OPERATORS MANUAL FOR

SHAW PORTABLE CORE DRILLLING EQUIPMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EQUIPMENT

backpack

engine drill

water supply system

replaceable diamond bit

threaded lead

10

extension

11

loose materials bit

12

handle

13

core breaker

13

core catcher

14

knockout rod

14

25mm x 41mm adaptor

15

soil sampler

15

casing driver

16

small parts

17

DRILLING

18

hard rock

18

soft materials

21

confined spaces

21

deep

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EQUIPMENT
BACKPACK

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All components of a basic Shaw portable core drill kit can be carried in its frame backpack as a complete
kit weighing about 50 lbs. (19 kg).

TORSO LENGTH ADJUSTMENT STRAP

The backpack itself has several main straps which must be adjusted to fit the user: one for adjustment
for wearer torso length, two at the sides of the users chest for snugness to the body and pack
positioning, and a hip belt over the wearers waist.

SHOULDER ADJUSTMENT STRAPS

HIP BELT ADJUSTMENT STRAP

Adjustments of belts and straps ought to result in a pack which exerts its weight primarily on the users
hips rather than on his or her shoulders. The pack should be snug to the body but not uncomfortably
tight and ride as high as possible on the wearers back.
ENGINE DRILL

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When the loaded Shaw portable core drill pack is opened the first item to appear is the engine drill.

TOP OF BACKPACK

ENGINE DRILL

Shaw Tool has replaced one set of pinion gears in the transmission to increase the angular velocity of
the power output. This alteration results in substantial improvement in bit penetration rates.
The Tanaka 27cc engine is a two stroke one which requires mixing of two stroke engine oil with regular
gasoline in a ratio of 30 parts gasoline to 1 part engine oil. Tables of mixing quantities are printed on oil
containers.

GASOLINE AND 2-STROKE OIL

MIXING FUEL
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RECOMMENDED 30:1 GASOLINE TO 2-STROKE ENGINE OIL MIXTURE

Gasoline
1 gallon
1 liter

2-Stroke Engine Oil

4.2 ounces
33 milliliters

ON-OFF SWITCH

PULL CORD

To start the engine, press the ON-OFF switch on the handle to the on position.
Adjustments to fuel air richness can be made by turning the adjustment screw on the side of the
carburetor. Fuel richness must be reduced (clockwise) at higher elevation and increased
(counterclockwise) at low ones. At full throttle operation turn the adjustment screw clockwise a little
until the engine begins to run unevenly. Then turn the screw counterclockwise until the engine runs
smoothly and at a high pitch.

CARBUTETOR ADJUSTMENT SCREW

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Push the flexible rubber priming bulb behind the carburetor (somewhat hidden from view) several times
to pump fuel from the fuel tank to the carburetor. Then push the red choke lever to the choked (closed)
position. Pull the start cord several times until the engine fires a little. Push the choke lever to the unchoked (open) position.

CHOKE LEVER

CARBURETOR PRIMING BULB

Run the engine for a minute to warm it up before drilling. When under load (working), the engine ought
to be run at full throttle and at a relatively high angular velocity (rpm). High rpm is needed because the
engine will otherwise overheat. Low engine rpm (lugging) causes slippage of the centrifugal clutch and
failure of air cooling by the fan blades ahead of the engine.
Maintenance requirements for the engine drill include periodic replacement of spark plug and air
cleaner.

AIR FILTER COVER

AIR FILTER

WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

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Water supply system component water swivel and ball valve are mounted on the engine drill.

WATER SWIVEL

BALL VALVE

Water tanks, either compression bottles for backpack access only drilling or larger tanks with electric
pumps mounted on motor vehicles and water hoses from these to the engine drill are water supply
components external to the drill.

COMPRESSION WATER BOTTLES

25 GALLON WATER TANK AND 12V PUMP

WATER SWIVEL SLEEVE AND SHAFT

Inside the swivel sleeve are six Teflon impregnated rotational quad rings. These quad rings are
lubricated with silicone grease.

QUAD RINGS IN WATER SWIVEL SLEEVE

SILICONE LUBRICANT

Both quad rings and grease must be replaced at intervals. The sure sign of the need to replace these
components of the water swivel seal is water leaking from either top or bottom of the water swivel
sleeve. To perform this replacement remove the water swivel from the engine drill spindle with a pair of
wrenches, then disassemble the swivel itself with the use of retaining ring pliers.

