
Hand powered drilling tools and machines (2010) - bane
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/12/hand-powered-drilling-tools-and-machines.html
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arethuza
~20 years ago I knew a guy who had done programming with a hand drill.

He was maintaining an old mainframe that ran a steel plant and had to modify
the boot sequence. Originally the device booted from paper tape but over the
years/decades the paper tape had been replaced by a stout piece of leather. So
to modify the boot code he had to resort to a hand drill!

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jacquesm
One very good reason for using a hand drilling tool (one without gearing) is
when you drill in hardwoods and you want the hole wall to be wood rather than
charcoal. This is a very important thing when drilling up the holes for pins
in old pianos, if the hole walls burn during the drilling then the piano will
not keep tune.

By using a hand tool you are purposefully limiting your speed (you may still
need to stop in between to let the wood cool).

Hand drilling tools still have their place, the above is just one example of
many like it. But for most purposes a motorized tool (electricity, air,
gasoline) is more convenient and a lot faster.

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LeifCarrotson
You can set your speed and feed rate much more precisely (even slower, if you
like) on a drill press or lathe.

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jacquesm
Try mounting your piano frame on a drill press or a lathe :)

There are actually magnetic drill presses specifically for the purpose that
you somehow stick to a piece of nearby cast iron. tricky to get them lined up
exactly with the old bore.

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gchpaco
Bit braces (the C shaped tools) are also the finest Phillips screwdrivers
available, I've found. The design makes it easy to exert a lot of force to
prevent the bit from camming out, and the amount of torque one can generate is
astounding. Braces are measured by the diameter of the rotation; most good
ones are in the 8"-10" range, which is probably more appropriate for casual
use. 14" and up were generally for driving big augers, and you need every bit
of that torque. I have a 6" one that is cute and small but not actually all
that useful due to jaw issues.

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exDM69
The brace and bit is still the tool of choice for fine woodworking and cabinet
making. It's much more precise than using a power tool and it's easier to
control the speed and torque to avoid tearout. It's also useful when removing
the bulk of the waste for joinery such as dados or mortises, before finishing
the job with a chisel or a router plane or such.

A drill press is better if you have one available and the workpiece is small
enough to fit. I wouldn't choose a hand tool for bigger construction projects
if there's a very large number of holes to be drilled or screws to be
attached.

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WalterBright
I use a hand drill for quick holes in soft material, because it is faster than
dealing with the electric drill, extension cord, etc.

Not mentioned are air powered drills. Those tend to be powerful and very
small, meaning they work great in tight spaces.

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maxerickson
Lithium ion powered drills are very competitive in the convenience niche. The
battery stays usefully charged for months at a time (an issue with other types
of cordless drill batteries). The smaller ones aren't even all that expensive.

(Not that I'm down on the hand powered ones, their batteries never get
stale...)

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WalterBright
I gave up on battery drills. The battery would always run down with the screw
halfway in. Then it's go get the corded drill anyway. Might as well start with
the corded one.

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phyllostachys
You need to try one of these[1]. I finally bought one and everyone who has
used it loves it, so far. I suppose it isn't really the best for putting in
screws but it works wonders on any sort of drilling (bit or spade).

[1] - [http://www.gemplers.com/img/dewalt-cordless-impact-
WEB163363...](http://www.gemplers.com/img/dewalt-cordless-impact-
WEB163363.jpg)

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furyg3
The guy over at the primitive technology vlog on YouTube just added a neat
video of himself making a cord drill and a pump drill.
[http://youtu.be/ZEl-Y1NvBVI](http://youtu.be/ZEl-Y1NvBVI)

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LeifCarrotson
Discussed here a few days ago at
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10956658](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10956658)

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vlehto
>Hand braces have remained in use ever since, although they can be difficult
to find today.

As bushcraft enthusiast/scout located in a Nordic country, this would be
ideal. During a week long camp you might not be able to charge your drill. And
during the winter Li-ion batteries die. I've been searching for one with three
jaw chuck for some years now. (So it would be compatible with modern drill
bits.) I've found one geared drill which had four jaw chuck, didn't hold any
bit. And some very old and rusty ones that require special bits.

Seriously sell me one. I'd be willing to pay 30e for one, and maybe more.

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8ig8
> By far, my favorite brace is the North Bros. Yankee 2101A brace

> The alligator-style chuck jaws close tightly and quickly on square-shanked
> auger bits or round-shanked twist bits.

From:

[http://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/chris-
sc...](http://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/chris-schwarz-
blog/the-essential-brace-bit)

There's a few listed on eBay now:

[http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m5...](http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.TRS0&_nkw=Yankee+2101A+brace&_sacat=0)

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vlehto
Thanks for trying.

20$ shipping for 30$ tool, while they are mostly two jaw versions. So it's 50$
for something that might be crap and at very least would require me to hunt
for vintage set of drill bits. Despite the fact that I already own two modern
sets.

~~~
david-given
Is there any reason why you couldn't retrofit a modern drill chuck onto a hand
drill shaft? If all else fails, you could custom make a shaft which the old
drill chuck could hold which you could attach the new chuck to.

~~~
vlehto
Not really good reasons. It's just difficult to find them in Finland. All
available shafts and chucks are about 30e individually. You can buy decent
looking electric drill with that same 60e, so it sounds like ripoff.

Meanwhile any yanks should enjoy their big internal market. :P

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dsfyu404ed
I'm not sure how the author missed the cole drill. Maybe he never wanted to
drill holes in metal.

[http://coledrill.blogspot.com/](http://coledrill.blogspot.com/)

