Help Identifying Old Hand Drill

[Vic Castello]

Hello to all,

I just purchased the hand drill pictured below for $10 (she was asking $18) at a flea market. It's good and solid, and it works fine. I've inspected every inch of it under a magnifier, and I can't find a brand name on it. All I can barely see on the turning handle are the words "Made in USA". Can anybody tell me about how old it might be, or who may have manufactured it??? Thank you.

Vic C.

[Joel Goodman]

I believe that these were made by Stanley. I have a similar one marked only made in USA, as well as a later UK made model with a plastic handle. Other than the handle they are identical. The UK model is marked Stanley. For small holes they are handy. I assume the USA model dates to the 50s or 60s.

[Vic Castello]

Thank you...Joel. Looking at some of your other posts, I can tell that you know your tools!

Vic

[harry strasil]

if you are using a flash for a close up, use the red eye feature for a better picture. or stand back a few feet and use the zoom.

[Mike Holbrook]

Hi Joel,

I have recently become a fan of North Bros./Stanley drills and braces myself. I just won a 1545 and 1530AX both in the same auction and got a second old 1530 in another auction. Yes, I like the 1530's a great deal. I got the second 1530 so cheap I figured it could serve as my back up or parts supplier. The 1545 is basically the same mechanical design as a 1555 which many posters here have. The 1555 is a breast/shoulder drill that can be adapted too hand use. The 1545 has a more traditional (but larger) wooden handle like most hand drills, which the larger handle allows one to use the shoulder, breast on.

I like the original North Bros. designs because they just seem solid and functional. I bought several Millers Falls drills, which are nice, but the North Bros. gear teeth just seem stronger. I am hoping after the bad luck with the Miller Falls teeth etc., that the "Yankee" drills will stand the test of time a little better.

Stanley bought North Bros. at some point and for a while continued to market their products with much the same quality. As demand for these products went down it seems to me that Stanley allowed the quality of their remaining products to follow a similar slide.

I recently made a post on this forum trying to collect more links for finding information on these old drills. You may want to check it out. There is a great site for info. on Millers Falls drills/braces/screwdrivers/push drills. Unfortunately we seem to have to hunt and search for info. on other products. I did just win a bid on eBay for an old "Yankee Tool Book" products catalogue made by North Bros. When I get the catalogue I will check to see if I can get a better description of your drill and post it.