Egg beater drills

[Half-fast eddie]

Thought i would start a discussion about egg beaters.

This is my first one. It’s dirty and a touch of rust, but works smoothly. The only stamp i can see at the moment is “Made in USA”.
.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

Number two. Millers Falls #2. Again a little dirt, a little rust, but overall great condition. It’s a little stiff to crank.
.


.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

Number 3. Millers Falls 1980A. worked a hard life but still turns easily. One of the spokes has been broken out on the crank wheel.
There is a little tab on the gearvwheel close to the chuck … can’t tell if it’s a keeper for the wheel or an indicator. It’s not the original part.
The crank handle is bent a little toward the gear wheel and it hits the screw on the little tab, it’s worn a groove in the back of the handle. The crank handle is loose, and the main handle is pinned in place with a nail.
Interesting marks: the cap on the main gear pivot is marked “R(down arrow)L” and “Pat Sept 16, 1924”. It appears to be a ratchet mechanism. And there is a small knob marked “Fast” and “Slow”.


.


.
.

 

[RTM]

You can get details about the MF ones here.

Millers Falls hand drills 2 through 4D

A study of the Millers Falls Company's hand drills numbered 2 through 4D

oldtoolheaven.com

and here

Millers Falls hand drills 379 through 506121

A study of the Millers Falls Company's hand drills numbered 379 through 506121

oldtoolheaven.com

I've found a little bit of 3-1 oil will remove the stiff action of most of them

I have a few #2s, they are quite stylish with the spoked wheel and the big chef's hat tail and side knob.

 

[RTM]

I think your Stanley is either a Handyman or four square drill, one of their later lower level products.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

Thanks, i had seen those before but not bookmarked them. My #2 is from 1938.


.
My 1980 is from 1931, but it clearly is marked 1980A … i don’t see that in the catalog.

 

[woody 73]

Tools you just got to love them...

Millers Falls Tool Company

Millers Falls was Established in 1868 three years after the death of President Abraham Lincoln. They specialized in tools for the woodworking Industry but in later years they made precision tools, mechanics tools and power tools. I will leave you some very good links so that you can learn more...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[LSU]

Very nice. My dad had one when I was a kid. Wonder where it went?

 

[RTM]

Here are a couple of mine. First a Millers Falls 2A, with a countersink bit mounted. This was taken in 2003, so a very early acquisition. Chef's hat side knob hidden from view



And a newer acquisition Millers Falls 980, looks alot like the 2A, but not. No bit storage in the handle, made post 1925.




And for those trying to make a replacement side handle, looks like a 5/16-20 thread.



Some Stanley next, once I get fresher pictures.

 

[BMoscato]

We referred to these mechanical hand drills as Hurdy Gurdy when I was in Marine Corps back in the day.

 

[honcho]

A few years ago, I picked up a Stanley one with bit storage in the handle. It appeared to have never been used. I loved playing with my Grandfather's hand drill when I was a kid.

 

[RTM]

OK, instead of jumping into the Stanley family, lets stay with Millers Falls for another post or two.

Here is a Millers Falls 2B, hard to estimate age other than post 1938. This one only displays Made in USA on the handle

 

[RTM]

This one is surprisingly new, only made from 1957 - 1968. This one is a bit of a sad case. Bought it back in 2008 or so, without a chuck. And I've been half assed looking for one since, never finding a stray chuck in the wild. So he sits there, sad and bored, next to his brethren. Bit storage under the cap. Forgot to get a pic of the stamping of the number, as it was rusty and needed a bit of cleanup to be visible in the poor light.

 

[RTM]

The third member of this set is the oddball, the black sheep of the family, and gives a good view into Sears Craftsman outsourcing The marking on the handle is Craftsman / Made in U.S.A. 107.1 And if we remember our OEM list, that is Millers Falls. This plane appears identical to the drill above, (except it has a chuck). Only came with one bit, storage in the handle, but it is not marked.

I will have to verify this one is a Sears catalog, see if the time frame matches the drill above. It might actually be a No. 2, need to track the subtle differences, another time.

