Geared Drill Patents
Following are patents that I have found at the U.S. Patent and Trades Office website
Geared drill patents are listed in the classification 81/34. I have noted when patents are from alternate classifications such as 279 for chucks. Some class 81/34 patents are for non drill items such as eggbeaters. I have excluded some drill patents because they did not look like any traditional form of drill or were a sub assembly with no known actual application. After 1920, I have added patent drawings only to those patents that are, in my opinion, interesting and not redundant. Many patent drawings have more than one view. I have clipped out only one view from these and edited the clip for better viewing. Descriptions are mine with exception of patent test extractions which are shown in quotation marks. My goal is to present basic information from the patents and eventually provide a search engine for this page. (Have not quite figured that out.)
Patent 730 "Geared Drill Stock" May 8th 1838. George Page, patentee. Keene, New Hampshire. Patent drawing shows a breast drill with a single pinion gear and an additional "friction roller" which bears against the smooth inner top side of the main gear resulting in less wear to the gears. Mention is made that these are improvements to designs "the same as that have heretofore been employed"
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 9271 "Metal
Drill" September 21, 1852. Reuben Daniels, Patentee. Woodstock, Vermont. This
unusual drill has the general appearance of a breast drill. The frame is
extendible and retractable. There is a leather strap that operates much like the
more modern chain drills to pull the bit through the metal being drilled.
Classification 408/124, 408/138.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 30,487 "Bit Stock" October 23rd 1860. Wallace Lyon, Patentee. Deep River, Connecticut. Patent text describes an adjustable speed geared drill which "is quite simple, and it may be placed quite close to a wall or any object and be used without difficulty, a result which is not attained by any other bit-stock that I have seen." The patent drawing shows a non bevel geared drill in a normal hand drill configuration.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 66,229 "Improved Drilling Apparatus" July 2nd, 1867 John Fanning, Patentee. New York, New York. Patent drawing shows a drill which seems most like the mechanic's ratchet drill of that era. "The nature of my said invention consists in a hand-drill stock in which the power is applied on the line of the axis of the drill and transmitted to said drill by planetary movement."
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 80,812 "Improvement in Drill Stock" August 11, 1868. Charles M. Daboll, Patentee. New London, Connecticut. While admitting that this breast drill was not original in most of its form Daboll did claim the patent for a recess in the spindle that received the breast plate allowing the attaching bolt to be flush with the plate to avoid injuring the users chest. Daboll was Increase Wilson's plant foreman. (The Wilson Manufactory)
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 81,769 "Improvement in Drills" September 1st, 1868. Frank Glasser, Patentee. Mystic Bridge, Connecticut. A breast drill with double pinions. The design allows for continuous motion operation or use as a ratchet drill. When you view the patent drawing you may understand the value of patent #80,812.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 105,906 "Improvement in Bit-Stocks" August 2nd, 1870. Charles H. Clark, Patentee. Pittsfield, Maine. Breast drill configuration. Open framed main gear has three gear rings. The pinion can be adjusted to mesh with any of these to increase or reduce speed. The main shaft is adjustable as is the crank handle.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 155,337 "Drills for Drilling Metal" September 22nd, 1874. James Sargent, Patentee. Rochester, New York. A breast drill with 2 gear rings on the main gear. An adjustable shaft allows the speed to be reduced or increased by changing the pinion gears position. The patent drawing seems to show an all metal hand drill with a housing around the gears.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 163,342 "Improvement in Drills for Drilling Metal" May 18th, 1875. Daniel L Toppan, Patentee. Somerville, Massachusetts. The flat crank handle is operated back and forth driving the bit in the same direction regardless of the movement of that handle. In configuration this appears almost like a bow drill. Double pinions.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 164,404 "Drill for Drilling Metal" June 15th, 1875. Henry Smith, Patentee. Meriden, Connecticut. The essential part of this patent is the formation of a two piece housing around the gear mechanism. The main gear is a part of that housing.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 168,741 "Drill Stock" October 11, 1875. Jonathan Hammond, Patentee. Belleville, Indiana. An eggbeater style drill with the pinion gear housed in the cast frame.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 202,477 "Wood Boring Machine" April 16, 1878. Thomas Selfridge, Patentee. Washington, District of Columbia. In shape this is a breast drill with a twist. The object of the invention is to cut around the bolts holding decking on a ship. This would allow quicker replacement of the plank. Selfridge, a member of the Navy, shows 4 different cutters to do the job. ______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 220,290 "Stock for Drilling and Grinding Tool" October 7th, 1879. James Hunter, Patentee. Boston, Massachusetts. As titled this hand drill is designed for use as a grinder or drill. The pinions and main plate are not geared but held to each other via a spring loaded mechanism.