Vintage Black & Decker D820

[Deleted member 174758]

I think I may have a winner for you. This is a V840 (4-speed, 900/2400rpm mechanical with 2 x electronic speeds, no hammer action) which has a broken switch.

The motor still runs OK, and the gearbox has been regreased at some point (generally a good sign), a tad over generously, but otherwise the gears and shafts seem good. I'll strip the box down properly tomorrow and compare it to an older D520 just to make sure the gears are the same. The gearbox casing outside is pretty ropey (possibly too too far gone for a 'concourse' rebuild, but then the body is horribly black/dirty inside and out and the brushes are nearly worn out), but it's the gearbox internals you want and they look to be good, so that shouldn't make any difference. AFAIK the colours indicate that it was probably made in c.1975 to 1978, hence the need to check against something like a 1967 to 1971 period model to confirm that the gearbox internals are the same

I sort of collect and repair these tools (well, a boy's got to have a hobby) which is why I sometimes have spares.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

For those who like looking at tools...

Some older B&D drills, from top to bottom:

an American polished aluminium U.500 drill which was the forerunner of the D500 in the UK, c.1953. The British model from around 1954 had a more utilitarian silver paint finish and was missing the bas relief Black & Decker logotype, A pity, really
a D520 (lt grey/blue) c.1966/67 2-speed all-metal body drill
a D720 (gold/brown) c.1969-72 2-speed all-metal body (the last all-metal drill that B & D made, the V8xx which follow have white plastic bodies)
a DNJ74 (lt grey/orange) c.1974-78 2-speed drill showing the slider type hammer gearbox which I believe first appeared on the V830

The second photo shows, from top to bottom:

the D720 (gold/brown) as above
a D820 (dk bronze/white) c.1973-77 2-speed
a D840 (gold/white) c.1971-73 4-speed and
a D850 (mustard/white) c.1977-78 2-speed with variable speed on the trigger (rare for the 1970s, and even rarer to find one that still works!).

The top pair have been stripped and rebuilt and the bodies repolished (repolishing the plastic gets rid of the yellowing caused by UV), the bottom pair await that fate. There is no V830 at the moment as that is currently a pile of parts in a tray... It isn't the only tool in that state.

The V8xx series gearbox has a thinner interface plate and a slightly longer gearbox body casing which may indicate different gearbox internals. I'm still investigating this

All dates very approximate as I'm finding dating info hard to come by. The one and only date I have is 1967 - when B&D painted many of their tools all gold to commemorate 50 years since their foundation

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

a DNJ74 (lt grey/orange) c.1974-78 2-speed drill showing the slider type hammer gearbox which I believe first appeared on the V830

I had one of those in the 70's, I quickly wore out the hammer. The slider changed the gearing, the ring behind the chuck set the hammer on or off.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I had one of those in the 70's, I quickly wore out the hammer. The slider changed the gearing, the ring behind the chuck set the hammer on or off.

Some people prefer them - personally I reckon the older "pull the tab out, twist and fold back" type are more durable. It's all just theoretical now, as after I bought my first SDS in 1981 (or thereabouts) I rarely ever used a traditional mechanical impact drill.

Of the drills above the oldest, the American U.500 is my favourite. And one day I'll maybe get round to stripping it down fully and doing a proper polishing job on it. One day.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Some people prefer them - personally I reckon the older "pull the tab out, twist and fold back" type are more durable. It's all just theoretical now, as after I bought my first SDS in 1981 (or thereabouts) I rarely ever used a traditional mechanical impact drill.

Hammer drills were what first came along and we were relieved to use them, compared to what went before - Rawldrills and a hammer. Soon after came the Hilti and Redheads, which were even faster to use. It was an absolute revelation when the SDS came along.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I'm old enough to have started on manual star drills before graduating to the firm's Wolf - a big D-handle monster that could seriously wrench your shoulder if it caught. Then there was the most feared of all - the Wolf breast drill with two side handles. SDS was a really major improvement

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I'm old enough to have started on manual star drills before graduating to the firm's Wolf - a big D-handle monster that could seriously wrench your shoulder if it caught. Then there was the most feared of all - the Wolf breast drill with two side handles. SDS was a really major improvement

Me too. Some days I would go home with swollen hands from all the drilling. I well remember those Wolf drills.

 

[farsoft]

I have an old Black and Decker hamer action drill type V830. It was my first power tool and has lasted over 40 years with one full B&D service and changes of brushes. Now, unfortunately it's no longer operational as the trigger switch has gone faulty and it seems that a replacement switch is no longer available.

 

[conny]

Car boot sales often have lots of old gear for sale. Some even claim to be working!

 

[flameport]

Car boot sales often have lots of old gear for sale.

100% stolen. Same with ebay and the like.

 

[Stivino]

DNJ74 (lt grey/orange) c.1974-78 2-speed drill showing the slider type hammer gearbox which I believe first appeared on the V830

I had that one. Someone gave me it in 1980 because, according to him, it was kaput. I got a new switch for it from the B&D shop in Queensferry Street for peanuts and I had it for anothr 25 years.