Old school tools: how they made stuff without power

[JeeperCreeper]

This isn't profound and I'm far from any kind of expert, but a popular tourist place up near Anchorage is Independence Mine at Hatcher Pass.

I take family there and adventure often, but I decided to snap a few pics from this week's trip. Figured people on here would enjoy looking at the old tools they used from the 20's-50's when there was no real power in the mountains of Alaska.

Truly, 1800's era tech used a century later. Everything was diesel, water, steam up here still.

Coolest things are the old manual crank drills and drill press. I would like to get a few pieces from a yard sale or estate or something. Because I know they are around. I just hope they aren't collectibles now in value.

[JeeperCreeper]

Pics

[JeeperCreeper]

More pics

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

I've actually got one of those manual crank drills. Picked it up at a local thrift store for like 5 bucks.

If shipping wasn't a pain in the ass, I'd offer to send it to you, JeeperCreeper.

[Halfapint]

I've got a lot of older tech that my grandpa had. Manual drill, a push drill for smaller holes, shave horse, draw knives, fro's, etc. keeping all that just in case.

[flybynight]

I've actually got one of those manual crank drills. Picked it up at a local thrift store for like 5 bucks.
Dad's 
If shipping wasn't a pain in the ass, I'd offer to send it to you, JeeperCreeper my.

It's called a brace. I have two of my Dad's. One ok and the other pretty fine . I have a bunch of my Dad and Grandfathers hand tools. I have a clamshell post hole digger that's over a hundred years old . Still works great. I broke one of the oak handles a few years ago. Took the other side off too and put new handles on it. The old oak handles I'm going to use to re handle my Dad's old butcher knives, cleavers and other butcher tools

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

I've actually got one of those manual crank drills. Picked it up at a local thrift store for like 5 bucks.
Dad's
If shipping wasn't a pain in the ass, I'd offer to send it to you, JeeperCreeper my.

It's called a brace. I have two of my Dad's. One ok and the other pretty fine . I have a bunch of my Dad and Grandfathers hand tools. I have a clamshell post hole digger that's over a hundred years old . Still works great. I broke one of the oak handles a few years ago. Took the other side off too and put new handles on it. The old oak handles I'm going to use to re handle my Dad's old butcher knives, cleavers and other butcher tools

Neat.

I've always just called it a crank drill.

[majorhavoc]

Well, there are two kinds of hand crank drills (three, if you count a Yankee drill fitted with a drill bit).  There's the eggbeater style, where the crank axis is perpendicular to the drill bit, and the brace, which is cranked in line with the drill bit. 

Eggbeater:







In a former life, I was really into woodworking with traditional hand tools.  Since I was self taught I never got to what I'd say was super proficient.  But I could do dovetail joints and mortice and tenon joinery, so I was competent enough to enjoy making things. 

I still have a few representative pieces from my old collection: various hand planes, chisels, saws, marking tools, drills, brace and bit, etc.  I discovered that it takes far more skill to perform a given woodworking task with a nonpowered hand tool than it does using a power drill or a circular saw.

I also learned how important it is to keep hand tools sharp.  Like really sharp.  Like "refine your understanding of sharp" sharp.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

The second one is the type I have. The brace type.

I haven't really used it and most I've done with it is take it apart to clean it.

[MacWa77ace]

My Dad had both of those kind of drills. I couldn't take them when he was getting rid of them due to my apartment living and storage capacity, so I didn't get those.

He also had these ratchet drill drivers. Forward and reverse. They were also cordless and batteryless. He also had a pretty modern micro one that I remember using to predrill the outside Christmas light hook holes on the inside eves of the house.



He also had a bunch of different handsaws for ripping and cross cutting wood, when he wasn't using his table saw. I didn't think about this until just now, but all those non electric tools are apocalypse prepper gold. 

I did get most of his mechanics tools, and Grandad's.

[majorhavoc]

My Dad had both of those kind of drills. I couldn't take them when he was getting rid of them due to my apartment living and storage capacity, so I didn't get those.

He also had these ratchet drill drivers. Forward and reverse. They were also cordless and batteryless. He also had a pretty modern micro one that I remember using to predrill the outside Christmas light hook holes on the inside eves of the house.



He also had a bunch of different handsaws for ripping and cross cutting wood, when he wasn't using his table saw. I didn't think about this until just now, but all those non electric tools are apocalypse prepper gold. 

I did get most of his mechanics tools, and Grandad's.

Those ratchet drill drivers are what I meant by "Yankee drill". I think I should have said "Yankee screwdriver ".  You can often find them in good condition on ebay or in antique stores. Often with the slotted screwdriver bit and, less frequently, with a Phillips head bit. Rarest of all is a working specimen with an assortment of the proprietary drill bits keyed to fit the tool's archaic chuck design.  I believe some company makes new versions of this tool and I bet those accept standard hex shank bits.

It's an elegant, electricity-free alternative to a power drill-driver. The fastener driving function in particular. With a bit of practice and some elbow grease, it's nearly as fast as driving screws with a cordless driver.

As Mac says, non-powered hand tools make a lot of sense if you're prepping for a grid-down future.

[MacWa77ace]

@majorhavoc
"Yankee", I couldn't think of the name so I went descriptive CC. LOL, thanks.

[majorhavoc]

Yeah, and 'Yankee' has certain connotations. Although in this case, I think the label comes from the original manufacturer and patent holder.

"Ratcheting" is probably the safer way of describing it.  But assuming we are talking about the same category of tool, the real magic comes from a spring tensioned central shaft that telescopes into the handle.  It's cut with 2 spiral grooves that engage an internal guide pin (one for clockwise rotation, the other counter clockwise).  When you push on the handle, the guide pin tracks in the appropriate groove and rotates the bit in the desired direction.

[MacWa77ace]

I used to watch the 'new yankee workshop' and then this other guy that used handmade tools to build stuff and he'd often devote a show to building tools. Roy Underhill. Think it was 'the woodwright's shop'



https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+woodwright%27s+shop

[majorhavoc]

Yeah, Roy was really old school. Like in a few episodes he'd cut the bejessus out of his finger on a spokeshave or some such. Suck on it until the worst of the pain subsided, wrap it in a most-definitely-not-sterile rag and then proceed to continue working on the candle stick or whatever. All as the camera rolled on while he joked about how this piece was now going to be stained 'dark cherry". 

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

I've got a couple ratcheting screwdrivers, but none of them look like the one in Majorhavoc's post.

They don't have the telescoping shaft, which would come in handy for some of the stuff I've used them for in the past.

[MacWa77ace]

I have one of those also. But the thing about those yankee drivers was that if you predrilled the hole or were really good with it, it could do two or three full turns on a screw with one push. Where the one you and I have gives you maybe a quarter turn per twist.

[JeeperCreeper]

Man, I'm learning a crap ton with this topic, thank you all!