REMOVING WATER SWIVEL RETAINING RING

REMOVING QUAD RING

Replace the worn rings with new ones, liberally re-lubricate both the shaft and sleeve with silicone
grease, re-assemble the swivel and thread it back onto the engine spindle by hand. Remember to put
Teflon tape on the spindle threads.
The quad rings of the water swivel are quite wear resistant but they must be exposed only to clean
water and or drilling fluid and kept well lubricated with silicone grease. A muddy water supply to the
swivel will soon groove its shaft and ruin the Teflon quad rings.
As the water swivel shaft projects from the engine drill spindle it is best to avoid knocking it about
unnecessarily. Being hardened the shaft itself will not easily bend but a heavy blow could bend the
engine drill spindle or damage the bearings of the transmission.
The ball valve mounted on the engine drill handle can be nicely adjusted to serve drilling requirements
without wasting water. It is often best to open this valve completely when using the loose materials bit
for maximum flushing action. Connections with the water hose are made by pulling back the spring
loaded fitting behind the valve itself. No maintenance is required for the ball valve.
The compression bottles of the backpack drilling system for a limited water supply in otherwise
impossible of access drilling locations sometimes require patience in their use. A head space of air is
required over the water surface in a filled bottle which can be compressed to drive out the water to the
drill. Sometimes the screw cap must be tightened more than once and forcefully to achieve a seal of the
large O-ring under the cap. The hand pump must be used with diligence until real resistance indicates a
sufficient compression of air in the headspace of the bottle.

COMPRESSION BOTTLE
Larger water tanks with electric on-demand pumps are greatly preferable to compression bottles as they
provide much more water volume and a steady, high pressure. Normally these larger tanks must be
carried on vehicles of some sort such as ATVs, pickups or boats which can also supply 12V power.
Alternatively the pump can be used with a battery and other sources of water such as jerry cans or a
body of water itself such as a creek, lake or sea.

PUMP, BATTERY, AND WATER CONTAINER

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REPLACEABLE DIAMOND BITS

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To be effective in cutting rock the replaceable diamond core bit must be rotated at a high angular
velocity as measured in RPM and it must be as rough as possible. Producing or maintaining bit
roughness is called bit dressing. Bit dressing is accomplished by rotating it fast and hard in an abrasive
material. Many, perhaps most kinds of rock are quite abrasive enough by themselves to dress bits. Very
hard rock such as quartzite, however, are not very abrasive but tend to smooth diamonds. Once
smoothed, the diamond bit will no longer cut rock. In drilling such poorly-abrasive, but diamond wearing
material, the bit must be frequently abraded by dressing. Materials to be used for bit dressing are dry,
fresh sand blast grit, natural rock sand, sandy soil, or wet sand on riverbanks or beaches. As dressing
proceeds the bit diamond crystals are exposed as the metallic matrix between crystals is worn away. A
dressed bit will sparkle in sunlight and will cut rock easily.

UN-DRESSED (SMOOTH FACED) DIAMOND BIT

DRESSED MASONRY BIT

DRESSING (ABRADING) BIT IN SAND BLAST GRIT

DRESSED ELEPHANT TOOTH BIT

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Removing and replacing Shaw diamond bits usually requires the use of a pipe wrench for a grip on the
shoulder of the bit body. The tail of the lead can be secured with the Shaw stainless handle. Wrap the
threads of new bits with Teflon tape for later ease of removal.

REMOVING A REPLACEABLE BIT FROM THE THREADED LEAD

THREADED LEAD

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As mentioned before the lead holds the replaceable diamond bit and receives and usually holds rock
cores. It is made to release cores from the back. Cores in the lead may be dislodged if temporarily stuck
by pushing them backward from the bit mouth toward the lead rear with the use of the knockout rod.
The lead requires the use of an adaptor to mate it with the water swivel shaft or extensions.

THREADED LEAD TAIL (TWO J-SLOTS)

THREADED LEAD BIT END

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THREADED LEAD TAIL WITH CAPTURED ROCK CORE

EXTENSION

THREADED LEAD HEAD WITH KNOCKOUT ROD

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Available with either stainless steel or aluminum tube bodies, extensions are the main building units of
the drill string. They couple and de-couple very easily if male and female mated parts of the bayonet
couplings are clean and lubricated with silicone grease. Coupling is done with a simple push-and-turn
motion and de-coupling is done with a turn-and-pull one.

MATED EXTENSION MALE AND FEMALE ENDS

COUPLED EXTENSION ENDS

Coupling with an initial turning motion - a natural inclination actually causes O-rings to loop up and
subsequently be cut. A simple push and turn is both easier and far less destructive. When disassembling drill string when removing it from a boring, it is best to take it apart in small pieces of two or
three extensions each; longer pieces of drill string are unwieldy and can be accidentally bent.

