fixing loose (or tight) drill handles

[adrian]

I've got a couple eggbeater drills (Millers Falls, Goodell Pratt) where the main handle is kind of wobbly. I'm wondering if anybody knows a trick for tightening up handles like this. (The handles seem to be pinned on and I'm not sure I even know how to remove the pin without mangling it.)

I also have the problem of the crank handle being too loose on one and too tight on the other. Any fix for these problems?

 

[Racers]

Hi,

My old stanley had the crank handle rivited on and it came loose a couple of times, you need to tighten up the rivet by removing the handle and hammeing the inside end of the rivet to tighten it up, lots of small blows aroung the edge should do it.

The main handle I thing you will have to remove the pin use a flat ended punch (nail with the point cut off) and drill out the hole fill with a dowle and redrill to the right size.

I have a Millars Falls hand drill and its very nice, the gears are prime numbers so the same teeth mesh after over 1000 turns.


Pete

 

[adrian]

Regarding the crank handles, when you say "remove the handle" you just mean unscrewing the crank arm from the body? Or do you mean somehow taking the rivet apart?

I tapped out one of the pins with a nail set and pliers and the pin ended up in pretty bad shape. I suppose the pliers were the main trouble. I can give the nail method a shot.

I do not believe the pin is the sole fastening method for the handle. From what I've seen online, the handle (which is rosewood) is threaded female and screwed onto the casting and the joint is hidden behind a ferule which is secured with the pin. I could, assuming I remove the pin, squirt some epoxy in there, but that's kind of irreversible.

 

[Racers]

Hi, adrain

Yes unscrew the crank.

If the handle is screwed on you should be able to unscrew it. have you tried after removing the pin?

Pete

 

[adrian]

I tried to remove the pin using clipped nails. I got it to come out by about 1mm but it refuses to go any farther. I have a bunch of bent clipped nails....

 

[Racers]

Hi,

The other thing you can use is a pop rivet, the shanks are tough beasts.

Pete

 

[adrian]

You mean use a pop rivet to hammer out the pin?

 

[Racers]

Hi,

Yes.

Pete

 

[Eddie]

Hi Why not use a Parallel Pin Punch.

Eddie
http://tinyurl.com/ya952cl

 

[adrian]

Funny thing is, I actually had a set of pin punches in the back of a drawer somewhere, forgotten. I didn't know what they were for when I got them. But I got them out and the pin has been removed.

Actually tightening the handle seems to be more of a trick, though. There's a sizeable gap inside that I'm trying to fill with something. (The current idea is to use something like this: http://shapelock.com/. Otherwise I might have to resort to epoxy.)

I tried tightening a riveted handle by hammering on the rivet, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Is this a process that should take a long time?

Any ideas on how to loosen an overly tight riveted handle?