Drilling on the darkside, should we add light?

[Al the hobbiest]

Hello all,
I have a few questions about hand drill and am chasing some advice, but I would also like to spark some thought if possible on hand drilling. I am a hand tool user, I have some power tools, but I tend to avoid them for two main reasons. Firstly, I am a fan of the traditional skills of woodworking and I think that they are being lost with over-use of power tools. (Don't get me wrong, power tools have their place, particularly when time is money). My second reason relates to safety. I feel quite attached to my hands and I really would prefer it if it stayed that way. I am quite convinced that I can do less damage to myself with a tenon saw then a table saw (unless of course its a sawstop, but thats a whole different saga). However, both of these thoughts clash over the point of drilling. I am yet to find someone who has severely damaged themselves using a drill. It is possible that I have not been talking to many people, which may well be very true. It is also possible that they are ashamed of their experience and hide away in the corner using other tools. It seems to me that in this power tool driven world, the first tool that the average person seems to purchase is a power drill. I have one, and I suspect that almost all of the readers here have one. Most of us also have benchtop (or floor mounted) drill presses. While these are great inventions, I am interested to know what the general consensus is on hand drilling. There are plenty of hand drill floating around. I recently picked up a new stanley one. And yes, for those of you cringing at the sight of 'new' and 'stanley' in the one sentence, your right, its 3 parts plastic and I find myself holding my breath as I use it for fear of breaking, however it does its job. As someone new to the world of hand drills I have found it an interesting challenge. It is certainly a lot more challenging then lining up the drill press and pulling down; however, at the same time a hand drill does provide more control. I, admittedly in my limited experience, am yet to find a situation where this has been an advantage. This brings me to my question/s of interest, is a hand drill a necessary tool to complete a hand tool shop or any shop for that matter, or should it be hung up, simply as an item to add a nice bit of decoration to the workshop wall? I am very interested to know how many of you use hand drills, and if so, are they used for a specific purpose in your woodwork? I, and I'm assuming others would be interested in photos of your hand drills. I'll save you all the disgust and will hold back on the photo of my stanley, unless required to by popular demand. Hope you enjoyed,
Al

[msiemsen]

During WWII my mother worked in an aircraft factory. She saw a woman have a good portion of her hair removed when it got caught in a drill press. I have foolishly drilled into my fingers by holding them where the bit was going to come through, it doesn't prevent tear out. I suppose on cordless drills you could have a battery charger catch fire. Electric drills are unsafe to use in the rain, they are heavier if you drop them on your toe. If the bit catches and the motor lock is on they can twist in your hand and wrench things badly.
that's all I can think of for now.

[pommyphil]

I've got an old Stanley eggbeater with a rose countersink , very handy

[Al the hobbiest]

During WWII my mother worked in an aircraft factory. She saw a woman have a good portion of her hair removed when it got caught in a drill press. I have foolishly drilled into my fingers by holding them where the bit was going to come through, it doesn't prevent tear out. I suppose on cordless drills you could have a battery charger catch fire. Electric drills are unsafe to use in the rain, they are heavier if you drop them on your toe. If the bit catches and the motor lock is on they can twist in your hand and wrench things badly.
that's all I can think of for now.

Ok, interesting thoughts. They hadn't crossed my mind. I guess I was comparing possible injuries with a drill to say, table saw injuries.
Al

[Al the hobbiest]

I've got an old Stanley eggbeater with a rose countersink , very handy

Nice pommyphil. Got any pics we can have a look at?