# The 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner 15 Inch Drill Press Mystery



## CPO Ted (Jun 5, 2022)

*The 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner 15 Inch Drill Press Mystery
Part One*​
A number of years ago I bought an old cast-iron 15 inch Craftsman drill press at an auction. It needed some repair and maybe paint, but all the parts were there and I thought it would make a useful addition to my workshop. When I got it home, I cleaned it up a little and looked for a tag with a model or serial number. To my surprise, I found that there wasn’t any nor was there any indication that there had been one at some time but had been removed. I thought this a little odd because I own a number of old cast-iron Craftsman tools and ALL of them had some type of ID number on them somewhere. So I hit the internet, and for the first couple of years, I found exactly nothing on this machine, no pictures, no manuals, no parts diagrams … nothing at all.

After about 3 years of looking, I finally found a photo of another Craftsman 15 inch drill press like mine on an internet forum. The problem was the owner didn’t know anything about his machine either except it had NO identification tags on it.

It’s now 5 or 6 years later and I have kept up my search. To date I have found photos of 9 of these d.p.’s, and have spoken with a reliable source who tells me that he had 3 of them in very bad shape that he broke up for parts. If you count mine, that makes a total of 12 of them.

Interestingly, of the ones I have photos of, six are 15 inch and three are 10 inch. There is a possibility that one of the 10 models is a 13 inch drill press. For more information please see photo number 5 below. Of the six 15 inch drill presses, two are floor models.

Over the years I have found a lot of speculation and guesses but little fact about these machines.

Most people seem to agree that these d.p.’s were built by Walker-Turner in the 1934-35 time-frame. These same people also say that Craftsman stopped dealing with Walker-Turner at the end of 1935 and began selling the Craftsman/Atlas drill presses in 1936.

Please note: For those who may not be aware, Sears never built any of their tools; they always put the Craftsman name on tools built by somebody else and sold them as their own.

I am not an expert or historian on drill presses. I am only reporting what I can see and trying very hard not to speculate. If you have information, manuals, parts diagrams, or anything else to add, or to correct me on, please share what you have.

I am only certain of two things: The 10 inch version of this drill press only appeared in the 1935 Craftsman power tool catalogue, and I have never seen a reference to the 15 inch model in any catalogue.

So where did the 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner 15 inch (and maybe a 13 inch) drill press come from?



*IDENTIFYING FEATURES.*

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The photo above shows what could be regarded as the identifying features of the 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner drill press (C/W-T d.p.’s). Number 1 shows the largest sheave of the 4 tier pulley facing up and at the top of its shaft (i.e., the “inverted pulley”). Number 2 is the smooth-sided upright bowl-shaped spindle pulley guard. Number 3 is the flange-shaped feature the bowl sits on. The bowl and flange are NOT removable from the head casting. Number 4 is the Craftsman logo on both sides of the head more-or-less centered top and bottom, left and right. Please note that this logo can also be located diagonally on some of these d.p.’s. Number 5 is the upward arch from rear to front of the head casting. Number 6 is the V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut.

Additionally, this drill press has NO model number or serial number tag on it anywhere. Walker-Turner did not begin putting ID tags on their machines until 1939. After that date W-T machines had the tags installed on their base, in front of the column.

All of these features can be found on each of the 10 inch and 15 inch versions of the nine 1935 C/W-T drill presses that I have found photos of and listed below.

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In the photos above note the smooth-sided bowl shaped spindle guard and the flange feature (in yellow circle) of the 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Taylor d.p. on the left. Compare that with the somewhat flat sided bowl and the lack of a flange (yellow circles) of the 1934-35 Walker-Turner D921 on the right. As an aside, note the different feed levers.

*ADDITIONAL FEATURES:*


These 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner machines can be found in 2 sizes, 10 and 15 inch. I have seen photos of the 10 inch size only as bench models, but the 15 inch can be found as either bench or floor models.
There is an oval SKF Bearings decal on the front of the drill head of the original machines I have seen photos of.
These machines all seem to have been fitted originally with 2 handled feed levers.
There is only one fastener to secure v-belt tension instead of 2. The fastener is a 4-handled knob and not a bolt or grub screw. It’s located on the right side (facing) on 10 inch models and on the left side (facing) on the 15 inch models.
From the photos of original, untouched machines I’ve seen, I believe these machines came painted in either red or blue. The 2 red ones I found are 15 inch floor models.


*THE INVERTED PULLEY*

Grey iron castings are just shapes which can be easily changed; it’s the Inverted Pulley that helps make the 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner drill press the odd duck that it is. So what is it?

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Quickly stated, it’s an assembly comprised of a shaft, a couple of bearings, a locking collar, a four tier-step pulley with its largest sheave facing up (as seen in the photo above) and a spline (or woodruff key) as seen in the photo below to guide and drive the spindle.

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This assembly slides into the spindle pulley guard portion of the head casting from the back and is pushed upward into a machined recess located at the top of the pulley guard where it is held into place with a couple of threaded fasteners and locking nuts.

The photos above show spindle pulley, bearing and shaft assemblies. On the left is an assembly from a 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner drill press. Compare this with the photo seen on the right of the same assembly from a 1934-35 Walker-Turner D921 d.p. Although the dimensions and part numbers are unknown, obviously, they are very similar. This assembly is similar to those found in other drill presses first seen in the 1934 Walker-Turner and WT Grant Driver Line Power Tools catalogues.

