MF 77 and 1322 drill and brace find

[Andrew Nemeth]

I picked up a Millers Falls 77 and 1322 this weekend at an antique mall. I am considering doing a functional restoration of either, or both, as I do not have a functional drill or brace in my neander kit.

The tolerances look tight between all the moving parts. The jaws of both chucks are intact and sharp. The racheting mechanism on the brace is a bit gummed up, but everything moves. All the wooden parts are intact and just need a bit of TLC to protect some bare spots. The red paint on the drive gear on the drill has very flaky red paint, I'm pretty sure that will have to go and be reapplied as it looks like there is rust under the paint in many areas. The nickel plating on the brace is most likely not intact either.

What else should I be looking for to determine if these are worth the time and effort to restore? I'm looking for fine users here, something I can use and be proud to hand off to my kids.

They were priced to move, so I'm sure I can part with them, as-is, for more than what I payed. So, if there are better drills and braces to invest time into, I'm open to passing these along and keeping my eyes open.

What would you do?

As always, much thanks!

[Archie England]

I like the MF 77. Mine is great little drill that works well with smaller dia. bits. As for the 1322, it's a brace. MF tools are typically well made. Yes, there are better braces (Bell System Yankee braces, in particular), but once tuned your new MF 1322 ought to do the job. In the future, look for a 12" or 14" brace, for those heftier drilling chores.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

There is a lot of information out there about the Millers Falls tools. Old Tool Heaven is a great source. I do not own either of the models you have there, but I would expect they are good quality (not "premium", but good quality) tools that will make good users. Whether they are something you want to pass on to your kids I think depends on a lot of personal factors.

Kind of the peak of the evolution of the Millers Falls braces are the "Lion" chucks. On the Stanley side, the Bell Systems braces are supposed to be very fine. Pexto also made a "Samson" chuck that is similar to the Lion in design and quality. Before that the best in the Millers Falls line was the "Hold-all", but the "Improved Barber" that is on the one you have is a fine chuck. Syndas Sloot is a good page to read about the evolution of the braces. In my experience, all of them will hold a Jennings or Irwin style bit well, but you see differences when you ask it to hold other things, like a regular smooth shanked drill bit, or one of the modern drivers you might use in an electric drill. My cheaper brace (a Pexto, not the Samson chuck, one of their cheaper models) will slip with anything other than one of the bits it is intended to hold, but the Lions have held anything I put in them.

The consensus seems to be that the best hand drills to have are the Millers Falls 2, and 5. Some of them have little guide wheels to keep everything better aligned, and I gather they are the top of the line in terms of hand drills. I have a pair of craftsman drills that I am pretty sure are basically less expensive versions of those two drills made by Millers Falls, and they work well. If you are going to use them as your main drills, you may eventually want a range of sizes. A range that works for me is a No. 2 clone, the No. 5 clone, and a No. 12 breast drill. With the brace I have a hard time thinking of anything I would be unable to drill.

In terms of doing something with them, I would take them apart, clean them, lubricate them, and put them back together. The ones I have come apart in a pretty common-sense way, and once I got the old grease and dirt cleaned up, and the rust removed, everything ran well. If you are looking to do something like trying to get them back to the condition they were in when they came out of the factory, I personally would not put that much work into what you have. I would look for one of the higher end drills (a 2 or 5, the ones with the extra guide wheels seems to be more collectible), and braces (a Lion, Samson, or Bell Systems) if that is what you want to do. If you just want to use them though, I would think what you have will serve you well.

[Jim Koepke]

What would you do?

If my situation was like yours, I would likely get these into useable shape and use them.

Here is a page with some information on them:

http://oldtoolheaven.com/hand_drills/drill3.htm

I would keep looking for the ubiquitous No.2 Millers Falls hand drill. The ones made after 1907 can accept up to a 3/8" bit.

Depending on your own preference, it is always good to have more than one.

Some folks like to restore them beyond useable by repainting and such. My experience is with two No.2 MF hand drills. One is pretty beat up and the other came to me in very fine condition. After tightening the handles with some plane shavings they are both very nice to use. In my case the one that looks nice doesn't get used a lot because I don't want to muss it up. The ugly one is still a thing of pride to use.

As for the Millers Falls brace, I have only had one. It was a good brace in every way. It was given to a friend I haven't yet met. Having a plethora of Stanley braces means I do not actively look much unless I see one in other than a 10" swing.

jtk

[Archie England]

Yes, the cool factor of owning a MF#2 or 2A is wonderful. The MF#5, a little less so. But when a small diameter hole is needed, the 77 works just as well as any of these others. And, I've encountered numerous other problems with my MF 2s that I've not had with the 77 (or its Dunlap clone). The Stanley 624 is larger (like the #2) but not as good (imo) as the MFs.

[Andrew Nemeth]

Wow, great information from all of you. From what has been posted so far, my inclination is to do a simple tear down and cleaning. I think I'll stick to only removing paint and plating that is already loose and will comes off easy with a brass brush. I'll probably just wax and oil what is already there and reassemble. It should be pretty quick and make them serviceable. I'll use them until I find something I'll really feel good about spending the time to restore every service to factory (or better) finishes.

Thanks again!

[Robert Hartmann]

I agree with Nicholas' advice. The key is to get a good user and use it. I unfortunately got into restoring them (fallout of my old car restoration days). They can be quite addicting because they are so simple to disassemble and restore. I personally like the No 1 and/or No 3 in place of the No 5 for smaller work. It is lighter and just seems smoother. I think the No 5's took off due to a recommendation from the good Mr Schwarz.