- Joined
- Dec 7, 2015
- Messages
- 519
Last night I scored a Buffalo No. 15 drill press off craigslist for $50. I've been hunting for a vintage drill press like this (Delta, Rockwell, Atlas, SB, Walker Turner, Buffalo, etc) for about two months now within a 250 mile radius and have been coming up empty. When I saw this listing pop up- I was all over it.
Got the press home and overall it's in decent enough shape. I haven't been able to locate a serial number anywhere, so if anyone knows where it's located- please do let me know. I was told that it was originally sold to Indianapolis Welding way back and was removed from that building as part of an auction or something to that nature. It travelled to Southern Indiana where interest was lost, and then back to Indy with me. So that's kind of a cool story- still in Indy after all these years.
The paint appears to be in decent shape, so I haven't decided if I will strip it and repaint it or not. I kind of like the black Buffalo DPs with the "Buffalo" logo in bare metal. Pretty sharp! So time will tell. EDIT- like this:
The quill was rusted stuck, but I was able to free it with WD40 and a strap wrench once I had the feed pinion out. I plan on replacing the bearings, of course, and then a major cleanup. The table is in pretty good shape with no "arc of shame" -just a couple little pecker holes. Since I'm not too heavily invested I am considering taking it to a welding shop and getting the holes filled and the table ground flat afterwards. I'll price it out. I can't imagine that would cost over $100, but it is a specialty welding so what do I know. Unfortunately, cast iron welding is not a skill I have. Again- if anyone has experience here- please let me know.
Lastly, as far as drives, I'm planning on upgrading to a Baldor 1hp 3ph motor with a VFD. I think that will be make for a very powerful, very useful drill press (with speed control) while still rocking that awesome vintage iron. I'm excited about this project!
One gallon paint can for size reference. This is surprisingly larger than I expected- a nice surprise!
Oh- I found in a maintenance manual that I can apparently spin the knurled ring (it's on a thread, I guess) against the chuck in order to press the chuck off of the spindle. If anyone knows if I need to do this in order to get the lower bearing off, please let me know. I was not able to determine from any manual I can find what direction the lower spindle bearing is pressed on/off. I assume it will come off the chuck side. Hmmm, thinking about it- I think it would HAVE to come off the chuck side. Otherwise you'd have to press it over the upper bearing seat...
Got the press home and overall it's in decent enough shape. I haven't been able to locate a serial number anywhere, so if anyone knows where it's located- please do let me know. I was told that it was originally sold to Indianapolis Welding way back and was removed from that building as part of an auction or something to that nature. It travelled to Southern Indiana where interest was lost, and then back to Indy with me. So that's kind of a cool story- still in Indy after all these years.
The paint appears to be in decent shape, so I haven't decided if I will strip it and repaint it or not. I kind of like the black Buffalo DPs with the "Buffalo" logo in bare metal. Pretty sharp! So time will tell. EDIT- like this:
The quill was rusted stuck, but I was able to free it with WD40 and a strap wrench once I had the feed pinion out. I plan on replacing the bearings, of course, and then a major cleanup. The table is in pretty good shape with no "arc of shame" -just a couple little pecker holes. Since I'm not too heavily invested I am considering taking it to a welding shop and getting the holes filled and the table ground flat afterwards. I'll price it out. I can't imagine that would cost over $100, but it is a specialty welding so what do I know. Unfortunately, cast iron welding is not a skill I have. Again- if anyone has experience here- please let me know.
Lastly, as far as drives, I'm planning on upgrading to a Baldor 1hp 3ph motor with a VFD. I think that will be make for a very powerful, very useful drill press (with speed control) while still rocking that awesome vintage iron. I'm excited about this project!
One gallon paint can for size reference. This is surprisingly larger than I expected- a nice surprise!
Oh- I found in a maintenance manual that I can apparently spin the knurled ring (it's on a thread, I guess) against the chuck in order to press the chuck off of the spindle. If anyone knows if I need to do this in order to get the lower bearing off, please let me know. I was not able to determine from any manual I can find what direction the lower spindle bearing is pressed on/off. I assume it will come off the chuck side. Hmmm, thinking about it- I think it would HAVE to come off the chuck side. Otherwise you'd have to press it over the upper bearing seat...
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