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 234,109 "Hand Drill" November 2nd, 1880. John W. Burkholder, Patentee. Moline, Illinois. This breast style drill's patent is not listed in the 81/34 classification but rather in class 279/64 for the chuck which uses 2 hooked jaws to grab the square edges of a tanged bit. The crank handle is also adjustable. Burkholder was listed in era city directories as "practical machinist and manufacturer of geared braces, experimental machinery, model and pattern maker" I am aware of at least 4 examples of this, one in my personal collection.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 295,193 "Breast Drill" March 18, 1884. Obed Peck, Patentee. Rowe, Massachusetts. The form is of breast drill with that familiar chuck used on many of Peck Stow and Wilcox's boring tools. Peck's patent text is a couple of pages long. The following excerpt shows Peck's thoughts on the state of the art at that time. (1884) "Breast drills, though less likely than bit-braces to be twisted out of the axis of the hole being drilled, and allowing a freer use of the arm, have not replaced bit-braces, because a handle suitable for running small drills with great speed could not conveniently run a bit where considerable power was required, and a tool large enough for that was cumbersome. To overcome this difficulty bit-braces have been made with varying sweeps from six to fourteen inches. Breast drills, being more expensive, could not replace one or two sizes of the bit brace; but the object of my invention is to furnish a tool which will perform the function of many sizes, and thus replace a variety of tools. The device is intended, as seen, for use in place of the common brace---the brace that multiplies the rotation of its crank, the common ratchet-brace, and the heavy ratchet-drill." You need to look at the patent text for the details.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 298,457 "Hand Drill" May 13, 1884. Isaiah Furbish, Patentee. Augusta, Maine. A double pinioned hand drill with some kind of pawl and disc arrangement which I truly do not understand. Classification 81/32, 74/134.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 319,430 "Brace" June 2nd, 1885 Charles Snedekum, Patentee. Bay City, Michigan. Charles has made a "brace" with a resemblance to a breast drill. The pinion gear is alternately engaged by one of two main gears which cause alternating direction to the bit. (?) I am not sure why unless you were using it as a cylinder grinder.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 356,898 "Hand Drill" February 1st, 1887. Amos Shepard, Patentee. Plantsville, Connecticut. Amos was listed in the 1890 Federal Census as a foreman for Peck, Stow and Wilcox. This fairly standard looking breast drill has a groove on the perimeter of the main gear that engages a disc at the top that serves to keep the main gear efficiently engaged with the pinion gear.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 484,654 "Screw Driver" October 18th, 1892. William Daily, Patentee. Morristown, Tennessee. It's a bevel geared screwdriver. And the bit is reversible to use a large or small ended driver. Kinda cute. Wished I had one. Classification 81/58.4
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 491,624 "Breast Drill" February 14, 1893. William Wilkinson, Patentee. Boston, Massachusetts. These are frequently seen on dealers sales lists and EBAY. Nonetheless, it would be erroneous to refer to them as common. The drills are massive. Wilkinson's patent is for the slide lever on the upper handle that locks the chuck when inserting and removing bits. A William H. Wilkinson was listed in Boston in the 1890 census as being associated with Andrew J. Wilkinson Company, a Boston hardware dealer.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 514,660 "Brace for Boring Holes & c." February 13th, 1894. Stephen McClellan, Patentee. San Marcos, Texas. The patentee states that this square framed drill was developed to bore holes through a window sash and jamb. He designed it to allow quicker installation of his patent 479,152 (July 19, 1892) sash lock.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 544,411 "Hand Drill" August 13th, 1895. Herbert D. Lanfair, Patentee. Westminster, California. Assigned to Goodell Brothers of Greenfield, Massachusetts. This is a classic hand drill. Millers Falls pretty much ruled the small hand drill market at this time and this patent was the best challenge to their market. Goodell Brothers and soon Goodell-Pratt made a number of drills based upon these basic patented ideas. The patent was for the chuck design and a feature that had a stud screwed into the frame and running up through the handle for greater strength.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 557,328 "Breast Drill" March 31st, 1896. A.D. and H.E. Goodell, Patentees. Greenfield, Massachusetts. The patent covered designs of the chuck, the frame and the speed adjustment. This was Goodell's big challenge to the breast drill market dominated by Albert Goodell's former employer, Millers Falls Manufacturing.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 571,267 "Bit Stock" November 10th, 1896. John W. Gray, Patentee. Stillwood, South Carolina. Seems to be a cast frame bevel geared hand drill that can be "readily taken apart and put together when that be desired for any reason."
