Yankee Doodle Dandy

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Scouse

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First of all, if you are after a jaw-dropping rebuild WIP of Wallace proportions, keep right on walking, there’s nothing to see here. If, on the other hand, you enjoy endless detail about the minutiae of a reasonable example of a basic handtool, then put the kettle on; there's not much about them online so it's worthwhile pushing the boat out a bit.

As I noted in another thread, for some reason I find the number of mechanical methods our species has found to put a hole in something fascinating. The somewhat inevitable result of this is that over the years I have owned and restored a few drills; fairly recent English Stanleys, mid century Leytools, early 20th century Millers Falls and their Goodell-Pratt, Mohawk-Shelburne variants, hand drills, breast drills, on and on goes the list.

I would like to tell you that the opportunity to pick up a Yankee was irresistible, that I had been on the lookout etc. But the truth is that I didn’t even recognise it as the early morning mist cleared from my hungover brain and I spotted a breast drill plate sticking out of a box, which promised the possibility of yielding a side handle for an early (1915-21) green main gear Millers Falls number 12 I had just finished restoring.



Out of the box came the drill, I remained impassive as the chap accepted a fiver for what I now knew was unlikely to become a handle donor...



... Because it is a North Bros. Yankee 1555 ratcheting breast drill. It was very dirty on arrival at the Scouse residence, the actual model obscured by a thick layer of grease, but it was given a wipe and put to one side for cleaning and general restoration.



Many moons ago the hidden mechanism of a Leytool drill, and the associated difficulty in opening said tool, resulted in my speculation that the drill might be powered by magic, treadmills and a colony of a revolutionary pixies existing in a utopian Marxist society, underpinned by a workers co-operative.

I was wrong. But I was prepared to believe that something similar was afoot inside the seemingly incomprehensible workings of this drill. Turn it forward and it spins, turn it backward and it still spins in the same direction! Must be magic. I was wrong again, but old fashioned engineering, it would appear, is better than new age hocus pocus.

Having once tried to take apart a fairly modern Stanley Yankee screwdriver and ending up with bits of brass and rude words flying around the workshop, my bottle went and the drill sat on a shelf with an air of dishevelled superiority and a slight musty smell. A bit like the royal family.

So here we are, almost a year later, and I have finally plucked up the courage to take it apart.

The chuck unscrewed, as you would expect. No surprises yet, except for the fact that the dirt is sitting on an even coat of grease which has protected the drill and meant that there are no seized screws.



As a result the chuck comes apart with ease. It’s similar to the Ryther’s chuck found on some Millers Falls drills (and an example here), but the internal top pressure plate (as it is now called!) is machined away to accept the tops of the jaws. On a Ryther’s chuck the jaws are simply held in place below the pressure plate by ‘S’ springs and a wider profile (the three of them held together form a cone); in this case they have flat sides sitting in the machined underside of the pressure plate.



The three jaws are held on by ‘S’ shaped springs which hook over the plate and are slipped into slots cut into the jaw. Unlike the Millers Falls chuck, the Yankee jaws have a small square machined out with a pin pressed into it, through which is drilled a hole. It really is as complicated as it sounds; why would they not just drill a hole in the jaw?



At this point I would point out an ongoing theme regarding the Victorian level of thought and over-engineering present on the drill.

A quick example or two:

The end of the side handle, has a flat ground into it, which acts as a screwdriver for the various screws present, allowing maintenance without the need for an extra tool, as you can see from the helpful picture below, demonstrating the use of a screwdriver.





The top of the frame where the breast plate is attached has a pin which fits into one of two holes in the plate for repositioning at angles 90 degrees apart, very precise. It seems like a complicated step to use a system such as this rather than simply machine a divot in the side and put a machine screw through the edge of the plate as with other drills of the period. Thus;





Yet in spite of this engineering flamboyance, I read on the Old Tools List that the metallurgy used by North Bros. results in a weakness in the gears which means they commonly lose teeth. A strange anomaly which I suspect will result in me using this drill less than I would otherwise; 1/8th inch pilot holes maybe. That's what it was made for...
 
Great stuff. I think the infinite number of ways to make a hole in something is only exceeded by the infinite number of ways to hold a cutting edge in a block of wood or metal. :wink:
 
Scouse":2mkxfchl said:
Yet in spite of this engineering flamboyance, I read on the Old Tools List that the metallurgy used by North Bros. results in a weakness in the gears which means they commonly lose teeth.
Too true (sigh). My No.1555...
1555aML.jpg
1555bHL.jpg
...and part of my No.545.
1545aaHL.jpg
1545bHL.jpg


The No.545 and No.1545 are smaller versions of the No.1555 (the No.545 has a two-jaw chuck). I have one of each - both broken.

However, my No.1555 works very well - though it's seldom used due to it's size - but I love the way i can hear the gear mechanism just purr as it turns.

Cheers, Vann.
 

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Nice drill! I got one too plus some more (no, I'm not a drill addict, I could stop anytime!).

Claus
 

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It's hard to be sure Claus, but of Yankee "eggbeaters" in the third photo I think I see: a No.1555 and two No.1545. And in the second photo maybe a No.1530?

Cheers, Vann.
 
