I am a sentimental old fellow. I am blessed to have many tools and such that belonged to my dad and my granddad. I even carry the name of both of them in my first and middle moniker.

I have had this old Millers Falls drill for a good while. It’s design and mechanism have always cried out to be photographed. It also gives me the tender grace of feeling my PaPa Jim’s solid hands upon it.

The best hand drills ever made came out of the Millers Falls factory in the first half of the 20th century. While many people used these drills for boring holes in metal, the tools proved remarkably adept at becoming the first generation of cordless drills for woodworking.

These drills are today called eggbeater drills because of the way the drive mechanism works. The main gear turns either one or two pinions on the tool’s shaft to turn the chuck backward or forward , just like an old kitchen eggbeater.

Be warmed by connection to your past! ††† en theos ††† jim