I have some drill bits that as far as I know have only been used in a hand-powered drill. They are at least 15 years old, maximum 40 years.
Can I use them in an electric/power drill? If the answer is "it depends", is there some way to tell? And if I get it wrong and something bad happens, will that bad thing be disastrous, or merely cause damage to the bit? (i.e. if the answer is that the bit might shatter and blow up the drill and I'm shrapneled with little pieces of metal, I won't try it…)
If this seems like an stupid question – my idea is that the metal might not be hard enough or something to stand up to the greater strain/pressure/speed/??, but I don't know if that is a thing.
The photo is of the ones I have at my house at the moment – there are more at my Mum's (they were Dad's) but they are the same general type.
Best Answer
As RedGrittyBrick mentioned, the bits should be stamped "HSS" on the blank bit of the drill where the chuck would grip it. The only other thing is if someone has reground it to cut another material (i.e., put a negative rake on the cutting face), but you would easily see this if it has been ground.
The age will not matter--I am a 60 year old toolmaker and I still use drills from when I was an apprentice.