Vintage power tool collecting

[BloodyKnuckles]

Bumping this thread to show a few of my recent adds. Glad I found this thread, thought I needed to be checked for collecting these....lol, glad I'm not the only one that likes these old power tools.....

 

[d42jeep]

Here is my next Craftsman Heritage grinder/buffer project to match my others. I don’t think I’ve seen a tool with a worse cord.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I replaced the wire and did a bit of corrosion and dirt removal. I was surprised that it fired up okay after the cord replacement.
i wasn’t willing to plug in the cord that it came with.
-Don

 

[toolmiser]

And one more-- a Porter-Cable 666 3/8" variable speed drill motor. Not dressed in chrome and heavily used in the past and present, but a fine machine. My go-to.

I also have that drill. It's a little different shape, but I kind of enjoyed using it. It's a tough drill

 

[Davefr]

Rockwell see thru drill.

 

[Beerhippie]

Rockwell see thru drill.

That's just about too cool! Salesman's demo?

 

[Davefr]

That's just about too cool! Salesman's demo?

Either that or maybe a countertop display model.

It could also be a manufacturing prototype but I have doubts.

 

[isb cornbinder]

^ You guys are opening Pandora's box there with kitchen appliances. Sure you want to venture there?

I wouldn't even mention it, but I've been three years now sorting and collating and archiving material on can openers, jar wrenches, lid lifters, and corkscrews, but I've kept it all hidden for fear of the torches and pitchforks coming out amongst the membership here.

You get into that "toaster" thing and there's no end to it.

I have 2 of these Sunbeam toasters. They are old enough to, well, you know.

 

[four.cycle]

There was never any intention on my part to start a "collection", but hanging around here results in unintended consequences:


Black & Decker 454 4 x 24 in belt sander

Black & Decker U136 6.5 in circular saw
Black & Decker U136 6.5 in circular saw

Portable Electric Tools Inc Shopmate 1812 jig saw

Portable Electric Tools Inc Shopmate 1812 jig saw

Powr Kraft TPC8917A jig saw

Powr Kraft TPC8917A jig saw

 

[four.cycle]

Skil 754 7.25 in circular saw

Skil 754 7.25 in circular saw

Cummins Chicago 700 Maxaw 7 in circular saw

Cummins Chicago 700 Maxaw 7 in circular saw

Cummins Chicago 700 Maxaw 7 in circular saw

Cummins Chicago 700 Maxaw 7 in circular saw

Cummins Chicago 700 Maxaw 7 in circular saw

Cummins Chicago model 700 "Maxaw" at International Tool Catalog Library

 

[B Halverson]

My late father's half-inch drill motor which he bought about 1960 when he was an electrical contractor. No reverse and it has the widow-maker stay-on button. I made an adapter to chuck up this core drill so I could go out of the basement of an old house through it's foundation to get a conduit to some outside electrical outlets so the residents could plug in their mobile taco-trailer.

 

[B Halverson]

This saw belonged to the father of an old friend of mine. He used it as a building contractor I think from the late 1940s onward, and also built a mount for it so it was upside-down on the side of a heavy workbench and used as a table saw. When my friend gave it to me it was still mounted on the bench in his garage, which used to be his father's garage, but luckily he had the original box etc. for it in the basement of the house. My friend's name was Emery Yeager and he passed away a couple years ago at the age of 90. He used to race hydroplane boats in the late 40s and 50s and he and his father used this saw to cut lumber to make the boats they raced. I have some of his old hydroplane plans and about ten 16.5-foot long, 1" thick cedar planks he never used. Mayville, NY where this saw was made is only about 30 miles drive from my house.

