Metal bodied power tools

[mwybo]

Hi,
I have recently been given a set of Craftsman power tools with aluminium bodies (sabre saw, belt sander, pad sander, 1/2 inch drill) circa 1960's in the original boxes. I intend to keep and use these tools but have a few questions:

In each box was a "Warning" printed on red paper advising the use of the included two-prong to three-prong adapter with the grounding wire that attaches to the screw that holds on the electrical outlet's face plate. the whole thing looks like some lawyer advised reaction to some lawsuit.
- Am I going to electrocute myself if I use these things?
- Can I replace the power cord with a three prong cord and secure the ground wire to the tool case? Should I?

Or are the lighter weight modern versions whose motors don't visibily spark a better idea, i.e. should I try to sell them to some collector on ebay and get something new with the proceeds?

These tools will see generally light duty use.

Thanks

Mike

[Canoeyawl]

At work we have men working in standing water and I have retrofitted the handheld power tools with inline ground fault interrupters. If there was only a two-wire lead on the tool I did change to a three-wire lead and added the ground lead to the body of the tools.
They were complaining about the "tickling"

[Bill R]

Change out the cord and attach the ground to the metal tool case. Always use a grounded outlet. If you can use a GFCI outlet, all the better.

I have a lot of older (late 40's-early 60's) metal bodied hand tools that I use regularly in my shop. Never an issue.

IMHO, keep and use the older tools. They will last forever with a little TLC. I have burned up new tools, while my old metal bodied ones just keep going and going and going.

[mwybo]

Thanks for the replies, I will add a three prong cable and ground to the metal case.

Mike

[ssor]

These were made in the time before double insulation was the standard. I have many that I bought new and still use. My only complaint is the weight of some of them.

[cathouse willy]

A question.does the plug on the tool have three pins? If so the tool is properly grounded and the adaptor was needed to plug into a two prong recetacle and avoid cutting off the ground pin.If the tool has a two prong plug you don't need an adaptor to plug it into a three pin receptacle, also a two pin plug means a two wire cord. the plug will have one pin larger so that the case of the tool is tied to the neutral side,if the receptacle is wired correctly.In the case of two wires you'll want to replace the cord as well.
Hope this helps.

[Captain Blight]

Hey,
If anybody has an old metal-bodied Craftsman or P-C router they want to get rid of, I'll take it off your hands, I've got a spare yoke for my RAS and want to mount a router in it. I think that would be the cat's pajamas.

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Many, many years ago I was a boatbuilding student doing a side job on a motor yacht in a boathouse on the water. Actually it was just a Pacemaker (no pun intended). I was on the flybridge, another buddy, or was it two, hanging out shooting the breeze, probably drinking a beer. I was fiddling with something and had a Milwaukee screw gun in one hand, and an ancient metal clad drill motor in the other. One moment the world was normal and the next moment I seem to be shaking like a madman and paralyzed to boot. Near as I can figure the ancient drill motor had decided to ground through my body via the screw gun, something like that. It was not apparent to my friends that I was being electrocuted. There was probably no visible shaking. Three times, with an increasingly urgent, but always calm voice, I asked my friends to unplug the cord. Finally they did, and my hands were able to release the tools. If they had not been standing next to me . . .

[Tom Robb]

Two prong corded tools are internally insulated from the user. Three prong corded ones are grounded to the house wiring through that third prong. The adapter is supposed to let you plug it into a two prong outlet - there's still lots of those outlelets around. Still, a GFI'd outlet isn't a bad idea with any tool.

If you can't see using the tools, Send them to me.:D

[Hughman]

I've got a pile of these. I see they don't go for much on EBAY, ten bucks or so - cost that much to ship them.

So, rewire and lube, they'll last longer than the new ones. No reverse, tho. :confused:

[Bob Cleek]

GFI's ought to be wired into every circuit in your shop. For ten bucks a pop, it's really cheap insurance. You only have to put the GFI on the first outline in the line and the rest outboard of it are covered.

[Stiletto]

As a slight digression, I am not familiar with ground field interrupters. are they the same as a residual current device? (RCD).

[Canoeyawl]

http://www.sordselectric.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/gfcis/260201.jpg (http://www.sordselectric.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SE&Category_Code=G&referrer=google)

[Plumbtex]

The 2 to 3 adapters have a prong with a hole in it roughly aligning with the center screw of the outlet plate. It is provided so that the ground wire on your device can be connected to a suitable ground. Your tool will of course work with out connecting this prong to ground, but then you become the ground should the tool short to the body. IIRC it is an OSHA fineable offence to even posess one of these adapters on a jobsite.

[Bill R]

IIRC it is an OSHA fineable offence to even posess one of these adapters on a jobsite.

Correct.

Also, those adapters will only work IF the 2 wire outlet is wired properly, with the outlet box properly grounded and no contaminants like paint on the faceplate and/or screw. They will also not work with a 2 wire extension cord.

[Tom Robb]

Stilleto,
Ground Fault Interupter is supposed to trip with a very small current to ground, IIRC.
I've no idea what an RCD is - perhaps the same thing?

[Ray Frechette Jr]

A RCD is a residual current device that works similar to a GFCI only at a much higher trip level.

IIRC A GFCI trips at 5 Milliamps and an RCD trips at 30 Milliamps. RCD is pretty much a european standard and as such is often installed on European boats imported to the states.

Not sufficent by itself buut good whole boat protection anyway. Should secondarily install GFCI as well downstream.

In fact soon changexs to ABY will probably require RCD on shore power inlet backed up by GFCI in critical areas such as head, ghalley cockpit and engine rooms outles. Primary benefit of RCD is it has less nuisance tripping than GFCI on a whole boat install, but then again electrocution is pretty iinconvenient in it's own right.