Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 7 hours ago
Today we bring you something you might not see every day: historic pneumatic drills! Part hammer and part drill, these tools were in high demand in Utah mines during the mid 19th- through the 20th-century Miners used the drills to bore holes into the rock, which were then packed with explosives. The explosives were then detonated and the mine expanded.
Studying artifacts like these in the places they are found allows us to understand how the drills were used at this mining site and the generations of change in mining technology. Thank you to UCSS site stewards — and to you! — for remembering to visit sites respectfully.
Today we bring you something you might not see every day: historic pneumatic drills! Part hammer and part drill, these tools were in high demand in Utah mines during the mid 19th- through the 20th-century Miners used the drills to bore holes into the rock, which were then packed with explosives. The explosives were then detonated and the mine expanded.
Studying artifacts like these in the places they are found allows us to understand how the drills were used at this mining site and the generations of change in mining technology. Thank you to UCSS site stewards — and to you! — for remembering to visit sites respectfully.
