re: Stanley 04-421 “Silken” Hole Cutter

The patent also describes an Alan key that is not only absent but the described beam lacks the broached hole to house said Alan key.

My guess is that when it came time to manufacture the item, practicality won-over and they made some simplifications.

Specifically, there is no need to have the Alan key stored in the beam to use as a handle and practically speaking, it weakens the beam for arguably little to no benefit at the cost of added manufacturing.

It probably likewise occurred to them that hand drills are reversible.

I examined the bit. You are correct that driven clockwise, the chips would be drawn up. However one can reverse the drill to cause the flutes to pull chips down and out — as the patent accurately states the tool will jam otherwise.

However, if the drill is operating in reverse (anti-clockwise, counter-clockwise, widdershins, or however you like to say it), the rakes at the tip of the bit won’t cut a hole.

So it seems to me that for the drilling operations, you run the drill forward, for side-cutting, run the drill backward.