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LOOSE MATERIALS BIT

LOOSE MATERIALS BIT (LMB)

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BENTONITE POWDER SOMETIMES USED WITH LMB

The water injected loose materials bit included in our standard kits may be used for boring soft
materials including rotted rock, clay, soil, muskeg, muck and sand. Soils with clay components often
naturally produce sleeved borings but well sorted sand or even heaving sand may be sleeved with
commercially available bentonite which is a dry, natural, swelling clay mixture (smectites) which on
hydration produce an oatmeal-like paste useful for sealing and strengthening boring sidewalls.
The loose materials bit works by disturbing soft materials with its carbide blade, mixing the disturbed
cuttings with water to form a dilute mixture of the material (mud) and forcing it under pressure up the
boring annulus to the ground surface (or a fracture zone intersecting the boring). The volume of water
to use with this bit depends on the drilling circumstances but the usual rule is that more water, and at
high pressure is better than too little. Hard clays are often the most difficult of all to deal with; it is best
to proceed slowly in drilling this material and to use lots of water in order to keep the bit free of sticky
clay buildup.
With skill and patience it has been found that the loose materials bit can also sometimes be used
successfully with the addition of dry bentonite to make sleeved borings in wet, flowing (heaving) sand.
This way this is done is by pouring dry bentonite chunks into the boring or by smearing largely dry but
hydrating dry bentonite powder onto the flights of the loose materials bit. The swelling, gelling material
is forced onto the sidewalls by the rotating bit where it mixes with water and sand to form a stiff,
relatively stable paste.

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HANDLE

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The stainless handle is used to lift, push or turn the drill string by hand. It is needed especially in
sampling rock core with the core breaker and core catcher. When a drill bit gets stuck for any reason the
handle becomes an important tool for twisting free. Like drill string components this tool must be kept
clean and lubricated.

HANDLE
CORE BREAKER

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The core breaker is used to snap off rock core which remains intact in a rock boring. Acting as both
hammer and a wedge, cores of brittle rock will break at some point in their length when struck a sharp
blow with the core breaker. Once broken, the core pieces can be captured with the core catcher.

CORE BREAKER

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CORE CATCHER

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The Shaw core catcher grips pieces of rock core for retrieval. The spring stainless steel tip of the catcher
has three inward bent tabs. Once the catcher has been pushed over the top of the core the tabs tend to
grip and hold it. All retrieved cores ought to be pushed from the catcher tip backward with the knockout
rod.

CORE CATCHER
KNOCKOUT ROD

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A small but necessary tool, the knockout rod is needed for punching cores or soil lodged in the bit
mouth backward toward the tail of the threaded lead. Once cores or soil have been forced out then the
knockout rod can be used to scrape out and clean away clay smeared on the inside of the threaded lead.

KNOCKOUT ROD
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25 mm x 41 mm ADAPTOR

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The 25 mm x 41 mm adaptor is used in the rare case where a 25 mm part is must be coupled to a 41 mm
drill string. This is necessary for soil sampling with a 41 mm kit of equipment because the Shaw soil
sampler must be small for adequate hand penetration. The adaptor can be used anywhere in the drill
string from the handle onward.

25 MM X 41 MM ADAPTOR
SOIL SAMPLER

COUPLED 25 MM X 41 MM ADAPTOR
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The Shaw soil sampler is very nicely engineered for ease of use and for the exceptional quality of its
undisturbed samples captured in well fitted, clear plastic tubes. The soil sampler is pushed not turned into soft materials. This gentle but forceful method produces the long, undisturbed soil samples with
stratigraphic orientation, color moisture content and chemical integrity exceptionally well preserved for
analysis or archival.

SOIL SAMPLER AND HANDLE

SOIL SAMPLER HARDENED, SHARP-EDGED TIP

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LOADED SOIL SAMPLE TUBE AT SAMPLER TAIL

FILLED AND CAPPED SAMPLE TUBE

CASING DRIVER

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For those circumstances where open hole boring is impossible, as in loose sediments or flowing sand,
casing may be used to advance borings with the use of the Shaw drill. To accomplish this, a water
injected casing driver is attached to a 25 mm drill string locks into and drives a threaded casing shoe.
The threaded casing shoe, in turn, is attached to a series of sections of threaded PVC casing. As the
boring is advanced and extensions and casing sections are added above the ground surface, all parts are
locked together. On boring completion the drill string and driver are retrieved and the casing and its
attached shoe are left in place.

CASING DRIVER

CASING SHOE

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CASING DRIVER, CASING SHOE, AND PVC CASING

The casing driver equipment described above can be used for installation of shallow groundwater
monitoring and domestic wells.
SMALL PARTS

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Other components of Shaw drill kits include a spanner wrench for moving the water swivel drive pin or
pins, spare O-rings to replace those on the male part of extensions and water swivel shaft, a tube of
silicone grease (other kinds of grease will also work in a pinch), a spark plug and spark plug wrench.

SMALL PARTS

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DRILLING
HARD ROCK

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To avoid walking of the diamond core bit on hard rock begin by cutting a small groove in the rock
surface by holding the bit at an angle to the vertical.