Although I haven’t taken one apart yet, I’m told to make these things all the more interesting, the bearings are of an odd size and their construction is unusual which makes finding them difficult. Also, it’s said after the assembly has been in the head for about 87 years, removing it is nearly impossible. This is probably the reason very few drill presses use this method.

It should be noted that the photo on the left in this series is of a spindle pulley, bearing and shaft assembly from a 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner drill press listed on Ebay. This photo is used with permission of oldamericantools. It is from one of their Ebay sales. Oldamericantools has many parts from the 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner drill press listed on Ebay.


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## CPO Ted (Jun 5, 2022)

PART 2
*CATALOGUES *

As I have mentioned, I have never been able to find any owner manuals, parts diagrams or even lube charts for this series of Craftsman/W-T drill press. If you have anything at all, please share what you have.

In the time I’ve been researching these old Craftsman d.p.’s, I’ve been told more than once that “advertising copy is not a good source as reference material”. That is certainly the case for the 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner 15 inch machines.

The unfortunate truth is, unless somebody unearths documents not seen before or that I have been unable to find, the Craftsman and Walker-Turner power tool catalogues are the only record of these drill presses we have. Sears and Roebuck general merchandize catalogues from 1933 to 1936 do not have information on power tools.

I was born in 1950 when catalogues and little catalogue stores were still a very big part of Sears marketing and sales. Imagine my shock when I learned that catalogues going back to the mid-1930’s when catalogue sales were all the more important, were inaccurate, incorrect … _and even completely left out important models of products that Sears wanted to sell_.

A number of people have used the Craftsman ad from 1935 (seen below) to date and identify the C/W-T d.p. we are discussing. This ad is actually page 23 from the 1935 Craftsman Power Tools Catalogue. The drill presses _are_ similar, but I have found 4 areas where the ad copy falls somewhat short.

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The machine seen in the ad copy above lacks the “flange feature” under the bowl-pulley shield; the Craftsman logo is of the "long "C" type and is located at the top of the head casting; and although the shape of the base table is roughly correct, I’ve not seen one with stiffening gussets. Further, the text of the ad (red circle) discusses a 10 inch machine which was offered only as a bench model. No mention is made of other sizes. The catalogue number is 99PM304 for the 10 inch without motor and 99PM305 for the 10 inch with a motor.

As for advertising copy being incorrect, ALL of the 10 inch models I have found photos of have diagonal Craftsman logos and have their V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut located on the right (facing). This is completely different from what is seen in the ad. That being said, ALL of the 15 inch d.p’s found have horizontal logos and their V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut is on the left, EXACTLY as shown in the ad for the 10 inch drill press.

Apart from the differences listed above, the drill press in the ad has everything else correct and in the same place as the 10 inch and 15 inch drill presses shown in the photos below. What’s more, apart from the “flange” feature, the general shape of the head casting is spot-on.

The important thing to remember is that it does have that “inverted pulley” behind that bowl-shaped spindle pulley guard linking it with the Walker-Turner drill presses.

Over the years I have located and downloaded the 1933 Craftsman and Companion catalogue, the 1934 Craftsman catalogue, the 1935 Craftsman catalogue and the 1936 Craftsman and Companion catalogue from the archives of the Vintage Machine and checked. This 10 inch machine only appears in the 1935 Craftsman Power tools catalogue.

For what it’s worth, Craftsman did offer a 15 inch d.p. in the very same 1935 catalogue. It is described on page 24 and 25. The image below is page 25 from that catalogue.

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The catalogue numbers of this drill press are 99PM473 (no motor) and 99PM499 (with motor) for the bench model and 99Pm462 (no motor) and 99PM461(with motor) for the floor model.

As can be seen, there are vast differences between the 15 inch drill press on page 25 and the 10 inch machine found on page 23. The spindle cover is an upside down bowl shape and it is removable from the rest of the head, the Craftsman logo on the side appears to be a decal and is of the “long C” style. There are many other dissimilarities as well, the most important being the spindle pulley has its largest sheave face down; it has no “inverted pulley” as seen on the C/WT 10 inch found in the 1935 Craftsman catalogue, and found in all of the 10 inch and 15 inch drill presses seen below.


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## CPO Ted (Jun 5, 2022)

PART 3
*THE WALKER-TURNER CONNECTION*

So how was Walker-Turner involved in all of this? From the Vintage Machines website:

"The beginnings of Walker-Turner are murky, but the business was founded sometime between 1927 and 1929 by Ernest T. Walker and William Brewer Turner. They were located in Jersey City until 1931 when they relocated to Plainfield. In 1948 the company was purchased by machine tool maker Kearney & Trecker, and they operated as the Walker-Turner Division of Kearney & Trecker. The division was purchased by Rockwell Manufacturing Co. in 1956. The Walker-Turner name lived into the early 1960s as the Walker-Turner Division, Rockwell Manufacturing Co.

In their earlier years, Walker-Turner made the "Driver Line", a collection of inexpensive machines sold through department stores. In later years they also made larger and sturdier light-industrial machines."1

As mentioned previously, Craftsman never built any of the products they sold. They outlined what they wanted and engaged outside vendors, such as Walker-Turner and Atlas, to build product for them. I’ve found that Sears and Craftsman assigned a “Source Product Code” number to the manufacturers of products sold by Sears. For many products, the first three numbers of the Model Number (usually followed by a decimal point and additional numbers) indicate the actual manufacturer of the product. Walker-Turner’s SPC number is 102.2 Unfortunately, Walker-Turner didn’t begin putting serial numbers on their equipment until 1939.

