So how many of you have used a Yankee Automatic Screwdriver?

[LCHIEN]

Made by Stanley, they were big in the 1950s. MY dad had one. It's in a toolbox in the garage.
I took these pics from an eBay auction.
Basically you pushed on the fastener and the spiral shaft turned the pertical motion into rotary motion that drove the screw with less effort than a screwing motion. The little switch on the chromed part of the body has three positions, CW, (fasten), Lock (for manual use) and CCW to unfasten/unscrew. The obvious use of this "ratcheting" screwdriver was to replace what we now have as cordless screwdrivers. After the push stroke, you "pulled" the handle back out but it would not impart any rotation to the bit; it was no resistance.

The blades were replaceable but I only ever recall having a large and a small slotted blade.
The frustrating thing was the keeping the slotted bit centered on the screw, it would throw itself out if not perfectly centered, a problem that Phillips, Robertson and Torx bits solve so well.
I wonder if they have a available Phillips or Torx bit for them?







Well, Lee Valley (of course) has a hex bit adapter for Yankee tools to use any hex bit... makes the thing pretty long.


I think there was also a Yankee push drill.

[LCHIEN]

Well, heck you can still get them... this one on Amazon, updated to take hex bits
Plastic handle has replaced wood handle.

[Jim Frye]

Used one, do not own one though. The 18 volt Ryobi impact driver, and my aging hands has replaced the use of one.

[leehljp]

I used to have one years ago. But as mentioned in another thread, I grew up with more mechanical needs and work than wood, although I liked wood working better. Once I got my first corded drill, I put the yankee drill aside. I never used one as a screwdriver, and would not mind having one just to show my grandkids!

[mpc]

Dad had/has at least one that I remember trying out many years ago. I wasn't impressed as I was trying it on a slotted screw and just could not keep it engaged.
Over the years I have had several ratcheting drivers with the 3-position switch... that switch/mechanism has always been the weak point for me. They fail/strip too easily especially when loosening somewhat stubborn fasteners. I'd rather use a plain old screwdriver all the time versus thinking "will this screw be too much for this ratcheting driver?" Most of the time I simply left the switch in the middle position, negating the ratcheting function anyway. Remembering which end of the switch allowed me to loosen vs. tighten screws was just another nuisance.
Now I use cordless impact drivers to loosen most fasteners.

mpc

[twistsol]

My dad had one of those and I used it a few times until I was thirteen. Then we built a new house and since we didn't have air nailers, I used one of those to drill what seemed like millions of pilot holes for finish nails in the trim. I feel like that's all I did that winter.

[LCHIEN]

Yankee push drill. The bit rotated one way when you pushed, then reversed direction when pulled. You held the handle and the rotating collar at the front. The bit was bidirectional cutting.

Still sold by King's County, Garret Wade, Lowe's, apparently.

[twistsol]

Now that would have been nice to have.

[dbhost]

Yankee push drill yes. Yankee screwdriver, nope...

[cwsmith]

My father had one and I used it a few times. Back in the early sixties I purcased something similar, actually getting it with trading stamps that were popular back at that time. I had a shorter drive than the Stanley and came with various bits that stored in the plastic grip.

Like too many things, it got lost in the many years since I acquired it.

I never gained a real liking to those, and some time in the past I took a preference to powered drivers.

CWS

[LCHIEN]

The Yankee screwdriver big shortcoming was that in those days, virtually all screws were slotted ( I like that name betetr than flat head which is confused with, well, flat head screws that refer to the head shape not the slot or recess).

Unless you got the driver perfectly centered over the screw center, the slot would be off center and throw itself off then operated. It didn't happen unless you were very careful in positioning the driver. Later screws like Robertson, Allen, and notably Phillips and later, Torx, were self centering and made using power tools fast and easy which is why slotted screws are not longer a thing.

And of course, cheap electric screwdrivers made manual reciprocating actions obsolete. Which I guess is why we don't see many of these screwdrivers around even if they could make self centering bits to fit.