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Thrift store score today...

Thrashingcows

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Was near the thrift store today so as always had to run in and see what treasures they might have. Well today was a very good day...

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Millers Falls Tools 3/8 electric drill, model 414. Works fine except the trigger is stuck on. Paid $15 Cdn for it!:bananadance:

Now I have not been able to find info on the exact year of manufacture for this drill but did come across a listing for a model 515 and 515C and they were produced around 1928/29/30. I also found a scanned copy of the Millers Falls Tools catalog from 1925 and it does not show any electric drills, so I assume it must have been produced some time between 1926/27.
 
That is very cool! I love that old stuff.
My dad was a school janitor in the Kootenays in the eighties. People were always dumping garbage in the school bin.
One time he brought home a 110 pound blacksmith anvil and a super old power hacksaw that someone dumped in the bin. I still have them both. Who throws away a freakin’ anvil?
 
That is very cool! I love that old stuff.
My dad was a school janitor in the Kootenays in the eighties. People were always dumping garbage in the school bin.
One time he brought home a 110 pound blacksmith anvil and a super old power hacksaw that someone dumped in the bin. I still have them both. Who throws away a freakin’ anvil?
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Even tools had style back then....I remember using my grandfathers vintage tools, most were aluminum housings and getting either a full on shock or just enough leakage to give you a tingle!.
 
Everything I have found with a non grounded metal case has gone in the garbage, they went to insulated housings for a reason, because they keep you from getting electrocuted. Who cares about style when your heart stops??
 
Everything I have found with a non grounded metal case has gone in the garbage, they went to insulated housings for a reason, because they keep you from getting electrocuted. Who cares about style when your heart stops??
You can swap out the cord for a 3 wire and find a place to ground the housing. Or put a GFI on the cord.
Neat wall hangers, I wouldnt necessarily use them.
 
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You can swap out the cord for a 3 wire and fund a place to ground the housing. Or put a GFI on the cord.
Neat wall hangers, I wouldnt necessarily use them.

I have been seeing that about the non-insulated motors on these old tools...it works and I will fix the trigger but will probably just put it on a shelf in the shop as a cool piece of art. plus I'd have a hard time abusing something almost 100 years old when working on projects. ;)
 
Nice score, I like searching 2nd hand shops for old tools if I end up in one.
 
I remember as a kid in my uncles basement shop, you certainly didnt touch the vice on the steel bench while holding the drill or you'd be dancing!
 
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