Unlike Craftsman/Sear & Roebuck we do have an important supporting document from Walker-Turner. On July 26, 1933 William Brewer Turner applied for a patent, “Design for a Head Casting for a Drill Press”. This patent was granted as US Patent D91,094, Nov 21, 1933. The patent documents are very sparse: barely two paragraphs of text and some signatures on one page and another page having 3 drawings with no dimensions or explanation of anything what-so-ever. And therein lays the genius of this patent filing. Once Brewer had this patent, the dimensions of the described drill press head could be literally anything. The casting could be stretched or altered to build a 10 inch d.p., a 13 inch d.p., a 15 inch d.p., a 20 inch d.p., or whatever size was desired. The only change that needed to be made was to the distance between the center of the drill chuck and the d.p.’s column. It’s obvious that the design was intended to be fitted with an inverted (largest sheave facing up) pulley but does not indicate how many tiers or steps such a pulley would have. At the top of the rough right-side-up-bowl shape of the spindle pulley guard is a disc feature. It’s easy to see this feature as a flange which would accept a bearing. If it was to be a single bearing or a double bearing is not indicated in the patent drawing. Also included in the drawings are casting features for the quill lock, the feed lever, the depth gauge, and motor mount bosses having a fixture for the V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut. It cannot be an accident that all of the above described features appear on not only the Walker-Turner D520, D750, and D920 of 1934 and 1935 but also the 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner 10 inch and 15 inch drill presses as well.



	

		
			
		

		
	
7 AAAAAAA​
For more information we have to go back to the catalogues. The 1933 Walker-Turner Driver Line catalogue lists a “New Driver”, the 13 inch bench model SD-80 on pages 14-15. On pages 26 to 28 the “Standard Driver” DP100 11 inch (bench only) can be seen. These were gone by the next year and in the 1934 Walker-Turner Driver Line Power Tools catalogue the D520 (11 inch, bench), the D705 (13 inch, bench) and the D920 (15 inch, bench and floor) drill presses can be found. Although the shape of their cast iron heads maybe a bit different, all of these drill presses have control devices located in the same place as seen on the November 13, 1933 patent as well as the C/M-T 10 inch drill press listed in Craftsman’s 1935 catalogue. Please note that these Walker-Turner drill presses only appeared in the 1934 and 1935 W-T catalogues and by 1936 they were gone.

Most importantly is that the 1934/35 W-T drill presses have the “inverted pulley” feature a year before it was used in the Craftsman tools.







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The image above is page 25 from the 1934 Walker Turner catalogue. It shows the W-T D920 (15 inch bench), D921 (15 inch floor) and D922 (15 inch bench with special accessories) drill presses. You can see the differences (spindle guard shape, no flange, no rise in the casting, etc.) between the Craftsman W-T and the W-T driver series, but again, this machine does show many similarities to the C/W-T drill press, including the distinctive inverted front spindle pulley.


​To illustrate the similarities of the 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner and 1934-1935 Walker-Turner drill press, pictures of the Craftsman and the Walker-Turner D921 have been joined side-by-side and appear above. Absent the few differences in the head casting discussed above, these machines are virtually identical. Please note that the C/W-T on the left is a 10 inch model, and the Walker-Turner D921 on the right is a 15 inch model. A 10 inch Craftsman d.p. was selected purposely for this comparison to ask this question: How easy would it have been for Walker Turner to simply increase the size of the Craftsman 10 inch casting to create a Craftsman/Walker-Turner 15 inch model?

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In the photos above, the base table on the left is from a 15 inch Craftsman/Walker-Turner drill press and a 15 inch Walker-Turner D921 drill press base table is found on the right. This time a 15 inch Craftsman drill press base table was selected to show that it is identical to the base table of the Walker Turner. Note that the columns in each are 2 ½ inch in diameter.




As mentioned above, the spindle of these drill presses engage the spindle pulley by way of a spline.  On the left is a 1935 Craftsman/W-T 15 inch drill press.  It's spindle is 5/8 inch and the grove machined in it is 1/8 inch.  The photo on the right shows the spindle of a 1934-35 Walker-Turner D921.  Although the dimensions were unknown to the author, it can be seen that this drillpress is driven in the same manner as the Craftsman.  Please note that the 6-spline style of Craftsman drill press spindles would come later.


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## CPO Ted (Jun 5, 2022)

PART 4
*AN INTERVIEW*

During the research for this paper, Jeff Hofmann at Walker Turner Serviced Machinery, LLC, was contacted and through email was asked a series of questions which he graciously answered.

Walker Turner Serviced Machinery is a company located in Coventry, Connecticut which provides service, serviceable OEM & new replacement parts & bearings, machine & electric motor rebuild, for Walker Turner and other vintage machinery. They reverse engineer new replacement wearable parts for Walker Turner and other vintage wood working machines and harvest OEM parts from original machines, cleaned and inspected for resale. The questions and Mr. Hoffman’s replies are copied in full and are non-edited from the original.

Mr. Duncan -

The 1935 time period models of Walker Turner Driver Line tools are from a period of rapid transition relative to earlier designs, manufacturing improvements, design innovations for enhanced service and production cost reduction.  We find tools from this period have not yet "graduated" into large scale industrial use, but are transitioning slowly from hobbyist / personal use. The WW2 industrialization is the spring board for Walker Turner pertaining to large scale recognition in heavy industry.

