially worn away to expose the diamonds and thereby restore the bit’s abrasiveness. This process is called “bit dressing”.
The best way to dress a Shaw diamond core bit is by running it fast and hard in a bucket of industrial sand blast grit. The grit can be screened slag, or silicon carbide or other hard, broken, thereby sharp-edged material. As the bit matrix is quickly eroded in this process, the bit diamonds become prominent and are cleaned such that they sparkle in sunlight. The exposed diamonds can be further improved as cutting elements by striking the bit surface with the edge of a hard flat file which shatters some crystals, leaving sharp cutting edges and points.
replacing worn bits
When a Shaw saber (rock) bit or soil bit has lost nearly all of its clearance or segment length, then it must be removed from its’ core barrel and replaced. The bits are threaded to the core barrels and may have been used for several hundred feet of boring; therefore, although the threads have been doped with copper based anti-seize, they may be hard to get off. In the case of bayonet coupled core barrels, the best approach to the job is to leave the engine drill attached to the core barrel, apply one pipe wrench (clockwise) to the water swivel (hardened steel) and the other (counterclockwise) to the bit segments. With opposing strain on the wrenches, the bit thread will loosen. The new bit thread should receive some clean, copper based anti-seize lubricant.
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opening Shaw bayonet couplings
Shaw clockwise turned bayonet couplings, if they are kept clean and spayed frequently with dry, grit repelling Teflon lubricant, can normally be opened by hand. Rarely, two open-end wrenches (supplied) must be applied to flats on the couplings to cause the male and female parts to separate.
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opening Shaw threaded couplings
The Shaw hollow stem system for deeper borings requires threaded couplings which typically more force to open than the Shaw bayonet type. Two pipe wrenches (supplied) are required for the job, one applied to the male coupling and one to the female coupling. The wrench jaws should be positioned over the coupling knurled surfaces for good grip. The 3 mm wall spring steel couplings are relatively strong and resilient, but it should be remembered that these are, after all, thin-walled tubes; care must be exercised in applying to them pipe wrenches, which are very crude and potentially destructive tools.
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replacing bayonet coupling o rings
The three rubber (Buna N Nitrile) o ring seals mounted on the ends of Shaw male bayonet couplings can last a long time even with substantial use if kept clean and religiously coated with spray Teflon (PTFE) after decoupling. However, the repeated passage of the rings through hard edges of the female couplings during coupling and decoupling causes the rubber to become worn.
To replace the Shaw o rings, dig out the worn rings with a thin, pointed tool such as the tip of a knife blade or a tiny screw driver to lift them out of their grooves in the male coupling. Stretch new o rings over the male coupling nose and push them backward into the grooves where they will contract and fit their grooves firmly.
selecting bits
Shaw offers several kinds of bits to be used for penetrating and sampling a variety of earth materials. There is only one kind of Shaw soil bit, the 7 mm width diamond impregnated segments of which are made with a hard matrix and high diamond concentration to resist the often very high abrasiveness of sandy soil or sandy stream (placer) deposits. Shaw rock bits, on the other hand, are of two segment widths and two matrix hardnesses, hard or soft, for use in a a variety of rock types.
Appropriate selection of Shaw rock bits is somewhat counterintuitive. Soft materials like soil or asphaltic concrete are best cut with the use of a hard matrix diamond bit. Hard, non-abrasive materials like quartz, or garnet are best cut with the use of a soft matrix diamond bit. In the first case, abrasive sand quickly erodes the segment matrix, causing the diamond crystals to be undercut and removed prematurely, therefore a hard matrix is called for. In the second, hard rock case, there is not enough abrasiveness to keep the diamonds well exposed and effective as cutting elements; therefore, a soft, easily eroded matrix is needed.
bit filing
The Shaw “saber” pedestal embedded segment diamond core bit cuts at least twice as fast as core bits of the same kerf width and outer diameter and, because the saber diamond segments are longer, has a bit life several times that of conventional diamond bits. But with these substantial advantages comes the cost of greater maintenance. Drilling fluid half circle waterways in the Shaw bit pedestal steel between the segments must be kept open. This waterway maintenance can be done with small rotary grinding tools (Dremel or other) in the shop or by hand filing with a 4 mm diameter rat tail file in the field.
Hand filing produces nicely circular waterways of the right diameter and can be done almost anywhere but it does require care and acquired skill. It is best to do it with a bit mounted on its core barrel so that the bit is stable while the file is stroked against it. Once learned, hand filing becomes instinctual and easy to do. The process is best shown by the video below.
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mixing drilling fluid
Mixing polymer products with clean water, especially under uncontrolled field conditions is an art, as the products vary in their viscosity producing power and exact volumes of water and volumes of polymer product, likely to be used in tiny amounts, usually cannot be measured with certainty. Generally, polymer product, especially dry powder, is a powerful gelling agent which must be added to water slowly and carefully to prevent formation of big, stubborn lumps. In the field, a wire whip is useful for vigorous mixing of polymer product into water as it is being mixed. The video below will illustrate field preparation of polymer amended water drilling fluid.
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ordering expendables and parts
We provide all related parts and consumables related to the equipment. You can contact our sales-representitive by clicking the "contact us" button on top and bottom of our website.
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capture and transport of soil samples
Once captured in the sampler tube and then extruded from it, two-inch (51 mm) diameter soil samples, typically 13 inches (35 cm) to 15 inches (40 cm) long, can be described and then discarded in the field. If it is desired to bring some or all soil samples back to the geotechnical laboratory, then it is suggested that the samples be wrapped in PVC stretch wrap product (Saran wrap and other brands) (PVC) to holdprotect them together forin transport and to preserve their moisture content. The wrapped cores should be carefully labelled with a permanent marking pen. Core boxes are useful if available.