
Hand powered drilling tools and machines - sea6ear
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/12/hand-powered-drilling-tools-and-machines.html
======
userbinator
It's worth noting that the photograph halfway down the page of the man using a
hand drill, which appears like it may have been taken quite recently, was
actually taken _75 years ago_ , in _1942_ :

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PalmercarpenterA.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PalmercarpenterA.jpg)

~~~
njharman
Wow, totally shocked by that. It's so clear and bright. The staging looks so
"modern advertisement" like.

~~~
Baeocystin
The photographer, Alfred T. Palmer, made an entire series of this type of
color portraiture. They are well worth a look.

[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Alfred_T._Palmer](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Alfred_T._Palmer)

~~~
mc32
You're not kidding. It looks reminiscent of '60's early 70's work. Early
Meyerowitz[1] for example. Coincidentally, in the street photography genre,
somewhat hot is what is called "staged photography"[2]. Although some staged
photography attempts to capture candid moments found between the staged
photos.

[1][https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2017/05/22/t-magazine/joel...](https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2017/05/22/t-magazine/joel-
meyerowitz-towards-colour-1962-1978/s/22tmag-joel-slide-OPAV.html)

[2][http://www.americansuburbx.com/tag/staged-
photography](http://www.americansuburbx.com/tag/staged-photography)

------
defterGoose
One device not specifically mentioned by the article is my personal favorite,
the "Cole Drill", named after Cole Manufacturing which seems to have
originated the concept. Google for image, but its basically a portable, manual
drill-press with a ratcheting mechanism. I was unaware of their existence
until sometime last year, but it has become one of my favorite tools. I had
always desired some kind of small drill-press for doing random wood/metal/pcb
work, and the Cole Drill fits the bill perfectly. It is also unique in that
the feed is advanced with a threaded sleeve which makes it possible to exert
upwards of 1000 lbs. on the bit, making it ideal for drilling hard materials.
I've yet to come across a standard motorized press that could do this. Yes,
its slow compared to a power feed, but i can't store a Delta under the sink in
my tiny ass apartment either.

------
avhon1
Another really cool style of hand drill, which this article completely missed,
is the Yankee Drill [0]. (More generically called a Push Drill.) A spade-like
drill bit cuts when turned either direction. The handle has a screw mechanism
and spring so that you can push the handle down into the work to turn the bit
one way, and lift the handle back up to turn it the other way. The up-down
motion is easy to get a hold of and very fast to do. It's _amazing_ for
drilling pilot holes and for putting holes in walls that are right next to
furniture or cabinets - the diameter of the entire tool is only 1.25 or 1.5
inches. The handle stores a variety of bits inside.

[0] [https://www.garrettwade.com/garrett-wade-yankee-push-
drill-g...](https://www.garrettwade.com/garrett-wade-yankee-push-drill-
gp.html)

~~~
panzerklein
Miniature version of this drill is called pin vise and is used widely by
modelmakers and jewelers.

~~~
chrisbennet
They look similar though so I can understand the confusion but they are
different - one is drill and the other is just a holding tool. The end of the
Yankee push drill rotates when you push or pull the handle. A pin vise just
has a chuck, similar to a drill chuck, but no mechanism to rotate the held
piece.

~~~
panzerklein
I personally have pin vise with twisted shaft and sliding collet like this one
[http://alexnld.com/product/mini-pin-vise-wood-spiral-semi-
au...](http://alexnld.com/product/mini-pin-vise-wood-spiral-semi-automatic-
hand-drill-with-chuck-for-jewelry-tool-micro-twist-bit/).

------
Blackthorn
This reminds me of a sheep shearing demonstration I saw a while ago. The
shearer first cut off a third of the sheep's wool with old fashioned scissors.
Then he pulled out some pre electrical device that was powered by an audience
volunteer at a lever/pump. This rapidly cut through the next third of the
sheep wool. The final third he took off with modern electrical shears, barely
faster than the previous gadget (though, notably, only requiring a single
human to do the job).

Sometimes you forget just how ingenious and _good_ pre electrical tools could
be.

~~~
sliverstorm
Had a similar experience with a manual earth t-auger. Really quite fast, easy,
a pleasure to use, when I wasn't hitting rocks. (but gas earth augers have the
same problem)

And, my crosscut saw goes through wood much faster than my shoddy circular saw
(which admittedly needs a new blade)

I've come to think that while power tools have clear advantages for
professionals where volume is large and time is money, we've done ourselves a
disservice abandoning simple manual tools for the average bloke. They can be
_nearly_ as fast, they cost much less, and they require virtually no
maintenance in comparison.

