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News Flash!
News Flash!
With the holidays upon us we are all busy decorating the house and buying presents. Some of the more elaborate decorating and 'read-to-assemble" gifts will require the use of tools. The most versatile, valuable and my favorite tool to have around the house is the all purpose electric drill. I personally prefer the cordless type with as much power as a consumer can buy.
An electric drill is not just for drilling holes it's a fast powerful screwdriver (very important for those "ready-to-assemble" gifts), a power sander, a hole saw, and with the right drill bit can drill any type of hole you need through any type of surface. It's many tools in one. If you just invest in one tool to have around the house I strongly suggest you spend the money on an electric drill and the accessories that you will use for the type of projects you will actually do around the house.
Some people who are new to power tools may be intimidated by it's power and accessories. I'd like to devote the next couple of articles to teach you about all the versatile uses of a drill and the proper way to use them. But first, if you intimately want to learn about this wonderful invention then I think we need to start with a little history of the drill.
Let me first debunk one myth you may have...cordless drills are not new at all...in fact they date back as far as the Stone Age. The first drills were simply sharpened sticks. Eventually the Native American Indians refined this old hand drill by attaching arrowheads to the end. These arrowheads became the first drill bits.
The Egyptians had bow drills that used a violin type string bow to make the turning action easier. Medieval drills were Breast Drills, which relied on the weight of the user pressing his body against a large flat breastplate on the top. Talk about a workout!
In the 1500's the Bit Brace was invented and is still used today. The Bit Brace works by manually turning the handle in the center as you apply pressure toward the bit. This type of manual drill is good for boring large holes in wood and for driving and removing screws. The bits must have a special end that is designed to fit into the brace's chuck jaw.
The Bit Brace is often mistakenly called a Hand Drill. Photo #1 is a picture of a vintage Bit Brace from the 1930's; it was my grandfather's. They haven't changed much since the 1500's. Photo #2 is a picture of a relatively new Hand Drill circa 1993. This also hasn't changed much over the years. A Hand Drill uses a hand crank that turns an interlocking gear to rotate the bit. Reverse the crank to withdraw the bit.
The Push Drill, as seen in photo #3, most closely resembles the drills the Native American Indians used as mentioned above. It works by using a repetitive pushing motion that turns the bit and bores the hole. Using some muscle you can turn the drill with one hand while leaving the other hand free to guide the tool or hold the piece you are working on.
