Since I read this blog post I have been tuning up my eggbeater drills.

Here are two of them:

The red and black drill is an old Millers Falls No. 77. I think I found it at a garage sale. The blue is modern, made in India. I bought it new from Garrett Wade a few years ago.

As you can see, the design is the same. But when I disassembled them the difference was striking. The casting of the frame of the GW drill is rough and irregular, quite crude when compared to the older drill. It is really striking when holding the two side by side. You might be able to see some of it in this picture:

The GW drill works OK, but does not feel as nice as the older one. As a garage sale find, the Millers Falls drill was much cheaper. Even on eBay the older drills are not very expensive.

The Garrett Wade drill is surplus to my needs, and, as of now, also to my wants. I may donate it to ColGaffneyis, for their travelling non-period repair kit.