One of our maintenance staff in my last job had worked in the Wolverton railway workshop and said they used Yankees constantly. I asked him if he'd ever trapped a finger between the handle and the chuck. "Only once"! Says it all!
Teaching - Drilling
- Thread starter Stanleymonkey
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Stanleymonkey
Established Member
Just going to say thank you for all the replies so far.
Picking up lots of good points and great to hear from so many people who have been working with children as well.
Picking up lots of good points and great to hear from so many people who have been working with children as well.
Stanleymonkey
Established Member
I didn't know about these.
Is it essentially a Yankee screwdriver but with the spiral covered?
I've only ever used the open spiral ones.
Stanleymonkey
Established Member
I've seen these but never really taken a serious look at them.
Do you carry one of each size?
Are they just for Forest School type settings?
Cooper
Established Member
The talk of accidents in school workshops brought back some memories of my 40 years as a D&T teacher. I didn’t have any serious incidents. From my earliest days my primary objective was to make sure the children left the room in the same or better condition than they came in in.
In my first post as a woodwork teacher, where the chisels were sharpened each morning by a fantastic technician, a lad came up to me and said sorry sir but I’ve cut my finger. He presented his hand with the index finger dangling and lots of red stuff!! I nearly fainted!! The boys in the room bust out laughing, as the lad pulled a very convincing joke hand from his sleeve.
It was a brilliant introduction to my career. I realised then that safety was really the only thing that mattered, all the rest was an add on.
In my first post as a woodwork teacher, where the chisels were sharpened each morning by a fantastic technician, a lad came up to me and said sorry sir but I’ve cut my finger. He presented his hand with the index finger dangling and lots of red stuff!! I nearly fainted!! The boys in the room bust out laughing, as the lad pulled a very convincing joke hand from his sleeve.
It was a brilliant introduction to my career. I realised then that safety was really the only thing that mattered, all the rest was an add on.
Cranhill
Member
Hello
Is there any one still servicing Yankee screwdriver's?
Is there any one still servicing Yankee screwdriver's?
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
I doubt there's a quicker way to bankruptcy.
Another thing easily forgotten is a recoiling tape measure like a 3ft knife blade traveling at speed through little fingersMy boys are precisely that age and trying to teach them woodworking is very trying, although I've always had more patience with other people's children then my own. They have mastered the hammer, after a few sore thumbs, and they like the battery drill so an egg beater drill as a stocking filler could be on the cards for them.
When I was building my workshop I had a helper who decided to get stuck in without me, I thought it cute and took a photo but the wife rightly berated me after spotting the Stanley knife! Oops.
Stanleymonkey
Established Member
For the actual drilling....
I teach the children to drill horizontally. Piece of scrap behind to prevent breakout at the back (not my photo)
There's a big open top box of drill scraps that easy to grab something from. MDF can work quite well because of the colour change in the sawdust. But anything goes in the scraps box that can be useful.
Drilling down vertically might appear to be more straightforward but it can be really hard to keep the drill steady.
With younger kids - height can be a big issue. Something big in a vice then the drill on top and they are working at chest and shoulder height before you realise. A short kid on a low bench will swap benches without you noticing and then the drill is very high up on them.
If they slip - I prefer the drill bit going away rather than coming down and maybe towards them.
Horizontal drill means they can can see if they are drilling 'straight' (perpendicular) they need some help from me or a friend to spot if they are drilling level though. That's the biggest drawback to drilling horizontally. Does anyone have any suggestions for this?
Enclosed gears are great because I can help support the drill if they are struggling.
These Stanley 5803 are my favourite. You can get a good hold on the round part.
I teach the children to drill horizontally. Piece of scrap behind to prevent breakout at the back (not my photo)
There's a big open top box of drill scraps that easy to grab something from. MDF can work quite well because of the colour change in the sawdust. But anything goes in the scraps box that can be useful.
Drilling down vertically might appear to be more straightforward but it can be really hard to keep the drill steady.
With younger kids - height can be a big issue. Something big in a vice then the drill on top and they are working at chest and shoulder height before you realise. A short kid on a low bench will swap benches without you noticing and then the drill is very high up on them.
If they slip - I prefer the drill bit going away rather than coming down and maybe towards them.
Horizontal drill means they can can see if they are drilling 'straight' (perpendicular) they need some help from me or a friend to spot if they are drilling level though. That's the biggest drawback to drilling horizontally. Does anyone have any suggestions for this?
Enclosed gears are great because I can help support the drill if they are struggling.
These Stanley 5803 are my favourite. You can get a good hold on the round part.
mini spirit level glued on ? First hit I found but probably cheaper from local pound shop (buy the three bubble cheapies and take the bubbles out)
mini spirit level Amazon
You have it right, use a spotter, drill horizontally, of prefer not using MDF as scrap, keeping the dust down is always a good idea, and invariable kids will blow it away then breath it in .
Stanleymonkey
Established Member
Have been distracted - just a couple of things to finish off.
Once you've sorted all the other stuff out. It can be quite hard for children to actually apply any push/pressure behind the drill so it can progress into the wood. They either don't have the grip and wrist strength to push forwards. Leaning on the handle works sometimes but it's not comfortable!!
