Chapter 101: The Bamboo Craftsman and the Hand-Operated Drill
The experience of digging deep holes to plant wooden posts allowed Eldest Senior Brother and others to personally experience the usefulness of bone shovels.
Everyone was quite enthusiastic when the Divine Child mentioned starting the production of bone shovels. Despite their high spirits, the efficiency of bone shovel production did not improve much. The main issue wasn't the selection and grinding of bones; instead, it was the drilling of holes for threading and securing ropes in the bone shovel.
The current method for drilling holes involved selecting hard rocks, striking them to extract suitable thin pieces, and then processing these into rudimentary stone drills. These stone drills were used by hand to drill holes in the robust bone pieces.
Due to the extreme hardness of the bone pieces and the lack of sharpness in the stone drills, the process of drilling holes was slow and laborious. After extended periods of drilling, the fingers holding the stone drill would become sore, and wrists would tire, even for strong individuals like Eldest Senior Brother, Second Brother, and Shang, the leader of the Original Pig Tribe. They all had to take breaks intermittently.
Facing this situation, Han Cheng was also at a loss, unable to come up with a solution to the current predicament.
It was only when he suddenly remembered a small incident from his childhood. Bamboo craftsmen visited the village to create bamboo beds, tables, chairs, and other items. This memory unlocked the solution to their current problem.
Bamboo craftsmen were artisans who specialized in crafting various tools from bamboo, similar to carpenters, stonemasons, blacksmiths, and potters.
At that time, Han Cheng, like the other children in the village, was very curious about the process and often stood by, observing how they transformed bamboo into various exquisite and practical tools.
Among all these activities, Han Cheng was particularly intrigued by the tools the bamboo craftsmen used for drilling holes in bamboo.
After splitting the wood and thinning the ends with the stone knife, making it easier to grip, small grooves were carved at both ends for securing ropes later.
Once these steps were completed, a roughly one-meter-long rope was selected and twisted from three strands of rope grass. The middle of the rope was inserted into the groove at the head of the previously made drill, and then the rope was wound around the drill two turns in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions, securing the rope on the upper part of the drill.
Then, the prepared wooden piece was placed on the ground, pressed firmly with the foot, and the drill head was positioned in the center of the wood. One end of the rope was pulled outward while holding the other end, causing the drill to rotate rapidly due to inertia.
After pulling the rope and stopping the drill's rotation, inertia caused the rope to wind in the opposite direction, ready for the next rotation. By repeatedly pulling the rope, the drill continued to rotate, creating a magical sight of drilling holes in the wooden board without manual twisting.
This scene amazed the people of the Green Sparrow Tribe, and they stopped their activities to gather and marvel at the miraculous demonstration. While the elderly members of the tribe were more composed due to their familiarity with the Divine Child's abilities, those who had joined from the Original Pig Tribe less than a month ago widened their eyes in astonishment, expressing admiration for the his cleverness.
Using hands to pull the rope can indeed drill into objects, but drawbacks exist. The drill is prone to instability during drilling due to applied force, leading to holes that may deviate. Additionally, pulling the rope for an extended period can cause finger pain.
To address these issues, Han Cheng introduced the wooden piece. He removed the rope from the drill, passed the drill through the hole in the wooden board, placed the board about one-third down the drill, and then secured the two ends with a rope. The middle of the rope remained in the groove at the upper part of the drill.
After fixing it in place, a fully functional hand-operated drill was created. Similar to the previous manual pulling method, the drill was turned twice, and then the drill head was pressed against the desired drilling location. Gripping both ends of the wooden piece, the rope wound around the drill would loosen, causing the drill to rotate.
In this way, a genuine hand-operated drill emerged. Although the drill head and drill were quite rudimentary, there was no denying that it was a traditional hand-operated drill.
