The Post Drill

Hand cranked post drill - CLICK HERE TO ENLARGE

The hand cranked drill press

So how would you have drilled in steel or cast iron during that bygone era when most people didn't have electricity?

Latest update September 07, 2007.

The post drill is a hand cranked drill press capable of drilling anything a modern drill press of equivalent size can drill. The catch being, how strong the user is and how hard they wanted to work. Today we use electric drill presses because they are much faster and far, far less fatiguing to operate. For a modern drill press the user simply applies pressure or sets a feed adjustment and lets the motor do the work. But in the days before electricity, a farmer or mechanic could still perform drilling jobs using one of these hand powered tools.

The post drill was small and easily crated and shipped to rural locations. The drill was reassembled and mounted to a board and bolted or clamped to a post or beam in his shop or barn. Chucks were crude during that time period and often drill bits were simply straight shank bits with a flat spot ground on one side to be clamped by set screws into the receiver mounted to the drill spindle or drill shaft. Today drill chucks are cheap and can easily be mounted for modern use in one of these drills by modifying the arbor of the chuck to fit the receptacle in the drill. An example of this is the No.3 Jacobs 1/2 inch drill chuck seen clamped into the post drill in the photos above.

So how does the user feed the drill bit into the work if he has to hold the work with one hand and crank the drill with the other? Quite simple, the drill uses a ratcheting auto feed mechanism that advances itself by the rotation of an eccentric cam mounted to or machined into the drill flywheel. As the user holds the work with one hand, and cranks with the other, the drill automatically lowers itself into the work. Adjustment of the rate of feed is set by adjusting the cam follower of the ratchet arm so to change the position of the follower against the flywheel. The ratcheting auto feed wheel is visible as a horizontal wheel at the very top of the drill. The ratchet arm that walks back and forth to advance the wheel is visible as the little curved "pointer" above the auto feed wheel. An adjustable cam follower is mounted to the ratchet arm with a screw on this particular model. Click on the 3 thumbnail photos at right and below.

Today most of the people who buy these old drills are either tool collectors or craftsmen who just like the atmosphere these old tools give. However, if the power goes out or the craftsman has trouble getting power to his shop, these old drills will continue to offer the ability to get a job done, albeit with plenty more effort than a modern electric drill press. I use these in my own shops when I move equipment and need drilling jobs done but don't have access to one of my regular electric drill presses. They do work well.

These drills can be found at draft horse auctions, antique engine and steam power shows and related flea markets and swap meets, and at some farm auctions where the owner used older tools.

This drill used a Champion Never-Slip drill chuck. See the explanation of this chuck in the Champion #98 Post Drill featured lower down this page. A small wrench was supplied with the drill to tighten the drill chuck tension screw on the drill bits. Drill bits used in these drills were manufactured in series of standard shank sizes, with a flat machined on one side of the shanks which were gripped by the tension screws in these types of chucks.

NOTE: These drills were made in the era when "blacksmith's drill bits" were commonly used. These old drill bits were machined with a either a 1/2" or 5/8" round shank or tang with a flat groove on one side, to be fitted into the old pawl & barrel chucks or the screw chucks like the Never Slip chuck on the red post drill in these photos. Today we can no longer buy new 'blacksmith' drill bits and must instead, fit a modern style Jacobs chuck or other chuck, to the drill spindle. We can still buy 1/2" and 5/8" round shank chuck arbors with Jacobs taper ends for use with modern chucks. The shank of the round shank arbor will need to be machined with a flat side along the length of the round shank to be engaged inside the screw chuck or pawl chucks of these old drills. The length of the shank will also need to be cut to properly fit inside the screw chucks of the old drills. Length must not be any longer than necessary as these old drills have a limited vertical travel. The new arbors can be bought at this time for around $12-15 and machined for about $40. The arbor can then be used on any post drill with a 1/2" or 5/8" screw chuck. A modern style chuck such as a Jacobs brand is best suited for modern drill bits. These old post drills were very effective at drilling and could place a great deal of stress on the chuck, so avoid Asian imports and look-alikes. Buy Jacobs brand only. Cheaper brands of chucks often 'pop' open during heavy drilling. The flat groove on the shank of the arbors should be milled onto the shanks, not ground onto them as heat from grinding could warp the shank and cause the drill to wobble or 'run out' in use.

