Hand Drills

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I'm looking to buy a small hand powered drill. Right now I'm thinking of a Millers Falls 2-A and have noticed they came with straight shank drill bits. Can you use a modern twist bit in them?

[Bob Smalser]

Not well.

The only thing I find one useful for is to chuck a 16th-inch jobber bit in permanently for quick pilot holes when only a few are required.

[Mike Wenzloff]

Hi Dennis,

I'm not familiar with the model number, so I cannot answer directly. I do have a MF egg beater that has a 3-jaw chuck which can use twist as well as brace bits.

I also have an old North Bros. which is a two jaw chuck and can only hold brace bits.

I would look over the fpollowing link and see if it addresses your question.

http://www.sydnassloot.com/brace.htm

I use mine, as well as the braces, quite a lot. Wouldn't be without them.

Take care, Mike

[Bob Smalser]

The sweep brace of course, is a different story:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=13090&highlight=brace

Braces are so cheap these days that there's no reason to do a lot of bit changing. ;)

It's especially handy to have them in different sizes for different uses, depending on how much torque is required.

The later Millers Falls 3-jaw "Lion" chuck is spose to be handiest because it was made to also take round bits. Don't let that stop you from buying an older brace, tho...today power drills are used for round bits....no brace will bore well with a bit designed for a power tool, and Irwin (softwood) augers are as cheap as the braces....and the 2-jaw braces all handle hex screwdriver bits nicely. Jennings (hardwood) augers are a bit more expensive, but still much cheaper than their modern equivalents.

Shown below are a 6", a 8", a 10", a 12", a 14", and a joist brace for really tight spots.

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/5457882/75526028.jpg

A 6" lives nicely in your mechanic's tool box, too, and saves you from buying that spendy Snap-On speed bar.

[Hank Knight]

I'm looking to buy a small hand powered drill. Right now I'm thinking of a Millers Falls 2-A and have noticed they came with straight shank drill bits. Can you use a modern twist bit in them?
Dennis, I have a Millers Falls 2A and it works with modern twist bits. You mentioned that you're looking for a "small" hand powered drill. The 2A is a pretty good sized drill. Millers Falls made smaller models as did Goddell Pratt, Stanley and probably others. You might want to check out the Miller's Falls web site for more specifics on their drills:
http://www.public.coe.edu/~rroeder/mf.htm

[James Mittlefehldt]

I just recently built a wood storage system based on the one shown in this year's tools and shop edition of FWW. I built three uprights with three shelves each and did all the pre drilling and screw driving with two braces I have. Not sure of the manufacture, as I cannot find a name on either, but they worked very well indeed. I used a drill with collar and counter bore? to pre drill, it was sized for no 10 screws and I drove the no 14 screws with an attachement I got from LeeValley that holds screw driver bits. Little effort and I could listen to the radio all weekend.

I have an eggbeater but it slips with a normal twist bit in it if the wood is anything but soft pine. Hope that helps.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Thanks for the replies. I've got several different braces which I use for boring larger holes, but I'm looking for a hand drill that will handle small twist bits to drill holes under about 1/4 inch.

Hank, I don't know what I really mean by "small", just something smaller than a brace. I'll look at other sizes made by MF and others.

[Roger Bell]

Any eggbeater with a three jaw chuck will work well enough, I think, with bits under 1/4".....although the smaller the bit the easier....

The MF #2 series is a good choice as well as almost any of the North Bros. Yankees. These drills, along with the lowly hand brace, are among some of the best remaining values in vintage tools. For the going rates you might consider buying several, but stick with the name brands (MF, Goodell Pratt {the real innovaters}, Yankee). I keep three eggbeaters chucked up "snappy" drill/countersink units for #6, 8 and 10 screw pilot holes and at the ready on the rack. Combine those with a 6" brace with a hex bit, and you will be drillin and screwin with class.

[Bob Smalser]

http://i10.ebayimg.com/02/i/05/f3/4e/5b_1.JPG

One hand drill that was designed for modern jobber bits is the breast drill.

Try some holes in hardware with one, and you'll see why the 14v DeWalt will always have a home on my bench. ;)

[Hank Knight]

There's a guy over on woodnet that has a nice looking Goodell Pratt eggbeater hand drill with bits for sale - $22.00 = $5.00 shipping. See link:
http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=2140087&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=

[Jim DeLaney]

I'm looking to buy a small hand powered drill. Right now I'm thinking of a Millers Falls 2-A and have noticed they came with straight shank drill bits. Can you use a modern twist bit in them?

Dennis,
I'm not familiar with an MF 2-A, but if it comes with a 3-jaw chuck you can use 'regular' twist drill bits in it.

Is the 2-A an 'egg beater' type drill, or a brace?

[Pam Niedermayer]

I got tired of trying to find a good drill online, bought this one from Garrett Wade (http://www.garrettwade.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=104760&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=0&iSubCat=0&iProductID=104760 ), which works fine with the same bits I use in a tailed drill. I use it with smaller bits, say up to 5/16 or 3/8, and it's faster drilling than the tailed. Above 3/8, I use one of several braces, favorite being a Fray.

LV also sells a nice looking hand drill at http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32294&cat=1,180,42337&ap=1

Pam

[Steve Kubien]

Hi Pam,

I've got the Lee Valley egg-beater and it is ok, at best. It runs nice and true but if you need to apply any torque, the gearing slips. I much prefer my M-F (#5 I think).

Cheers,
Steve Kubien

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Dennis,
I'm not familiar with an MF 2-A, but if it comes with a 3-jaw chuck you can use 'regular' twist drill bits in it.

Is the 2-A an 'egg beater' type drill, or a brace?

Jim, its an egg beater type. I was looking on line and apparently there are many different varieties of MF #2 drills. Some are better than others at keeping the gears meshed without adding effort to turning the crank. Most of the pictures on e-bay are too poor for me to determine which one I want unless the seller states the model in the description. Some come with a three jaw chuck, some don't.

[Jim DeLaney]

Jim, ...I was looking on line and apparently there are many different varieties of MF #2 drills...Most of the pictures on e-bay are too poor for me to determine which one I want unless the seller states the model in the description. Some come with a three jaw chuck, some don't.

Dennis,
The one that Pam referenced is a pretty good small drill. I have what appears to be the same drill body, with a hollow handle that holds some bits. Mine was made by Stanley, maybe thirty years ago. I got it new, and although I haven't used it a lot, it does do a good job when asked to.

I also have the bigger M-F breast drill that someone else pictured. Mine is a two-speed, though. It's overkill for what you want. It's too big and heavy. Ones like it are going for around $10 - $15 on Ebay. They're pretty common.