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-397
Type of Object
Mine
Description
Short description
The light drilling 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. Next to the place where the drill is inserted there is a strong round spring. The handle has a triangular relief sign (illegible).
Measures
Length 56.5 cm, width 9 cm, height 14 cm.
Materials
Steel.
Dating
The middle of the 20th century.
Author / Producer
Manufacturer information is not known.
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 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. In the 1960s, they started using the so-called wet drilling procedure. Using water in the drilling process decreased the amount of dust. In the 1960s, 75 drilling machines were operating at once on a big shift in a pit, or 65 on the small shift, and 15 defeat drilling machines. Between 1967 and 1980, they produced an average of 9,000 m of wells and 8,000 m of tunnels annually.
Present use
The 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 conserved, but it is not complete. A sleeve with a slot and drill bracket are missing. 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: