Restored: 1920's Tabletop Drill Press.

[ProfessorGuy]

My wife remembers this drill press gathering dust in her grandfather's little home shop. It didn't get much use because larger drill presses became available and for most woodworking, this is too small.

But for the scale of my watchmaking, a drill press this size is just the thing. It hadn't seen oil since the 50's so it was a little crusty. And that teetering pile it was connected to wasn't appropriate for the tiny work I do.

So, first, took it apart, some penetrating oil and brushing. Wire brushed the frame and a new coat of paint:



My late father-in-law (from whom I got this drill) would have loved the bright red, it was his favorite color!

I mounted it just like my other tabletop machines (a lathe and mill) on a white painted plywood base with large grippy feet. When I got it, the way the motor was turned on was by plugging it in--with an old cloth wrapped cord. I installed a new wiring harness:




I rebuilt the old 1/8 HP induction motor, had to remake one of the missing oil caps, and I created a new pulley as well. Here is the cleaned-up motor attached to the platform (with bolts from below) and a new old-fashioned switch:



Here's the rebuilt drill press itself. The circus colors are due to the paint I had on hand:



Ready to drill:



><gts

 

[rrjohnso2000]

Being on the smaller end myself, I love it. Great job but how's she run?

 

[ProfessorGuy]

Here's how: These are the first 2 holes I've made with it.

The big hole is about 1.5mm. The little one is very small, about 0.5mm.

For scale, the coin is a dime.

 

[Dracen knights]

thats a pretty cool little drill. I like how the belt runs from a horizontal motor to a vertical drill shaft.... is there any way to adjust belt tension?

 

[turnitupper]

Any chance of putting an Earth on the motor/switch box. Anything metal with biteys inside and without an earth wire always looks dangerous to me.
John.

 

[FOMOGO]

Nice job on the restoration, looks great. You might want to make a riser to go under the drill press to put a little more tension on the belt. Mike

 

[ProfessorGuy]

The belt has no tensioner. I used fusible polyurathane to make a belt that I formed using a torch-heated blade held in a brass-jawed vice. The tension is exactly right for when the belt is around the larger spindle pulley (it took 2 tries to get the right size). I slip the belt off the big pulley onto the small one just to release the tension when the drill isn't running (as seen in the pictures). I use the large pulley for drilling because I like the slower speeds and I'm in no hurry.

The wire between the electric box and the wall has a ground. The box (and thus switch body) is grounded. If a fault develops and the hot wire slips in the box it cannot go hot, it will run to ground and trip the circuit breaker instantly. The motor body is not grounded and could, if just the right failure occurs, go hot. But in nearly 100 years, that fault has not developed yet. I'll trust it a few years more.

 

[thomas s]

I like it very nice job on the rebuild.

 

[Dave Smith]

very nice restore---and very handy for small work--that's what nice old machines are all about---working forever in our shops---Dave

 

[ProfessorGuy]

I took some photos of the drill with the belt on the pulley I prefer for drilling. The belt is not so tight as to pull the spindle, but it seems to get enough power from the motor to the bit for my needs. To run on the high-speed pulley, I'd have to make another belt. I got 4 meters of belting ($13 with shipping) and it takes just a few minutes with a razor blade, torch and old kitchen spatula. So making another belt wouldn't be a big deal. However, I'm going to live with the slow speed which should be fine for what I need.



Here it is actually running and you can see my hand for scale on this small press.



My wife was so happy to see it back in service, she made a lint-free (lint is verboten in the watchmaking factory) plastic cover for it. It goes along with the ones she made for my lathe and mill.



Next up, I want to mill some slots on the table so I can use my mill's hold-down set on the drill and perhaps clamp my milling vice to it.