Grant,

I remember those from my childhood, my ole man had 3 in different sizes the
he got from HIS ole man. They called them "Yankee screwdrivers" (real
original name huh). There is a little sliding thingie that will make it
turn left or right or lock it. The ones my dad had came with several
different straight and philips bits and IIRC the bigger one did have a
couple of those drill bit like you've described. I don't think these were
for any special trade or craft, but was just the first 'automatic'
screwdriver invented. And I think my brother still has them.

A bit of googeling has turned up the fact that Stanley bought the name a
while ago and was makeing up until a few years ago. I imagine that all
battery powered screwdrivers and drills have made them pretty mush obsolite.

Thansk for bringing back some good old memories.

Dave

This is another one from my neighbor's basement. It looks pretty much like
a screwdriver, except the shank is tubular, about 3/8" OD, with a quick
disconnect chuck on the end. The end of the handle screws off to reveal a
bunch of bits. These are not screwdriver bits. They are like drill bits
but
they aren't twist drills. From the end they look quite a bit like a twist
drill but only the end has helical relief. On the sides are two straight
flutes, no spiral at all. The tool is self-twisting, i.e. when you push it
into the work it twists. The only lettering says "YANKEE".

Anyone know what this tool is, and what craft uses it? The bit sizes range
from about 1/16" to about 3/16".

GWE