Draper Groundbuster It’s in the Name


The Draper Groundbuster proves that the idea of a more sophisticated ground breaker has many applications for people today. It is just that extra knowledge and technology have been applied to make a much more useful tool that will provide a solution to some of our modern digging dliemmas. The Draper Groundbuster comes in two versions, the 8 Kg and the 10Kg. The


Independent Review by Peter Brett


lighter version is 100 mm shorter than the heavier at 1450mm (just short of 5 foot in Imperial) The main body of the Groundbuster is a 40mm diameter steel tube painted a bright orange. There is a plastic cap on the top end and a very robust set of welds hold a hardened chisel point on the business end. The chisel point is worth a closer look since it is quite carefully designed for robustness and long working life of “busting “


hard materials. The angle of the wedge is quite acute and the wedge itself about 250mm long. The angle being as shallow as it is allows easier penetration of the ground, and the length of the wedge means that it is strong enough to tackle hard jobs as well as being able to withstand several sharpenings to the cutting edge. The wedge is grooved on both sides to provide relief from sticking in clay soil or other sticky materials.


Since this wedge end can be used to break concrete


blocks, rocks, break up hard ground, clay, split tree roots etc and will also be used as a lever to lift out slabs of concrete from the digging site, it is important that it is as robust as possible. So, not only is the wedge ring welded round the bottom to the steel tube, there are also two “wings” welded about 50 or 60mm up the sides of the tube that attach the wedge even more securely to the handle. So far all I have written could have described a fairly


standard ground breaker, but with a Twenty First Century application of technology. However, this is not the full story – the Groundbuster has an innovative internal sliding weight that gives a secondary impact and therefore the extra force needed to break up concrete etc. This mechanism is a weight inside the handle that is free to slide up and down. As the user lifts the handle prior to plunging it onto the site of the impact, the weight is lifted inside the handle, and then falls to hit an internal anvil directly above the chisel point cutting edge as the tool plunges down and hits the target. This weight provides a secondary impact that maximizes effort when breaking. Used properly, the extra weight acts like an extra hammer blow on a bolster when you are trying to split a brick. I confess I didn't last too long with my sore shoulder when I used it. Given the choice, I would probably reach for a big SDS


hammer drill should I need to break up loads of concrete, tarmac or rocks. However, there are many situations on farms, roads etc where corded or cordless tools cannot operate for a number of reasons. The Groundbuster then becomes a valuable asset because it can be used anywhere. Also, electric SDS tools do not have the capacity to tackle the deep holes needed for erecting fence poles or farm gateposts, whereas the Groundbuster can safely be used to a depth of about 600mm or deeper in my view. Also, as a simple and very robust tool, I am sure that it


will be used in a number of different ways – for example levering up rocks, tree roots, breaking blocks, concrete and slabs. The sliding impact mechanism does not interfere with the Groundbuster’s ability to perform these tasks.


My shoulder injury meant that I didn’t give the Groundbuster a thorough testing myself. I used it long enough to test the


secondary impact system on some concrete slabs and breaking up some old tarmac. I found it tiring to use but quite effective, especially on the tarmac. The tarmac was a bit softer and allowed the sharp end of the wedge to penetrate easily. By levering under and lifting, the tarmac was easily raised and I cleared an area of several square metres of 40mm deep tarmac in about twenty five minutes. When It came to concrete busting I found that I couldn’t raise the Groundbuster high enough to create enough primary or


secondary impact so I called in the help of a friend who is a groundskeeper on a local estate. He really showed me how the Groundbuster should be used. With a simple uplift and swing down he was able to smash through 40mm thick concrete paving slabs with one impact. This was a slightly false test in that the slabs were old ones placed on a hard surface, what was a truer test was using the Groundbuster to break up the concrete around some old wooden fence posts that needed to be replaced. Here, he found it necessary to widen the hole around the concrete so that the relatively thick end of the Groundbuster could break the concrete without endangering his fingers against the fence post. When it came to breaking up some hard-baked, but still wet clay soil, the Groundbuster was superb and my friend


admitted that he could easily buy a Groundbuster for this purpose alone. Sussex clay has a reputation for being difficult to work! So, the Groundbuster, although a simple concept, does work very effectively for many applications. I suspect that end


users who buy one will find that they get it out whenever there are levering and lifting, digging and breaking jobs to do. It is less complicated to use than an SDS hammer drill and a lot less expensive – and it will develop your arm and shoulder muscles too. Mr Universe here I come!


Reply No. 223 12 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE www.toolbusiness.co.uk


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