I'll attempt to address your questions below to the best of my knowledge base:

Q. Do you service and stock parts for these machines? They are very similar to the W-T D920 machine from the same year. Especially problematic is the Craftsman front spindle pulley.
A. The spindle was still a 2-fluted design (same as early Delta 14" drill presses), which changed to the 6-fluted spline drive in 1936. Therefore, parts associated with this spindle design are in extremely low demand, and spares are usually not available due to the fact that this drill press design is rare to find, and not a great business case to procure and part out for a business such as ours.

Q. Are the parts in both the 10” and 15” 1935 Craftsman Drill Press the Same?
A. I'm not familiar with a 10" Walker Turner drill press, I believe their smallest drill presses were 11".

Q. Are the Parts in the Walker Turner 920 and the 1935 Craftsman Drill press the same?
A. Sears usually made refinements or added custom specs to their suppliers including Walker Turner. Most likely the machined components are interchangeable, and castings for tables or motor mounts would be tailored to meet a Sears spec.

Q. Do you have a parts list or parts diagram for these machines? If so, would you be willing to email me a copy?
A. All of our reference literature for drill presses is 1938 and later.

Q. As I'm sure you are aware, apart from Craftsman and Walker Turner catalogues, you are probably the last remaining source of information on these machines.
A. We bought a 1935 900 Series 10" wood lathe about 6m ago - a period where the spindle / pulley system components were all identical to the later more popular 900 / 1100 series 12" wood lathes. However - all of the castings were scrapped - they shared no commonality with later models - and this lathe was produced maybe 2 years. I do believe they were doing heavy competitive analysis on Delta, Atlas, Duro to name a few - and designs were being upgraded at a fast pace. Earnest Walker was the engineer, graduate of Maine, had spent his early career with Allis Chalmers turbine and motor division. Bill Turner was a cost driver - ran the business from a profit and loss sense. This pair, along with a very good chief engineer / designer, really drove the company to its peak. When Walker and Turner sold the company in 1948 to Kearney and Trecker - innovation was limited, cost reduction was priority. Rockwell purchased them in 1956 of course - the inherent designs of the 20" drill press and the Radial Ram drill press stemming from the mid/late 1940's ran forward to the early 2000's on Delta's 20" and radial drills. Tells you something about the quality that was thought out by the original team in the mid to late 40's. I think Walker Turner lost out to Atlas for the power tool contract in the mid 30's.
* 

NINE CRAFTSMAN/WALKER-TURNER DRILL PRESSES *

Below are the photos of 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner Drill Presses I have found. I have included the sites I found them on, the owner’s description, and some of my observations.

1. The first one belongs to the author. It’s a 15 inch floor model. Apart from a work light and its motor, it is all original and complete but in need of restoration. Although it’s not clearly visible, this machine has the horizontal Craftsman logo and its V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut is located on the left side (facing) of the machine.

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2. Below is one found on the Tractor Forum as “Antique Craftsman Drill Press (a 15” bench model) With No Model or Serial Numbers”. This machine has the horizontal Craftsman logo and its V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut is located on the left side (facing). It’s base table is the same as seen on the W-T D920 machines. Note that the 4 handle feed has since been changed to a 2 handle style.

https://www.tractorforum.com/thread...-press-with-no-model-or-serial-numbers.32638/






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3. Above is a 10” bench model. Note the diagonal Craftsman logo, that the V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut is located on the right side (facing) of the machine and it has the correct base table. Also, note the motor mount having the handcrank-operated raising and lowering feature. I found this drill press here: http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=40864

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4. I really do not have much information about the above floor model. Doing some rough measurements I believe it to be a 15”. If you look carefully, you can just make out a horizontal Craftsman logo. Although it cannot be seen in the photo, its V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut is on the left (facing).

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5. Above is a Craftsman/W-T “about 13 inch” Bench model from a 2016 ad located at: http://www.vintagemachinery.org/classifieds/detail.aspx?id=12233&p=2

It has both of the identifying features observed on other 1935 Craftsman 10 inch models: 1. the diagonal Craftsman logo 2. the V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut located on the right (facing) side. This machine also has the two handled feed lever, the rise of the center of the head casting and the correct base table seen on the 10 and 15 inch 1935 Craftsman drill presses.

The owner of this d.p. lists its size as “about 13 inch”, saying in the item description: “I think it's a 13 inch. complete with chuck key. not used in 40 + years. not rusted or pitted. needs a good cleaning. leather pulley belt present but warped. Heavy and needs 2 guys to move it. I'm disabled and two old (86) to play with it.”(sic)

Is this a real 13 inch variant of this drill press? If so, it is the only one found so far. In consideration of the owner’s age and physical condition as well as the lack of a date on this listing, I was very reluctant to contact him. If anyone has any more information about this drill press, please reach out to the author.

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6. The photo above is of a 15 inch bench model. This machine has the horizontal Craftsman logo, its V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut is located on the left (facing) and the base table is identical to that found one other C/W-T and W-T D920 machines. From the Old Wood Working Machines web forum. https://owwm.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=177026

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7. The photo above is of a 15 inch bench model. This machine has the horizontal Craftsman logo and its V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut on the left (facing). It can be found here: https://www.owwm.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=233550

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8. The photo above is of a pretty 10 inch bench model. It can be found posted on the Garage Journal Forum on the Vintage Craftsman Drill Press thread. Of interest is the shape of the flange below the bowl. Note that it is not as sharply shaped as all the machines seen above. Also of interest is the diagonal Craftsman logo, the right hand side (facing) V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut and the up-down adjustable motor mount.