Drills then as now, came in all sorts of different sizes and qualities. The prospective buyer needs to look closely at all the features to determine what they are getting. Often times parts are worn out or missing entirely. At a recent swap meet I found a drill identical to the one pictured here and above, and found the adjustable cam follower missing. Some of the better drills had extra features like multiple spindle speeds, better and more even adjustment of the auto feed, and simpler and faster ways of raising the drill other than turning the auto feed wheel. To view a high quality and heavy duty post drill with lots of features which is currently being restored, see Canedy-Otto New No. 16 Drill.

Make of this particular drill in the photos above is not known yet.

If the user is new to assembling chucks and parts for their drill presses then see the following pages and links to learn more about chuck and arbors for use in these drills. The Morse Taper page- about 1/3rd of the way down the page is a photo of several different styles of drill chuck arbors including a 5/8ths inch round shank arbor which is for use in a large post drill. There is also my Jacobs Chuck page which shows the chuck disassembled and installed. And finally there is the Jacobs Company website which gives the manufacturers procedures for assembling a chuck and arbor. The jacobs company website was taken down about 3 years ago, but they may soon replace it with a new website.

Learn to distinguish between the different sizes of shank ends and arbor ends. The shank is the part that clamps into the drill chuck, or drill press spindle. The arbor end is the tapered or threaded end that fits into the mounting hole in the drill chuck.

Champion Model 200 Post Drill

Here is a Champion model 200 post drill. The model 200 is a medium sized heavy duty drill rated at 1-1/4th inches. Shown mounted to the wall here. This photo is from the pioneer village blacksmith shop at the Mt. Pleasant Iowa Old Threshers Reunion grounds. This drill is in nice shape and appears complete. A wood block has been placed on the drill table by the smith to help in drilling a small object. The model 200 shows up in Champion's 1909 catalog so the drill is probably around 90 years old.

For those interested in more information about Champion products, I suggest buying a copy of The Champion Blower & Forge Company catalog circa January 1909. The book can be purchased from Centaur Forge. Go here http://www.centaurforge.com to see their website.

The shop where this drill is used can be seen at the Steam Show Blacksmith here: http://www.beautifuliron.com/steam.htm

To learn more about the Old Threshers' reunion in Mt. Pleasant Iowa go here: http://www.oldthreshers.org/

Champion Model 98 Post Drill

At left are photos of a Champion model Number 98 post drill. Not mounted to a wall of my shop yet. This is one of Champion's small models which were designed for small work and farmer's home workshops. Picked this drill up at an Antique Tractor and Steam Power show for $65.

According to the catalog, this drill is rated to drill holes up to 1 inch diameter. Length of drill feed or vertical movement of the drill spindle is 3 inches. This is a 14 inch drill which means that it will drill to the center of a 14 inch circle. This is a single speed drill. Champion made two types of drill presses. Self feeding and lever feed.

This drill is a self feed type. Notice the horizontal spindle feed wheel at the top of the drill. The red drill seen above is larger than this drill. As the crank and drive gear were turned during use, the follower arm oscillated back and forth following the cam lobe on the inside or center of the drive gear. The action of the arm moved the ratchet pawl back and forth across the teeth of the feed wheel, forcing the wheel to turn and force the threaded spindle quill down into the work. The follower arm was spring loaded to hold it against the cam lobe on the drive gear. A bolt and jam nut threaded into the bracket opposite the follower arm spring, allowed the user to limit the amount of oscillation of the follower arm and offered limited control of the amount of movement of the ratcheting movement of the feed quill feed wheel. To lift the drill bit back out of the work, the user simply flipped the hinged ratchet pawl upside down so it would not catch the teeth of the feed wheel, and then rotated the quill feed wheel backwards - lifting the drill up out of the work the same way it was forced into the work during drilling.

