Some of the most beautiful Archimedean drills appear in English tool auctions replete with brass, rosewood and even ivory. There are probably countless patents issued in England and European countries for this tool type. But I do not see these frequently offered in the United States market. As well as American patented Archimedean drills many spiral drills of a more basic design appear in the wild as well as on dealers for sale lists and EBAY. Most of these that I find with markings are usually stamped "Germany" or "England" As mentioned earlier, W.L. Goodman notes the earliest of these (English) drills as appearing in an 1864 Marples tool catalog. There seems to be a few common patterns. Following are five styles from a c.1907 Marples catalog.
William Marples and Sons C. 1907
William Marples and Sons C. 1907
William Marples and Sons C. 1907
William Marples and Sons C. 1907 Note the side handle. Some 20th century U.S.A. patents attempted to ad this but none have been seen outside of patent drawings. I have seen similar drills in plated and ivory models which were intended for the medical field.
Marples catalog c. 1907 This drill uses a set of weights to provide steady motion.
Note the use of drill points with these. Most same vintage American Archimedean drills were using fluted bits. Some of these drills use a friction fit chuck but the split shaft end with nut style chuck was also common. The shafts are another point of difference. The first, third and fifth drills have shafts that were either cast into the spiral shape or were flat stock twisted into that configurations. The other two seem to be of the style where multiple wire rods are twisted in a form and captured at either end to secure the twist.
In my opinion this type of drill excels where delicate work is needed. They can be used at slow speeds with great control. Just what I would use if I was drilling bone or ivory, for instance. Archimedean drills appear in jewelers and watchmakers catalogs. And I have seen more than one of these offered for sale that were made for the medical profession.
Click on this to see the Archimedean
drills offered in a 1926 German catalog. (2) Note the "American pattern" drill.
Goodell-Pratt drills (or copies) seem to show up quite frequently in German
tool catalogs of the 1920's and '30's.
Click to see an enlarged photo of
some common Archimedean drills. (from my collection) it may be of interest to
point out that all the drills shown on this page, both in catalog cuts or actual
photo, are from the 20th century. To my eye I would attribute them to the 19th
century. Small common styles of this drills are still manufactured. Artists working in
marquetry and intarsia may use these to make a hole for insertion of the coping
saw blade.
Bibliography
(1) C.1907 Marples catalog reprint, I think. I have only a photocopy of just a few pages of this catalog. It was sent to me number of years ago. I think that this is from a reprint published in the 1980's by the Mid-West Tool Collectors Association. I would be happy to attribute this properly if someone can give me the correct source.
(2)1928 Meister and Schlingensiepen Tool and Hardware catalog. From my collection. This company does not seem to exist anymore.