Drill bit shank A hex shank can be grasped by a 3-jaw drill chuck or held in a chuck specifically for hex shanks. Quarter-inch hex shanks are common for machine screwdriver bits and have spread from that application to be used for drill bits that are compatible with screwdriver machinery. The diameter of an SDS and SDS Plus shank is 10 millimeters. (The SDS Max is 18 millimeters.) The SDS shank has the advantage of fitting into a simple spring-loaded chuck, so that bits are simply pushed into the chuck without tightening. This shank and chucks made for it are especially suited to
Down-the-hole drill for the DTH method underground, where the direction of drilling is generally upwards instead of downwards. In "DTH" drilling, the percussion mechanism – commonly called the hammer – is located directly behind the drill bit. The drill pipes transmit the necessary feed force and rotation to hammer and bit plus compressed air or fluids for the hammer and flushing of cuttings. The drill pipes are added to the drill string successively behind the hammer as the hole gets deeper. The piston strikes the impact surface of the bit directly, while the hammer casing gives straight and stable guidance of the