Bits ‘n Pieces – The Driller’s Blog

We’re always excited when we get to announce new additions to our product lines.  We usually launch new products after months of research and development or when we get valuable feedback from our clients. When we launched our RockStar line a few years ago, we were happy to be able to offer drillers a core bit that offered many benefits, including its self-sharpening ability.

If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you know that some great success stories happen when we collaborate with customers to find solutions to drilling problems. In the past, onsite visits have led to left-handed coring solutions and large diameter equipment. Recently a three-way collaboration between a manufacturer, drilling company and mining site led to our EDDY wastewater system going underground.

Sometimes in the world of diamond drilling, it can help to have a few rules regarding what you should always do and what you should never do during drilling operations. We have touched upon a lot of advice in previous blogs, but we thought a short and sweet list would be a great tool, especially for helpers and other people new to the industry.

When it comes to product documentation, it can be tough to produce something really different, but I think we’ve done it with our latest product catalog. Our In-the-Hole, or ITH catalog, is a testament to our goal of making drillers’ live easier. This product makes it easy to order ITH tooling and equipment. How? Because it is interactive.

We have offered a lot of advice in previous blogs, but it never hurts to repeat important information, especially for helpers and other people new to the industry.

Since the beginning of the year, we’ve been updating our popular e-Guides so our customers would have the latest and greatest information. We started with our most popular guides and have published new versions of how to choose the right core bit, new core bit configurations and our guide on caring for drill rods.

If you want to learn a bit more about how reaming shells and core bits work together and gain a good overall view of the diamond tools used in core drilling, then this video is for you. It provides an excellent visual representation of the core drilling process, and focuses on core bits, reaming shells and drilling parameters.

For optimal drilling performance, you need a drill bit that is designed to handle a variety of variables that are particular to your drilling project. Choosing the right core bit is one of the most important decisions you will make, and the type of ground is an important consideration.

The wireline core barrel is one of the most important pieces of diamond drilling equipment – it’s what you use to recover core.  We’ve written a lot about the parts of the core barrel: inner tubes, head assemblies, outer tubes and overshots but being able to actually see how these pieces work together while underground is really helpful.

Waiting for new drilling equipment can be longer than usual these days. Supply chains everywhere are being negatively impacted by external events far more frequently than ever before. Disruptive events, like the recent pandemic, are causing potential disruption to business activity and the drilling and mining industries are not immune. Delays are now common for drilling equipment especially those made with steel, such as drill rods, inner and outer tubes, etc.