Is Old Better than New? - Tool Edition

[Brewcrafter]

I had a home project the other day that required knocking out some 1/2" holes, so I grabbed my Dad's old Porter Cable Heavy Duty.  Was able to complete the project, but I also was the recipient of a 120 Volt 60 Hertz "massage" in the process.  Clearly something was wrong with this piece of equipment.  And hey, while this is a fishing forum you can see a subhead for "Simple Machines" so I think this qualifies, and I also suspect that most of us here appreciate quality in any form.  Follow along on my adventure.

Well, Porter Cable is a quality brand, maybe I can get this taken care of under warrantee?  Doggone, according to the data plate it looks like I am about 60 years out of warrantee

Well, maybe I just need to make the best of it, let's break into this sucker and see what we can do.  Hmmm, these exposed wires have seen better days...

And while the main drive pinion looks solid, you can see in the backround the cord may have seen better days in the last 60 years.

Some time spent with a toothbrush, a shop rag, and lacquer thinner helped remove a lot of the grime on the case.  Wow, I can even see where my Dad at some point engraved his CDL in the case!

You can see here where I was partway through on the head unit with a toothbrush and lacquer thinner, and with a little bit of TSI321 I didn't need to even rebuild the chuck.  It's a Jacob's Chuck; and if you know, you know.  I am sure that all of the parts to rebuild that chuck are still commonly available here 60+ years later, but with a cleanup and lube it works like new!

Quick look at the business end, but no need for anything here.  Solid USA bearings and a triple reduction gearset with both helical and spur gears.  Wonder if I can adapt this to my new Jigmaster Magnum???

Checked the brushes, and gave a quick shot of TSI321 to the rear bearing on the motor shaft.  Love how they actually designed this drill to be serviced and maintained!

Now time to address the meat of the problem.  I could have just hacked up an old extension cord, and unfortunately Porter Cable didn't list a replacement cord  but I did find a Dewalt power saw cord that looked like it could fill the bill with a little bit of "modification".  After fabbing up a custom strain relief (the original crumbled into dust, and the one supplied with the Dewalt cord would not mesh with the grooves in the body) I came up with something that I am confident will outlive me.
And hooked up the leads internally, paying particular attention to that green chassis ground wire!  You can see here how the strain relief locks into a groove in the case frame, fabbing that up was probably the most challenging part of this.

Buttoned evereything up, and gave it a test drive - all good!  I think my Dad would approve!

Okay, now to the original question and a couple of thoughts:  What is better?  Well, I suspect that in spite of the warrantee on this expiring in September of 1964 that if I were to meet up with a Porter Cable distributor they would probably gladly hand me a new one in exchange for this.  Now, practically speaking, this drill does have it's limitations.  It is "one direction" only (although later models incorporated a simple switch to reverse the fields).  It is a metal frame which definitely has it's drawbacks (witness my shocking little episode that began this tale).  And while a plastic case provides a measure of insulation to the operator in the event of electrical issues, it also saves a LOT of weight.  Use this baby for an extended length of time and you will develop serious Popeye arms - it tips my scale at 11# 3oz!  But - using appropriate tools and techniques, I have used this in the past to drill through sections of railroad rail, and concrete doesn't even slow it down.  Which brings up another positive/negative - I suspect the motor in this rivals what is in a Tesla and the gear multiplication is no nonsense, it is a serious drill that CAN do serious harm to a careless or inattentive operator.  If a drill bit gets bound up, something has got to give and it could easily result in broken fingers or worse.  This drill would definitely NOT be a candidate for a DYI linewinder!
Anyhow, hope everyone enjoyed this, I think I'm going to go and make some holes in stuff! - john

[thorhammer]

Porter Cable is the real deal. I cut up a 19' boat trailer with my recip saw in pieces small enough to put in trash- including the axle. It ate it like pie.

