First Power Tool?

[mulepackin]

What was the first power tool you owned? How was it? Do you still have it? Mine was a Craftsman 3/8" corded variable speed drill. It wasn't anything great, but it got me though plenty of remodel work on my first house, and all the usual drilling/driving jobs. They didn't have replaceable brushes, or I would probably still have it. Ran it til it burned up. It was replaced with a Porter Cable which is still going strong.

 

[nissan_crawler]

I got a box of stuff at a farm auction for $3 when I was 8 years old. It had an old aluminum cased single speed Sloan and Ashland jigsaw. I still have it 17 years later. It's a single speed, but it's built like a tank.

 

[Stuey]

Well, there was that 2AA B&D cordless crewdriver I got for free for opening a checking account. Aside from that, my first power tool was a B&D 12V Firestorm 3/8" drill.

It was pretty good. The motor never stalled and I used it for everything from popping 4" holes in alum sheets to putting bookcases together. Right now it's at my parents' home since I gave it to my father when I upgraded. Sadly it's gone unused since then.

 

[oldgoat]

My first one was probably a 3/8 B&D single speed. Ran it until it burned up from sanding the paint on the first house. Have to admit that it was pretty good though. Do still have the B&D skill saw that I bought around the same time. Don't use it much anymore but it still works good.

 

[jhn9840]

Craftsman 7 1/4" circular saw. Over 30 yrs old and still using it.

jhn9840
John

 

[dxdexter]

Mine was a Skil 3/8" model 1177C drill. It has an aluminum body and I purchased it second hand from a local mechanic around 1979. I still have it and it works perfectly. I have replaced to trigger twice, replace the chuck and cord.

 

[eschoendorff]

I think mine was a 3/8" corded B&D drill... wish I still had it.

 

[l_bilyk]

An old makita 3/8 drill... still have it

 

[kvom]

3/8 Craftsman corded.

 

[jniolon]

3/8 Craftsman corded.

do you guys remember 1/4" drills before variable speed... Mine was a 1/4" Skil single speed non reversing corded drill. Paid 12.99 for it at Dixie Walker's Hardware Store in downtown Hueytown, Al. Doesn't sound like a lot, but I was making 50 cents an hour working at the service station across the street. Took nearly two days wages to pay for it. Sadly it only lasted about 20 years and went up in smoke.

On a wet day on an aluminum ladder with sweaty hands this thing would knock you on your ****. Ahhh, the good old days... when men were men and their tools would kill them

later
John

 

[malibu101]

I got a box of stuff at a farm auction for $3 when I was 8 years old. It had an old aluminum cased single speed black and decker sabre saw. I still have it 17 years later. It's a single speed, but it's built like a tank.

Does this saw have a small black sliding switch on the side?
It sounds just like my first power tool. My grandfather was a self-employed plumber. When I was a kid I used to love to hang in his shop with him. I still remember clear as day over 30 years ago he handed my an already old and used hard B&D handheld sabre saw. He said if I was very careful in using it, it was mine to keep forever.
I also VERY quickly learned the cost of consumables AND how to use the tool properly so as not to ruin the blades. My GF was NOT one to waste anything. Anytime I asked for a new blade I was always told about it.

That old saw had/still has an old green ammo can as its case.
It occupies a special place in my garage and heart.

 

[Rickster]

Craftsman 3/8 variable speed drill. Got it as a gift from my then-girlfriend-now-wife in the mid 70's. It's big and black and chrome and works just as good today as it did on our first basement remodel. It resides in the bottom drawer of my tool box and I still use it today whenever I need some power to drive something.

 

[Coach James]

Can't remember between these two as I got them at about the same time. Craftsman 12 amp 7 1/4" circular saw Or a Ryobi USA made 0.5" drill. Got them 16 or 17 years ago. Both still work fine. I finally tried a 36 tooth thin kerf blade on the saw instead of the 24 tooth combo blades. It was like getting a brand new saw. The Ryobi has a triple reduction gear and has never stalled in anything.

Coach

 

[MAD]

My first power tool was a Craftsman 1/2" drill. I bought it around 1984 after I seized up my dad's 1/4" drill making holes for pop rivets to replace most of the Floor pan in my first car. I still have the drill and continue to use it.