What a great collection Claus; 4 of the 2100/2101 braces! Very jealous!

Apologies for the delay in the next installment of the strip down, by the way. I teach during the early part of the week, so Thursday and Friday are pretty much the only days I get enough free time to upload pictures etc, and even then it's tight!. :-({|=
 
More pictures about my Yankee drills:

From left: 1555 - 1455 - 1545 - 1445


From left: 75 - 50 - 1435A - 130 - 1500



Nice, aren't they?

Claus
 

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clauskeller":2nkj7yzh said:
no, I'm not a drill addict, I could stop anytime!
Yeah, me too :!: :wink:

YankeesMLa.jpg
From L-R: Yankee No.1530; No.1530; No.1545; No.545; and No.1555.
YankeesHMb.jpg
YankeesMLc.jpg
Note the different length of crank arm. Both are No.1530 (not No.1530A). The top one I tarted-up for my 10yo daughter.

Mine aren't in as good condition as yours Claus (I'm a bottom feeder :roll: ). The No.545 and No.1545 will make one working drill (most likely a No.1545). The brazed crank wheel was on the No.1545. The ratchet mechanism off the No.545 has been disassembled, as a dry run before I disassemble the No.1545 ratchet mechanism (neither were functioning). Both No.1530 and the No.1555 are in working order.

Cheers, Vann.
 

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I'm starting to feel inadequate...

Anyway, the next bit off was the crank incorporating the two speed mechanism.



Again, and as will become another recurring theme, I had no idea how it worked. Not as complicated as I thought, featuring a lever which moves two pins in and out of the housing.



These correspond to holes in the two drive gears, thus providing two speeds. The smaller inner gear sits within the larger gear in a most satisfying way, neat and compact, as well as dirty and a bit rusty.







A small screw sits within a groove on the lever shaft. undoing it lifts the shaft out.





The shaft acts as a cam moving one pin out as the other moves in.







Clever positioning of oil channels mean that the oil hole lubricates both of the gears.





The gears, like the frame above, are in reasonable condition, nothing but surface rust and dirt. A big question is whether to leave them with years of patina or paint afresh. At the moment I'm leaning toward something similar to the MF no. 12, paint the frame, but leave the gears with their age.

Next job is taking the spindle out... scary!
 
Scouse":3fr6t16p said:
The gears, like the frame above, are in reasonable condition, nothing but surface rust and dirt. A big question is whether to leave them with years of patina or paint afresh. At the moment I'm leaning toward something similar to the MF no. 12, paint the frame, but leave the gears with their age.

Just my take on this question, in case it helps you decide.
With an old tool like this, my aim in any work I do on it is generally to put it into the sort of condition it would be in if it had belonged to a careful owner who took good care of it. So yes to all the cleaning, lubrication and removal of paint splashes. But would a working tradesman have spent time stripping down the metal and repainting it? I think not, as it would not have made the tool any more functional.

So I would just stabilise the chipped, old-looking finish by removing any loose rust (probably using Garryflex blocks or Micromesh cloth) and then stabilising everything with some boiled linseed oil, thinned down a bit with real or substitute turps, wiped on, with the excess wiped off again.

New paint leaves an odd hybrid - an old tool with new skin. It's a bit too close to celebrity face lifts, in my opinion, or else too much like a brand new tool. Sometimes it works, if a tool was really far gone, but in general, I like old tools to look maturely handsome, like their owners!
 
Scouse":2u5ayl5x said:
Anyway, the next bit off was the crank incorporating the two speed mechanism.



Again, and as will become another recurring theme, I had no idea how it worked. Not as complicated as I thought, featuring a lever which moves two pins in and out of the housing...

The patent, courtesy of Google http://www.google.com/patents/US906902

Cheers, Vann.
 
Gosh, you reminded me!

I've finished the drill now, but there are so many pictures I need to filter them down and haven't had the time, I will try for this week, sorry for the delay!!!
 
Love this thread. I too have a 1555 and did a full rebuild last year. All the gear teeth on mine are whole with no breaks. Mine is missing the side handle though. would be great if anyone here happens to know what the thread size of the side handle bolt is.
 
Droogs":kb2h974x said:
Love this thread. I too have a 1555 and did a full rebuild last year. All the gear teeth on mine are whole with no breaks. Mine is missing the side handle though. would be great if anyone here happens to know what the thread size of the side handle bolt is.

I've just been and measured mine. I believe it to be original as it matches the other handle. It's just under 3/8" diameter and 20 threads per inch. Oddly, according to the chart I looked at, there is no US standard at that size, but it is the BSF size, so finding a suitable bolt to go in a turned replacement should be quite possible.
 
Hello, I have been restoring drills for a few years. I have had issues with my 1555 for sometime, my research into it lead me to this thread.

The 1555 that jams whenever I try to drill a hole with it. Its well oiled and runs fine when not under load, I am thinking it might be something to do with in being made from 2 1555s (both has missing teeth on the gears and one lacked a side handle, so i made 1 "perfect" one from the parts of them both)... Despite a lot of tinkering I am still mystified to what is causing it.

Anyone else come across this? Any suggestions?
 
Check the locking position of the slide selector. if it gets any dirt inside it, it can cause this prob as I've had it before on mine.
 

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