Atlas Copco Pneumatic Jackleg Drills
A jackleg drill is a handheld pneumatic rock drill carried on its own air-powered feed leg, so one miner can hold a horizontal or overhead hole without fighting the weight of the tool. The BTE Mid-Western S83 is the 60–80 lb class air leg drill for production face drilling, rock-bolt holes, and anchor work in mines, tunnels, and quarry walls — built in the United States to the original Gardner Denver S83 design, with 7/8 x 4-1/4 and 1 x 4-1/4 chuck options. Pair it with the power-retract FL7 or the manually extended TUL2B, shop the whole BTE Mid-Western jackleg line, and feed it from drill steel and bits or the rest of rock drilling & splitting. New to leg drills? Start with the rock drill buyer’s guide. Free UPS Ground shipping on the drills and legs.
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Showing all 2 resultsSorted by popularity
What the Feed Leg Actually Does
The leg is a pneumatic cylinder that plants on the floor and pushes the drill into the face, replacing the operator’s body weight with air thrust. That is what lets a two-man heading run breast holes and bolt patterns all shift instead of a few holes at a time. Leg length sets working reach: too long and the leg cannot be set at a useful angle in a low back, too short and you waste stroke resetting.
FL7 or TUL2B?
Both are pneumatic legs for the S83 platform. The TUL2B extends manually — lighter, simpler, fewer parts to fail underground — and is configurable in 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 in. lengths. The FL7 adds a power-retract cylinder that pulls the leg back on its own between holes, which pays for itself on high hole-count bolt patterns; it comes in 36, 42, and 54 in. Add the FL990X swivel adapter, 4.5 lb, to fan a pattern without unclamping the leg.
Jackleg Drill and Feed Leg Comparison
What is on this page and what each piece pairs with. Lengths shown are the configurations offered on that model.
| Model | Type | Configurations | Pairs with |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTE Mid-Western S83 Jackleg Drill | Air leg rock drill | 60–80 lb class; 7/8 x 4-1/4 or 1 x 4-1/4 chuck; drill-only available | FL7 or TUL2B feed leg |
| BTE Mid-Western FL7 Feed Leg | Power-retract feed leg | 36, 42, 54 in. | S83 jackleg |
| BTE Mid-Western TUL2B Feed Leg | Telescopic feed leg | 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 in. | S83 jackleg |
| BTE Mid-Western FL990X | Swivel adapter assembly | 4.5 lb; S83 FA/FB/FC/FD configurations | S83 with FL7 or TUL2B |
| Atlas Copco Pusher Leg Attachment | Pneumatic pusher leg | For BBC 16W and BBC 34W | Atlas Copco BBC-series stoper drills |
Configure the drill on its own product page — leg type, leg length, and chuck size are all selectable there.
Atlas Copco Pusher Legs
Running an Atlas Copco stoper instead? The BBC-series pusher leg puts compressed-air thrust behind the BBC 16W and BBC 34W so the operator controls orientation instead of holding the drill up. See the rest of the Atlas Copco jackleg and stoper line.
Steel, Bits, and Parts
A leg drill is only as good as the string in front of it. Match shanked rods, extension rods, and carbide rock drill bits to the chuck you ordered, keep rock drill oil in the line oiler, and pull wear parts from Parts Direct.
Common Questions
What is a jackleg drill? A pneumatic rock drill mounted on an air-powered feed leg. Miners also call it an air leg drill, leg drill, or jackleg. The leg carries the weight and supplies feed force, so the tool drills horizontally and overhead. Held by hand and pointed down, the same class of drill is a sinker drill.
Can the S83 run as a sinker? Yes. The platform converts with the sinker drill conversion kit, and BTE also builds it as a factory S83 sinker drill, so one parts inventory covers both configurations.
Is this the old Gardner Denver S83? It is built to that design, in the United States, by BTE Mid-Western. Crews that learned on a Gardner Denver leg drill run the same tool with a live parts pipeline behind it.
What feed leg length should I order? Match it to the height of the heading and the hole angles you drill most. Short legs, 24 to 36 in., suit low backs and tight stopes; 48 to 72 in. gives reach for high headings and overhead bolt patterns. See more underground equipment in mining.