 

[RTM]

Next up is a Millers Falls No 5 hand drill. This one is nifty for its nice wide handwheel. Rumored to be preferred by those who like to drill precise holes by gripping the outer rim of the wheel, instead of the knob, for moving the drill bit back and forth. These drill worked really well with a "fluted" drill bit, which doesn't have a spiral, but just a pair of flutes for making the cuts. These bits were also used with push drills, where a push and release would spin, and then reverse, the drill bit, creating the hole.

This unit was my dad's, but I think he grabbed it late in life at a garage sale, because I have no memory of it as a child. This one has a tropical hardwood handle, with bit storage, much more attractive than the heavy lacquer other makers were using. And again, the open ornate spoked wheel is present, as seen in the models shown up thread. Based on the stamping on the handle, I believe this one to be post 1931.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Wish I still had the one my dad had when I was growing up. I too wonder what happened to it?

 

[RTM]

If you were as irresponsible as I was as a youth, you probably left it outside, and it either rusted or got run over by the lawnmower.

If he lived in the Bay Area, I may have bought it in the last 20 years.

 

[Levaughn]

This is a Miller Falls drill with a level I bought at a Yard Sale years back for $15 and restored. Unknown year it was made.

 

[RTM]

That one is a breast drill, and Millers Falls made lots of different models, forget which one had the level.

Millers Falls Breast Drills

A study of the breast drills manufactured by the Millers Falls Company

oldtoolheaven.com

Looks like #12

Millers Falls Early Breast Drills

A study of the Millers Falls Company's 19th-century breast drills.

oldtoolheaven.com

 

[Half-fast eddie]

The third member of this set is the oddball, the black sheep of the family, and gives a good view into Sears Craftsman outsourcing The marking on the handle is Craftsman / Made in U.S.A. 107.1 And if we remember our OEM list, that is Millers Falls. This plane appears identical to the drill above, (except it has a chuck). Only came with one bit, storage in the handle, but it is not marked.

I will have to verify this one is a Sears catalog, see if the time frame matches the drill above. It might actually be a No. 2, need to track the subtle differences, another time.

RTM … are you sure about that craftsman? Here are pictures of one i just got, everything except the number is different.

 

[RTM]

RTM … are you sure about that craftsman? Here are pictures of one i just got, everything except the number is different.

I was saying my Craftsman drill was similar to the Millers Falls I posted right above it.

Your 107.1 is 99.99xxxx% Millers Falls in my mind. Gimme a few to poke around oldtoolheaven. I am guessing yours is later, based on the closed wheel without spokes. That tapered body should be easy to find. Edit:I should clarify. The HANDLE with the 107.1 is Millers Falls. Not sure about the rest, it is possible they changed the handle

As you saw at oldtoolheaven, there were lots of Millers Falls drills, and a smaller % of those may have been sold as Craftsman.

One that jumped to mind was the #38, not definitive at old tool heaven, but this image is much better and similar.

MILLERS FALLS No. 38 Hand Drill with Decal - 75225

Perfect working order. No bits.

www.jimbodetools.com

So poking through and looking at the non-definitive ones may help by googling more images

 

[Half-fast eddie]

The HANDLE with the 107.1 is Millers Falls. Not sure about the rest, it is possible they changed the handle

I think they did. Even though it fits perfectly, the silver screw holding the crank handle in place is apparently not original: it’s tight as a tick but not touching the handle, so it’s too long.

 

[RTM]

I think they did. Even though it fits perfectly, the silver screw holding the crank handle in place is apparently not original: it’s tight as a tick but not touching the handle, so it’s too long.

That outer rim under the handle got me thinking about that.

Somewhere I have a drill where the wrong gear wheel was installed. Looks great but the teeth pitch is just a bit off, and it binds after 1/3 of a revolution or so.

 

[bonneyman]

Number two. Millers Falls #2. Again a little dirt, a little rust, but overall great condition. It’s a little stiff to crank.
.


.

Try a little penetrating oil in that tiny hole near the chuck. They occasionally need some lubrication there. Should help loosen up the sleeve bearing and help the cranking force.

 

[bonneyman]

I have few. A restored (what I think is) a Dunlap, a Handyman, and a pair of Millers Falls.

 

[OldToolsRule]

I am trying to identify a breast drill. I have spent over an hour scouring the interwebs to no avail. Any help would be appreciated. Made in the USA A213 in one spot and A214 in another with what looks like a brand mark, but not sure. What do you think experts?

