Black and Decker Drill Model 100

I came into a large quantity of tools recently, when a family member with Alzheimer's ended up being placed in a care facility.   I'd much prefer that he had all his tools and mental faculties instead.  However, since I have this enormous stash of stuff that's been neglected and abused, I thought it would be wise to sort through it and determine if any of it was usable.


The first thing I found that needed work was a tired worm-drive Makita radial saw with a messed up electrical cord.  I replaced the cord and the saw rocks!  I've had a cheap direct-drive Skil-Saw forever, but being right-handed, I've never been too fond of it.  I'm pretty keen on the beat-up Makita though.

More recently I found an old space-age Model 100 Black and Decker drill in the stash.  It looked like an electrocution waiting to happen.  It has a metal case (shaped like a ray-gun from a 1950's Sci-Fi film), damaged cord next to the handle, and the ground prong had been cut off the plug.  I'm pretty sure it was quite ready to deliver 120 volts right to the palm of my hand.   It needed a bit of TLC, for certain.

I like to restore stuff, as best I can.  So I did.  I cut off the cord, dis-assembled the thing, then cleaned and polished the external parts.  There was quite a bit of old grease and dust to deal with inside.

 After removing all of the old grease out of the gear mechanism, I replaced it with a modern SHC type, and oiled the motor bearings.

 

An here she is, nearly as good as new.  Here's hoping she lasts another 60 years!

It's interesting running this drill from a modern standpoint, now that it's safe to plug in.  For one thing it doesn't fit in your hand well... The pistol grip is just long enough to fit my middle and index fingers, so it's weird to hold on to.  Also it doesn't have much torque.  I'm used to pulling the trigger on my cordless Ridgid drill, and having it twist a bit in my hand as the motor launches.  This thing is butter-smooth, and comes up to speed with a high-pitched whine, but without much sense of power.  Also, unlike a modern drill, it has no brake.  It slowly winds down to a stop after you release the trigger, again without any torque effect you can feel.

For the record, I'm not putting the old girl down.  That's just my take as a guy who has never owned an older tool like this one.  It is what it is:  a 60-70 year old tool, with quirks from the era in which it was made.

I like it for being a robust, well-built, and easily repairable tool.  I like it for its cool retro charm.