The electric drill embodies do-it-yourself (DIY). Factor in its significance in the construction and manufacturing industries, and the invention of the electric drill is highly important. For this we can thank electrical engineer Arthur Arnot (1865-1946), who built the first electric drill for use in the mining industry
The concept of the drill is thousands of years old— bow drills were used by the Egyptians to make fire through friction as well as boring holes in wood. The action of a rotating head, moved by a "bow" wrapped around the shaft of the drill, was sufficient to make a hole into the surface. In essence, modern electric drills operate on a similar principle, except the power is supplied by electricity ratherthan by hand.
Arnot was born in Scotland and studied as an electrical engineer before going to work at the Grosvenor Gallery Power Station in 1885. Four years later, Arnot traveled to Melborne, Australia, to build an electricity plant for the Union Electric Company While completing this contract and also providing Melborne with electric street lights, Arnot conceived his electric drill, which he patented in August 1889. His intention was for the drill to be used in the mining industry, where it would allow for more ambitious drilling projects. However, his invention was soon followed by the creation of the first portable electric drill by German Wilhelm Fein in 1895.
By 1917, in the United States, the newly formed company Black & Decker patented and sold the first electric hand drill, along with the pistol and trigger arrangement, now commonplace in homes and toolboxes everywhere.
