Modernized Yankee Radio Tool Set

Re: Cool!

Bruce McCrory

So, the big question is: do you repair and restore radios with yours?

I am at the age where I would like to recover our family's first radio--my first radio memory. Just a vague picture of what it looked like; pretty much like any other bread box of the time. Brother and I sat before it and listened to Rin-tin-tin, Lone Ranger, and others.

Re: Cool!

James Pickering

Hi Bruce - you wrote:

So, the big question is: do you repair and restore radios with yours?

I haven't done that in a long time, but I am getting the urge now. I joined an online antique radio message board so that I can get up-to-date with the "scene" (and maybe find an inexpensive antique radio in order to hone my skills).

I am at the age where I would like to recover our family's first radio--my first radio memory. Just a vague picture of what it looked like; pretty much like any other bread box of the time. Brother and I sat before it and listened to Rin-tin-tin, Lone Ranger, and others.

Yes, nostalgia looms large in my life also these days. As I mentioned previously my father - who was a natural born "tinkerer" - used to upgrade and repair radios belonging to family and friends during the 1930s. I used to help (or hinder) him on occasion - working on old "cathederal" radios would rekindle fond memories for me.

More memories: listening on the radio to the "Lord Haw-Haw" Nazi propaganda broadcasts from Bremen - and Winston Churchill's inspirational speeches - with my father during WWII.

"Memories - the stuff that dreams are made of" (paraphrasing Humphrey Bogart).

James

Re: Modernized Yankee Radio Tool Set

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

There's such elegance to fitted toolboxes. I've never tried to achieve that - I keep finding another tool that gets a useful job done.

Re: Modernized Yankee Radio Tool Set

Patrick Gibbons

James, I've been following your posts on radio sets and want to thank you for your efforts. The North Bros. drill looks like a sweet user. The last few days I've been using a Goodell Pratt drill of similar size. After applying a few drops of oil to the chuck it turns almost just from looking at it. A very convenient size. Your North Bros. model looks a bit more substantial. I also have a number of tool holders with a great many bits. These are very useful as well and are not as glamorous to present-day users as they deserve to be. These sets are great packages that make a lot of sense. My brother was a ham radio buff in the 60's and we had a number of old Zenith cathedral radios he used for short wave listening. They were cheap and readily available then. Good memories.

Re: Modernized Yankee Radio Tool Set

James Pickering

Hi Patrick,

Thank you for replying.

You wrote:

James, I've been following your posts on radio sets and want to thank you for your efforts. The North Bros. drill looks like a sweet user. The last few days I've been using a Goodell Pratt drill of similar size. After applying a few drops of oil to the chuck it turns almost just from looking at it. A very convenient size. Your North Bros. model looks a bit more substantial. I also have a number of tool holders with a great many bits. These are very useful as well and are not as glamorous to present-day users as they deserve to be. These sets are great packages that make a lot of sense ..........

I love these small size, no frills -- non-ratchet, single speed, 1/4" chuck capacity -- "eggbeater" hand drills -- not only for their simplicity and light weight, but also for the classic beauty of their appearance. My two favorites are the North Bros. "YANKEE" No. 1431 .....

..... and the Millers Falls No. 94 (a real child of the depression):

But your Goodell-Pratt is also a sweetheart as are several others.

My brother was a ham radio buff in the 60's and we had a number of old Zenith cathedral radios he used for short wave listening. They were cheap and readily available then. Good memories.

Great memories indeed, Patrick. I used to do some radio "fixup" work myself - I love working on the old ones. BTW, the Brits have always called what Americans call "tubes" - "valves" - it took me a while to get used to that - another example of being divided by a common language.

James

Re: Modernized Yankee Radio Tool Set *LINK*

Patrick Gibbons

My Goodell Pratt #655 was made in the 30's as was your Millers Falls. Mine needs to be be cleaned, it has a previous owner's mark scratched into the ferrule but it runs like a top. I used it to predrill 100 screw holes the other day and it still amazes me how fast it goes and still provides better control than an electric drill. An 80 year old tool still as good as the day it was made.


http://oldtoolheaven.com/hand_drills/drill5.htm

Detail on the 655

Patrick Gibbons

I just noticed in the link I provided above that the 655 is pictured and described differently than mine. Mine has a non-adjustable gear guide. Mine also has the Aug. 13, 1895 patent date on the chuck. Perhaps mine was made before Millers Falls bought out Goodell Pratt. Perhaps not. Millers Falls catalogs were not entirely accurate.

Millers Falls 94 & Yankee 1431

James Pickering

Hi Patrick. The Millers Falls No. 94 was manufactured from 1927 until 1936. I have composed a brief web page devoted to it: http://jp29.org/wwmf94.htm

Although these hand drills had been long discontinued by the time I started my apprenticeship, they were readily available used and very popular with apprentices due to their low cost and handiness.

I do have a great fondness for the North Bros. No. 1431 hand drill - I have composed a more detailed web page devoted to it at: http://jp29.org/wwyankee1431.htm

I think it is a little jewel (double pinion to boot) that embodies the usual North Bros. quality and excellence.

Edit - added: I will not be able to post until next Monday - we are off to Phoenix for a grand daughter's wedding which I did all the calligraphy for .........

.......... it didn't come out too bad for an 84yr old - most calligraphers develop hand tremors in their seventies - I have been blessed with a steady hand and good eyesight.

James