Miller Falls #2 eggbeater drill rehab

[jimreed2160]

My daughter needed to drill some shells for jewelry so I went to my old tool boneyard and found her a nice vintage MF #2 eggbeater. It had seen better times and I thought she might be put off by the rich patina. So the cleanup began. The chuck was in really good shape and needed only a few squirts of WD-40. Other pieces got the full Monte. I turned the missing aux handle on the lathe and inserted a cut off bolt for attachment. The money shots show things after polish. Once the paint hardens, I will wax the rosewood and present her with a new tool and a can of 3 in 1 oil for maintenance.

 

[jimreed2160]

Well, the beautiful pictures did not attach. Here they are:

 

[jvlyons99205]

Nice work on this drill. The old egg beater drills are great to use on jewelry work.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

 

[pendragon1998]

Very pretty. I have restored a handful and plan to do more now that my blasting cabinet will make doing the wheels and frames easier.

 

[txbruno]

Nice job, I have a couple of those in the shop awaiting rehab. Hope your daughter enjoys her gift.

 

[lazer50]

Very nice!

 

[MarkG]

I've got the same one, but decided to leave it 'naturally patinaed' :S Also, mine was not built with the stabilizing bearing on the bottom. That's interesting. That must have been a later model or something. Everything else looks identical.

 

[HeelSpur]

Turned out sweet.

 

[ganymede]

Nice pre Greenfield drill. Im guessing ww1 era.

 

[jimreed2160]

I've got the same one, but decided to leave it 'naturally patinaed' :S Also, mine was not built with the stabilizing bearing on the bottom. That's interesting. That must have been a later model or something. Everything else looks identical.

The bearing on the bottom is attached to an eccentric post which is tightened with a screw. It can be rotated to adjust the distance to the wheel. Pretty cool.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Really nice job on that restoration. Some day I'll have time for all the stuff I have awaiting restoration.

 

[tym]

Very nice! Here's more information on your model of drill: http://oldtoolheaven.com/hand_drills/drill2.htm.

 

[jimreed2160]

Very nice! Here's more information on your model of drill: http://oldtoolheaven.com/hand_drills/drill2.htm.

Great link! Thanks.

 

[bonneyman]

Nice job!

I have a little #5 but am afraid of touching it as I don't think I can make it much better.

 

[shortykorte]

Very nice restore project.

 

[fowldarr]

That thing is cool. and nice job on the restore, I hope the kid appreciates it.

 

[jimreed2160]

That thing is cool. and nice job on the restore, I hope the kid appreciates it.

Thanks for looking. The "kid" loved it. She will be especially flattered by your comment since she has a 12 yo of her own.

I delivered the prize shortly after this original post. Included were a toolbox, a vise and a set of drill bits. She used the eggbeater to drill a hole in a shell for some jewelry she was making. WooHoo! I love it when these old tools get back to work.

 

[Redboy]

That's awesome. Great piece, great work, great story to go with it!

 

[fowldarr]

Well, no offense was meant. I get stuck in my own world, my kids are still at home. Hopefully she'll pass it down to her kid someday.

 

[gungatim]

does the end of the handle unscrew and house the drill bits on that model? I have one that does but the handle end is rounded differently than yours. every one I've come across the cap is cracked from being tightened too much. was yours? if so, how did you fix?

 

[jimreed2160]

Gun--Yes, the rosewood handle top unscrews to reveal a storage area. My experience was like yours--the cap was not perfect. At least it was there. I see many on that on line auction site where the cap is MIA. The easiest fix for a missing cap is to cut off the threads and make a new mushroom top plug from walnut. Ugh.

Anyway, this cap had a notch in the top of the mushroom. Someone else might have cut a small vee piece of rosewood and patched it. I, however, am allergic to dalbergia (rosewood and its other varieties) and like to avoid the sawdust whenever I can. So I took the easy way out and just sanded the sharp edges off the vee. After waxing, it was hardly noticeable. So far there have been no complaints.

Cracked caps can be reglued. Larger cracks can be patched. Old Stanley handplane totes and knobs are good sources of rosewood.

 

[gungatim]

hmmm I thought rosewood was one of those waxy woods that didn't take glue...

maybe i'll give it a try. I've got 3 or 4 of those but only one with the cap intact, but it's a 2 speed Millers Falls...

 

[jimreed2160]

hmmm I thought rosewood was one of those waxy woods that didn't take glue...

maybe i'll give it a try. I've got 3 or 4 of those but only one with the cap intact, but it's a 2 speed Millers Falls...

My experience is limited to vintage Stanley handplane totes, but they are made from primo rosewood. It can be tricky. You need a very clean surface that mates well. Put Titebond woodworking glue on the surfaces and let it soak in for a minute or two. Add more to keep the exposed surfaces wet with glue. After three or four minutes, push the parts together and clamp them in place. Squeeze out is OK. In a few hours, the squeeze out should be soft plastic and you can remove it with a sharp knife. Let the glued joint dry for a day or two.

Titebond is sensitive to temperature and humidity. Do this inside for best results. Too hot is not really too bad but too cold is awful. In fact, I find that freezing temps ruin my glue.