Stanley knives

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I still have one of the smaller Rawlplug tools in my tools at the museum. The end has been ground to centre punch shape and it works very well. Back in the good old days, you could get a variation of the early rawlplugs, it was asbestos string mixed with a quick setting plaster, you just wetted it and stuffed it down the hole in the wall and it would grip a screw very well. The best plumbers cloths were asbestos, much better than the poor glass cloth ones available nowerdays. For use in my variety of Stanley knives and copies, I use the Irwin blades, safer to use as they are bimetallic like the best hand hacksaw blades.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, I remember using those fibre Rawl plugs, and I can remember helping my father when he was putting a couple of wooden battens vertically with a gap between them on a wall, I got the job of putting them into the holes, well I was only four at the time, and I’m sure he needed my help. He used a Breast Drill and a Masonry drill for the holes, like the No. 23A 1/2″ one in the scan below.

I’ve still got that Drill somewhere, and it still worked OK the last time I used it. One thing about using this drill, is it didn’t annoy the neighbours, when drilling into a party wall, but they were a bit slow in comparison to an electric hammer drill.

Regards Nick.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

The fibre Rawlplugs looked they were similar to the oakum used to caulk ships hulls. We have one of those 2 speed breast drills hanging on a shadowboard at the museum.

[Dod MoleParticipant @georgeclarihew]

Two speed breast drills hanging on a shadowboard in a museum   AArrghh !!!!!!!!

 

They need to be used

 

In the low gear they are great for two inch+  Forstner drills and any over 3/4 inch holesaws ‘cos the speed is low enough not to burn your way through.

[Dod Mole]

On Dod Mole Said:

Two speed breast drills hanging on a shadowboard in a museum   AArrghh !!!!!!!!

 

They need to be used

 

In the low gear they are great for two inch+  Forstner drills and any over 3/4 inch holesaws ‘cos the speed is low enough not to burn your way through.

What a good suggestion, I’ll try that next time I need to use a hole saw.

How quickly we dismiss old tools once we get used to the new.

Andy

[David AmbroseParticipant @davidambrose86182]

I believe one version of the asbestos fibre stuff was actually called Screwfix!

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

Most people at the museum would rather use a battery drill than that breast drill, but it is there should the need arise.

[Colin HeseltineParticipant @colinheseltine48622]

I still have my fathers two speed breast drill  but not used it for a fair length of time.

Colin

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

David –

You believe correctly! When clearing our parents’ home I found a part-used jar of that ‘Screwfix’ material in the garage. Suspecting asbestos, I added some water, mixed it with a stick and let it set hard.

It was on the same shelf as the toffee-tin containing assorted Rawl-drill “jumpers”, fibre plugs and screw-diameter gauge. (Our Dad, a scientist by profession, was very practical with building-related work, and to a very high standard.)

….

Breast-drills: mine stands at the back of the bench, ready for duty though I admit not using it very often. Sometimes I used a countersink bit with it for deburring power-drilled holes in steel. I’ve pondered making a stand for it, turning it into a small-scale version of the old manual drilling-machines, but I’ve enough to do as it is! Though at least I could use it indoors when the workshop is too cold to inhabit.

I’ve a couple of carpenter’s braces too, and a few bits, but have used those only very rarely.

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

They did do a cordless Rawldrill:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186909770796?

And no it doesn’t rotate.

[Author]

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