18th century drilling HDTDT

[dannybb55]

Jim, I have that same vice on my bench. I use mine for finishing my castings for my Deringer Rifle. I better check her for holes.

[James Wilson Everett]

Here are some photos from the John Wyke tool catalog from the second half of the 18th c, England.  They show the vise, the bow drill and the drill bit.





Jim Everett

[dannybb55]

James, How do you keep the plate square to the bitstock?

[James Wilson Everett]

Danny,

Why do you ask such difficult questions.  I know how it is supposed to work, not that I am any good at it.  I have found that using the bow drill is just about like juggling 3 balls at once, and I have difficulty walking and picking my nose at the same time.  Seriously, it surely is an acquired skill and a difficult one at that.  I use a brace with the same bits in a lantern chuck with the square tapered end to fit the brace.  Check out the posting for the gun project at Martin's Station and see friend Andy using a slightly different bow drill called a drill box, I can only say that Andy has better eye-hand coordination than I.

Jim Everett

[Scout]

You folks never cease to amaze me. To say that your knowledge and craftsmanship is impressive is a gross understatement. I can't begin to tell all of you how much I enjoy your posts. As someone else posted I also wish I was much younger and had more time to learn some of these skills.

Thanks again for letting me go along for the ride.

Skip

[Karl Kunkel]

Ditto Scott.  I too appreciate the shared knowledge on this forum.  I am always interseted to see how the old masters were able to accomplish the work they did, and the various skill sets they had to master.

[Bob Roller]

If you quit learning,you're dead from the neck up and that is no good at all. I'm 75 and think it's a bum day if I don't learn something no matter how small it seems.

Bob Roller

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

Here is a photo from the John Wyke 18th c Tool catalog showing a drill box.  The tool can either be used with a handle on the right end or some other holding fixture as with the bow drill.  Check out the Martin's Station posting to see one in use.  I made one of these, but found it difficult to use - so I stick with a brace for all of my drilling.

Jim Everett

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

Here is a photo of another, smaller bow drill.  This one is for tiny holes, probably much smaller than would have been used to drill most of the holes in 18th c gunsmithing.  Perhaps if the gunsmith chose to drill a tiny vent, he could have used something like this.  I believe that it is 19th c since the lantern chuck has now been replaced by a chuck with a cross screw to hold the drill bit.  This whole thing is about 2 inches long.

Jim Everett

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

Here is a photo of the brace that I use for all of my drilling operations and for much of the barrel reaming operations.  It is probably early 19th c and I have often heard these named a "gentleman's brace", although they probably go by other names.  These are easily found in antique stores and on e-bay.  These take the bits with a tapered square shank similar to the 19th c - 20th c shanks that are seen on auger bits.  If you see one of these, check that the thumb screw is present and functions well in the chuck.  Most often the wooden ball on the crank is missing, but the brace is fully functional without it.  I like this one because it is small enough to fit easily into my journeyman's box.  Does anyone else out there use such original tools?

Jim Everett

[dannybb55]

James, I have a collection of braces. I have a Stanlley ratchet brace that I bought in 84, a Miller Falls ratchet brace, a Spofford chucked Smith brace, a Spofford Wimble, a corner brace, an all iron Smiths brace with a large sweep, two 12 in extensions and a selection of screw driver bits for driving Nu 24 flatheads and smaller. Plus I have the usual collection of augers, hollow augers and expansion bits. This weekend I will have to line them up and photo them.
  They really come in handy at work removing old screws from old wooden boats and driving machine bolts up through the keel. Its also fun to hand one to a helper when he begs me for a cordless drill.
                                       Danny

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

Here is a bow drill or drill box as it was called from the Fry gunsmith tool collection.  Some interesting things here.  The bow is really long, at first you may think that you are looking at Robin Hood's bow, but it is for the drill.  Rare to find the drill box and the bow still together as a set.  Maybe Mr. Fry played the cello for night time entertainment.



The drill bow itself is made from a nice piece of curly maple, makes sense for a gunsmith tool.  Also, look how worn it is where the bow cord attaches, it is nearly worn through to the metal shaft.  Nothing fancy here, but a good simple tool.



The drill bit attaches in what is known as a lantern chuck or a lantern stock.  An axial hole is driild on the shaft center that intersects the square cutout as you can see.  The drill point bits would all have a matching diameter shank to fit the hole and a short half round section shoulder to engage the square cutout.  Looking at the photo you can still see the shadow in the metal where this shoulder was positioned.  Some examples are shown on this post for the date of December 3.

What is even more interesting, we have in the collection about a dozen or so rifles made by the Fry gunshop, probable made with these very same tools.

Jim Everett

[Robby]

Jim, What you have is special. Thank you for sharing it.
Robby

[James]

James, How do you keep the plate square to the bitstock?