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

This saw belonged to the father of an old friend of mine. He used it as a building contractor I think from the late 1940s onward, and also built a mount for it so it was upside-down on the side of a heavy workbench and used as a table saw. When my friend gave it to me it was still mounted on the bench in his garage, which used to be his father's garage, but luckily he had the original box etc. for it in the basement of the house. My friend's name was Emery Yeager and he passed away a couple years ago at the age of 90. He used to race hydroplane boats in the late 40s and 50s and he and his father used this saw to cut lumber to make the boats they raced. I have some of his old hydroplane plans and about ten 16.5-foot long, 1" thick cedar planks he never used. Mayville, NY where this saw was made is only about 30 miles drive from my house.

I figured we see you here B. Very cool. Keep em coming. Great life they had.

 

[four.cycle]

No reverse and it has the widow-maker stay-on button.

Ahhh yes, the days before CSPC and OSHA. Good times!

 

[B Halverson]

I figured we see you here B. Very cool. Keep em coming. Great life they had.

I will be around, I have as many tools as Carter has liver pills. Will dig them out and photograph them whenever I get time.

 

[B Halverson]

From the estate of an old aircraft mechanic who's son I went to high-school with. I had carte-blanche to remove anything from his estate I wanted and this is one of the items, it was sitting right next to a service-manual for a C-47 Transport aircraft(which yes I grabbed also). I looked up some of the history of this model drill motor and was surprised to see it had a history going back to the Great Depression, although this example is probably only about 50 years old. I think it is a beautiful piece of engineering, and beautifully aesthetic and made;

 

[username2]

FWIW, there was some guy on reddit who was polishing up old power tools and putting them in a kind of shadow box. It actually looked pretty amazing.

I can see the potential there for an art project, although I'd probably start with those acrylic boxes that people display dolls and the like in, maybe hang the tool with fishing line so it floats.

 

[Sanderplane]

Skil 754 7.25 in circular saw

Skil 754 7.25 in circular saw

Cummins Chicago 700 Maxaw 7 in circular saw

Cummins Chicago 700 Maxaw 7 in circular saw

Cummins Chicago 700 Maxaw 7 in circular saw

Cummins Chicago 700 Maxaw 7 in circular saw

Cummins Chicago 700 Maxaw 7 in circular saw

Cummins Chicago model 700 "Maxaw" at International Tool Catalog Library

The Maxaw 700 is one of my favorite all-time saws. To use modern blades, put the saw in a vice and turn it on. Take a file or small grinder and slowly round off the square edges until a standard blade will fit. Take your time though. Wappat was the first manufacturer to incorporate a retractable guard onto their saws (at least in the way modern saws have them). This is why many saw makers had red saw guards on their saws all the way through the 1960's. All Wappats and later Maxaws had the red guard. Amazing saws that were incredibly well balanced and powerful. Its rare that you have the wrench and rip fence. Let me know if you need parts, I might have an extra guard laying around.

 

[four.cycle]

^ All of that stuff went on a CL "free" ad a few weeks ago - couldn't get any takers here for any of it. Got an adapter for the Skil (which had a 1/2" arbor) but when I heard that the "Maxaw" had an oddball sized arbor, I decided I didn't even want to mess with it.
As things turned out, I found a lovely, barely used, Craftsman 7-1/4" (with case and owners manual) at a garage sale the following week for $10 bucks.

 

[B Halverson]

An old-timey Miluakee angle-drill that is all metal and with the suicide button. It was laying on the ground at a yard sale several years ago and I asked if they would take $5 for it and they said yes. When they are that cheap there is nothing else you can do but buy them. I have one of these I bought brand-new at Sears a number of decades ago and I can not remember how much it cost but it was a lot more than five bucks. I think the old all metal MIlwuakee power tools were some of the absolute best that could be bought in their era that were made in the USA. Even after they started putting plastic handles on them they were still top notch for a lot of years.

 

[Cruzan80]

IIRC, the same model was used as a straight line, or with the 90 deg accessory, correct?

 

[RTM]

IIRC, the same model was used as a straight line, or with the 90 deg accessory, correct?

You can detach the head, and use it straight, or reattach the angle head to go +50 or -33% speed.