ESTABLISHING ROCK SURFACE ANCHOR POINT

VERTICAL ROCK BORING

Once cut, the rock surface groove acts as an anchor point and from it the working bit can be slowly
rotated to the vertical (or any other position) for the boring. Once the boring is properly started set the
water valve for the minimum amount of water volume needed in the circumstances. The faster the
cutting rate the more water is needed to rinse away rock cuttings. A lot of water is needed to deal with
clay seams in rock.
One of the greatest problems in rock drilling is loss of water circulation (boring wall leaks) in voids and
fractures. With loss of circulation the boring above the boring wall leak is left without lubrication causing
sidewall frictional resistance. Bentonite or polymer additives to drilling water are very effective in
sealing leaks in boring walls and avoiding this problem. Baroid Company http://www.baroididp.com/
through its many worldwide distributors offers a fine variety of drilling fluid additives.

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BENTONITE POWDER

BAROID QUIK-TROL HOLE STABILIZER

Another frequently occurring but easily avoidable problem is lugging of the engine. Run the drill fast at
full throttle whenever it is working. The engine must run fast to produce full power and to cool itself.
The diamond bit must also turn as fast as possible to effectively cut rock by grinding. The operator must
feel for the right engine speed in each drilling circumstance. The pitch of the working engine at which
the diamond bit advance rate is maximized must be his guide. Engine lugging very quickly results in fatal
overheating of engine and transmission due to both centrifugal clutch drum slippage against the clutch
shoes and consequent frictional heat buildup and loss of cooling fan effectiveness at low rpm.
Diamond drilling in rock effectiveness is also dependent on the volume of water used. Water both cools
the working bit and removes the rock grindings. If insufficient water is used the bit can quickly heat up
to the point at which it can partially melt either or both bit and rock. The ideal amount of water needed
is that at which the rate of drilling advance is greatest but water use is minimal. Some drillers say that
the ideal is indicated by a return water which has the viscosity of buttermilk and a warm (steaming in
cold air) temperature.
Rock core sampling is usually easy as cores of most kinds of rock tend to break into small pieces due to
natural rock jointing (fracturing) and these fragments usually remain in the threaded lead body. Usually
a push with the use of the knockout rod from the diamond core bit toward the tail of the threaded lead
brings the rock core pieces to the back of the threaded lead for collection. These cores can then be
placed in labeled, clear plastic tubes and or in core boxes.

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25 MM ROCK CORES IN CORE BOX (TWO LAYERS)

41 MM ROCK CORES IN CORE BOX

CLEAR PLASTIC CORE SAMPLE TUBES

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SOFT MATERIALS

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Many field investigations require penetration and/or sampling of soil. Simple penetration is best done
with the loose materials bit. Undisturbed soil sampling is best done with the Shaw push-type soil
sampler. The diamond core bit can be used to penetrate and sample overburden rocks or boulders.
As mentioned above the loose materials bit can easily penetrate soft materials including soft rocks like
shale and weathered rock of many types. As this kind of bit grinds away everything in its path in theory it
need not be withdrawn as its boring proceeds. In practice, however, the LMB is often fouled by clay and
must be withdrawn for cleaning. Use of surfactants in the drilling fluid helps to prevent bit fouling by
suspending clay platelets which otherwise accumulate on bit surface. Baroid can help with the bit
fouling problem.
Many subsurface materials are heterogeneous including both hard materials and soft materials. By
alternate use of the LMB and diamond core bits most materials can be both penetrated and sampled.
This alternation is easy to do with Shaw portable equipment as both LMB and diamond core bits of 25
mm or 41 mm OD are of the same outside diameter and thus entirely interchangeable and because the
bayonet couplings are very easy to couple and de-couple.
CONFINED SPACES

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For core drilling in confined spaces such as mineshafts without ventilation it is far the safest plan to use
an electric drill motor rather than a gasoline engine. Gasoline engine CO2 and CO emissions are both
quite lethal. The recommended electric motor (below) is the High Speed (1750 rpm) Milwaukie HoleHawg. This electric motor is powerful although heavier than the Tanaka 27 cc two stroke engine. Shaw
Tool provides an adaptor for mating its water swivel to the Milwaukie drill chuck. As the Milwaukie
electric drill lacks a centrifugal clutch, it is difficult to control if the working bit or drill string suddenly
binds up during drilling.

ELECTRIC DRILL MOTOR WITH WATER SWIVEL

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DEEP

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Deeper (>10m) borings can be made with Shaw Tool equipment. The primary limiting factor in this
process is the increased weight of the longer drill string required. Shaw Tool offers a fairly lightweight
(53 lbs., 24 kg.) tripod which can be used with light block and tackle to make lifting heavy drill strings a
little easier. Use the handle to make connection to the female coupling (upper) end of the drill string.

SHAW TOOL TRIPOD FOR LIFTING HEAVY DRILL STRINGS

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