Author Topic: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.  (Read 4989 times)

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Offline Model 12

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Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« on: December 10, 2023, 06:36:27 PM »
I sure am looking forward to seeing what some of y'all know about this Millers Falls DG4 3/4" drill. I can't find anything at all about it. Got it for about $20.
No matter how much you cut off, it's still too short

Offline Model 12

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Re: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« Reply #1 on: December 10, 2023, 06:41:56 PM »
Here's close up of the chuck. Adapter is MT2 - JT6
« Last Edit: December 10, 2023, 06:43:27 PM by Model 12 »
No matter how much you cut off, it's still too short

Online Bill Houghton

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Re: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« Reply #2 on: December 13, 2023, 10:41:27 AM »
I know nothing, except that you're a lucky dawg for having found it.

Offline geneg

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Re: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2023, 07:49:12 PM »
Take the pipe handle out of the top & drill into some steel with a bit larger than 1/2".

I bet it will twist your arms like in the old Popeye cartoons.

That is a fantastic find!!

Offline Model 12

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Re: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« Reply #4 on: December 14, 2023, 12:07:39 AM »
Thanks Fellas. I got it sitting safely on a wide shelf in the tool room. I wish I could find some schematics. And it doesn't appear in the few old catalogs on line. Something about the year it was made. Oh, and damn right, without that pipe handle it could break your wrist. One thing I learned, sure is sad about yet another great American tool company going extinct.
« Last Edit: December 14, 2023, 12:09:46 AM by Model 12 »
No matter how much you cut off, it's still too short

Offline d42jeep

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Re: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« Reply #5 on: December 14, 2023, 07:07:22 AM »
It’s newer than I thought although the grounded plug was a hint.
-Don Houghton
Member of PHARTS-  Perfect Handle Admiration, Restoration and Torturing Society
CONTRIBUTOR

Offline Model 12

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Re: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« Reply #6 on: December 15, 2023, 07:32:59 PM »
That's the drill alright.  Thank you Don. Model number is different. Instead of the  Morse Taper Spindle, this version offers 3/4" chuck. A  Jacobs JT3 I reckon.
- Hal
No matter how much you cut off, it's still too short

Online Bill Houghton

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Re: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« Reply #7 on: December 18, 2023, 09:23:26 PM »
Ten amps at 450 rpm?  Heck, you could restart the Earth's rotation, if it stopped suddenly, with that thing!

Offline Model 12

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Re: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2023, 12:33:01 AM »
Bill, what is that pipe out front? Yeah, 450, I wonder if this has a triple gear train? I'm hoping someone produces some schematics. If not I'll look inside.
-Hal
« Last Edit: December 20, 2023, 07:20:53 PM by Model 12 »
No matter how much you cut off, it's still too short

Offline Model 12

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Re: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« Reply #9 on: December 20, 2023, 10:17:07 PM »
Well, looks like I answered my own question. Partly at least. I stumbled across things while researching something else. (1) I figure these two buttons are for putting this "pipe" in the Morse Spindle and getting it out again. But they don't seem to budge right now, so I can't see what the back end is. Be that as it may, the thing is a straight cylinder, so that eliminates a Morse Taper Adapter (2).  It seems to be a sort of Socket (3). And when I shove that MT2 - JT6 Adapter of the Chuck in there (4), it stops. But then rotating it, the Tang slips in and she drops farther in place and locks. 
No matter how much you cut off, it's still too short

Offline Digr

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Re: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« Reply #10 on: December 23, 2023, 07:55:52 PM »
I sure am looking forward to seeing what some of y'all know about this Millers Falls DG4 3/4" drill. I can't find anything at all about it. Got it for about $20.
Take a look here

https://archive.org/details/internationaltoolcataloglibrary?query=Millers+Falls&sort=-downloads