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 647,311 "Boring Implement" April 10th, 1900. William Maxwell and George Spahn, Patentees. Baltimore, Maryland. This is a bevel geared brace attachment designed for drilling joists.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 661,418 "Universal Brace and Drill" November 6th, 1900. Stephen McClellan, Patentee. New York, New York. Assignor of one half to Dennis Nunan of the same place. A combination adjustable speed breast drill, angle adjustable stock and chain drill. And more! A kind of Swiss army knife of drills. The last time we saw McClellan he was in Texas but now he has moved to New York.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 683,794 "Angle Bit Stock" October 1st, 1901. Henry Politsch, Patentee. Gloversville, New York. This is a joist drilling drill that can either be turned with the integral crank of with a separate brace. The angular bit stock may also be used as a self adjusting chain drill.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 686,540 "Nail Puller" November 12th, 1901. John B. Salo, Patentee. Byesville, Ohio. Okay, it's not a drill but it is a well designed tool that took a lot of thought. I don't really see the need for this, although I would buy one if they were available.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 719,050 "Extensible or Extension Angle Brace" January 27th, 1903 Joseph S. Rusby, Patentee. Nutting, New Jersey. This is the first of three patents that Rusby secured for his unique extendible shaft drill. The drill was intended for use in angled or difficult to reach drilling.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 755,078 "Bitstock" March 22nd, 1904 Drayton Trumbull, Patentee. Fremont, Nebraska. "The object of my invention is to provide a bit-stock so constructed that the operator may be able to drill a hole in the corner either upward or downward or sideways without using a ratchet" Yet another of those angled joist brace attachments. Do you suppose the spread of electricity and telephone lines dictated the necessity of this invention.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 801,566 "Bit Brace" October 10th, 1905 Alexander Bennett and Philip Bloedel, Patentees. Buffalo, New York. The object of this invention is produce a tool "which will permit placing of the bit or other tool directly in a corner or other places inaccessible to ordinary braces and which has its actuating crank so located with reference to the bit or tool that it may be fully turned without coming in contact with the walls forming the corner." I see these offered by dealers or on EBAY a few times every year so they must have been sold with some success. The one I have is missing the actuating crank which I understand is not uncommon.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 862,069 "Breast Drill" July 30th, 1907. Henry E. Goodell, Patentee. Greenfield, Massachusetts. A 2 speed breast drill. This classic design is widely available. Goodell Pratt made a lot of them.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 906,902 "Speed change gear" December 15th, 1908. George O. Leopold, Patentee. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Assignor to North Brother's Manufacturing Company. The competition heats up as North Brothers enters the 20th century with novel approaches to the breast drill. The mechanisms on the North Bros. breast drills are still considered the best by many.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 913,172 "Breast Drill" February 23, 1909. James Smith and James McGregor, Patentees. Shippensville and New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, respectively. "....to provide an extendible stock and means whereby the bit or tool holding end may be set at right angles to the stock when desired...." Classification 173/168, 408/124, 408/236.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 915562 "Bitstock for Braces" March 16, 1909. John F. Daniel, Patentee. Fort Worth, Texas. Daniel mentions that his invention is for "....a bitstock by means of which a hole may be bored in corners or close places where the use of a brace in the ordinary manner is prevented." And he adds "....the tool is particularly adapted for railway car work for boring holes in car sills...." I want to guess that John may have worked for the railroad. ______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 930,620 "Combined Breast Drill and Valve Grinder" August 10th, 1909. John Sandberg, Patentee. Denver, Colorado. John has designed a rather traditional style breast drill with a set of pawls. When one or the other of the pawls is engaged it gives the drill the reciprocal movement for valve grinding. ______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 939042 "Gearing" November 2nd, 1909. George Leopold, Patentee. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Assignor to North Brothers Manufacturing Company. George is back with more great ideas about breast drill gearing.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 942,586 "Drill Brace" December 7th, 1909. William Parsons and John Leland, Patentees Montague, Massachusetts. Assignors to Millers Falls Company. A brace with a gear plate and crank handle mounted at the ratchet allowing for dual use. Another classic tool on the must have list for boring tool aficionados.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 963,986 Combination Drill and Valve Grinder July 12, 1910. Frederick Blanchard, Patentee. Bridgeport, Connecticutt. Assignor to Ashcroft Manufacturing Company. Blanchard describes his invention as a combination breast drill, reversible ratchet drill and valve grinder. I have one of these combo drills. It is the smoothest operating breast drill I have. See it here.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 972179 "Bit-Holder" October 11th, 1910. Warren C. Fox, Patentee. Kansas City, Missouri. Here is another brace attachment allowing for a 90 degree angle. ______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 977258 "Combined Valve Grinder and Drill" November 29th, 1910 Otis Angell, Patentee. Dorchester, Massachusetts. Angell's patent allows for either reciprocal or continuous motion.
