RESEARCH DATA:

Traditional hand-powered bow drills and pump drills have been used across various cultures to bore holes into different materials. These tools were invented in different parts of the world to serve the basic function of drilling. They were commonly used for making holes in objects such as shells and wood.
In the Luzon Cordillera, traditional drills were most likely used for carpentry and other tasks that required drilling small holes in wood. This particular item, called sindag, from the collection is an example of a traditional wooden pump drill. It features a metal drill point, which is reinforced with a bamboo strip woven around the lower end of the shaft to secure the metal tip. A wooden disc, called the flywheel, located near the metal drill bit serves as a weight that adds mass to help balance and maintain the spinning of the drill each time the user reaches the bottom of the cord’s cycle.