J.H. Fletcher, manufacturer of bench drills for nearly 50 years, shipped its first remote operated bench drill, in 2011. Remote operation protects the operator from heat, along with exposure to dust, noise and diesel particulate.

The bench drill utilizes the chassis, cab and boom as on the standard Fletcher drill jumbo, yet replaces the jumbo’s standard drifter (drill head) with a hydraulic chuck drill head. Adding a steel handling attachment installed on the side of the feed, allows for extra drill steels to be added to the string.  The bench drill is capable of drilling holes up to 75’ deep; while the drilling, steel handling and coupling of steels are accomplished from an air conditioned, filtered cab.