______________________________________________________________________________________
****************************************
Note: Valve grinding uses a flat blade attached to the "chuck" and moved in a reciprocal (back and forth) motion to remove carbon buildup. We are now (in the early 20th century) seeing more and more of these drill and valve grinder combinations appearing because automobile ownership is growing. Outside this classification most valve grinders are in class 451/117 and other subclasses of 451. I have a list of over 98 valve grinder patents including most that will be shown on this page.
****************************************
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 982,510 "Ratchet Mechanism" January 24th, 1911. George Leopold, Patentee. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Assignor to North Brothers Manufacturing Company. George makes a ratchet mechanism for North Brothers drills.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 988723 "Change Speed Gearing" April 4th, 1911. John Leland, Patentee. Montague, Massachusetts. Assignor to Miller Falls Company. The Millers Falls Company's early days drill related patents were directed at the chuck. In the 20th century they were geared towards improving the usability of the drill. Could pressure from Goodell -Pratt and North Brothers designs drive that change?
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 1,015,235 "Gearing" January 16th, 1912. George Leopold, Patentee. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Assignor to North Brothers Manufacturing Company. I have a feeling that this will not be the last we see of George. This patent is for a speed change device which also serves as a spindle lock when changing bits.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 1,021,538 "Gearing" March 26th, 1912. George Leopold, Patentee. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Assignor to North Brothers Manufacturing Company. The same goal as the last patent. It may be that the orientation of the shifter on the drill is different.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 1,034,535 "Portable Drill Known as Hand or Breast drill" August 6th, 1912. Ralph Thompson, Patentee. Springfield, Ohio. The chuck flips 90 degrees to its normal working position and locks the spindle for easier changing of bits.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 1,034,838 "Change Speed Gearing" August 6, 1912. Henry Ryther, Patentee. Montague, Massachusetts. Assignor to Millers Falls Company. This is a upgrade to John Leland's patent 988,723. In fact, the drawings look so similar I thought there was an error. Ryther's change provides less friction between the gears and therefore an easier to use tool.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 1,046,223 "Breast Drill" December 3rd, 1912. Joseph Rusby, Patentee. Nutley, New Jersey. Here is the second of the Rusby patents. "The present invention relates to the means employed for fastening the breast plate to the tubular frame of the drill."
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 1,052,423 "Boring and Drilling Tool" February 4, 1913. Thomas Prentice, Patentee. Bridgeport, Connecticut. Assignor to The Stanley Rule and Level Company. The 1888 thru 1893 New Britain Connecticut city directories list a Thomas Prentice as "employed by Stanley Tool and Level Co in all those years. The patent is for horizontal and vertical levels to aid the worker in keeping the drill straight .
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 1,059,242 "Bit Stock" April 15, 1913. Alpherd and Joseph Wells, Patentees. East Stone Gap, Virginia. Assigned 1/18th to John Goodloe, 1/18th to William Goodloe, 1/18th to Edward Goodloe and 1/6th to A.H. Reeder. Although listed as a bit stock this is not a wood or metal working tool. It is actually a coal auger. 81/34
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent 1,065,360 "Bit Stock" June 24, 1913. Harry Harris, Patentee. Tyrone, Pennsylvania. Harry is making a drill that is "particularly adapted for use by car builders, whereby holes may be bored in positions otherwise impossible or very difficult of access." 81/34 408/124
___________________________________________________________________________________
Patent #1,069,622 "Drill" August 5, 1913 Edward C. Long, Patentee. Dante, Virginia. Assignor of 1/2 to W.L. Counts of same place. Another coal auger. 81/34
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent #1,083,784 "Locking Device for Hand Drills" January 6, 1914 George L. Wilcox Patentee. New York, New York. This device locks the shaft of the drill to ease the opening of the chuck. Not an uncommon theme in hand drills. 81/34
______________________________________________________________________________________
Patent #1,157,218 "Breast Drill" October 19, 1915. Oscar D. Hapgood, Patentee. Orange, Massachusetts. Assignor to Goodell-Pratt Company of Greenfield, Massachusetts. This is the Goodell-Pratt #279 breast drill. The patent was for a method of enclosing the gears and changing speeds. Goodell-Pratt referred to this as a high speed drill with a ratio of 7 revolutions of the shaft for every1 revolution of the handle. Hapgood also received patent #1,102,581 on July 7, 1914. This was also assigned to G-P and became the #288 and #467 valve grinders. 81/34
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Patent #1,262,328 "Auger" April 9,1918 Morgan L. Greer, Patentee. Myra, Kentucky. Greer states: "This tool is designed especially for use in coal mining for drilling holes for blasting...." and yet he allows that "its uses may extend to other industries"
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________