There are some tools that just amaze me, and the post drill is one of them. I mean, here's a tool that was basically designed and created before electricity, and along with the Emmert Pattern Maker's Vise, the post drill is up there on the galootability list as one of the mechanical wonders of yesteryear. The gears is a very interesting design with a spur gear that drives the flywheel and the screw at the same time.
Unfortunately this post drill was damaged in shipping, but the guy I bought it from had UPS pack it...it still took several months to sort it out, and the UPS store went through 2 managers in the time it took...which caused the clock to basically start ticking over again...UPS wouldn't pay me to fix it myself, but would pay Scott Thomas over at Ardenwood to forge a new ratchet arm for me.
I started to clean it up tonight, and might be able to get it mounted on the wall during the break I'm taking advantage of for shop time...
From left to right, broken ratchet, new ratchet, bearing/shaft before cleaning, bearings/shaft after cleaning some. I'm waiting for an email from a friend, I can't figure out how to get the screw/shaft out of the body. I want to take the entire tool apart so I can really clean it good. I suspect in the last picture that there is a pin under the bearings, on the left side, but before I mash something I am confirming with a smithy friend.
Amazing how smooth the screw works after it was cleaned...this is going to be a very nice tool after I can get it cleaned up nicely...hard to find good post drills, there's a lot of broken down ones, and the ones that are working most galoots don't want to sell them. Just takes more time to search them out. I have a 1/2" Albrecht keyless chuck on a 1/2" shaft that will fit in the post drill chuck nicely!