I thought these would solve all my problems. Closed off gears, interchangeable handles!
But very big and heavy!
Once you've sorted all the other stuff out. It can be quite hard for children to actually apply any push/pressure behind the drill so it can progress into the wood. They either don't have the grip and wrist strength to push forwards. Leaning on the handle works sometimes but it's not comfortable!!
I thought these would solve all my problems. Closed off gears, interchangeable handles!
But very big and heavy!
Stanleymonkey
Established Member
Then I tracked down one of these. Lightweight, very short. 2/3 the length of the blue drill above. Just right
It has been restored though and the new paint job has covered any makers marks / labels. No matter how many times I search small / short chest and breast drills I can't find a similar model.
A long shot - but does anyone know who made these?
Stanleymonkey
Established Member
Hadn't really considered that with the MDF. Always associated the fine nasty dust with power tools. I don't always use it for drill scrap but maybe I should remove any bots from that box.
Thanks
Personally I wouldn't call either of those "closed off gears", they ( the larger gear ) is facing inwards, but plenty of opportunity to get small fingers "nipped" in between them and the "pinion" gear on the shaft. Or between the larger gear and the shaft nearer the chest plate.
There are some similar models where they are totally "closed off"..I can't- find a picture right now, and have to go out soon, but IIWY, I'd keep looking.If there is a way to hurt themselves, a child will find it. Someones else's child's parents may not be as understanding as you'd think. Public liability insurance ( you do have it ? ) and even if you do, being "bad mouthed" by "injured" child's parents to all and sundry even if you are insured could make your life hell.
Yes..over reacting, but I've seen it happen ( not to me thankfully ) some parents will always blame someone else, loudly, and possibly all over "social media"..and their friends and neighbours will side with them, and repeat the bad mouthing.
I'd have let my lad use them when he was small. In fact I had some the same and he did.And he got his finger nipped ( in the way that I said ) squealed, cried a bit, bruised and a drop of claret.Me severely chuntered at by his mum. Someone else's kid, with a facebook account or a large group of friends and an urge to make waves..could have been nasty.I had good public liability at the time..I used to make the floats for our local kids carnival, and some costumes , meant I shut down work for 3 weeks and just built ( welding drilling sawing, painting etc ..big floats , pulled by tractors ), cost me money to shut down work for 3 weeks, plus I paid all materials.
It was good advertising for me. But I still lost financially on it all.
But I did not allow kids or parents into the atelier at all during that 3 weeks.They saw the results when I pulled them outside the atelier onto my car park.
Not before.
I didn't need the potential agro of a kid ( or parent getting their finger nipped in a pair of pliers etc and making it my fault.
*I rarely allowed the public in anyway, if they "had" to come in, we had a waiting room decked out with comfy leather chairs and plants and posters and photo books of what we'd done before..Only me , SWMBO and our lad in the actual atelier ( 350sq meters ) ..ever..
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Do they make a left handed version think about it
I remember using one of this drills when a child, caught the skin between thumb and forefinger in it, ouch! Now I can't work out how I did it.
A couple of teachers told me of parents complaining about primary aged kids getting burned on glue guns, the low temperature ones had just come in so we told the teachers only to use them, but even so I know of one parent complaining about them - no burn or blisters but I suppose her child made a big fuss.
clogs
just can't decide
u gotta let the kids start somewhere.....
it's ok trying to get a drilled hole straight......
but for some people they cant bang a nail in straight.....or never will.......
I worked on a £4,000,000 machine and the works head engineer wanted to change a part.....
he turned up in all new safety gear......laugh......
he didn't know which way to turn said bolt or that the 2"diameter bolt needed a torque muliplier.....
ps ....all the bolts of similar size were individualy xrayed n crack tested.....plus certain number destroyed thru testing....
and each bolt had it's own individual traceable part number........oh happy days.....
it's ok trying to get a drilled hole straight......
but for some people they cant bang a nail in straight.....or never will.......
I worked on a £4,000,000 machine and the works head engineer wanted to change a part.....
he turned up in all new safety gear......laugh......
he didn't know which way to turn said bolt or that the 2"diameter bolt needed a torque muliplier.....
ps ....all the bolts of similar size were individualy xrayed n crack tested.....plus certain number destroyed thru testing....
and each bolt had it's own individual traceable part number........oh happy days.....
I don't think I've ever tried it with this style of drill brace, but a trick which works with the old-fashioned carpenter's brace-and-bit is to put a loose-fitting washer over the drill bit. If you are too high the washer works its way towards the workpiece as you drill; if you are too low it works towards the chuck.
Les
Stanleymonkey
Established Member
Fair points. The blue 'foot print' brand drills proved too heavy anyway. I thought they were the answer - until they arrived!!
The small one is very old school and open gears. I'm quite interested in seeing how the size and weight work out under v.close supervision. Then maybe 3D print a little cover to go over the cogs.
Good point about public liability insurance. I am an employee of a school though. I don't think I need my own additional cover. I am not freelance or self employed. Might be an idea for the future though.
