| Preparation of timber piles
Drop hammers
are usual for driving timber piles. Damage through overdriving manifests
itself in "brooming" of the pile head, cracking of the shaft and unseen
damage to the pile tip. The driving process crushes and separates the
fibers at the head of the pile hence the 'broom' effect. A steel band
around the pile head may restrict this damage to manageable proportions,
but timber piles are not particularly suitable for driving through dense
strata, or strata with obstructions. A steel or cast-iron shoe is generally
attached to the tip of the pile.
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