This paper describes the design, operation and capabilities of two large-scale laboratory rock drilling and boring equipment for conducting research with mechanical and water-jet assisted cutting tools. The first machine is a laboratory drill rig capable of drilling holes up to 3-ft. in diameter. The machine is all hydraulic drive, allowing a wide range of thrust and speed control. This equipment is currently fitted with a 28-in. diameter Dosco roadheader cuttinghead which will be used to perform water-jet assisted drag bit cutting tests in oil shale and coal measure rocks. The second equipment is a rotary cutting machine capable of accommodating cutterheads up to 8 ft. in diameter. This machine is pivoted on a support frame to permit tilting into any direction to simulate tunnel, raise or shaft boring conditions. It is operated through total electronic servo-control using a PDP-1103 computer. The computer and associated data acquisition system can monitor up to 32 channels of data including 16 channels of cutter force data transmitted via wireless telemetry from triaxial load cells installed under cutter saddles. This machine also has the capability of being equipped with low or high pressure water-jets to evaluate the performance of hybrid water-jet mechanical cutting systems.