I have a fondness for old junk; specifically old mechanical things, tools, machines.

Yesterday on my way to getting a cheese steak ( hey I've been on vacation - I splurge a little) an antique / 'estate sale' shop down a few doors
from the CS shop caught my eye.

Besides a few original blow torches in great shape there was a section with numerous tools, mostly files, hammers and uninteresting electric tools.

I almost left when this beauty of a Thor model 5423 1/2" drill caught my eye. Wowzers! Long story short for the tidy sum of $20 I took this treasure home.
Some minor cleanup, oiling the Jacobs chuck and she was even more beauteous.. I attached it to an isolation transformer, switched it on and slowly increased the voltage. She ran great. I'll check the grease content but she's a great old thing.

This tool was built in a time when we did it right here; It was made to last and it has; it was made to be repaired, maintained.

Did I need another drill I really don't have a need for? I already have the largest Black and Decker I've ever seen with a 3/4hp motor and 3/4" chuck to matchand numerous other drills I inherited from my dad. No but I'm glad I got it anyway............. Hopefully some day when I kick the bucket someone will get this junk and take care it it also.

Jerry

Wow, what a good looking dinosaur! I love old tools too.

My 1/2" I bought from Snap-On back in the 90's cost almost $300 and has a bolt-on handle too.





It will snap your wrist off with the amount of torque it has.














~ Jeff

Now THAT, sir, is a drill! Well done and a good find. How I miss rummaging around through the antique shops. Sigh.

That was a centerfold in ToolBoy Magazine!!!

I dunno why I do it Rex. I have addictions of a mechanical sort, help me!

Below you may see a drill quartet. On the left is Big Bertha the Giganto Black and Decker- 3/4 capacity 3/4 hp motor.
I've never found a practical use for it. It set me back a whopping $7.50 at Alco many years ago. When I got it
it had no chuck key and a 3/8" drill snapped off in the chuck. I remember calling B&D to buy a new key and the
woman I spoke with quoted me $20. When I told her what I'd paid for it she was indignant; "That's a $___.00
drill!" I went direct to Jacobs and bought 2 keys for $15.

To the right is the newly acquired Thor, on the far right a 3/8" Thor of even earlier vintage and above the middle Thor is my trusty little 1/4" mutt drill that my dad
gave to me when I was a wee lad.

All if these guys run great. The large B&D drips with torque as do both Thor drills. There's a myth I read about Thor drills breaking wrists with their torque; maybe no myth
I treat them all with respect...

Jerry

[quote]ORIGINAL: Tanque

I dunno why I do it Rex. I have addictions of a mechanical sort, help me!

Jerry

~~~~~~

You are not alone Jerry....

When mt grandfather passed away 48 years ago, I was given his oak tool chest with the brass hinges and drawer pulls. It is loaded with incredible machinists and millwrights tools, mostly Starrett. Every time I open it to check it out I feel like I am lifting the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, and might get struck by lightning because I am not worthy to even look at precision tools that are over 100 years old in some cases.
Rex

Jerry , I also am a big fan of old tools,having been "around the block" a few times.The very first thing that catches your eye when you look at those tools
is the complete absence of plastic or bakelite housings,which was supposedly made that way for electrical protection of the user (and did away with having to cast
complex aluminum housings,which impart longevity and ruggedness to owners of fine tools).To a lot of young people,plastic tools are fine for the job,thats all the`ve
ever seen, but some of us remember a time when tools that lasted were part of a man's proudest possesion,sometimes for his occupation.

Charlie

i had the chance to work with the tools also in the begin 80's on my first real job then and they are powerfull yes indeed