Champion offered an inexpensive drill chuck which consisted of a hollow drilled barrel which fastened directly to the drill spindle. Two holes were drilled in the side of the chuck, the lower one threaded for a screw to grip drill bits inside the chuck, and the other as an inspection hole to locate drill bits. A small wrench was supplied with each chuck to tighten the square headed tension bolt in the drill chuck. Though the wrench for this drill was lost before I got the drill, a good example of a wrench for this type of drill chuck can be seen in the group of photos of the red post drill at the top of this page. The chuck is made to hold 1/2 inch round shank bits which have one side ground flat for clamping in place with the screw located in the side of the chuck. Drill bit manufacturers made drill bits in a variety of sizes, with round shanks and a flat machined on one side of the shank for use in these types of chucks.

Canedy-Otto Number 18 Post Drill

Here at left is a large line-shaft drive and hand cranked post drill made by the Canedy-Otto company. It is a model number 18. I don't know who made the small drill in this picture. Both drills are incomplete. The large number 18 is missing the big flywheel that it attached to the top of the vertical shaft at the top. The small drill is missing the small ratcheting feed wheel which would have mounted to the shaft at its top also. The ratchet Hand cranked post drill in the farm shop exhibit Heritage Museum. pawl on the small drill is visible at the top. See the red drill photos at the top of this page to see the ratcheting feed wheel.

The far left drill (photo at left) is a Canedy-Otto #18. The #18 is a large drill that will stand about 6 feet tall when set up for use mounted to a post or wall at a comfortable work height. The number 18 is similar in size and design compared with my 'New #16' seen on the restoration page at Canedy-Otto New No. 16 Drill. Both these drill still contain their original wedge pawl and sleeve chucks. The #18 has an old modern style Jacobs chuck mounted in it. The chuck key is currently fastened around the chuck arbor with wire to prevent its loss while the museum gets ready to set it up in a more permanent display.

At right is another photo of a small hand cranked drill used in a farmer's shop display in another area of the museum building. The work bench is cluttered with old tools found in an old farmers shop. This display suggests the way a small shop in a barn would have been set up to take care of day to day problems taking care of horse drawn implements on the farm.

These drills are mounted to the walls inside the exhibits of the agricultural museum (Either the Heritage Museum or the building next to it) on the fair grounds of the Old Thresher's Reunion in Mt. Pleasant Iowa.

The Old Threshers Reunion in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, is a very large antique steam power and steam tractor show held once a year in which visitors will find a giant collection of steam tractors, steam locomotives, agricultural equipment, and steam power industrial machinery, being operated for viewers. Train rides on restored steam trains are given. Flea markets offer antique and modern tools for sale. Old steam and antique gasoline and oil engines and tractors are offered for sale and restoration prospects can be bought. To learn more about the Old Threshers' reunion in Mt. Pleasant Iowa go here: http://www.oldthreshers.org/

Updated September 07, 2007.

There is very little documentation on these old drills. This is all the documentation on these old tools that I have. The purpose of this page is to introduce the new user to these old drills. Setting them up and using them requires common sense. In the bygone era that these tools were made, people were much more independent and able to learn on their own. They understood how to set up and use the tools that they made or bought. They didn't need a 7 page booklet explaining to them for example, how to use a hammer or a wrench. If the modern buyer can't figure out on their own how to use these drills, then they have no business getting one. Tools are useless and dangerous in the hands of a dummy who lacks common sense. There are no instructions for these old tools. When you buy an antique, you are on your own as far as learning how to take care of it and using it. If you need more information on your drill, you are out of luck as it most likely doesn't exist.

Original post October, 1999