Hand drill rebuilt

Here is a hand drill, initially made in PRC, but enhanced in my shop :rolleyes:

The tool came with some ugly ugly handles, maybe with more poly varnish than wood, an yet it couldn't hide the badly turned wood it was.
In addition, the chuck was awful , it could not hold small drill bits (<= 3mm) and did not turn round.

So my fix was to first replace the handles by homemade ones, turned out of beech,and finished with oil.
Then I replaced the chuck and its arbor, after reboring the bottom hole, so that it turns round.

And now, it works very well, and it is a pleasure to use ! This kind of tool is too much disregarded or neglected, I feel. It is efficient, green, and allows a very good control of the axis of the drilling.

http://www.labellenote.fr/file/homem...hignole_01.jpg

http://www.labellenote.fr/file/homem...hignole_02.jpg

Great work Christophe. The handles look comfortable to the touch. Import tools these days smh.

Al

Love the improved look of the hand drill. This is the type of drill my Dad had from the 1940's and I used when first learning how to build in wood. I still have it.

Thanks Christophe! I've added your Hand Drill Modifications to our Drilling and Drill Presses category, as well as to your builder page: Christophe Mineau's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="/hand-drill-modifications"><img src="/uploads/109505/hand-drill-modifications.jpeg" alt="Hand Drill Modifications" /></a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="/hand-drill-modifications">Hand Drill Modifications</a> <span> by <a href="/builder/Christophe+Mineau">Christophe Mineau</a></span> </div> <div class="tags"> tags: <a href="/tag/drill">drill</a>, <a href="/tag/hand-tools">hand tools</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>

Like you, Christophe, I enjoy making a crappy cheapo tool look and feel like something more worthwhile.

Lovely job on the handles :thumbsup:

Regards

Doc :hattip:

Looks good where did the new chuck come from?

Nice .... :bow::bow:

:hattip:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jere

Looks good where did the new chuck come from?

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This chuck is an extension chuck with an hex shaft designed to be used on power screw drivers.
It is pretty well designed and precise, so I used it as a replacement chuck here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Christophe Mineau

Here is a hand drill, initially made in PRC, but enhanced in my shop :rolleyes:

The tool came with some ugly ugly handles, maybe with more poly varnish than wood, an yet it couldn't hide the badly turned wood it was.
In addition, the chuck was awful , it could not hold small drill bits (<= 3mm) and did not turn round.

So my fix was to first replace the handles by homemade ones, turned out of beech,and finished with oil.
Then I replaced the chuck and its arbor, after reboring the bottom hole, so that it turns round.

And now, it works very well, and it is a pleasure to use ! This kind of tool is too much disregarded or neglected, I feel. It is efficient, green, and allows a very good control of the axis of the drilling.

http://www.labellenote.fr/file/homem...hignole_01.jpg

http://www.labellenote.fr/file/homem...hignole_02.jpg

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I have had the same experience with a couple of hand drills I picked up at a yard sale. One was very tiny, I cannot recall the name on it. It was hard to turn, broken handles, and a frozen chuck. They guy let me have it for a buck. I put another two or three in more into getting it going. After fixing the gears that did not mesh very well, it works like a champ. Glad to see you rescued it, instead of pitching it into the scrap pile.
Ron

Nicely done, Christophe!

Great tips and it turned out really nice. I'm more and more certain that I want to found a secondhand one and rstorate it. Especially a small one.

Great job Christophe, nice to see old tools refurbished and improved.

This was revived by an emai, and I'm glad it was. Nice job!
As much as I avoid cheapie tools, I still acquire them through many means, such as tool lots, family and friends hand-me-downs, and some materializing out of thin air.
I always like the notion of fixing and improving what you already have on hand, rather than buying something new, especially if the bones are worthy. No tool is insignificant enough to not improve, if you use it. Of course, I've got into a couple of Eastern origin tools that had metals that were soft enough to melt with a hard stare, but as with all light duty tools, your technique has as much to do with their lifespan as does the base materials.
I don't believe I've ever looked into improving a hand drill like this, but now I'm going to look at a few of mine and pick one to duplicate this effort with.