Rust Hunt Mysteries

[steven c newman]

Barn Sale the other day....$5 for a few items..
368400
Not much of a mystery here, other than how long these will last..
368401
A compass with no name, A Drill will a partial Millers Falls label on the wheel, and "Made in Germany" on the chuck.
The "Yankee" has a fluted handle, is marked as a Craftsman, handle no selector ( and never did) and has the spring assist. No other markings.

The Yankee is a mystery....the eggbeater I think I have figured out. Any clues?

[Bill Houghton]

Does that Yankee-type screwdriver have a knurled collar? Try and see if it turns. Millers Falls made a couple of different designs of Yankee-type drivers, one design using a knurled collar with no obvious indicator for direction; you just turned it one way or t'other until you got the ratcheting you wanted.

[steven c newman]

Thank you! It does indeed. Now, IF I can just get that tip out.....

[Lee Schierer]

Thank you! It does indeed. Now, IF I can just get that tip out.....

I think you have to pull the knurled barrel on the tip back toward the hand to release the bit.

[steven c newman]

PUlled it all the way back...tip never moved, just plain rusted in place right now.....

[Bill Houghton]

Rusted-in screwdriver tips on Yankee-type drivers can be right frustrating. There's a tab that moves back under spring pressure when you pull the collar back; if that's frozen by rust, the shank won't move. And then the shank is a slip fit in the collet, so it can be frozen in place by what you might call frictional rust. Good luck!

[steven c newman]

PBBlaster will be soaking, today. Due to all the Maple on my bench right now.....re-rusting things might have to wait a few....

[Mark Stutz]

I've got a little eggbeater that has Made in Germany on it. No other markings that I can find. Nice little solid drill. Perhaps the chuck on yours was a replacement.

[steven c newman]

Millers Falls did make a few drills in Germany....chuck has a very faint outline of the Millers falls logo......Seems to be a decent drill. There IS a number cast into the frame....a "113"? right between the drive gear and the spindle for the chuck.

[steven c newman]

Soaked the screwdriver tip in PBlaster all day...nada. Everything else seems to work on it. First one I have seen with a fluted handle.....maybe an option from Sears?

[steven c newman]

Three days of soaking in the "Blaster"...nada. Not sure what is going on in there. Might just let it be. For some reason, that "chuck" has been ground to except a wrench....hmmm?