Drill Presses

[downsizingnow48]

About 90% of what I need to do can be done with a 70 year old Duro 1/2 press with a slow speed pulley giving 300 rpm.

For heavy work I use a mag drill mounted over my cutting table.

 

[sea2summit]

I need a drill press and band saw

 

[poncho62]

Nice....I need a better drill press, just have one of those cheapo Harbor Freight type ones, extremely under-powered.

 

[CA_Bgrwldr]

Nice....I need a better drill press, just have one of those cheapo Harbor Freight type ones, extremely under-powered.

Might try using a kevlar belt until you upgrade, it won't stretch as much when warm, like the rubber ones do.

 

[flyerdan]

I've got a HF T-583 drill press, it's been good to me. Bought it new in '96, it was $250 so nearly top of the line for a 16 speed floor model. If you can find an older one on craigslist, that would be a good option.

 

[sonny580]

Mine is some off brand that I bought from one of them traveling scalpers!---- its a floor type 16 speed and 1 hp motor that can run on either 110 or 220. --- it has plenty of power for heavy drilling.

 

[flyerdan]

It sounds like we have the same model, does yours have a round table that rotates, as well as tilts?

 

[sonny580]

YUP!!! round, rotates and tilts, goes up and down with hand crank on back after you loosen the lock handle.I bought this one back in the early 70's or so.

 

[flyerdan]

And I think the table center hole is a MT3 so you can use a live center and turn armatures to clean up the commutators on starters, alternators, etc. I'd have to double check, but I think its a 3

 

[sonny580]

I bolted a 6" cross slide vise on mine and that comes in very handy for my use.

 

[StuckRod]

A lot of fabrication work is drilling, so it really makes sense to have a drill press in the shop. I have got everything from a battery powered screw gun, to a 1907 Canedy-Otto post drill press.

 

[Lis2323]

And I think the table center hole is a MT3 so you can use a live center and turn armatures to clean up the commutators on starters, alternators, etc. I'd have to double check, but I think its a 3

I’ve never seen (or noticed) one like that! That would be so handy!

 

[flyerdan]

I just went out and pulled the vise to check - there isn't a center hole at all in the table. I must have been thinking of another, maybe one of the Jets we had at work.
I turn motors in the lathe now, but before I had it I'd use a ball bearing cradled in a nut for a center on the drill press. It was adequate for a bit of hand burnishing.

 

[StuckRod]

I just pulled a starter off my Perkins Engine that had sat for 32 years. The starter looked good on the outside, but when I pulled it apart it looked like Mars...the red planet! It was nothing but rust! Undeterred, I pulled it all apart, and spent four hours cleaning it up...

Then, as I was sliding the housing back on, it hung up on a brush, and that 42 year old bakealite holding the brush, snapped. All that work, and I still had to take it to the repair shop. In the end I found I could buy a new starter cheaper than I could rebuild it, so I did that, but it would have saved me four hours worth of work!

 

[DAC]

I had a HF for a long time too--well still do but a couple of years ago my wife's cousin was having a rummage sale. They were moving and getting rid of almost everything. I bought a bunch of small tools and some lumber. Was paying for that and they said do you need a drill press? Long story short they had this 1978 "Duracraft" in a back room of the garage. It was loaded into the pickup before anything else! It's an old import too, but seems like a pretty good quality tool. I just bought a belt, cleaned it up a bit and lubed it. I still have a hard time realizing that after all these years I finally have a better one! On Easter Sunday I even used it as a kind of a vertical lathe to make a couple bushings for one of my garden tractors!



DAC

 

[sonny580]

Spindle speeds on mine range from 170 in low to 3,600 in 16'th gear. --- I only use the first gear 170 for all of my drilling,--bits stay cooler and less breakage. I think it's a Central machinery brand,--probably the same thing HF sells now. I bought 5 items from this guy back in the early 70's. --he was from South Carolina and heading home,--wanted to get rid of the last 5 pieces so he made me a good offer for the group and I just did have enough cash to pay for the lot. ---A one time deal and gotta happen now! LOL never ran into that kind of deal ever again.

 

[g_man]

I've got an old Craftsman by King-Seeley from back in the early 1950's . Got it from my FIL. I just put a speed reduction on it a couple weeks ago to get it down to 200 RPM.

 

[bigb]

g_man that's a nice old press. I put a speed reducer on my 1964 Delta-Rockwell and my lowest speed is now right around 100 RPM. The machine is a beast and I love it, good old American iron. I recently put a used Albrecht Keyless chuck on her and it's a world of difference when changing bits multiple times during a project. I couldn't bring myself to cutting a hole in the side of my belt guard so yesterday I went to making a guard since I got lot's of spare time right now with the stay home orders, plus with no barbers open my hair is getting long so I figured it's time for a guard! I have 3 drill presses in all and I will get some pics of them to post on this thread soon.

 

[bigb]

I also rigged up a counterweight system to make raising and lowering the table easier

 

[Lis2323]

I also rigged up a counterweight system to make raising and lowering the table easier

Nice. I like that!