An auger plays an important role in the lives of the people when it comes to digging out a hole. This has become a great piece of equipment that speeds up the digging process. Hence, the obsolete way of employing human physical force for excavation has been gradually eradicated and replaced by this powerful tool.
An auger can be used in several activities such as gardening, digging holes for fence posts, tree planting, excavating holes for electrical and telecommunication posts and even for mining activities. Today, this piece of equipment is utilized in different ways but for one ultimate purpose and that is to bore holes.
Drill Mechanism
Basically, an auger is a device that has a helical-shaped bit. The spiral design of this piece of boring equipment is the primary reason why it can create a cylindrical hole. Let’s take a closer look.
It is composed of different parts which form and complete its function. It has a cutting point and a cutting edge at the tip, which is the first part to get in touch with the material that requires drilling. The cutting point and the cutting edge should be perfectly centered in each application to create a perfect cylindrical hole. The tip of the drill bit has a different point style depending upon the work at hand. The angle of the cutting point determines how the bit can easily dig into the materials being bored.
The helical shape of the auger is called spiral flute which channels filings or waste materials upward. The spiral shape usually has two cutting edges that move around the shank and shave materials while at the same time help in the removal of the chips. In the hole-making operations, the drill bit enters the work piece axially and cuts a hole through with a diameter equal to that of the bit. The cylindrical hole can be achieved by applying downward force and clockwise rotational movement on the auger to penetrate the surface.
The opposite of the cutting point is the drill head which is commonly attached to a holding device known as a collet. This holding device can exert a strong clamping force on the borer to hold it in place.
How it Works
For demonstration purposes, let’s use the obsolete yet still useful boring instrument called a brace and bit to describe how an auger works. Just imagine that the device has a drill bit attached to the brace with a u-shaped body used to rotate the tool and a wooden spindle where downward pressure can be applied. Now, grab a piece of wood and lay it on a flat surface and find the target. Aim for the target with the cutting point of the drill bit and position the device perpendicular to the wooden piece. Remember that this is a hand-driven drill; the mechanics of this equipment is to use hand effort to apply a downward force on the top spindle and rotate the device counter-clockwise using the u-shaped grip to penetrate the wood. More sweats may need to be drained to make 100 revolutions per minute.
Now it’s time to use the powered auger. Select the size to be used and hook it on a power head. A powered auger can be used by either worker in a set of two workers depending on the type of power head. With this more advanced technological advancement to augers, a hole can be dug and a task completed in a matter of minutes rather than hours. This device can rotate 150 rpm or more depending on the power head being using. This will definitely save time and energy.
Hopefully the above information has helped to make the workings of an auger more understandable as well as how efficiently a powered auger can do a job. Don’t do a job by sheer hand energy when there is a tool available to do the job in a fraction of the time called the powered auger!
Christopher Hunter is an expert in commercial specialty trucks. If you are interested in learning more about Used Augers, go to the main website shown in this link.