 

[B Halverson]

IIRC, the same model was used as a straight line, or with the 90 deg accessory, correct?

It could be used that way, but it was sold boxed up both ways, as a regular straight 1/2" drill motor with a handle, or with the angle head included, attached and ready to go with a metal case made to fit the whole shebang.

A pricey when-new but worth it's weight in gold tool for the electrician putting romex into a lot of wood studded buildings when fitted with a nice auger bit short enough to let it fit between the studs and floor joists.

 

[Cruzan80]

it was sold boxed up both ways, as a regular straight 1/2" drill motor with a handle, or with the angle head included, attached and ready to go with a metal case made to fit the whole shebang.

Thanks, that is what I meant. The same body (model) was used for both configurations.

 

[B Halverson]

A great old Sioux brand drill motor I did not need but the darn guy selling it wanted $2 !!! This is why I hardly went to any estate sales this year, if you don't see them then you don't buy them, lose money and cramp your storage even further. The cord on this Sioux is not even cracked, hard or brittle, they must have made it out of something deluxe, and it has remarkably few nicks and scratches from use. Someone must have spent a ton of money on this when it was new, then never used it. A friend of mine who owns an automotive machine shop said when they ground valve seats and valves, that the Sioux equipment for it was the best, and he is a pretty sharp cookie, so I have respect for the Sioux brand even more.

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

A great old Sioux brand drill motor I did not need but the darn guy selling it wanted $2 !!! This is why I hardly went to any estate sales this year, if you don't see them then you don't buy them, lose money and cramp your storage even further. The cord on this Sioux is not even cracked, hard or brittle, they must have made it out of something deluxe, and it has remarkably few nicks and scratches from use. Someone must have spent a ton of money on this when it was new, then never used it. A friend of mine who owns an automotive machine shop said when they ground valve seats and valves, that the Sioux equipment for it was the best, and he is a pretty sharp cookie, so I have respect for the Sioux brand even more.

Wow and only $2 bucks. I am a firm believer that the younger generation will go back to using these tools. There is a sign of it now.

 

[don long]

Let’s see if Don Long sees this thread and posts some of his beauties.

I just found it tonite.
I have so many old tools that are sitting around. I spent a little time a few years ago cleaning and polishing them but have gone down several other rabbit holes since that T haven't gotten back to them yet. I have different places that display these old tools. Here is the best one

Left side



Right side

 

[B Halverson]

Today any power tool with a cord is "vintage" except for super large and heavy-duty things used in heavy construction. My favorite power tools will always be the 60s and earlier, all metal ones with the suicide stay-on buttons and three prong grounding plugs, the tools that needed a mechanic caring for and using them or they may kill someone. I remember working outside at a refinery one winter when it was about two-degrees for a contractor that gave me an old half-inch drill motor for a job. Because it was cold I had heavy arctic clothing on which was lucky because I thought I felt a tingle while using the drill. I put the lead of a voltage tester between my gloved finger and the trigger when I pulled it and got a steady 120 volts. Another time when I was an apprentice I was using a similar drill motor with a yard-long auger bit on it to drill up through the wood plate of a wall for running romex cable and the auger hit a metal plate on a roof truss and stuck, the drill motor, which had the suicide button on, snapped out of my hands and started spinning and flailing around in front of my while wrapping the power cord around and around my arm. Another worker grabbed the extension cord and unplugged it, thank-you. And another time I was volunteered to get on top of a 30-foot wood extension ladder with a large Hilti hammer-drill to go through the wall of an old brick building. Here I am though......

