Day 22, A hand cranked drill
After yesterday's racheting screwdriver from Millers Falls (an excellent working tool) I thought I would show you an instance of a tool that I acquired in more or less the condition that they usually come to me. This is a simple hand cranked drill, covered in layers of oil, sawdust, and dust. I have not done a great deal with it because sadly it has a defect which is at the moment fairly fatal to restoring it to working condition. It's missing five teeth on the spur gear, and so while it can spin when you hand crank it, if you tried to actually use it, it would immediately jam and/or break off additional teeth. I have heard of the possibility of reforming the teeth by welding/brazing on some additional material, and then reforming the shape with hand files, but I lack the skills and equipment necessary to do that.
Click on the image below to see a youtube short of someone making this kind of repair:
I have no idea what the date is, but the general styling suggests to me that it's probably early 20th century, maybe eighty or so years old. It's a beefy thing, very sturdy (except, apparently for the missing teeth on the gear). I'm setting this aside for a future time when its full restoration might be more tractable to me.
Looking forward to Friday. Hope you all are having a good week.