Sensitive Drills – Help with Identity and other Questions

[geoff walker 1Participant @geoffwalker1]

Hi again Steve

This is page 473 from 2092

Geoff

Edited By geoff walker 1 on 09/07/2023 17:13:20

[geoff walker 1Participant @geoffwalker1]

Is it Westbury's? ..did ?Blackgates used to do it? ..or Reeves ..I can still 'see' the line-drawn ad that used to run in ME/?MEW

Just looked up the writer called "NED", and found that it is indeed Edgar T Westbury. So yes an E.T.W. design.

Geoff

[Steve CrowParticipant @stevecrow46066]

Thank you Geoff, this is really interesting. I will send you a pm.

I am assuming these were pre-war castings as people might have been otherwise occupied in June 1941.

Also, the drawings have the flat belt "fast and loose" drive, as in one of the earlier posts.

Seeing it's vintage, I'm going to try to give it a sympathetic restoration.

Cheers,

Steve

[Richard BParticipant @richardb44403]

If its possible I would appreciate a scan of the articles as I could not find anything when I developed mine and did my own thing !

I would have thought a simple sensitive drill would still be a popular item for model engineers when dealing with small drills and it can be used for hand tapping (belts removed) very small taps. As I noted the only other machine I know of is the Geo Thomas Universal pillar tool.

I have also made a tapping device as a stand alone unit – again using some ideas from the Geo Thomas design

Richard B.

[Richard BParticipant @richardb44403]

This is the tapping device – can't rotate image unfortunately !

[DMBParticipant @dmb]

Many years ago, Chas. Kennion supplied castings and drawings for a similar little drill. Maybe GLR/KENNIONS still do, I don't know.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Richard –

I think you can only rotate the image and re-save it, in a separate photo-faffer such as MS 'Photo'. It catches a lot of users out, including me a couple of times.

The millers in a printing-machine factory where I once worked, made slightly similar tapping devices, but theirs used a plate to which was screwed a pair of blocks.

The spindle with similar handle worked through one, the chuck was in the central space and the tap passed through a hole in the second block which thus acted as the work-piece thrust-face.

The base-plate was simply held in a bench-vice or the milling machine-vice.

[Andrew Moyes 1Participant @andrewmoyes1]

There is a whole chapter on 'Modifications to "M.E." Drilling Machine' in the book 'In the Workshop' volume 1 by Duplex. Mine is the first edition published in 1949. It seems to be the Ned design as identified by others. The article runs to 24 pages.

[Steve CrowParticipant @stevecrow46066]

Posted by geoff walker 1 on 09/07/2023 16:55:20:

Hi Steve,

The first 1/4" drill you asked about was covered in a series of articles in M.E.by the writer "NED".

It commenced in issue 2092 on June the 12th 1941.

It continues in 2094 and 2096.

I have those three magazines, if you would like them send me a p.m. and I'll post them to you.

The build is not complete and continues in 2098 and probably at least one more issue.

Geoff

Sorry Geoff I've tried to send you a pm but I just can't work out how to do it!

I've received and replied to them before so if you send one to me, I can get back to you.

Cheers

Steve

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

Steve if you look at Geoffs post then underneath it is a line of choices you need the left one

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