Millers Falls Hand Drill Rescue

[Eric Mayhew]

Newbie to this forum; please be patient. I recently "rescued" Millers Falls #2 hand drill from an antique store. It had been (apparently) spray-painted flat black, attached to a piece of pecky cypress with baling wire and labeled as "art". Mechanically, it appears to be in reasonably good shape. Everything that should move does. The side handle is missing, and the crank handle has been sloppily replaced. Any suggestions on how to go about removing the spray paint without damaging what's underneath? I don't have any notions about doing a Wiktor Kuc-type restoration; I'd just like to make it a good user drill. Thanks for any/all suggestions! :)

[Todd Burch]

Perhaps lacquer thinner on a rag over a fingertip and go slow. What's under the spray paint, I suppose, is a surface that needs repainting anyway.

Welcome!

Todd

[Jim Koepke]

Eric,

Welcome to the Creek.

If possible, disassembly might help in getting the unwanted paint removed.

My recollection is there is a pin that needs to be driven out before the wooden handle will unscrew. Was there anything stored in the handle before it became art?

If you have lacquer thinner or acetone, that would be one of my first things to try brushing a little on in a well ventilated place away from flames of any kind.

Is Jasco paint stripper still available?

jtk

[Eric Mayhew]

Thank you Todd and Jim for the suggestions so far. Jim - The handle is in good shape, and there are 5 twist drills in it. Thankfully, the "artist" managed to NOT paint this handle. I'll pick up some lacquer thinner tomorrow after work. (Gotta pay for this habit somehow!) I'll take some "as found" pix before starting anything.

[Don Dorn]

I'm not (really) a tool collector, but do have a penchant for the eggbeater drills. I've purchased quite a few and I really like the #2. Currently, I have a #94 Millers Falls with a "Rythers" chuck and had to make the parts. My point is that it will take some effort on your part, but will be worth it in the end. There is just something about listening to those things operate so quietly and so effectively. I actually use three - one for a 1/16th pilot, one for a screw/ countersink and one to ream out that hole so screws sinch down well. I enjoy using them and suspect you will too.