Leytool info

[ajmacleod]

While I wait for a long-fancied Leytool hand drill and intriguing "endless hacksaw" to come from their respective EBay sellers, does anyone have a copy of the original instruction leaflets for either of these, or even any pictures of the guts?

I have been looking for a hand drill for a while and the Leytool one caught my eye as a sturdy and well thought out alternative to the million variations on the usual eggbeater design... the hacksaw design also looks inspired, though I have a nagging suspicion there must be a good reason why nobody makes a copy of it today!

 

[NazNomad]

Not manuals, but ...

http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/e/e ... oneJig.jpg

http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/c/c ... Leyton.jpg

http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicat ... 7049A&KC=A

 

[bugbear]

While I wait for a long-fancied Leytool hand drill and intriguing "endless hacksaw" to come from their respective EBay sellers, does anyone have a copy of the original instruction leaflets for either of these, or even any pictures of the guts?

I have been looking for a hand drill for a while and the Leytool one caught my eye as a sturdy and well thought out alternative to the million variations on the usual eggbeater design... the hacksaw design also looks inspired, though I have a nagging suspicion there must be a good reason why nobody makes a copy of it today!

Ooh - I'd forgotten about the endless hacksaw, having seen it in catalogues, and been intrigued.

Do report back, in the metalwork section if need be.

BugBear

 

[ajmacleod]

Not manuals, but ...
http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/e/e ... oneJig.jpg
http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/c/c ... Leyton.jpg
http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicat ... 7049A&KC=A

Brilliant, thanks - I'd seen the Grace's Guide links before but not the patent drawing which tells me exactly what I was interested in knowing.

 

[ajmacleod]

must be a good reason why nobody makes a copy of it today!

Ooh - I'd forgotten about the endless hacksaw, having seen it in catalogues, and been intrigued.
Do report back, in the metalwork section if need be.
[/quote]

I will do once I've had call to use it... I hadn't ventured across the metalwork section yet despite doing at least as much metalwork as I do woodwork (which actually is not that much due to time restraints, but I've certainly learned a lot here which has made my woodworking time more productive.) I've also learned about the existence of many kinds of tool that I wasn't previously aware I needed

 

[Rhyolith]

The little Leytool drill I have is just a standard single pinion drill inside, nothing fancy. They are just a robust compact drill, the main advantage to them is the compactness. The other drill next to the Leytool here is more or less identical in terms of the mechanics of the gears etc.
Untitled by Rhyolith, on Flickr
Untitled by Rhyolith, on Flickr

 

[ajmacleod]

Simple and robust is good as far as I'm concerned! The compact size certainly appealed as did the fully enclosed design and rigid handle.

I'm still traumatised by the Toolstation-sourced hand drill my son was given a year or two back... I genuinely didn't think it would be possible to mess up producing a tool to a simple design that's been around for centuries, but this thing is utterly useless. The chuck is rubbish, neither of the handles stay put in any situation, the whole thing is bent and twisted and the gearing intermittent and hopeless. Drilling a hole with it is virtually impossible.

I do have a perfectly good Makita cordless drill but I've enjoyed hand-tool only woodworking so much over the past three years or so that it kind of annoys me to use that one power tool on my woodwork projects! (Plus it goes for so long without being used that the batteries are invariably flat when I do want it.) For bigger jobs I have a brace which has really surprised me with its effectiveness.

 

[Rhyolith]

All new hand drills I have come across are rubbish, older is better with hand drills.

Leytools are decent, but you can get far better. I would actually dis-courage having a Leytool as your only hand drill as the more traditional types (egg-beaters) are nicer to use for the majority of tasks, the leytool only really comes into its own for drill in tight spaces.

A few makers names to look out for: Millers Falls, North Bros, SIF,

This is my personal favourite small hand drill, it will go into spaces almost as tight as the little leytool and has a nicer mechanism; Plus the magical double ratchet!
North Brothers "Yankee" No.1530 by Rhyolith, on Flickr
North Brothers "Yankee" No.1530 by Rhyolith, on Flickr

 

[SteveW1000]

I live within a couple of hundred metres of where the factory stood. As said the drill is great if you need to get into a small space but something like a Stanley 803 is much nicer to use generally. The ones towards the end of production were cheapened with a plastic body rather than the metal body of the original ones. Been trying to collect various leytool bits as time goes on. The endless hacksaw is a great design, doesn't work much better than the really cheap saw handles so no wonder that no one else copied that design.

Steve