Powerful and mindless: the history of electric drilling in Australia
Portable electric drills did not always look like large handguns.
Before Alonzo G. Decker and Samuel D. Black intervened in the 1910s, the machines usually required the use of both hands. The two men, founders of the eponymous American company Black & Decker, developed a portable electric drill that included a pistol grip and a moving turn, apparently inspired by Samuel Colt's pistol.
We are recording a collection of over 50 portable electric drills made around 1930 and 1980.
Seen as part of the history of technology, they have much to teach us about activity and form, male values and the history of Australian crafts. The collection also represents an important chapter in Australian manufacturing, and includes drills made by local companies such as Sher, KBC and Lightburn which have since disappeared. There are also models made by Black & Decker, who once worked in Australia.
Design historians and collectors paid little attention to the electric drill. It is seen as a work, in contrast to domestic items such as the tea kettle, which can be a testament to taste and luxury.
The electric drill in Australia
Australia once played an important role in the manufacture of portable electric drills.
Ken Bowes & Co. is a South Australian manufacturing company founded in 1936. Ltd. The company's guns kept busy during World War II.
KBC apparently entered the hardware market in 1948 with the first portable electric drill, designed for cabinet maker and general purpose handlers. The body of the drill was made of die-cast zinc alloy and a special face plate was provided on the handle to allow the user access to the connecting links.
In 1956, Black & Decker established an Australian manufacturing facility in Croydon, Victoria, where drills such as the CP2 were manufactured.
Between 1960 and 1982, many power tool brands had a media presence. KBC sponsored a radio show, aptly called That's The Drill. Wolf power tools were presented as prizes on the Pick-A-Box television show.
Why we value some things, not others
The portable electric drill has been badly documented by designers, historians and museumsObvious investments for the collection, such as museums of technology or innovation, are becoming increasingly challenging with pressure of space and funding. Aside from a few token examples, there are many everyday objects that did not establish a museum presence.
The Sydney Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences holds at least two portable electric drills: one is a Desoutter, made in England, and another of unknown origin. Museums The digital archive contains one example of a 1960s Black & Decker electric drill.
The raw facility of the portable drill is part of the reason it has undergone much academic study.Design reviews and collections usually focus on luxury items such as Ferrari sports cars and Rolex wristwatches. Even kitchen and home appliances are getting more attention, especially those designs associated with high-end companies like Alessi and designers like Dieter Rams and Jasper Morrison