 

[imagineer]

A funny memory from my youth involved one of those ‘egg-beater’ hand drills.

When I was a kid, there was a really nice, retired guy, Mr. Watson, across the street who washed and waxed his car (’74 Malibu) weekly. To polish the car, he used a Black & Decker electric drill with a wool buffing pad. One day, he had the thought that if he could speed up the rotary buffer, it would improve the polishing.

He asked my father to modify an old cast iron hand drill to remove the crank handle and add an axle, then Mr. Watson would chuck the wool buffing pad to the hand drill, and drive the hand drill with the electric drill, i.e., getting about 4x the RPMs.

It took only a fraction of a second after applying the spinning wool pad against the car paint for Mr. Watson to realize the problem, and have both his arms twisted up into a human mobius strip. Before he could release the drill trigger, the wool pad caught his shirt and started eating it, working toward his chest. The torque was enough that it twisted the electric drill out of his grip and in the process, ripped the power cord out of the handle.

The car finish was spared, but the tally of the damage was two sprained wrists, a shredded shirt and a now ‘cordless' drill; and one very entertained 11 year old.

 

[RTM]

I am trying to identify a breast drill. I have spent over an hour scouring the interwebs to no avail. Any help would be appreciated. Made in the USA A213 in one spot and A214 in another with what looks like a brand mark, but not sure. What do you think experts?

If its not an early version of the Stanley 723 (different chuck, without the level?), I'm guessing a low budget brand. Not gonna be Millers Falls, etc, but rather an off price entry late in life like 1950s. The lack of style, the lack of a finger guard around the gears, as seen even on the simplest MF is missing (as seen here on the 0477)

Millers Falls Breast Drills 012 through 12A

A study of the breast drills numbered 012 trhough 12A manufactured by the Millers Falls Company

oldtoolheaven.com

That PC mark might be the foundry that cast it.

I did find its brother

VINTAGE UNDER ARM BRACE EGGBEATER HAND DRILL #A213 MADE IN USA | eBay

And we will work with you to resolve the issue.

www.ebay.com

 

[Half-fast eddie]

I’m agreeing with RTM for a couple of reasons. The teeth look to be cast, not cut. There is no idler gear. They borrowed a gear wheel from a different design: it has a smaller row of teeth for a second speed, but no way to move the crank.
I looks like the quality of tool that a company would keep in the tool trailer for workers who didn’t have their own. Or maybe for high school shop class.

 

[bonneyman]

Found this pin vise egg beater drill at a surplus sale on Thursday. Made in Hong Kong but couldn't pass it up for $2.

 

[minke]

This was my dad's. It's in rough shape.

edit: it is a Mohawk. I'm used to not being able to post pictures from Ubuntu so I booted windoz. I'll try again later.

 

[Packard V8]

One of the few tools I ever bought new was in 1971, a Miller's Falls #5A at a hardware store in Oakland, CA. Still just a beautiful classic machine tool, no longer in mint condition; it shows the wear from fifty years of careful use. It gets called upon when I need to drill a tiny hole in a brick wall to hang a picture.

jack vines

 

[oldschoolcraft]

I've wanted to get a high quality small one of these for a while. For any kind of precision stuff like gunsmithing. What recommendations do you guys have for one of these that's designed to use with small bits only, no bigger than 1/8" probably. Something high quality, small, light, easy to handle. Either new or vintage.

 

[Packard V8]

I've wanted to get a high quality small one of these for a while. For any kind of precision stuff like gunsmithing. What recommendations do you guys have for one of these that's designed to use with small bits only, no bigger than 1/8" probably. Something high quality, small, light, easy to handle. Either new or vintage.

As much as I love my M-F, if I were doing precision work in steel, I'd use a Dremel or one of the smaller air drills, akin to a dentist's drill.

jack vines

 

[oldschoolcraft]

As much as I love my M-F, if I were doing precision work in steel, I'd use a Dremel or one of the smaller air drills, akin to a dentist's drill.

jack vines

Yeah that's good point. I do have a foredom rotary tool that would be better than an egg beater mini drill. Tool purchase canceled!