1954 Craftsman Drill

[jtbinvalrico]

Latest resto.....a 1954-ish 1/4" saw-grip drill. This one was a little rougher than the last one I did, plus the electrics needed a bit more attention. The chuck was rusted shut upon arrival. Not a whole lot of use for a 1/4" drill, but it's fun to pull out and use from time-to-time. Before and afters:


I hit the really rough and gouged spots with 60gr, then worked up through 220gr for the whole body. Wet sanded through 1000gr and then used some aluminum polish. I had to disassemble the chuck. I pressed off the outer sleeve and chucked it up in the lathe to smooth out the pitting. After getting the old sand and grit out of there the chuck is smooth.




Everything's metal, even the trigger. The original cord was a rotted two-prong with the old-style grounding wire attached to the side of the cord (they left it up to you to find a place to ground it). Problem is, a PO had cut off and eliminated the ground wire And I found this when I opened the case

Topped it off with a properly grounded cord.

 

[bluebolt]

Nice job! Can I send you my old crusty Craftsman tools and you send them back to me all poished up LOL? If you have any tips to share let us know! What kind of power cord are you using and where are you getting it?

 

[Outlawmws]

Nice restore!

 

[ndnchf]

Awesome! Its great to bring these old workhorses back to life!

 

[str8axle55]

Wow, that is pretty awesome looking now. How much time do you figure you have into it?

 

[mrbreezeet1]

Looks good!

 

[Super Sport]

I just acquired a vintage metal Cman drill case that looks like it would've housed a drill like this! Very nice restore!

 

[bike]

cool i would like a restored craftsman power tool collection in my shop. very very cool.any more pictures of more restorations

 

[gabeancounter]

Great job! How much time do you have in a job like this? By the way, the other drill was awesome as well!

 

[Jay H 237]

I love seeing restos like this, tools and small appliances. Things like this are cool when they are done.

 

[930dreamer]

Very nice resto.

 

[softailgarage]

Very nice ! out of curiosity, did you seal the external housing with anything that will prevent rust, corrosion, etc. ?

 

[jvitez]

Your first pic looks like something I wouldn't give $5 for at a swap meet. Your restored pics look like something that should be in a museum of modern art. Gorgeous!

 

[Rogue1987]

That is now a work of art. Amazing.

 

[Rust]

That looks great!

 

[jtbinvalrico]

Thanks all......Let me answer some of the questions. I look for these on the Bay and locally. I try not to pay more than $20 for one of these shipped. The only requirement is that it runs, and has all the parts. I prefer to reuse the old cord if it's three-prong and in good shape, but replace the two-pronged cords. I would only keep a two-prong cord in place if the grounding wire was attached and intact, and that tool would be reserved only for my use due to the obvious danger inherent in a metal-cased tool.

The time involved depends on how banged up the case is and how far you want to go with your resto. I stop at 1000gr and aluminum polish because I like to use these tools....I could continue on to higher grits and buff it to a mirror finish, but it's bound to get scuffed during use....The whole point is to put them back to use . I work on them sporadically....but I'd say I could do one in under two days.

The older they are, the worse the wiring. The older units have that cloth-wrapped wiring that can crack become exposed. The switch mechanisms are superb as are the gears and bearings. I clean the old grease off of them and they are good to go.

These cases are aluminum. There's plenty of material to work with. Once they are smoothed out and polished, they are maintenance-free. I can always hit them with some 1000gr and polish to renew them in a few years if needed.......just remember that it's a working tool, it doesn't need to be perfect.

My intention is to make old tools like this my primary go-to power tools, I'm sick of plastic junk. I've got an old saber saw next in the que and I'm presently hunting some other oldies.......But I'm particular to old drills and I'll probably expand the collection. I highly recommend one of these projects; they're cheap, easy to do, and you get a cool old tool to use.

Here's an advance pic of what's next:

The base and the original paperwork for the saw are in the case. This one will take a bit longer since I'm doing the case as well.

 

[nine4gmc]

excellent resto, have you done the saber saw yet?

 

[jtbinvalrico]

It's still in the resto que.....that que keeps growing. Got sidelined by everything from car stuff to more old tools to some wood working. I'll get to it eventually