I just bought my 3 year old daughter her second power tool. A Black and Decker cordless screwdriver to replace her old one that will no longer take a charge. I guess this is technically her first power tool since the first one she adopted from our kitchen drawer when she was around 18 months. The hex drive without a bit drives the big plastic screws on her toy project center quite well. I will also put in a bit and let her drive real screws when I am fixing things around the house. Recently we installed her own TP roll holder and hand towel ring in the bathroom at toddler height with her drilling all of the holes and driving the screws. It takes a long time to do anything with her "helping" but at least she is not trashing the living room during that 30 minutes it can take to hang a couple of robe hooks together.

 

[dxdexter]

I think its safe to say, by the responses of this thread, that the most popular, first quired power tool would be a hand drill.

Interesting, my wife would have guessed an Oster Inspire 6-Speed Retractable Cord Hand Mixer 2534 .

 

[SilverLake]

i think mine was a 1/3 sheet straight line pad sander. I used to sand and paint the stuff my dad built. i seem to recall that it was all metal and probably from sears. weighed about a ton and a half. After the sander came a 1/4 drill motor. the drill was binary, it had 2 speeds full on and off.

thanks for making the memory banks fire-up! I loved the time with my dad doing projects.

dan

 

[Uncle Buck]

First two power tools were aquired at the same time. They were stolen and I found them in a bush next to a ditch as a kid when I was about 12yrs old or so. A Skill 3/8 drill w/metal case & a metal case Monkey Wards saber saw. I took them home and pop called the cops who promptly came and took them leaving me a receipt to go back after 90 days and get them if they went unclaimed. I got them after the 90 days and used them for years. The saber saw died while pop was using it so he bought me a brand new very nice Crafty to replace it! (what a guy) I still have the drill and it works great.

 

[Jay H 237]

Mine was/is a 2 speed B&D jigsaw. It's one of those orange plastic ones they sold around the late 70s I guess. My father bought it brand new and used it rarely. He gave it to me in 1989 when he bought a variable speed Skil one. It's almost like new and still works well although a little underpowered although you have to keep in mind it was a "basic homeowner" one.

I used it for awhile but haven't touched it the past few years since I bought a variable speed Porter Cable. The P-C runs circles around this thing but like I said it's more homeowner than professional that the P-C is. I have no intention of getting rid of it and in fact it may come in handy someday since it's smaller and will fit in tighter areas.

I went and got it out and took a pic of it for you.

 

[JohnK007]

First was a Rockwell 1/4" electric drill. "Bought" it with 3 or 4 books of S&H Green Stamps my mother gave me. Still have the drill. It is the old green Rockwell that was double insulated back when most every other make still had the metal case. A new idea at the time. I'd guess that was back in '69 or '70.

 

[goodfellow]

In 1969, my next door neighbor was in the USAF and was transferred to Japan. He was selling his tools and told me I could have the whole lot of B&D tools for $25.00. I was a youngster and that $25.00 represented a lot of mowed lawns, but I also felt proud to have my first set of power tools.

It includes a 1/4" single speed drill as well as a 3/8" single speed drill kit. The 1/2" single speed drill is super heavy duty. Although I don't use the drills that much anymore, all those tools saw me through several house remodels and cabin builds. All the stickers say "B&D, Towson MD".

 

[Major Ramifications]

Mine was an '80's vintage (from Santa) Craftsman corded 3/8" VSR drill. I was a teenager at the time and I looked for any excuse to use it that I could find. I still have it somewhere, but it doesn't get used anymore.

 

[Jononon]

A single speed B&D drill, 1970s orange plastic - originally bought in a set with the same jigsaw as Jay H 237, Made in England (!), which my dad gave me when he bought a variable speed hammer drill (which I've also subsequently acquired, thanks dad ). It eventually expired after at least 25 years of service.

 

[wilbilt]

I still have the 1/4" B&D drill motor I bought at a yard sale when I was about ten.

It has the full metal housing, and I have gotten "buzzed" several times. I should probably replace the cord.

 

[nissan_crawler]

ok, I was WAY off. It's a Sloan-Ashland Model 1710 jigsaw. This thing is HEAVY. Even the trigger is metal.