How to Drill a Hole Through 4+ Meters of Ice
I know exactly what you're thinking: “Ms. Coleman, when am I ever going to need to know this?”. But you know, that's what I used to think and look what I’m doing.
Tyler and I on the jiffy drill.
So, here you go…
Requirements:
2 players at a minimum, preferably 3 or 4, definitely no small children
a jiffy drill (see photo)- I find the name "Jiffy" to be misleading. It implies something that is both fast and easy. This is neither.
Numerous flights of drills- each segment of corkscrew is one flight. You'll need about 5-6 for getting through 4 meters of ice.
a drill bit- the flight at the bottom with the sharp, business end.
Drilling up close.
Steps
Fix up your sled of supplies- do not forget your ear protection or fuel.
Tote sled to the spot closest to the place you want to drill. (See previous journal about Lake Joyce for rough vs. smooth ice).
Make sure that drill has fuel enough for drilling.
Put on your PPE (Personal Protective Equipment- earmuffs) because the jiffy is has a noisy two-stroke engine.
Attach the jiffy drill head (the motor part) to the first flight (the bit) and get a partner to be opposite you, holding it in place, and pull the crank to start. Repetition of step 5 will be necessary.
Drill/wrestle downward until the first flight is almost completely in the ice.
Turn off drill head and remove it from the first flight, attach a second flight and secure to the drill head to the top of the new flight.
Repeat step 5 a few times. Each time you drill down, pull up on the drill to flush the hole of the slushy chips that come out.
If you have more than two people, your additional players can be pawing ice chips away from hole and helping to add drill flights.
THE VERY TRICKY PART- once the drill bit reaches the bottom of the ice, water will flood the hole. This is problematic because the warmer water has a tendency to freeze as soon as it comes into contact with the ice. If the drill is not kept in constant motion, it will freeze in place and be very difficult to extract. (That would involve using brut force, tugging, explicatives and considerable effort to pull/unscrew it by hand.) The best solution is to pull the whole thing out in one go as soon as possible, which is pretty special because then you have a tower of flights teetering 4 meters above you, which you try hard not to bend.
Here you can see all of the drill flights together.
Gently lay down the tower of drill flights.
Celebrate your temporary victory over the ice with your ice-drilling team!! But be quick about it- in the end, the ice ALWAYS wins.
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