This isn't the first one of these I have come by, but it is the heaviest.  The chain is four feet long, and the body carries about 90% of the original black paint.  Also came with an excellent half inch metal cutting drill bit.  Have to dig out my others for size comparison.  Any one ever use one?   They have an particularly special purpose.  Well, more than one anyhow.  I put the brace in there for size comparison.   Absolutely zero rust, no clean up required, makes for boring (pun intended) old tool hunts. 

Cool Tool!!,  Very nice, What is the chain for? looks like it could be used to strap down the guide, then turn the feed knob to apply pressure to drill into metal? is that the right size set screw on the bit holder?

I don't have one, so I don't know, but I have always wondered just how long, and how hard , it is to drill through , say , a 1/2 inch thick water main with that thing....

what else was available at the time??

Quote from: rusty on June 30, 2013, 10:32:39 AM
I don't have one, so I don't know, but I have always wondered just how long, and how hard , it is to drill through , say , a 1/2 inch thick water main with that thing....

Drilling through steel or pipe would have been tough regardless, especially on something you couldn't cart over to the post drill.   The chain drive attachments I have, feature several different feed features.  Some like this, where you manually advance the bit into the work piece.  Some that feed in with a second screwthread, and even one Goodell Pratt that has a lever that advances it every turn.  Where this really shined was in drilling when up a pole, on a ladder, drilling a barn beam.  One cannot push, when on a ladder, but the attachment will feed it in, all you have to do is turn the brace.  Some take a standard bit, some take the old post drill bits with a flat on one side, and some take tapered square shank bits. 

Thank you!! makes a lot of sense!!