Treadle Drill

[Stanleymonkey]

Picked up this beauty today from a lovely guy in Chelmsford.

All runs very smoothly just the 'drill' that is stuck and in need of some oil.

It was originally used for dentistry. Does anyone have any knowledge of how the drills fixed into the chuck? I guess there must be some sort of flat / notch arrangement - but I've never seen any of the bits that it is actually used with.

Apologies for poor quality of photos. I'm not a very good photographer.

 

[AndyT]

What fun!

The Internet Archive has some good old catalogues of dental equipment. Detailed illustrations might match yours and confirm the chuck arrangements. Eg this one from Claudius Ash

https://archive.org/details/b21522169

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Thanks Andy

What an amazing book

The handpiece is on page 147 - beautiful exploded drawing

 

[Bm101]

What a fantastic thread. If you could sort the mechanics of the bit holding. that could be a good tool for delicate drilling although in my simple way I wonder of you haven't stumbled on the ultimate Dremel substitute for close control and metal work.
(We all see with the glasses that fit eh?).
Great stuff. Thanks for posting! Look forward to any updates S.M.
Cheers.
Chris

 

[CHJ]

It was originally used for dentistry.

Yes and damed unpleasant they were too.
Had several aquaintances with one of them in the front bedroom of the School House at Sytchhampton shool in the late 1940's when the visiting dentist called.

 

[AndyT]

Well that was a lucky hit!

As Chris says, there could be all sorts of painless practical applications - though getting a complete set of accessories could be quite a challenge... :wink:

 

[Stanleymonkey]

What a fantastic thread. If you could sort the mechanics of the bit holding. that could be a good tool for delicate drilling although in my simple way I wonder of you haven't stumbled on the ultimate Dremel substitute for close control and metal work.
(We all see with the glasses that fit eh?).
Great stuff. Thanks for posting! Look forward to any updates S.M.
Cheers.
Chris

Spooky (or great minds think alike!)

That's exactly what I have in mind! I want to lower the vertical post (without damaging anything) and shorten the string so I can use it with children. I'm thinking rotary sanders and Dremel like things.

My own children will be the guinea pigs first of all.

 

[GarF]

The British Dental Association have a museum- you might get some useful leads from there. The torque on treadle powered systems was much better than the modern air driven but the vibration must have been dreadful working at such slow speed!

Good luck putting it to more civilised use.
G

 

[Stanleymonkey]

I'll give them a try - thanks for the heads up

 

[DTR]

That's awesome, what a great find! It did remind me of SWMBO's Foredom (posh Dremel) as soon as I saw it