Day 21, A racheting screwdriver
My third week of garage gems ends with something that I have never actually used, but I still think is pretty cool. It is a No. 62A bidirectional racheting screwdriver (sometimes called a "Yankee screwdriver") made by Millers Falls of Greenfield, Massachuesetts. When I first got this one, it was pretty dirty, and I couldn't spot the makers mark, but a little brasso on the handle revealed the mark along with a patent date of March 30th, 1926 as well as the model number. The hardwood handle is in good shape, and it operates smoothly, and has a very solid feel in the hand.
Here is the patent that matches the date on the screwdriver
According to this highly informative page, Millers falls manufactured these screwdrivers from between 1937 and 1967. It can be set to operate to either screw or unscrew by turning the barrel at the end nearest the bits, and the bits are interchangeable. I'm told that they shipped with three bits, but I only have one standard slotted driver.
Millers Falls Co. was founded as Gunn and Amidon back in 1868, but suffered some problems during the Great Depression, and by the 1960s had been sold off and merged, and while the company name still exists, they no longer have the broad range of woodworking tools that you can spot in their 280 page catalogs from the 1930s that are available on the Internet Archive. I have several hand cranked drills of their manufacture, which will probably see the light of day in a future installment of my garage gems.
The No. 62A has a closed length of about 17" and a fully extended length of about 26". Millers Falls also made an identical model called the No. 620A, which only differs in that it has an added spring return, so it will push the handle back to its starting position for another stroke. This probably makes it faster/more efficient, as you can maintain some downward pressure to keep the bit in place.
Honestly, I positively despise slotted head screws, and virtually never buy them, so I doubt this will get any use at all other than just demonstrating it to people who have never seen one before.
Hope you are having a great Hump Day.