~~~
jacquesm
Circular saws with blunt blades are downright dangerous please be very careful
with that thing and fix that blade. The saw now requires a lot more force to
work and can get jammed in the hole far easier because it doesn't really cut
wide enough. The momentum in the blade can then cause the whole saw to jump
out and that's really scary.

~~~
sliverstorm
All the more reason for me to use my crosscut then. We'll certainly replace
the blade on the circular though.

------
exDM69
It's really sad that auger bits for braces aren't manufactured any more as far
as I can tell. There are places that sell new old stock, and there are Irwin
bits available but only in sets worth $500 (not sure if new or old stock). You
might have to pay $30 for a single bit.

I bought a bunch of random sized new old stock and I was lucky to obtain some
untouched bits when I bought a dead man's tool chest a while back.

I do woodworking exclusively with hand tools and the brace and bit is just a
great tool. It's much nicer than hassling with power drills or trying to
wrestle the work piece on the drill press. A cordless drill can get holes
drilled just fine (although there's a risk of tearout on the opposite side)
but for removing waste from mortises or other joinery a cordless drill is
useless because you don't have a reliable depth stop.

I also have an egg beater -style drill but unfortunately the chuck is broken.
I won't bother buying a new one because I'll almost certainly get one when
buying a set of old tools from someone in an online auction.

Some old hand tools are much nicer to work with than their modern
counterparts. It's not usually even much slower unless you're doing some mass
manufacturing operation with a thousand similar holes or sawcuts. I could
never afford a full shop of power tools or the space to put them in but I'm
able to do almost anything with hand tools at a fraction of the money and
space required.

~~~
vlehto
I seem to be wandering into tool making currently. What hand tools are you
most missing that are not produced anymore?

EDIT: Just noticed your other comment. I'm located in Finland too. I've had
huge trouble finding hand drill with three jack chuck. I'm seriously
considering making a small run of completely new ones.

~~~
exDM69
Are you interested in tool making professionally or as a hobby? Or a small
side business?

I'm short of a chuck for an egg beater hand drill so if you intend to produce
some, I'm interested.

If professionally, I suggest thinking about cloning old fashioned auger bits
because I'm pretty sure you could sell them in batches big enough to be
commercially viable.

If as a hobby - well do whatever you need.

There are quite a few hand tool manufacturers appearing in the past few
decades and business seems to be booming. There are new premium tools that
sell for a nice price.

A problem for commerically viable production is that there are so many old
hand tools out there, hiding in sheds and shacks, on antiques stores, kept as
decorative items, flea markets that the supply will last for at least a
century before there's going to be a shortage.

I personally need a router plane and/or a plough plane. There are new premium
ones available at $150-$200, but I'm hesitant pay that because I know I'll run
across an old Stanley 71 sooner or later.

Leave your contact information if you want to geek out about tools & crafts.

~~~
vlehto
Sorry I'm late to the party.

My idea was to make hand tools with a twist of some sort. As a small side
business at first, but maybe get bigger over time. Currently I'm working on
bit different type of pruning shears. I'd like to make "tactical" brace drill
aimed for off-road enthusiasts and military personnel.

------
mauvehaus
The hand drills have a couple of non-obvious advantages over a normal electric
drill.

First, since they're usually slower, it's harder to really screw up and drill
a blind hole too deep. As an added bonus, if you mark your depth with tape,
it's a lot harder to accidentally push the tape up the bit, and subsequently
drill too deep.

Second, I find it much easier to drill a hole perpendicular to the surface I'm
drilling in because the handle is in line with the axis of the hole. I find it
much harder to do that reliably with an electric drill.

Third, if you pull off the side handle (chef's cap), you can drill quite close
to a wall (but not a corner). The handle isn't appreciably larger in diameter
than the chuck, so you can drill straight in much closer (6-12mm) than you can
with most electric drills.

Fourth, the old ones are beautifully made, and will last forever[0].

Those are on top of the obvious advantage that they need neither a cord nor
batteries.

The downsides:

It's harder to get the bit back out; you can't just gun it and pull back like
you can with an electric drill. Also, you can't crank in reverse. That usually
just loosens the chuck.

You can't really maintain the speed you need to get a clean hole with a brad-
point bit. Or maybe that just comes with practice? I haven't managed it yet.

The single speed ones are pretty well done for by the time you hit a 1/4"/6mm
bit, especially with a smaller drill.

I have a Miller's Falls #5, and a Goodell-Pratt 5 1/2 [1]. The Goodell-Pratt
has a low gear that really ups the capacity to drill larger diameter holes in
hardwood.

The Miller's Falls #5 has a double pinion, which I prefer to the single pinion
on the Goodell-Pratt. The gearbox on the Goodell-Pratt is also slightly fussy,
but it does have a ball bearing thrust bearing.

