Old US Electric Drill

[Mark Singer]

A lot of old planes and chisels are commonly seen on SMC...here is a pic of my Fathers US Electric Drill...he used it a very often....it still looks good.

[Russ Filtz]

I tend to get nervous using old metal housed tools, as most times these are not double insulated. If you ever get a short inside caused by old cracking wires/insulation, you can get electrocuted! The newer plastic/rubber housed tools with 3-prong plugs properly grounded are much safer IMO.

[Mark Singer]

Ihad quite a problem when I plugged in my old Stanley #4 sparks were flying...
I tend to get nervous using old metal housed tools, as most times these are not double insulated. If you ever get a short inside caused by old cracking wires/insulation, you can get electrocuted! The newer plastic/rubber housed tools with 3-prong plugs properly grounded are much safer IMO.

[Jim Becker]

At B&D's corporate headquarters in Towson MD, they have a nice "tool museum" on the ground floor...with quite a few examples similar to this of early power tools. Always neat to look at if you get the opportunity.

Russ, I believe that "double insulated" tools don't necessarily have the ground lug on the plug. In fact, I have several of them in my shop that are two-prong. Double insulated is more of a tool construction methodology to insure that power is isolated from the user. Grounding is a separate issue, if I am not mistaken. That said, I agree that caution should be taken with these older design tools. But if they are in good working order and you are not standing in a puddle (a feature that most shops do not have...), you should be ok. Proper maintenance and inspection of power tools is essential to safety.

[Mark Singer]

As Mr Robinson said, "One word....Plastics"
I tend to get nervous using old metal housed tools, as most times these are not double insulated. If you ever get a short inside caused by old cracking wires/insulation, you can get electrocuted! The newer plastic/rubber housed tools with 3-prong plugs properly grounded are much safer IMO.