​9. Seen above is a 15 inch bench model. This machine has the horizontal Craftsman logo, its V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut is located on the left (facing) side of the machine and it has the correct base table. From Vintage Machinery web forum: http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=9012


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## CPO Ted (Jun 5, 2022)

PART 5
*CONCLUSIONS*

The head casting drawings seen in US patent D91,094 granted to William Brewer Turner November 21, 1933 describe the design features seen on the drill presses found in the 1934-1935 Walker-Turner catalogues perfectly and are very similar if not identical to those found on the 10 inch Craftsman machine found in the 1935 Craftsman Power tools catalogue. The similarity of the W-T and C/W-T spindle pulley assemblies discussed above only reinforces this point. That these same features are seen in the 9 Craftsman drill presses in the photos above would seem to prove that Walker-Turner designed and built those nine drill presses.

The 1935 Craftsman Power Tool catalogue has been proven to be an inaccurate and faulty document, but it is the only record of Craftsman drill presses known to exist from that time. Therefore, this catalogue must be given some consideration when determining where the 15 inch, and possibly a 13 inch version came from. This said, even a casual examination of Craftsman catalogues from 1933 to 1936 reveals that the Craftsman drill presses developed from the drawings seen in US patent D91,094 appear only in the 1935 catalogue in the form of the 10 inch model found on page 23. In 1933 and 34 there was nothing having an inverted spindle pulley, by 1936 it was gone. From this it is safe to assume that this press design was built and sold for just one year, 1935.

The 15 inch drill press that appears on page 24 and 25 of the 1935 Craftsman catalogue is of a completely different design and decidedly not the same as the 15 inch drill presses seen in the photos above.

Clearly, Sears sold two versions of this drill press, a 10 inch and a 15 inch. I have to include the possibility of a 3rd size, the “13 inch” seen in photo number 5 above. The nine pictures presented above show the 10 and 15 inch models to be very similar if not identical, the only obvious differences being the distance from the center of the drill chuck to the column, the position of the Craftsman logo, and the location of the V-belt adjustment lock hand-nut.

Unfortunately this paper does not answer one of the most important questions asked: Do the 1935 C/W-T 10, 13 and 15 inch drill presses and the W-T D920, D921 and D922 drill presses share internal parts? From the information and photos shared above, as well as considering the intended market of these machines, I believe that the 1935 Craftsman drill presses and the Walker-Turner D900 models share many if not all of the same internal and external parts. Admittedly, in the absence of a parts list or parts diagram it’s impossible to say; only a complete tear down of all machines in question and one-for-one comparison of parts would answer that question for certain.

In summation, Walker-Turner built the 9 drill presses seen in the photographs above. In view of their absence from the 1934, 35 and 36 Craftsman catalogues; these drill presses were built and sold in only 1935. Even a fast look the machines in the 9 photos above show them to be virtually identical, the only important difference being the distance between the center of their drill chucks to the column of the d.p. Anticlimatic though it may be, it would appear that Craftsman simply did not include the 15 inch (and very possibly a 13 inch) variant of the 10 inch model in its 1935 Craftsman Power Tools catalogue. The reasons why are lost to history.

Finally, many people regard this as a “rare” machine. It was only made for one year and it is impossible to know how many or how few of them were made and sold in the middle of The Great Depression. It did take me 5 to 6 years to come up with a total of 12 of them. It is, however, a unique machine, the inverted spindle pulley and the lack of any identification tags or stamps among other things make it so.



*FOOTNOTES & RESOURCES*

1 Website article: Vintage Machines>Manufacturers Index>”Walker-Turner co.,Inc.” (click here)

2 Website article: Tools in Action, “Sears and Craftsman Source Product Code” (click here)

The photos above of the Walker-Turner D921 drill press were found on the Old Wood Working Machine web forum on a thread titled, “1935 Walker-Turner D921 drill press” (click here)

Us Patent # D91,094 “Design for a Head Casting for a Drill Press, granted to William Brewer Turner Nov 21, 1933

(click here)

The 1933 Craftsman and Companion Power Tools catalogue, pages 22-25

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/222/2812.pdf

The 1934 Craftsman Power Tools catalogue, pages 19-23

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/222/5327.pdf

The 1935 Craftsman Power Tools catalogue, pages 23-25

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=2768

The 1936 Craftsman and Companion Power Tools by Sears catalogue, pages 13-17

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=2768

Make Your Hobby Pay Dividends – 1933 Walker-Turner Driver catalogue, page 14 and 15.

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/808/2808.pdf

The 1933 (Walker-Turner) WT Grant Driver Line, pages 14-15, 27-28

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/808/6992.pdf

The 1934 (Walker-Turner) W.T. Grant “A Hobby That Pays Dividends general line catalogue, page 10

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/808/22269.pdf

The 1934 Walker-Turner Driver Line Power Tools catalogue, pages 10, 15, 26 and 27

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/808/372.pdf

The 1935 Driver Power Tools Catalogue (Walker-Turner), pages 10, 15, 24 and 25

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/808/374.pdf

The 1936 Driver Power tools Catalogue (Walker-Turner),

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=906



*GLOSSARY*

I have used the following diagram from the 1935 Walker-Turner book, The Drill Press It’s Use and Application, as a guide for terms used in this paper. (click here)

​


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## CPO Ted (Jun 5, 2022)

Due to the fact that I have not been able to find ANY manuals, parts lists or exploded diagrams, it is my intent to take my 15 inch drill press apart and will create a parts list from it.  I will post it in this thread.