[0] Can't resist, here's one of mine:
[https://www.instagram.com/p/BSkaD6iA1BP/?taken-
by=teaandsawd...](https://www.instagram.com/p/BSkaD6iA1BP/?taken-
by=teaandsawdust) [1]
[http://oldtoolheaven.com/hand_drills/drill3.htm](http://oldtoolheaven.com/hand_drills/drill3.htm)

~~~
maccard
Don't forget that an electric drill is insulated. So if you hit mains
electricity (like I did last week) you just get a loud bang and a scare.

~~~
vlehto
I know few guys who have gotten through 400v main with an excavator and just
loud bang and scare. Those excavators are not insulated in any way, but the
cockpit does make Faraday cage. I think they usually continue working after
booting every on board computer and getting a new bucket.

The amount of insulation you need is minimal as the excavator blade/drill bit
will work as conductor and most of the current then just follows the path it
normally would. The flash and bang come from the short period of time when
there is small air gap between the electric line and the tool being used and
then that gap gets welded shut really fast.

The amount of insulation you need might well be reached with just wooden
handles on the drill. Or wearing rubber sole shoes.

~~~
jacquesm
I would not take that chance. 400 V to 600 V is the real danger zone in
electricity, high enough to do serious damage in a short time, low enough not
to arc until it is much too late. Added to that that you're going to be sweaty
and that soil conditions might give you good conductance that's an easy way to
die.

------
Tiktaalik
I was told a story by a Canadian Forces mechanic about how he used a hand
drill to do some underwater repairs on a float plane pontoon while in a remote
area up North.

I'm not sure if hand powered tools are part of a standard repair kit for the
Canadian military or if he was just being extra cautious in including some in
his kit, but one can see how they could be useful when working in remote areas
without power.

~~~
dsfyu404ed
Hand tools are light, reliable, do not require external power and consume
little space which make them better suited to remote environments than power
tools.

------
jacquesm
So, after all that hand powered stuff, here is a story about the Whole Hawg
(and Unix) by Neal Stephenson:

[http://www.team.net/mjb/hawg.html](http://www.team.net/mjb/hawg.html)

------
pasbesoin
Fiskars makes a hand drill. I bought one on the spur of the moment when I
thought I'd be helping a friend's kid with a "build your own toy" project.
That didn't happen, and I haven't actually tried it, yet.

Happy with most of their other stuff, though (trimming tools, hand saw, ...).
I should have a look for it -- somewhere around here.

~~~
exDM69
Sadly, Fiskars is one of those declining companies that are taking part in a
race to the bottom with price and quality. Being from Finland (where Fiskars
is from), it's often the default go-to brand for gardening equipment and
similar. I bought a shovel that bent before I got any dirt moved with it.
Recently I saw them sell products with "quick change" handles, selling
expensive changeable handles to a product (some gardening tool) that should
either come with a handle that lasts or an easy to replace wooden handle.
Planned obsolescence and after market ripoff all the way.

Their scissors are great. Axes are alright. Although the problem with both is
the gray, stainless steel they're made of (I jokingly call it "Fiskarsium").
It stays sharp-ish quite well but is really difficult to sharpen to razor
sharp.

Old fashioned carbon steel would be much easier to sharpen but it rusts (if
not oiled) and doesn't stay sharp as long. Perhaps it's just that modern tools
are expected to do a mediocre job despite years of neglect.

Maybe I'm old fashioned when I am willing to do a few minutes of maintenance
in order to get a tool that works well.

Fwiw. I bought a Swedish-made Hultafors axe with hand forged carbon steel
blade and a wooden handle. You need to sharpen it regularly, oil it after use
and might have to change the handle after a few years but boy does it chop
wood. The downside is that I've had to explain to several people why I bought
a Swedish axe and not a Fiskars.

~~~
pasbesoin
I have a small, child's/sewing type Fiskars scissors from a number of years
ago. Made in U.S.A. -- even then, they'd grown beyond Finland. It's held up
quite well.

But I needed a larger model; the "generic" office scissors I had in that size
didn't take long to become fairly useless. I happened across a Fiskars model
while shopping for other stuff. It even has a non-stick coating -- might be
useful when cutting tape, something that's been gumming up the generic. I took
a chance and bought it. We'll see, but on the package: Made in China.

P.S. It's just been my observation with numerous brands and products, that
when manufacture has moved to China, quality has declined.

------
oxplot
A video of the guy behind Primitive Technology channel on YT making a pump
drill:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEl-Y1NvBVI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEl-Y1NvBVI)

------
chrissnell
If you enjoyed this, you must watch the PBS documentary about Dick Proenneke,
who built an amazing cabin in the Alaskan bush using hand tools, many of which
he completed on-site.

He was alone out there and shot the footage himself, Les Stroud-style, decades
before Les made his first episode of Survivorman:

[http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHhsu-
Vn6jZpBMVJ5Wnciz...](http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHhsu-
Vn6jZpBMVJ5Wncizf0wrCw1C0-V)

------
dsfyu404ed
Hand drills are great for when you need to drill pilot holes to install stuff
in your dorm room or cheap apartment.

