“Big Stan” – The Coolest Tool In Construction

One of the things I love about construction are the crazy pieces of equipment that are used on jobs.  Engineering New Record has a short piece about “Big Stan,” which is believed to be the world’s largest truck mounted drill.  According to ENR:

The 250,000-lb, 93-ft-high boring behemoth was built in 1986 by Anderson Drilling, Lakeside, Calif., now a part of London-based Keller Group PLC. The mega-machine, which cost $1.5 million to construct, is named after 6-ft, 3-in.-tall Stan Anderson, who retired as company president in 2006.

A picture of “Big Stan” – courtesy of the Las Vegas Paving Corp. – appears to the above.  The auger alone weighs 15,000 lbs and it backs that bit up with a colossal 534,000 ft-lbs of torque.  Wow.