If you have any information at all, especially photos, of this 1935 machine or the Walker/Turner D920, PLEASE share what you have!!!


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## C-Bag (Jun 5, 2022)

Thanks for that forensic dig into W-T. Very interesting.

You just never know what kind of rabbit hole you are going to fall into trying to find info on old tool makers. Some of the old stuff was of a cool design, some went away because it was not. I found an old screw H frame press by Manley from the very early teens and have not found another of this early of a design. Mine had a brass thrust bearing and by 1920 they realized this was not that great and went to a roller bearing then soon after went hydraulic. It seems parts manuals were a much later convenience.


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## Aukai (Jun 5, 2022)

Great history lesson, and research Chief


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## Choiliefan (Jun 7, 2022)

Around the same timeframe, W-T supplied Sears with their 6" jointer/planer.
IIRC the big Craftsman scroll saw was also a W-T machine.


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## pontiac428 (Jun 7, 2022)

That was quite the writeup!  I'm coming back if I catch a case of the Walker-Turner Overdrive.


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## aoresteen (Jun 15, 2022)

Great history lesson.  Now I know to look at those old dusty drill presses.


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## CPO Ted (Jun 16, 2022)

pontiac428 said:


> That was quite the writeup!  I'm coming back if I catch a case of the Walker-Turner Overdrive.



It IS quite the eye-burner, isn't it.    BS, MS and PHD material right there.  I'm only 5"6" so it's *P*iled about as* H*igh and *D*eep as I could get it.

If I were 6 feet tall, you'd still be reading it.


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## Aukai (Jun 16, 2022)

I have not read a non fiction book in awhile, I actually read it cover to cover


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## bisbeejulie21 (Jul 16, 2022)

I think I may have the same 15" Craftsman. Got it in a swap for a chintzy, modern bench top drill press. It is very, very heavy. What do you think CPO Ted?


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## bisbeejulie21 (Jul 16, 2022)

I think I may have the same Craftsman drill press. I traded as small, modern drill press for it. It's very heavy. What do you think, CPO Ted?


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## CPO Ted (Jul 27, 2022)

bisbeejulie21 said:


> I think I may have the same Craftsman drill press. I traded as small, modern drill press for it. It's very heavy. What do you think, CPO Ted?



FAR OUT!!!!  By my eye I think you have a 1935 Craftsman/Walker-Turner 15" bench model in VERY nice condition.  I note the horizontal "Craftsman" cast into the head, the left hand (facing) belt-tension knob ... and the absence of an ID tag on the base.

I also think you made a very good trade.

Would you mind if I updated my research by the inclusion of your photos?  Could I ask you to post more photos ...  front (to include the SKF decal, left side, the motor and any tags on the motor?

Thank you very much for sharing this!!!

HHHhmmmmmmm.  As I think on it ... I'm not sure why I'm so happy about this.  I am making a very rare 1935 one year only drill press somewhat less rare.


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## CPO Ted (Jul 28, 2022)

bisbeejulie21 said:


> I think I may have the same Craftsman drill press. I traded as small, modern drill press for it. It's very heavy. What do you think, CPO Ted?




Hey buddy ... you go ahead and post ALL of those photos you sent me.  This 87 year old drill press is complete and correct to the tag on the motor ... and I can't even spot ONE nick in the table.  It really is in VERY good condition and I think most folks would love to see it.

You mentioned a noise, and you mentioned wanting to replace the belt.  

1.  Any irregularity (a split, a tear) in the belt can cause a noise.  So can a very old belt that is so old and inflexible it has taken a "set".

2.  Loose pulleys can make a noise.  Check to see that the screws that bind the pulley in place on its shaft aren't loose.

3.  The bearings and "other things" in the motor can make a noise.

4.  Those wonderful SKF bearings in the head can make a noise.  

MAKING CERTAIN THAT MY HAIR IS SECURE AND WILL NOT GET CAUGHT IN THE BELT/PULLEYS, with the machine running, I would take a long screw driver, hold the butt-end of the handle against my ear and press the tip against various places on the motor and on the head where the bearing live.   I have done this millions of times and know it should locate the noise pretty quickly.

Changing the belt or disassembling the head on these is a little tricky because of ONE part.  I am planning to do another article on the disassembly of this drill press that will show how to do it.

One more thing ... most drill presses run way too fast do drill harder grades of steel.  If you are going to drill a lot of metal, you might want to invest in a slo-speed kit.  You can find them on ebay:   (click Here)


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## bisbeejulie21 (Jul 29, 2022)

As requested, more pics of the drill press.


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## bisbeejulie21 (Jul 29, 2022)

A little backgroung on my DP - sometime in the 50's it was purchased from the guy with his name scratched on it (Dague) by a Mr. Fletcher in San Juan Capistrano, CA. Mr. Fletcher had an extensive shop of his own and worked for a local fabrication business. It was passed down to his daughter Mary in Durango, CO. after his death. It was just too much drill press for my friend Mary so we worked out a trade for my 10 yo Craftsman benchtop DP which was smaller and much, much lighter plus a shop heater. It now lives in Bisbee AZ. and soon will be moved to a 3 bay garage and shop here that I am renovating. Hopefully, it will not need to be moved again untill after my passing, lol.


