Shocking old metal drill.

[03protege]

My father has an old metal case/body Milwaukee drill that shocks the **** out of the user, so we no longer use it. All I remember was that is had a crazy amount of torque and weighed a ton.

Anyone else experience this and have any remedies?

 

[davesnothere]

Id had one like that once.
My remedy: garage sale.

 

[justanengineer]

Solution 1: Send it to me and I will fix it, then put it to good use. I have a small collection of Milwaukee as its my fav power tool brand.

Solution 2: Open it up and look for loose or frayed wiring. Milwaukee tools are outstanding in that you can order almost any part for cheap from Fastenal or other authorized dealers, for almost any model made over the decades.

 

[Sureshot]

Replace the cord.

 

[Outlawmws]

The insulation inside has probably dried up and flaked off, and is now shorting to the case.

DON'T USE IT until it is fixed.

I'd also make damn sure you get a three prong plug on it with a working ground plug as well.

Often the grip can be removed to expose most, if not all the wires to be concerned about.

So... PICS!

 

[03protege]

Does anyone feel like these old drills are better than today's plastic body units?

A local second hand store has a few different ones and I was thinking about buying a few but I can't decide if it was only my imagination that made them seem so much better.

Thanks again everyone, I will try replacing the whole cord and inspecting for anything else out of place.

 

[03protege]

The insulation inside has probably dried up and flaked off, and is now shorting to the case.

DON'T USE IT until it is fixed.

I'd also make damn sure you get a three prong plug on it with a working ground plug as well.

Often the grip can be removed to expose most, if not all the wires to be concerned about.

So... PICS!

I will have them up when I fix it in the next couple of days, I think I have an idea where it is but it has been at least 5 years since anyone has seen it

 

[Amitygravel]

The old metal body tools do seem tougher. Always cheap at the sales.

Outlaw ,
When fitting a grounded cord to a tool that was a two prong cord , do you attach the ground to the tool body ?


Craig

 

[uniballer]

Wear rubber gloves!

 

[housey]

The old metal body tools do seem tougher. Always cheap at the sales.

Outlaw ,
When fitting a grounded cord to a tool that was a two prong cord , do you attach the ground to the tool body ?


Craig

Open it up and check for any visibly damaged wires, and I'd also check the resistance of the motor windings down to earth to see if its not the insulation inside the motor breaking down.

As for the earthing I would be more inclined to try and earth it at the motor if possible, and then check the resistance from that ground to other metal parts of the drill and if all have good continuity (less than 0.5 ohm), then I would leave it, if not then add more earths.

 

[Alchymist]

The old metal body tools do seem tougher. Always cheap at the sales.

Outlaw ,
When fitting a grounded cord to a tool that was a two prong cord , do you attach the ground to the tool body ?


Craig

Open it up and check for any visibly damaged wires, and I'd also check the resistance of the motor windings down to earth to see if its not the insulation inside the motor breaking down.

As for the earthing I would be more inclined to try and earth it at the motor if possible, and then check the resistance from that ground to other metal parts of the drill and if all have good continuity (less than 0.5 ohm), then I would leave it, if not then add more earths.

The ground wire attaches to the outer metal case - you know - the part you hold when you're using it. All else is irrelevant!

 

[Outlawmws]

The old metal body tools do seem tougher. Always cheap at the sales. SNI{P

Outlaw ,
When fitting a grounded cord to a tool that was a two prong cord , do you attach the ground to the tool body ?


Craig

SNIP
As for the earthing I would be more inclined to try and earth it at the motor if possible, and then check the resistance from that ground to other metal parts of the drill and if all have good continuity (less than 0.5 ohm), then I would leave it, if not then add more earths.

The ground wire attaches to the outer metal case - you know - the part you hold when you're using it. All else is irrelevant!

I also think the most critical ground point is the grip area; also preferably the half that is part of the main frame. Then you don't have to worry much about resistance between parts in most cases.

This is also where you are most likely to get a short circuit, as you have all the loose wires and wire connections as failure points. And don't use wire nuts in there; to much vibration and banging around so they can potentially come off (I just saw one where the wire nut repair came off...)

The other design consideration is to make sure the Black wire/narrow prong/hot lead goes to the switch first, so that in the event something does short, it is less likely to be shorted except in the ON position.

 

[Amitygravel]

Thanks for the info fellas !

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

I've got one that used to kick out the ground fault with regularity. Opened it up and found a dried out/cracked wire leading into the switch. Replaced the cord and a couple of jumpers and it is as good as new.

This thing will rip your wrists off if you aren't careful, so why buy a new one?

 

[Brad54]

Does anyone feel like these old drills are better than today's plastic body units?

A local second hand store has a few different ones and I was thinking about buying a few but I can't decide if it was only my imagination that made them seem so much better.

Thanks again everyone, I will try replacing the whole cord and inspecting for anything else out of place.

Yes, I believe they are better than the newer drills.
I've got a Black and Decker Model 1 drill; 300rpm, and it's awesome. It'll bore a 1/2-inch augered hole through two 6x6 pressure treated timbers like it's going through butter.

-Brad

 

[Hank McMauser]

yep I just got an old metal milwaukee super hole shooter that the cord was literally 3 pieces of wire,and a bunch of re-inforcing strings was all that was left. I replaced the cord and re-greased the gearbox and it's ready for a another 40 or 50 years.
I noticed the milwaukee has bearings on the ends of the shafts whereas the craftsman I picked up at the same time had bushings and one of the gears was stripped out. I still have the parts if anyone needs them(the motor and switch were good, just the teeth stripped of one of the gears)