"FixerDave" wrote in message ...
Hi,

I was going to ask what a "silver and deming" drill was but thought an
Internet search was in order first. So, I found out that "silver and
deming" comes from the name of a company that was the result of a merger
between the Silver Manufacturing and Deming Manufacturing companies. So,
now I know that "silver and deming" has nothing to do with what the drills
are made of, or for...

But I still don't know why some manufacturers sell "silver and deming"
drills while others sell "reduced shank" drills. What's the difference?

Oh, wait a sec... is it that "reduced shank" drills are reduced down to
fit in a 3/8" chuck and "silver and deming" drills are reduced down to 1/2"
??? Or, is it just some traditionalist verses modern naming convention?

It's no big deal... I use M taper drills but I am curious.

David...

Way back, before drill chucks were cheap and common, many post drills
and hand drills just had a 1/2" round socket with a setscrew to hold a
flatted round shank. Drill any size hole you want so long as your
bit has a 1/2" shank. In fact I have a tray of old drill bits that
have 1/2" shanks even though the bits are all *smaller* than 1/2".
My Cole drill for example. So maybe that is why there is a special
name for 1/2" shank drills.

Bob