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## Dave Smith (Oct 3, 2022)

CPO Ted said:


> One more thing ... most drill presses run way too fast do drill harder grades of steel.  If you are going to drill a lot of metal, you might want to invest in a slo-speed kit.  You can find them on ebay:   (click Here)


CPO Ted, I have an old walker turner "the driver line"---(on a brass oval tag on the left side) and I have been reading your thread with great interest. I will post pictures of my WT bench model but I have a question for you on slo-speed kit---because mine has a beveled pinion on shaft from back large belt pulley to a large beveled gear secured above the top large pulley on drill shaft. I was wondering if this was an option years ago or did a PO make the change to slow it down? also maybe you may know what year mine was made since it is not a craftsman. I will include a couple pictures of it now and include some better pictures and info on it tomorrow.
Dave


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## Dave Smith (Oct 4, 2022)

well tomorrow is here and I took some pictures of my WT 15" and a gear drive that was installed to slow it down. the ID of the beveled ring gear is the same as the OD of the top inverted spindle pulley and fits like it was a factory option or made by  an experienced machinist. there is no serial number on the nice oval brass tag. I have had this old Walker-Turner drill press for over 45 years without using it (cause I have so many others) and it is a very heavy unit. I hope you can determine when it was made and keep up on your research. maybe some other member has one like mine with the same gear unit.
Dave


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## pontiac428 (Oct 4, 2022)

Whoa, it's a Walker-Turner Underdrive!  

Well... You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet.  
I'd Let It Ride, and Roll On Down the Highway.  You know, Looking Out for Number One.
That drill press is Taking Care of Business.

See how this never gets old to me?


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## Dave Smith (Oct 4, 2022)

pontiac428 said:


> Whoa, it's a Walker-Turner Underdrive!
> 
> Well... You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet.
> I'd Let It Ride, and Roll On Down the Highway.  You know, Looking Out for Number One.
> ...


I have no clue what you mean---maybe I'm getting too old
Dave


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## pontiac428 (Oct 4, 2022)

Dave Smith said:


> I have no clue what you mean---maybe I'm getting too old
> Dave


Awww, I put five song titles from Bachman-Turner Overdrive into that post.  Walker-Turner Underdrive?  Snort?  Chortle?  Nothing?


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## Dave Smith (Oct 4, 2022)

pontiac428 said:


> Awww, I put five song titles from Bachman-Turner Overdrive into that post.  Walker-Turner Underdrive?  Snort?  Chortle?  Nothing?


no wonder I had no clue---I've never heard of Bachnan-Turner overdrive--guess I am getting too old.
Dave


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## pontiac428 (Oct 4, 2022)

Oh, you're not too old.  What were you rocking to in 1973?
(Sorry for the thread contamination)


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## Dave Smith (Oct 4, 2022)

I was only listening  to my old country and western albums collection.
Dave


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## twhite (Oct 4, 2022)

pontiac428 said:


> Whoa, it's a Walker-Turner Underdrive!
> 
> Well... You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet.
> I'd Let It Ride, and Roll On Down the Highway. You know, Looking Out for Number One.
> ...



You made my night. I LOVE BTO! I got it half way through your post. 


Cutting oil is my blood.


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## C-Bag (Oct 4, 2022)

pontiac428 said:


> Awww, I put five song titles from Bachman-Turner Overdrive into that post.  Walker-Turner Underdrive?  Snort?  Chortle?  Nothing?


Lol, is this mic on?


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## CPO Ted (Oct 7, 2022)

Dave Smith said:


> CPO Ted, I have an old walker turner "the driver line"---(on a brass oval tag on the left side) and I have been reading your thread with great interest. I will post pictures of my WT bench model but I have a question for you on slo-speed kit---because mine has a beveled pinion on shaft from back large belt pulley to a large beveled gear secured above the top large pulley on drill shaft. I was wondering if this was an option years ago or did a PO make the change to slow it down? also maybe you may know what year mine was made since it is not a craftsman. I will include a couple pictures of it now and include some better pictures and info on it tomorrow.
> Dave


Hey Dave ...

I just did a quick check of the 1934, 1935 and 1936 WT manuals.  Unless I am over looking something, I do not see the speed reducer you have on your machine listed as an option or as "parts" in any of the catalogues listed from that time.  I checked anything to do with pulleys, motors and belts and could not come up with anything with a *gear* on it.

This speed reducer is very interesting to me for a number of reasons.  The shaft pulley is a pretty special item because of the way its mounted into the top of the casting.  Coming up with that gear to bolt on is pretty amazing.  Additionally, coming up with a means of supporting the "main shaft" as well as aligning the two gears Is pretty sophisticated for a guy in his basement shop.  I can't but help think that this is some sort of kit or something that came off another machine rather than something put together with catalogue parts.

Again, I could be wrong.  Hopefully someone having better information than I could come forward.

As for the drill press itself, based on an examination of the various WT catalogues from 1933 to 1939, I find that the cast in pulley guard having a "right side up bowl" appearance accmodating the largest sheeve of a multisheeve pulley as seen on your machine only appears on those Walker-Turner Driver-line series 900 machines sold in 1934 and 1935.


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## twhite (Oct 7, 2022)

Could be a ring and pinion off of a car differential?


Cutting oil is my blood.


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## pontiac428 (Oct 7, 2022)

twhite said:


> Could be a ring and pinion off of a car differential?
> 
> 
> Cutting oil is my blood.


