Jamming Yankee No.1555

[Rhyolith]

Here is my North Brothers No.1555 Breast Drill:
North Brothers "Yankee" No.1555 by Rhyolith, on Flickr
Its made from the parts of 2 No.1555s that both had broken teeth and other minor issues, making this one which I hoped would be "perfect". It seems it if you pick it up and cranked it about however any load and it gets stiff as hell and eve jams on occasion. The whole thing is very clean a lubricated with generous amounts of 3 in 1 oil (which seems to work great for all the other drills).

I have been at a loss for what is causing this for the last 6 mouths. I have taken it apart, re-oiled, cleaned, switched parts, tested in different modes.... etc. It seems to be worst in "plain" mode in the higher gear and best in "double ratchet" in the lower gear; getting steady worse as you change the ratchet mode up toward plain... it is probably better in the lower gear due to the mechanical advantage. My only theory for ages is that there is some tiny difference in the geometry of the parts from the 2 original 1555s... but this seemed strange for what I assume is a mass produced tool?

However I finally made some head way with the acquisition of a No.1530 and noticed by chance that it ran infinitely smoother when the pinions where push away from the frame (toward the ratchet).
Untitled by Rhyolith, on Flickr
I wondered if the same issue was causing the problem in the 1555 to a more extreme degree, and indeed pushing the pinions away from the frame does make it smoother, but its impossible to do this in on the 1555 while drilling without losing a finger to the gears. I am assuming the friction between the frame and the pinions is the issue, oil does not seem to help much so grease?

I only have some really thick grease that I use in RC Car gearboxes... it does not work well at all in drills from experience. Recommendations?

 

[Wildman]

sounds like you need a fine shim washer

 

[Rhyolith]

sounds like you need a fine shim washer

Is there anywhere that stocks such things? considering its probably an immensely awkward old size...

 

[Racers]

Beer can, lemonade bottle, biscuit tin etc.

Pete

 

[Rhyolith]

Tried the washer, still does it. I am completely stumped by this one...

Does anyone have a working 1555?

 

[AndyT]

Tried the washer, still does it. I am completely stumped by this one...

Does anyone have a working 1555?

Mine works fine. Is there something you'd like me to measure or check? I don't really want to take it apart though - apparently they can be quite difficult to get working properly again! :wink:

 

[Rhyolith]

How much play is there in your one's main crank gear? Other than that maybe a picture, I can do some sort of visional comparison then.

Where did you read that they are hard to get working again after dissemble? If thats a thing it could be mine problem.

 

[AndyT]

I tried to measure the play with feeler gauges.

Pushing them in here

a 25 and a 12 thou together were a snug fit. I got the same 37 thou measurement if I moved back here:

In case you meant the play between the teeth, I tried a standard cocktail stick and it went in to the end of the point, like this, with all the gear pushed over so all the clearance was at that end

I don't think the sawdust is affecting the measurement too much.

Where did I read that they are hard to get working again? Your last post!

(Only joshing - I'll help if I can!)

 

[Bod]

How much does the chuck move up and down against the thrust bearing?
You say it's fine till loaded, indicates to me, the gear teeth meshing might be too tight under load.
These thing were made to price. Maybe mixing parts from 2 different machines has introduced non matching tolerances.

Bod

 

[Rhyolith]

Now I know what a feeler gauge is for! I will have to get one to make an accurate comparison, but it does look if anything that there is more in yours than mine.

What do you typically use yours for out of interest?

Bod, i will have to have a look and get back to you on the thrust bearing. As for the the rest, that was my first thought too, but it seems to have the same issue with the original parts too (though now its hard to be sure which is the original parts).

 

[AndyT]

As a reference point, end to end movement of the central shaft on my drill is about 40 thou, measured with calipers set to the minimum distance + feeler gauges to measure how much it opens up.

 

[Vann]

I have a Yankee No.1555 too. Mine works fine - but I don't have any feeler gauges to check clearances (since my last ones went rusty though lack of use).

I also have a 545 and 1545 Yankee - both munted - from which I hope to make a single working 1545 (one's been in pieces for over a year waiting for me to get back to the project).

I guess I'm no help to you?

What do I use the 1555 for? Entertaining toolie friends mostly It's too unique and marvelous to risk damaging with real work. Actually, in spite of having a hand powered bent, I seldom use a breast drill. The 1545 on the other hand, will supplement my smaller eggbeaters.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Eric The Viking]

I don't own one of these but I've got a Stanley that had similar issues.

Obviously you can put a washer on top of or behind the main gear on the shaft, to tighten it or loosen its mesh with the pinions (on the chuck shaft and the balancing one). IMHO, it's far more likely to jam if the main gearwheel is too loose on the shaft rather than too tight. If tight it will be harder to turn but it probably won't jam, as the tendency is for the teeth to slip out of mesh as torque is applied.

In the case of mine, shimming it has made it quieter and easier to use. It had too much float on the shaft. Yours won't have worn tighter! Try both sides of the main gear separately to see if either helps.

Looking at the pictures Andy posted, the teeth on his example look very worn - I'd expect shimming on the outside (away from the drill body) would help. Getting the right thickness will make a huge difference too.

Mine is a modern one, bought new in the early 1980s. It has had relatively little use, and IIRC, my shimming washer actually decreases the mesh slightly rather than increases it, but the teeth have negligible wear, and I think I'm fixing poor manufacturing* rather than wear. I'll go look after breakfast, but you probably need to do the opposite to me.

E.

PS: the only other likely fix would be bushing the balancing pinion. My Dad (87 this year) has a wartime USA Stanley, and that pinion has become pretty loose. Since it's job is to keep the mesh correct under load there is a propensity for it to jam (the sound changes a lot when there's a lot of torque being applied). But the worst War Finish ones worn are still far better than my 1970s one was new (see below)!

* Going by some other tools I have, especially a couple of planes, Stanley wasn't in a good place in the late 1970s and 1980s.

 

[Rhyolith]

Still no joy with this.

I now think the issue with my 1555 might well be wear on the shaft the main crank runs on. A tight fit between the crank gears and this shaft seems to be one of the main differences between the jamming 1555 and my fulling working Millers Falls 87 & 97.

Either way I don't think its ever going to work properly so I am on the lookout for 'new' one unless anyone has any miraculous suggestions.