Drilling through metal is where they really fall flat on their face. It's hard
to keep a reasonable feed rate if the tool isn't in great condition or the
work it not positioned conveniently.

Accuracy also isn't that great, especially where a lot of pressure (metal) is
needed or in awkward positions and that's with a power drill. A hand drill
that you have to power would be even worse.

~~~
vlehto
Agreed. But my experience with drilling metal with handheld power drill was so
unsatisfying that I'd be glad to have an excuse to never try it again.

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
Metal fabrication is my day job...

To drill mild steel (regular old steel, containing 0.05–0.25% carbon, used for
most things you see made of steel, like structural steel and most car body
components) you need to use high-speed steel[1] drill bits, and they need to
be sharp. With the correct speed and feed rate drilling mild steel with a
power drill is quite doable, up to about 12mm diameter hole in 12mm thick
plate.

Regular stainless steels, 304 and 316 grades, are drilled with the same drill
bits but slower, lower feed rates, and with constant cooling using a cutting
fluid.

I've seen people try to drill steel with drill bits intended for timber, or
blunt drill bits, this isn't going to work.

YouTube has good videos of how to sharpen drill bits. Worth learning, but
mostly impractical on anything below about 3mm diameter (1/8th inch).

1\. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-
speed_steel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_steel)

~~~
dsfyu404ed
Pretty much all off consumer tooling is HSS. People just use way too much
speed and cook them. It doesn't help that most aren't too sharp to begin with.
Ever since I bought a drill bit sharpener (faster for the same quality as
doing it by hand on a grinder) I've been using my hss tooling more.

For steel that just needs a hole and will be drilled with a hand (power) drill
I've found that masonry bits are king. A small pilot keeps them from walking
and the carbide tips hold an edge very well. For truck frame rivets in
accessible locations it's faster and cleaner than a torch. The straight
cutting edges are also very easy to grind.

------
pawelk
I have recently bought a brace type hand drill and I prefer it over my
cordless drill. It is great not only for drilling, I also use it to drive all
types of screws since it will accept any bit the powered version would. It
provides more torque than a screwdriver and is more pleasant to operate than a
socket wrench.

~~~
cr0sh
> It provides more torque than a screwdriver and is more pleasant to operate
> than a socket wrench.

Look up what a "speed wrench" is - it's basically a brace-type socket wrench,
designed for working with sockets. Usually used for automotive repair work,
but I imagine that anything with a bolt/nut could be attacked with it,
provided there's clearance of course...

------
Animats
There are some heavy-duty hand drills on Alibaba.[1] It's not a dead
technology.

[1] [https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Double-Pinion-Two-
Spe...](https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Double-Pinion-Two-Speeds-Cast-
Iron_60239913712.html)

~~~
userbinator
$9.90 each when you buy a case of 500? That's amazingly cheap.

Amusingly enough, the brand name has been conspicuously censored in all the
images, but I can make out the German(!?) text "2-Gang Handbohrmaschine" and a
website "westfalia.de" \--- which makes me wonder if they're making fakes of
[https://www.westfalia.de/shops/werkzeug/handwerkzeuge/bohren...](https://www.westfalia.de/shops/werkzeug/handwerkzeuge/bohren/handbohrer/631457-westfalia-
handbohrmaschine-2-gang-1-10-mm-schnellspannbohrfutter.htm) (which sell for
almost 3x as much) or are actually the OEM.

------
spodek
Lowtechmagazine.com is a site worth reading article after article.

------
basicplus2
I would love to see a full series of steps to boot strap from nothing through
all the improving tools required to build a high quality lathe.

So many disciplines need to come together.

------
oakesm9
If you're interested in seeing someone make these take a look at this
Primitive Technology video and the others he produces:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEl-Y1NvBVI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEl-Y1NvBVI)

Make sure you turn on captions to see descriptions of what's going on.

------
skykooler
Another hand-powered drilling tool not mentioned here is the pin vise, which
works by means of a collar sliding up and down a spiraled shaft. They are used
for drilling small, precise holes, using drill bits that would be easily
broken by the greater torque of a power drill.

~~~
oasisbob
Are you sure that's called a pin vise? I thought a pin vise was just a collet
on a handle. (I.e. think a drill which made a baby with a screwdriver.)

------
cpr
Ah, yes, included the Millers Falls two-handed drill we have for timber frame
mortising. (Haven't done much lately.)

Great tool, though admittedly much slower than electric chain morticers. But
certainly more meditative...

------
unit91
> Silent, safe, flexible, forgiving

should read "Silent, safe, _slow_ , flexible, forgiving, _frustrating_ "