I was thinking that, or maybe it's from a powered utility cart or a very small tractor or tiller or something.  Really ingenious.


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## Jake M (Oct 7, 2022)

I could be way off, but those gears and pulleys have a very agricultural look about them.  Belt driven mower maybe.  Right angle drive for a direction change, and bolted hub pulleys for speed/horsepower adjustment...  I dunno...  

I wonder how much torque they were getting out of that little bugger to feel it necessary to weld the top collar directly to the drill chuck body?  Sure enough it won't work loose that way...


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## CPO Ted (Oct 7, 2022)

The space inside the cast-in pulley guard is pretty small, a lot smaller then would seem given this photo.  From the edge indicated by the arrow to the corresponding edge on the other side is only about 5 1/2 inch or just a little more.  My guess is that gear is probably about 4 inches in diameter.

By my eye, whoever put this together ground off 1/2 of the biggest pulley (#4) and bolted the gear onto the next pulley (#3) down.


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## Aukai (Oct 7, 2022)

No belt slipping there....


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## Dave Smith (Oct 7, 2022)

twhite said:


> Could be a ring and pinion off of a car differential?
> 
> 
> Cutting oil is my blood.


It isn't that large and heavy like a car differential would be.
Dave


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## CPO Ted (Oct 8, 2022)

Dave Smith said:


> It isn't that large and heavy like a car differential would be.
> Dave


BTW Dave ... thank you for sharing this DP ... VERY interesting.  And GREAT pictures!

The idea of using automotive parts is a good one, Since 1976 I have owned a LOT of MGBs and used parts from them on any number of non-automotive projects.

Thinking that the reducer project was done "back in the day" when the most common of automobiles was the Model T Ford.  The engine of of the Ford only put out 22 HP., so it's a pretty good place to start looking.  I spent some time trying to find out what I could about the gears in the T's differential.  A 40 tooth Model T ring gear (crown wheel) is a straight cut gear having an od of 8.100" and an id mounting diameter of 5.248".  The threaded mounting holes are on a 5 13/16" bolt circle.  It is too big by a bunch.

Additionally, most, but not all, automotive differentials use ring gears that are hypoid gears rather than straight cut for greater strength and quieter operation.  I suspect that farm tractors are much the same.  When I began my career as a mechanic back in the early 19 and 70s, I took a job at a International Harvester & Checker Automobile dealership.  One thing I remember about farm tractors is that every thing on it is big and very heavy ... except maybe PTO stuff.

Maybe something like the old (very old) International Cub Cadet would be a good donor, but, as far as I remember, they didn't come along until the 1960s.

Based on all of this, I think I would be inclined to look at PTO drives on farm stuff, and shafts that drove cutting blades of some type.


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## Dave Smith (Oct 8, 2022)

CPO Ted said:


> Hey Dave ...
> 
> I just did a quick check of the 1934, 1935 and 1936 WT manuals.  Unless I am over looking something, I do not see the speed reducer you have on your machine listed as an option or as "parts" in any of the catalogues listed from that time.  I checked anything to do with pulleys, motors and belts and could not come up with anything with a *gear* on it.
> 
> ...


all the 900 series WT have the tag on the front of press and mine has the nice oval brass tag on the left side and has no serial number on it.
I do have another


CPO Ted said:


> The space inside the cast-in pulley guard is pretty small, a lot smaller then would seem given this photo.  From the edge indicated by the arrow to the corresponding edge on the other side is only about 5 1/2 inch or just a little more.  My guess is that gear is probably about 4 inches in diameter.
> 
> By my eye, whoever put this together ground off 1/2 of the biggest pulley (#4) and bolted the gear onto the next pulley (#3) down.
> 
> ...


the space on my WT between your arrow and other inside casting is 6 inches. the gear is 5 inch diameter.
I took some pictures of my old vintage bench drill press that uses a gear drive also. ring gear is on the bottom.  It's ring gear is 6 inch diameter. it has a perfect ratchet feed handle to always be able to adjust to pull down for pressure and a small 4 way handle on the orher side. I don't know the brand name of mfg. co. or if it was totally hand made in someones' shop. I know that I can drill through a 1" iron plate with a 1" drill bit in quick time with all the down pressure you have available.  these old vintage drill presses are sure fun to have. enjoy looking at them.
Dave
Dave


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## CPO Ted (Oct 8, 2022)

Dave Smith said:


> all the 900 series WT have the tag on the front of press and mine has the nice oval brass tag on the left side and has no serial number on it.
> I do have another
> 
> Dave


Dave, 

As I mentioned in my article, Walker-Turner did not begin putting ID tags on their machines until 1939. After that date W-T machines had the serial or part number tags installed on their base, in front of the column.  Eventually WT may have started putting the number on that nice brass tag, but I have no information about that.

I LOVE old cast iron tools.  Apart from my table saw, band saw and hand held electric drills, saws and grinders, that's what you'd find in my basement shop.  Both of my sewing machines are old Singers, one from 1952 the other is older than that ... and both run wonderfully. 

We used to make great stuff in this country.  Strong, durable and reliable.  I'll pass my Craftsman/WT drill press (and my Buffalo No 18 drill press and my Craftsman/Atlas lathe and the rest) on to my son ... and I KNOW he'll be able to pass it on too.


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## lordbeezer (Oct 8, 2022)

Think still have my BTO 8 track tape. KLAZ fm in Little Rock played their stuff a lot.


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