Offline Model 12

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Re: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« Reply #11 on: December 26, 2023, 03:41:18 PM »
Hi there Digr,
Thanks, I did study that. Lots of Catalogs from Millers Falls. And same 1974 Catalog with page that Don produced, is the only trace of it. That 3/4" Jacobs Chuck on there (74 Catalog); I'm leaning towards thinking it has to be threaded. Certainly by 1974. I got Black & Decker drills from about 1962, for example that have threaded chucks. So I figure my DG4 version with the MT2 Spindle is earlier. Trouble is there are no catalogs shown after 1954 till 1974. 
« Last Edit: December 26, 2023, 03:45:13 PM by Model 12 »
No matter how much you cut off, it's still too short

Offline Model 12

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Re: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« Reply #12 on: January 06, 2024, 09:48:47 PM »
I reached out to the Museum of Our Industrial Heritage; http://www.industrialhistory.org
email: info@industrialhistory.org   2 Mead Street, Greenfield, Massachusetts
They immediately responded.

They said, "The 1930's was a time of the Great Depression. Many companies were failing including Greenfield tool companies. The Millers Falls Company took over the failing Goodell Pratt Company and rebranded their products. Both companies had financial issues, but the Millers Falls Co. was in better condition."
Unfortunately, they also said, "This drill is not listed in our Millers Falls catalogs of the period."
Anyway, it looked as though my drill might have had its beginnings with the Goodell Pratt Company.

So I went searching for a Goodell Pratt Catalog; looking for the Mother Breed, so to speak. There were no such catalogs after the merger, which I was also informed. But I found some from prior to the Depression.
Picture #1 is from Goodell Prattt's 1926 Catalog. Says it's a 5/8" drill. At this stage of evolution, I don't see much resemblance to my drill. It looks like a darn beer keg. And it seems it might have a Toggle switch.
I nailed that down with a snippet (#2) from a YouTube video of some knowledgeable dude. He was dismantling this old Goodell Pratt while Hungarian Rhapsody was playing.

I ran across this site; https://oldtoolheaven.com. and from this source I learned the Millers Falls and Goodell Pratt merger occurred in 1931.


Millers Falls was making electric drills just as far back. Picture #3: 1926 catalog cover.
This illustration clearly shows the drill has a Trigger Switch, which suggests that aside from rebranding, Millers Falls introduced modifications.
Or perhaps in this case, rebranding wasn't involved.

Picture #4: 1930 Millers Falls Catalog. There's a 3/4" drill. Below the 7/8" drill, it states, "equipped with No. 2 Morse Taper Socket instead of a three-jaw chuck." Significantly, this is one year before the merger.

Picture #5 out of the Millers Falls 1938 Catalog; The Model 678 7/8" Drill has a "No. 2 Morse Taper Socket, but can be made to handle straight shank drills up to 3/4 inch by using the No. 1034 Chuck...." 
Things are looking more like my drill, but the 1938 Trigger Switch is situated just under the Housing.

Pictures #6 & 7 are consecutive pages from a 1949 catalog. Models 658 and 734 have that Trigger Switch right where I been wanting to see it. Detailed but not pictured in the catalog, is the the larger No. 801 1", which has a "No. 3 M.T. Socket."
I do not as yet see a Carbon Brush Cap

Bottom picture #8 looks like it just stepped out the 1949 catalog. Some years ago. That aftermarket gold paint.

Well this is where the road ends. There's other features of this drill of mine such as that particular Nameplate. And all the screws are deep Slotted. I figure it was made in the 50s, maybe just into the 60s.
Ingersoll Rand bought Millers Falls back in 62.
« Last Edit: January 06, 2024, 09:59:25 PM by Model 12 »
No matter how much you cut off, it's still too short

Offline Model 12

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Re: Old drill from Greenfield, Mass.
« Reply #13 on: March 04, 2024, 12:25:02 AM »
I heard again from my new friends at the Museum of Our Industrial Heritage
http://www.indistrialhistory.org
Seems an old book of sorts; a Service Manual, was donated by a retired sales rep from Miller Falls Tools.
The schematics are for the 3/4" Threaded Spindle and Chuck, but everything aft of that is for my MT2 Model. Sure was well made. The Retainer Clip on the Spindle Gear, two Intermediate Gears, and then there's that little Hatch access for the switch, so you don't have to take the whole damn handle off for that.
« Last Edit: March 04, 2024, 05:24:32 PM by Model 12 »
No matter how much you cut off, it's still too short