Name 1
DRILLING HAMMER 6
Name 2
/
ID number
002.167.Idrija
Manager / Administrator
Idrija Municipal Museum, Prelovčeva 9, SI-5280 Idrija
Ownership
Public
Owner
Municipality of Idrija, Mestni trg 1, SI-5280 Idrija
Local / Original ID Number
510:IDR;RZ-413
Type of Object
Mine
Description
Short description
The heavy digging hammer is powered by compressed air. It is composed of the housing with a handle, the opening for the entry of compressed air – there is a disc valve inside, two valves for redirection of air and a piston. The hammer has a clamp for a hexagon drill (s = 25 mm) and a bracket for the pneumatic support leg fastening. The housing has a sign SER. F. 373608 CP, THE CONSOLIDATED PNEUMATIC TOOL CO. LTD 76920 on it, and 2/7D sign on the handle.
Measures
Length 59 cm, width 21 cm, height 13.5 cm.
Materials
Steel.
Dating
First half of the 20th century.
Author / Producer
The Consolidated Pneumatic Tool, Great Britain.
Picture attachments
Original use
Machine drilling was introduced in the Idrija Mine in 1874. The drilling hammer was used for drilling wells in harder rocks for ore excavation in the Idrija Mercury Mine. In 1914, the mining administration decided to set the compressor station on the IV. horizon (183 m under the surface), which, among other things, powered 15 drilling machines on compressed air. In a drilling hammer, a piston was hitting, in regular intervals, the drill with a blade, just like the hammer on the chisel. While returning, the piston rotated in a specific angle and the drill also rotated. This rotation allowed the blade to gradually hit the entire surface of the well. At the excavating area, a digger and auxiliary digger drilled holes in the rock. Openings were are then filled with gunpowder, later on with dynamite, and were filled with clay rolls. Drilling caused a lot of fine dust, which settled in the lungs of the miners and caused an illness called silicosis.
Present use
The heavy drilling hammer is being preserved, secured and presented as important mining heritage of Idrija with exceptional universal values. It is stored in the depot of the Idrija Municipal Museum. It can be used for temporary museum exhibitions or for other types of mercury heritage promotions.
Original location
Idrija Mercury Mine (miner’s working equipment).
Present location
Idrija Municipal Museum, Prelovčeva 2 depot.
STATE OF CONSERVATION
History of conservation:
The object was fully conserved and is completely preserved. Additional interventions are not necessary. Security of the premises is taken care of.
Present state
good
Necessary activities:
Regular seasonal maintenance.
DOCUMENTATION
Addresses / collections / links etc. where further in-depth information is accessible:
- Inventory Book of the Idrija Municipal Museum.
Submitted
Mestni muzej Idrija
Submitted by
Miha Kosmač
Date Submitted
5. 3. 2018
Date Edited
Never