This can be very useful when drilling in confined spaces that do not allow a complete turn of the turning handle. The ratchet allows the turning handle and drive wheel to be rotated in one direction without it turning the drill bit. Some hand drills may feature either a 3 or 5 way ratchet. Hand drills can have either two, three or four jaws within the chuck.īy rotating the chuck, the jaws can be brought together, clamping a drill bit, or moved apart, releasing the drill bit. For more information see our page What is a chuck and how does it work? The jaws of the chuck close around the shank of the drill bit and hold it in place. The chuck is located at the end of the drill and is used to secure or release the drill bit from the jaws of the chuck. The idle gear rotates freely, and does not contribute towards turning the drill bit. Its purpose is to balance out the drill by supporting the drive wheel at the opposing end to the pinion gear. The idle gear looks exactly the same as the pinion gear and sits at the opposite end of the drive wheel. The frame of a hand drill is simply a means of holding the pinion and drive wheel in the correct position to interlock, allowing the drill to function. This new rotational direction is passed onto the drill bit. As the drive wheel rotates, the pinion transfers the rotation from one axis (direction) to another. The pinion or pinion gear has teeth that interlock with the teeth of the drive wheel. As the drive wheel is rotated by the connected turning handle, it in turn spins the pinion gear. The drive wheel is a large gear on the side of the hand drill.

The turning handle is used to rotate the drive wheel, which turns the pinion and spins the drill bit. Some models have a hollow replaceable handle that can be used to store drill bits in. This allows the user to replace a damaged handle or swap a handle for a breast plate (see bottom of page).

On some models, the main handle can be unscrewed from the rest of the drill.

The main handle is at the end of the drill and is used to hold and position the tool and apply pressure to the drill bit in contact with the workpiece. The latest prices for hand drills and braces

Hand dredge parts list