I like the drill, I would recommend having it looked over since it is ungrounded and aluminum. Any funny stuff going on inside will make you the ground. I had one a long time ago and I could not get it to work and could not find anyone that could fix it correctly (read; safely).
Good post man, looks like a great visit. Any current shots of the race car now in hamber hands? also curious how a guy gets that drill home lol that’s a beast!
My dad had an aluminum bodied drill, not as beefy as that. It was his only drill. By the time I was a teen, it had started to 'tickle' when used. Same thing, old 2 prong cord. He tossed it. There are ways to incorporate a good three prong cord, just read up on it. Don't just hook it up to the body, and do relieve the cord inlet hole.
DOWN SLOW! Man, I want some of that pizza. The menu font is rad! I love pic of the Caddy's driver door and the nice house with the flowers.
Plymouth MI was the original home of Daisy Manufacturing. They made windmills and offered air rifles as a premium for windmill buyers. More people wanted air guns than windmills! Factory is now in Rogers AR.
If that drill works, you better have a death grip on it, it will break bones! They have an unbelievable amount of torque, first one I ever used about broke my wrist when it hung in a hole. I bought a 1/2” HF drill when I refloored my car trailer, even it has enough torque to hurt you. Not as cool as an old aluminum unit, but being double insulated it won’t try to fry me, either!
seeing the picture of your Signal drill brought back my own memory. This was my dad's drill. My first memory of that drill was 75 (or so) years ago, I'd picked it up, pulled the trigger and then it wouldn't shut off I suspect I didn't realize I had to let off on the trigger Dad saved me! I seldom use it, it's heavy and I have drills that better suit most purposes now. It will be on the estate sale.
Growing up in the Detroit area I always thought Novi was an odd name for a small town. It wasn’t until I was in my early adulthood I discovered that the town got its name from a railway sign at a railway station. It turns out No Vi was stop Number 6 (Roman Numerals) in the very early days of the railway running out from downtown Detroit. Novi was also the town where the Novi engine of Indy car fame was designed. And now you know the rest of the story of fact you probably don’t even care about.
I have a similar one with a trigger lock that’s easy to not notice, even easier to miss if you’re left handed!
Good to see someone is (presumably) brewing Stroh's again, and that pizza looks delicious, too. Hard to beat a lazy Midwest summer day near Lake Michigan, well, save for the evening humidity. That pizza looks delicious, BTW.
Good info here, those hi torque drills can hurt you big time. When using it, operate the trigger with the tip of your finger, that will make it easier to shut off in an emergency. Also, the pipe handle can break ribs. Unplug it when changing bits. My brother Jerry got tangled up in one like that, luckily, brother Tom was quick to jerk the cord from wall. I use a Milwaukee Hole Shooter for heavy tasks.
Yeah, old tools are cool but a modern cordless drill will do the job of drilling holes in an old Ford frame without the risk of wrapping you up in the chuck if the bit bites and gets stuck. I use a cordless one with new sharp bits at work and easily get through 3/4" plate with no issue.
Joey, when I was still working someone was using a drill similar to what you have, and the bit caught when going through a heavy machinery base that he was drilling. He held onto the drill and did a cartwheel before he let go of the drill.
I had a Montgomery Ward drill that was basically the same thing. It would drill a hole in anything if you could hold on to it. After nearly breaking my wrist a few times I gave it away.
Had to have a tour of Northville from my sofa to see if I could find the Gulf station, looks a neat town.
I don't know if I can find my drill board to take a picture of but it is a board wide enough to fit through the D handle of the drill and about 30" to three feet long. A piece of .25" flat steel bolted on the end the width of the board and a 1.50" or so overhang ....with it kicked up 30 degrees or so. A notch cut in the centerline of the steel steel so you can hang a chain link in it. Wrap the chain around the frame you are going to drill the hole in and hook the tail of the chain in the notch.... With the board thru the D handle and it holds the drill from spinning along with providing nice leverage for pressure while boring a hole....
