Kirbot
Well-known member
Well...
There was a post not long ago asking about re-wiring a vintage power drill.
Vintage power tools are sort of my speciality, so I figured I would share some of the information I have gathered on the subject.
The tool I'm working on is an old Black & decker "Home Utility" 1/4" drill.
I bought this drill close to a year ago, but I already had one just like it, so it just sat.
So, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to get it working.
On this particular drill has two screws in the back....
...and one screw in the bottom.
Remove all of them, and it should come right apart.
It's quite simple really.
Just cut the old cord out, and solder in the new.
The internal wire in these old tools usually holds up much better than the actual power cord.
You could slip a piece of heat shrink tube over it to preserve it, but If it already falling apart, in my opinion the tool belongs in a scrap yard.
These tools are not rare, and generally just not worth the trouble to tear into them any farther than the power cord. It is possible to "rewind" electric motors, and basically replace every ounce of copper in them, but I would never bother with these, unless it was something really special.
In this picture, a "ring" type crimp connector has broken off one of the wires.
I just stripped it back a little, and crimped on a new one.
Now, find a power cord to replace the old one with.
Now feed it up through the hole in the bottom of the handle. Next, find a piece of steel wire, and crimp it down around it. That will keep the cord from pulling back out.
This drill came with a ground wire on it already, but many of them do not.
If your's didn't have one, you'll have to find something to attach it too.
Now, add a "ring" crimp connector to one of the wires, and reattach it to the switch.
You will need to attach the other wire to the wire coming out of the windings.
Originally it was attached with a wire nut. Nothing wrong with that of course, but personally I would rather solder it. So thats what I did, and then covered it with heat shrink tube.
And now, reassemble everything just the way you found it.
Now, lock the switch in the ON position, (if your drill doesn't have a lock on it, I would suggest taping the switch in)
Now, plug it in, it should come right on and work great, but just incase you made a mistake, at least it's not going to electrocute you if your not holding it.
Thats all for tonight. There are a few other things you can do before calling it finished, but chances are, it should be working now.
There was a post not long ago asking about re-wiring a vintage power drill.
Vintage power tools are sort of my speciality, so I figured I would share some of the information I have gathered on the subject.
The tool I'm working on is an old Black & decker "Home Utility" 1/4" drill.
I bought this drill close to a year ago, but I already had one just like it, so it just sat.
So, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to get it working.
On this particular drill has two screws in the back....
...and one screw in the bottom.
Remove all of them, and it should come right apart.
It's quite simple really.
Just cut the old cord out, and solder in the new.
The internal wire in these old tools usually holds up much better than the actual power cord.
You could slip a piece of heat shrink tube over it to preserve it, but If it already falling apart, in my opinion the tool belongs in a scrap yard.
These tools are not rare, and generally just not worth the trouble to tear into them any farther than the power cord. It is possible to "rewind" electric motors, and basically replace every ounce of copper in them, but I would never bother with these, unless it was something really special.
In this picture, a "ring" type crimp connector has broken off one of the wires.
I just stripped it back a little, and crimped on a new one.
Now, find a power cord to replace the old one with.
Now feed it up through the hole in the bottom of the handle. Next, find a piece of steel wire, and crimp it down around it. That will keep the cord from pulling back out.
This drill came with a ground wire on it already, but many of them do not.
If your's didn't have one, you'll have to find something to attach it too.
Now, add a "ring" crimp connector to one of the wires, and reattach it to the switch.
You will need to attach the other wire to the wire coming out of the windings.
Originally it was attached with a wire nut. Nothing wrong with that of course, but personally I would rather solder it. So thats what I did, and then covered it with heat shrink tube.
And now, reassemble everything just the way you found it.
Now, lock the switch in the ON position, (if your drill doesn't have a lock on it, I would suggest taping the switch in)
Now, plug it in, it should come right on and work great, but just incase you made a mistake, at least it's not going to electrocute you if your not holding it.
Thats all for tonight. There are a few other things you can do before calling it finished, but chances are, it should be working now.
It's been literally 40 years ago when I last saw him do that). Anyway, this trick usually worked for him, at least for a while. Maybe you could try something like that on your old drill?