Fixing a Millers Falls no 216 hand cranked drill

[curlysnipe]

Good day Everyone,
I purchased this Millers Falls 216 drill. It's in good order except for the fact that it does not auto feed when the hand crank is turned. The parts that make it auto feed appear to be missing according to the few photos I've been able to find. I don't know how these parts look; less so how they operate because the photos I've found don't show this clearly or at all. If someone on this forum owns one of these drills or has knowledge of its operation I would surely appreciate some light on the item.

 

[RTM]

Wow, nice find, bummer about the auto feed not working.

Looks like the parts you're missing that will be hardest to find will be whatever is supposed to be inside the head, above your arrow in the 3rd pic. The knob in the front is probably your release to spin the vertical travel wheel backward to go up. Pic off Worthpoint, only one showing anything near useful.





You might try joining one of these two forums, see if this guy Sudsy still has it and will talk to you about it.

Millers Falls # 216 Two Speed, Self Advancing, Hand Crank Drill Press

Just finished a preliminary cleaning and oiling. Can't wait to build a plug with this....... Each time you hear a click in the videos it's lowering the bit by a small amount. You can see the actuating arm in the close up in the second video. The dial can be adjusted to a faster drop for wood or a...

www.stripersonline.com

Millers Falls # 216 Two Speed, Self Advancing, Hand Crank Drill Press

Millers Falls # 216 Two Speed, Self Advancing, Hand Crank Drill Press

papawswrench.com

Other thought is to see if you can find the patent for it, and maybe work from there.

 

[RTM]

Oh heck, forgot about this, a parts list, with pictures. You are missing 78, 79,80, 103, 64?, can't find the knob.

Millers Falls Tools Catalog No. 39 : January, 1925 : Millers Falls Co. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

207 p., illus., 25.1 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

Now to just find a nice HiRes image, and take dimensions, and start casting and milling parts. (I'd still try to contact Sudsy as an easier option)

 

[curlysnipe]

RTM,
Thank you for the useful information Yes, it would be very helpful to have high resolution photos. I think I'd be capable of fabricating the parts myself. I did go to the resourses you mentioned. The gentleman who posted the thread wrote on the same thread to another inquirer that he no longer had the drill. He had also posted two videos but they were not available on the forum anymore. That would have been extremely useful. I would have extrapolated any information from the videos and combined with the parts diagram you offered I would have maybe solved my problem. Still searching.