The
Type K2 is the second of the LRRCW models. It still has no provision
for
a side handle. And the thrust bearing is still a simple cylinder
adjustable from between the spokes of the main gear wheel in order to
control
the end play in the spindle. The adjusting screw can be seen peeking
out
from behind a spoke in the image at left. The main rosewood
handle
is in its slimmest form, but there is as yet no "breast pad" to aid in
pushing on the handle, because the 1877 patent two-jaw chuck carried
over
from earlier No.2's could only hold bits 1/4 inch or smaller. The
malleable-iron
frame of the Type K2 is the wider version of the new model. Recovered
at
Brimfield thanks to a cash loan from Sandy Moss. Thanks, Sandy.
The
crank and its handle appear original and carry no identification
markings.
Only the chuck carries the "Millers Falls Co." name. This drill
is
in amazingly good condition for a 125-year-old tool. The red and
black paint job is original, and there is next to no loss of nickel
plating
which covers all parts, even underneath the paint of the main gear and
frame. Only the pinion, LRRCW mechanism and spindle are uncoated
steel. The very slim neck of the main handle remains strong
because
the straight tubular brass ferrule did not succumb to season cracking
as
do nearly all the later, deep-drawn ferrules of the No.2 Milllers Falls
drills, which should have been stress relieved but weren't.