I hesitate to post as I know very little. What works for me is if the plate is vertical in the vise, I can control by eye whether I am square to the work better than when the plate is horizontal as is commonly done so that weight is directed down. Is this what you meant or should I shut-up?


I am so glad these topics are being discussed. I am new to gunmaking, but I have been fascinated with hand tools and hand-made for as long as I remember. The fishtail bit is quite a marvel, with so little in contact with the work it answers a question I had long had as to how metal was drilled. Perfect design.

[James Wilson Everett]

James,

Please do not "shut up"!  You probably know as much as any of us, and probably more, so be encouraged and keep the comments coming.  As for the way the plate is positioned, I am sure that it is a personal preference.  I find some things easy while others find it difficult.  If the vertical plate works well for you, then it is good and well done.  Personally I keep the plate horizontal and the drill vertical.  But, sometimes my drill holes are a bit cockeyed, so maybe I can learn from you on this.

Jim Everett

[heinz]

Jim, I have a brace very similar to yours.  It is one of the tools I frequently reach for as it is easier to set the drill in this brace than my more modern varieties.  I also use several antique planes (and some new ones).  I am learning how to set the blade on the old planes.  With todays cost based technology I fing the best tools come from the antique stores.

[dannybb55]

Jim, How do you make a lantern chuck?

[James Wilson Everett]

Danny,

It is a lot easier than making chain.  Here are some photos of a lantern chuck I made to fit into my gentleman's brace.  First you get some drill rod of the diameter you wish to use, I chose a water quench drill rod 5/32 diameter.  All the various sized drill bits are made using the same base diameter.  A hole is drilled on center of the chuck 5/32 or a very little bit bigger for about 5/8 inch deep.  Next you cut/file a square slot just to the drill centerline as seen in the photo.





The drill bits are formed from the rod to an 18th c type of fishtail point.  The base of the drill bit is cut back to 1/2 diameter step as shown.  When the drill bit is inserted into the lantern these two "half diameter" sections interlock by about 0.1 inch or so.





You can make multiple bits to all fit into the lantern chuck.  It is really somewhat simple to do.  Here is a small bow drill with the lantern chuck.  You can see the same lantern chuck feature on the Fry bow drill box above.  To remove the bit you most often have to use the blade of a small turnscrew to pry the bit loose so it is best to keep the very end of the bit square to pry against.



I hope that this makes sense to you all.

Jim Everett

[dannybb55]

Clear as day. Where can I buy some drill stock?

[Bob Roller]

Do you mean drill rod? There are any number of industrial supply houses that sell it. It is available in any size a dill bit is measured by plus metric in both oil and water hardening.

Bob Roller

[Robby]

Is the fish tail bit sharpened in such a way that it will cut as it is rotated in either direction? In the picture the bit has two flats, and appears to be relieved as well. Could you leave it full diameter so that it would help pilot itself, or would that create a problem I'm not seeing.
Robby

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys, 

You can buy drill rod from McMaster-Carr Industrial Supply Company - along with a bazillion other things for the shop - www.mcmaster.com.  I use grade W-1 tool steel water hardening drill rod, it is very similar to 1095 spring steel.  The bits I make only cut on the regular right hand rotation as I use them in a brace.  If you use them in a bow drill that turns left & right you sharpen the bits to cut (actually scrape) in both directions.  The first photo shows an original bit that is for use in a brace and is sharpened like a modern bit, just without the twist.

 If you leave the drill bit full diameter it will be a big problem.  As you drill with a brace there is a wriggle-wobble that is unavoidable as you turn the brace (unless you are really steady as a rock - which I am not).  As the bit gets somewhat deep in the hole, the fishtail allows the wriggle-wobble.  A straight diameter sided bit would bind and break.



The second photo shows an original bit that is for use in a bow drill and is sharpened as you can see. Sort of like a knife edge.



Jim Everett

[Bubblehead]

Not trying to bring a 10 year old discussion back from the dead but there are a number of photos here that would be extraordinarily useful but appear to no longer display (changes in photo hosting programs?). Is there any way to get access and save all this great information? The same problem occurs on many other threads.

[JBJ]

Jim,
I, for one, would very much appreciate your approach to making a tap. I have struggled with this to no satisfactory (to me) end. Thanks.

J.B.

[Dennis Glazener]

Ask and ye shall receive We can not always make the photos appear but on some it's just a matter of adding an s to the URL so it conforms to the proper protocol for our website. When I added a higher level of security to the site some of the URL's were not updated. We changed many of them manually but missed a few.

If anyone runs across others let me or one of the other admin/Mod know and we will try to fix it. But understand not all are caused by not having the incorrect protol.
Dennis