Millers Falls Drill acquisition and Questions

[Randy Bonella]

Hi All,
As earlier I introduced myself and have done this 180 from power tools into hand tools and Soooo.... here I am now collecting old rust, and bringing them back on line as user tools. Man is this addicting!!!

I went to an auction in Washougal Washington today and came away with a Millers Falls No. 2 Type D (best I can tell) and a Millers falls no 13 Breast drill and a no name brace that is functional but not worth anything. I got them for $32.50 (all in a single lot otherwise the brace wouldn't be there) which seems like a fair price and the no. 2 had 6 of the original 8 drill bits in the handle. The wood is in immaculate shape on both tools but the paint is pretty dinged up. But hey these are users for me and they work great. So I think I did ok on the price and so here's my question:

Take a look at the Breast Drill: I need to know what should go where the nail is just above the level and below the gear? right now there is a nail in there holding it together. The second question is it was missing the side handle and would any of you know where I could purchase and or find one of those? I would like to use originals to the tool but if I can't find any I'll make one.

So any help on the missing screw and the handle would be greatly appreciated. Now all I need to do is finish cleaning them up.

And oh ya, no pictures it didin't happen so Link to pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/rmbonella/Drills#

I haven't figured out how to post directly into the message so sorry about the link

Randy...

[Dave Lehnert]

Nice find. Here is a link that may help with parts.

http://www.wktools.com/t_MF-hDrills/240-No2A-1957/240-No2A-1957.asp

[Dave Matson]

Heres a close-up of my 13. The nail is taking the place of a pin it looks like. Its a great drill for certain work that requires speed since it has a 4.5 to 1 gear ratio. The universal jaws work best with square shank bits so its a good idea to get some twist bits with square shanks.
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/0b1dc2e09d.jpg (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/image.php?0b1dc2e09d.jpg)

For a replacement handle you can purchase one here:

http://www.tias.com/8600/PictPage/3923287668.html
or look at the larger selection: http://www.google.com/products?&rls=en&q=breast+drill+side+handle

The profile isn't the same as the original though :(

[Randy Bonella]

Dave & Dave,
Thanks for the close-up pic the information and the advice on using it. I hadn't thought about the gear ratio on it though. Yikes :eek: on the price of a replacement. I almost paid that much for both tools. I think I may be making a replacement. Any chance I could get a couple of dimensions from you on that original handle? Length, diameter at widest point and at the waist should do it.

The link to wktools didn't work. but I'd be interested to take a look if you can post one that does.

Thank you both very much for the inputs.

Randy...

[Jim Koepke]

Randy,
Posting pictures is easy once you know how. Just like so many other things.

When you click on "Post Reply" or "Quote" your screen will show something like this:

129821

Click on the paper clip or the down arrow to the right of it and you will get a window like this:

129822

Click on chose file and then you have to navigate through your computer to the image you want to post. You can chose a second file before uploading. One post can have a maximum of five. The software on SMC will automatically resize files to SMC's size limits.

BTW, nice find and the brace will come in handy for sure unless you already have too many.

Oh, and welcome to the Creek, the water is fine and the slope is slippery, but fun.

My name is Jim and I'm a rustaholic,

If I had known about the auction, I may have tried talking my wife into going.

jim

[Mike Hutchison]

Picked this up at a yard sale yesterday morning.
Has Miller's Falls/Greenfield, Mass. and 120B stamped on handle.
Paid $3 for it and did a little clean-up and oiling; it's a user.
Want to try the dual speeds out on something.
Obviously, I'm still struggling to get good resolution and hold
the attachment size down to specs.
After edit, these two are a little better.

[Gary Herrmann]

Randy, do you have a lathe or know someone who does? The easy fix for a side handle is to find a hanger bolt with machine threads that match the hole. Tap a stick of wood, turn a handle, insert the bolt and you're done. You can use existing handle as size/shape reference if you like.

[Randy Bonella]

Jim,
Thanks for the info on posting. All these sites have different policies so wasn't sure what worked and didn't as I've just recently started posting. I'll give it try next time.

I found out about the auction on CraigsList. The Gentleman who passed away had a pretty decent shop, mostly setup for turning and detailed scroll saw work. The only hand tools that I saw worth much were the vintage drills I got and a set of new Marples chisels that went for way too much money. I was hoping for some hand planes and other Neander type tools.

Tailed equipment was a gold mine. Virtually new Delta Lathe, Jet 18" bandsaw, Jet planer, Jointer and a very very nice sroll saw and much much more. I didn't stick around for the tailed tools as I had a pretty small budget to work with. Oh and he had a ton of wood that I'm sure was worth sticking around for but it was last on the auction block and I could stick around.

You are right this is a lot of fun, especially doing homework on the history of some of these tools. I'm starting to document each piece I buy. Interesting to see how much and how little changes over time.

Mike, nice find. I'm hoping some day to get some of those really good deals.

Gary, A close friend of mine just got a small lathe for his son to play with. It would probably work well for turning something like this handle. Most likely what I'll do. The no. 13 came with a bolt in the handle space so that parts taken care of just need to turn a handle and should be golden.

Hi, I'm Randy, and I'm fast becoming a rustaholic...

Thanks everyone for your help.
Randy...

[Dave Matson]

Heres a sloppy dimensioned pic for the No.13 handle:

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/2e81e481f9.jpg

[Randy Bonella]

Dave,

Wow!!! Can't help but make something so close it would be difficult to tell the old from the new other than the 100 yrs of patina and aging and use.

Thank you very much!

Randy...