Millers Falls No.2 Eggbeater Drill Type Study
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Type G

When I purchased this drill, it was just a pile of parts that someone had thought to throw in a box & lug to the junk shop. The main handle was just a pile of rotten-looking splinters, all silvery like weathered wood. The cast iron parts and chuck were all present, so I took it upon myself to get it running again. I glued the bits of rosewood together and discovered that all the splinters had indeed been saved. The crank knob was too far gone, so I copied what there was (pretty accurately, it turns out). The side handle had a missing chunk from the center, and I tried (unsuccessfully) to fix that with a wax crayon meant for hiding scratches in furniture. It has never dried out, and I still have to buff the end of that handle whenever I use the drill. The brass ferrules were all broken, so I made new ones from solid bar stock. As you may be able to see, the rosewood polished to a high shine which I protected with tung oil. All this I did nearly twenty-five years ago. It turns out that this is the only type of the No.2 that has the "No.2" imprinted on its frame. The Type G sports the newest Millers Falls chuck design, the Star chuck, whose main selling point is that the springs that move the jaws apart when the chuck is opened are out of the way and protected. This was a valid claim, as I rarely find them damaged, except by rust & corrosion. The later generic three-jaw chucks with which we are more familiar are quite prone to losing or crushing their teensie little springs. The Star chuck is easily recognized by its greater overall length in comparison to generic three-jaw chucks. The Star chuck's patent date is October 23, 1900. The shoulder has been removed from the pad for the attachment of the crank, possibly because no breaks ever occurred there anyway - or the shoulder tended to break off without doing any harm to the screw fastening or to the spoke of the gear - I don't know which.