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

Today any power tool with a cord is "vintage" except for super large and heavy-duty things used in heavy construction. My favorite power tools will always be the 60s and earlier, all metal ones with the suicide stay-on buttons and three prong grounding plugs, the tools that needed a mechanic caring for and using them or they may kill someone. I remember working outside at a refinery one winter when it was about two-degrees for a contractor that gave me an old half-inch drill motor for a job. Because it was cold I had heavy arctic clothing on which was lucky because I thought I felt a tingle while using the drill. I put the lead of a voltage tester between my gloved finger and the trigger when I pulled it and got a steady 120 volts. Another time when I was an apprentice I was using a similar drill motor with a yard-long auger bit on it to drill up through the wood plate of a wall for running romex cable and the auger hit a metal plate on a roof truss and stuck, the drill motor, which had the suicide button on, snapped out of my hands and started spinning and flailing around in front of my while wrapping the power cord around and around my arm. Another worker grabbed the extension cord and unplugged it, thank-you. And another time I was volunteered to get on top of a 30-foot wood extension ladder with a large Hilti hammer-drill to go through the wall of an old brick building. Here I am though......

Memory's. Mine was the Craftsman 1/2-inch drill. Thought I broke my arm a few times.

 

[Beerhippie]

Memory's. Mine was the Craftsman 1/2-inch drill. Thought I broke my arm a few times.

Milwaukee Hole Hawg and BIG hole saws. Those things don't stop immediately. I'm hurting just thinking about it.

 

[B Halverson]

Milwaukee Hole Hawg and BIG hole saws. Those things don't stop immediately. I'm hurting just thinking about it.

Milwaukee had a lot of personality and passion for their tools. I remember the Hole Hawg heavy-duty drill, and also at one time they put out a really fancy edition of their Sawzall on one of it's anniversaries. Then for a short time they sold an extra capacity version of their portable bandsaw called the "***********", which gave some a chuckle on the job site. But besides special editions, all of their corded tools were of great quality.

 

[Beerhippie]

Milwaukee had a lot of personality and passion for their tools. I remember the Hole Hawg heavy-duty drill, and also at one time they put out a really fancy edition of their Sawzall on one of it's anniversaries. Then for a short time they sold an extra capacity version of their portable bandsaw called the "***********", which gave some a chuckle on the job site. But besides special editions, all of their corded tools were of great quality.

I have two out of the three here in the shop, plus my '90s Mag 77 Skilsaw! Our recip saw is '90s Bosch--not bad for a "second-best"!

The Hole Hawg had a special feature: If you used it left-handed, you automatically pushed the "suicide button", which you wouldn't notice until you released the trigger and it just kept on going... and going... and going. Usually the cord would wind around the drill until it unplugged itself.

 

[genog]

Memory's. Mine was the Craftsman 1/2-inch drill. Thought I broke my arm a few times.

I still have my big drills....
The other is a 1/2" Milwaukee D handle

 

[Beerhippie]

I'll bet this one will wind you up if you bind a bit:

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

I still have my big drills....
The other is a 1/2" Milwaukee D handle

Monsters back in the 1960s to me.

 

[B Halverson]

Here is a German-made prototype portable bandsaw that was being field tested for a well-known brand by a large contractor from a large USA city. 22 years later the testing continues........

 

[B Halverson]

One of my favorite old drill motors that is laying around here, THOR !!!! ;

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

One of my favorite old drill motors that is laying around here, THOR !!!! ;

Yea. That is a Thor, the mighty bone breaker.

 

[genog]

I can't lay off buying cool ole metal power tools
....just can't stop myself

I found this Dayton 1/2" drill at the Flea Market
It was a bit dirty but looked to be in nice condition under the grime

 

[four.cycle]

I have recently been digging up some old catalog listings and trade magazine advertisements, and when I find those applicable to the "portable electric tool" genre, I am completely flabbergasted by the retail prices on some of them.

from the web: "The average income of Americans in 1924 was $3,481, according to IRS tax records."

If a man worked 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, 51 weeks out of the year, that breaks down to about $1.70 per hour.

$56.00 ÷ $1.70 = 33 hours


1924 Automobile Trade Journal Temco Electric Motor Co. ad pp 537

.... and: actually, most wage-earning men worked 52 weeks a year in 1924, and were lucky if the boss gave them Christmas Day off....

.... and .... that beast weighs 16 pounds!