Drills and projectile points from a site often share a similar shaped base, and it is typically assumed that these drills are reworked hafted points. Measurements of triangular-shaped drills and triangular arrow points from an Iroquoian site indicate that, on average, these drills had narrower bases and were thicker than points. Additionally, most preserved point foreshafts from the western United States are too short if used as a simple drill shaft, and most dart and arrow shafts are too long to serve as convenient drill shafts if used with a strap or bow drill. These data call into question the assumption that drills were reworked hafted points at Iroquoian and possibly other sites.

来自一个站点的钻头和射弹尖头通常具有相似形状的底座，并且通常假设这些钻头是经过重新加工的带柄尖头。对易洛魁人遗址中三角形钻头和三角形箭头尖的测量表明，平均而言，这些钻头的底部较窄，但比尖头粗。此外，如果用作简单的钻杆，大多数来自美国西部的保存完好的尖头前杆太短，而如果与带钻或弓钻一起使用，大多数飞镖和箭杆太长而不能用作方便的钻杆。这些数据质疑了这样一种假设，即在易洛魁人和可能的其他地点对钻头进行了重新加工。