[Mpyeti]

looks like a solid piece of equipment.. and not to sound cliche but it's true that they don't make em like they used to.. 

i'm not a conspiracy theorist, but have learned how companies have intentionally changed initial designs to make them less "permanent" - it's just a sales tactic to keep folks in consumerism mode and coming back to buy the next year's model of whatever. interestingly enough, there is a new documentary out there on netflix that is sheding light on how manufacturers are also now revving up their tactics for sales - one example is that (if you may have noticed), a lot of companies will now try and sell products where parts, or required specialized tools wouldn't be available to the average person if they wanted to try and fix something themselves.

makes me want to go on the hunt/spend more time finding quality on the next thing i might need for the workshop. excited to follow along

[Midway Tommy]

One of the biggest problems with a lot of those old dinosaurs is that the wiring insulations & coverings get weathered, brittle & crack, and most people neglect the maintenance and put them away until next time, when they actually don't work.   

[Gfish]

A 120V, 60HZ massage, Ha, ha! Yeah, the old wiring covers. Wonder if bugs might eat the insulation, kinda like rodents when they get into a vehicle's wiring.
A '64 model, says 115V and 6-? Amps. 6-amps., sounds kinda shocking 😳. Maybe the double insulated plastic exterior new-fangled stuff has at least one good aspect to it. Also one good thing relative to the insurance industry for consumers is Underwriters Laboratory and their accident/danger research on products.

[MarkT]

You wouldn't want to exchange it with PC under warranty even if they'd do it.  It's sad, but Porter Cable isn't what it once was!

[foakes]

Thanks for showing us these photos, John.

Really good work!

Even if stored properly, most corded power tools will need a cord replacement occasionally.  Generally at 20-25 years has been my experience.

Just replaced the cord assembly on my Skill 77 worm-drive saw earlier this year —- at about 23 years.

I have a large Ridgid 1/2" corded drill/driver/hammer with all of the handles.  Low & high speed.  About 14 years old.

When the big guns are required —- this guy comes out —- and has never failed to complete a task.  It is a beast.

Bought it when I needed to open up about 25 drainage holes in 6" cement walls.

Best, Fred

Glad you brought this up, John — went out to the shops to take a photo of this 8.5 AMP hammer drill — and discovered that the cord collar is disintegrating.

[happyhooker]

I don't know if "beautiful" is the right word, but that tool is all of that. 

Frank

[oc1]

Nice one.  I'm not allowed to have tools like that.  It could break your wrist.

[Benni3]

Can you imagine if they made that stuff again for the same price,,,,, it would put china out of business,,,,,,,

[Cor]

My father had an old drill that looked similar (I think it was a Wolf drill made in Germany).   I remember him telling me the thing was very powerful and that if your bit got stuck while drilling it would break your wrist.    I was very careful when using it and never tested if that was true or not.

I believe that those old machines were far superior in build quality, durability and strength and with some occasional maintenance will last 2 lifetimes, but the more modern devices are superior in design and more versatile in use.   Batteries are also very nice to have.

Which is better?   I don't have the answer, depends on what you want I guess.   I have had plans to drill a 12 mm hole in a rock where I fish, I need one of the modern light in weight battery drills, don't have one and am still looking for a mate who will lend me one.

Nice write up John!

[Gobi King]

Another masterpiece from BrewC,

What grease did you use to pack those gears?

[Brewcrafter]

What grease did you use to pack those gears?

I didn't; my Dad did and that grease had to be around 50+ years.  And honestly, the gear case was packed solid - I removed a LOT of extra (enough to probably do a two dozen reels?  ).  I can promise whatever container the grease camo out of it was olive drab, and the label said something along the lines of "Grease: Lubricating - Spec *******" or similar.  We had a lot of stuff like that around the house growing up, and there is no doubt this drill is Mil Surplus.  And in the time frame, with this drill being exposed to summer temps well over 100F and winter temps below freezing, there was no hardening and no separation.  Of course, the fact that the gear case is relatively sealed there wasn't a lot of room for oxygen in there, so that may have helped with the way the lube held up as well. - john