I had a drill like that, an old contractor gave to me for services rendered. Thing grew feet and left my shop.
I discovered the torque those drills can produce when I was about 18... borrowed my dad's Craftman 1/2" to put some holes in the frame of my 40 Ford coupe. I was working under the running boards drilling holes for the traction bar front mounts and received some bloody knuckles when the bit broke through on the first hole. Only thing that saved me from getting wrapped up was the running board. Still have that drill and still use it once in a while...
I saved a honkin' big ass drill like that, albeit a Black and Decker I believe, from work when they went to clean out the old tool crib. Mine is mounted to an upright jig that turns it into a drill press, it's pretty cool. Years back I was helping my dad with a basement bathroom reno and was drilling 1" holes with his Makita (not as old as the drills we're talking, but still older than me) and as I broke through the foundation 2x8's to the outside world bit and yanked me so hard I damn near cam off the ladder. Luckily I slammed my knuckles into the floor above my head and it stopped my launch. I thought I'd broken my hand, but the worst of the damage beyond bruising was the torque of the drill vs. my ungloved hands tearing all my finger prints off my right digits haha. Definitely stung, definitely a learning moment. I could go for a beer, slice and cruise myself right about now.
Be very careful with that drill. Those things can really hurt you. I'd hang it on the wall as a conversation piece.
I grew up with those kind of drills, mostly Milwaukee’s and Thor’s. Nasty things, but you learn to respect power tools real quick. Worse were the saws with the blade guards removed. I’m close to where I grew up, and I drove thru the old neighborhood last month. Mostly torn down and gone. It’s neat you can go back and see the history.
Born and lived in South Bend In. most of my life so I know what going home is like. We will be heading up north end of July first to Indy to visit son and family. Then we are going to Kalamazoo from July 30th to August 4th for the 50th National Woodie Club meet in Hickory Corners. The Gilmore Museum will host the meet. They have a few great days planned. Then to South Bend area for my class reunion the following weekend. Looking forward to going to see friends, the Studebaker National Museum where I was a docent for several years. Then back to sunny southwest Florida. Remember a drill I had like that we built a lot of race cars and hot rods with that thing. It was a man killer. I had a friend who worked in a tool room at a foundry he kept my drill bits in perfect condition that is the key to keep the bit from catching in a hole. Squirting oil helps keep it cool and lubricated. Rock On!
A fellow HAMBer, Mercman1951, and I shared a rented house in Northville for about a year in 1999-2000. We were on Lake Street in a little 2 bedroom place with a nice garage and a long driveway. I built the engine for my OT 1979 Chrysler 300 there , and he had his fleet of Cougars and Thunderbirds in the driveway. After I moved-to my first house in Plymouth's Lower Town (the smallest in town at the time- we added on later) he brought his 1951 Mercury to fill the spot where my 300 was. Northville is a nice little town, but unfortunately has grown up a lot and lost some of it's quaintness. I really miss the Starting Gate Saloon, and now will miss the track it was named for, Northville Downs as it has been sold and will be developed into more condos and houses. Sigh. I grew up in Canton, which does not have a 'town' per se, so we considered Plymouth our hometown. I thought I recognized that house in the picture with the Caddy as Plymouth, lol. We've been lucky this year, the weather has been relatively cool with lower humidity than I can remember in recent times. You picked a good time to be here. If you went to Greenfield Village on weekends, I may have seen you as I'm a mechanic on the T and A fleet there part time. Cool post- weird seeing local stuff on the HAMB. v/r, jason
Back when I lived in Texas my buddy down the street had a drill similar to that and he had me stand with cord in hand by the plug in one day when he was drilling something in case it bound up.
I sometimes have a momentary lapse of reason, and become nostalgic for my wasted youth growing up in the North Woodward area; then I will go back to see old friends and after about a week, I realize why I left.
The drill is cool. Cooler still is the old stocker at the gas station. I’m old enough to remember when just about every service station had a race car of some type. My Dad dove a gas delivery truck. Fond memories of going with him and getting to sit in all the race cars.
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