1956 Craftsman Drill Press Rebuild - Completed

[tghsmith]

looks and sounds great, this was a fun journey to follow!!!!

 

[creasman]

She's a beauty! Great work (and writeup).

 

[cfield60]

And now....what will you let it go for?

 

[NYTransplant]

looks and sounds great, this was a fun journey to follow!!!!

She's a beauty! Great work (and writeup).

Appreciate it!! It was a fun journey to take part in ;-)

And now....what will you let it go for?

I can't sell it now. With the time I put into it, I'd make about a buck an hour ;-) Honestly, I was just looking for a heavier-duty drill press to replace my little Craftsman benchtop... next thing you know...

I can't wait to start using it. I plan to build a mobile cabinet for it also. I guess that's my next project.

 

[Rick_B]

Outstanding job Tim!!

Did you think about adding a safety collar under the head? What is the column diameter?

Rick

 

[NYTransplant]

Outstanding job Tim!!

Did you think about adding a safety collar under the head? What is the column diameter?

Rick

Thanks Rick!

Yes I did... until I priced one ;-) Plus, I didn't want it visible from the operator side under the head. With the motor installed, you can barely see the worm gear clamp inside the head from the back of the machine... and it is secure. I used it throughout the build as a third hand when adjusting or moving the head and it was very secure. And about 10x less $ than the cheapest "real" collar clamp I could find. It's only there as an insurance policy.

 

[patlaw]

I think the problem with mine is that lack of grease on the Vari-Slo pullies. Maybe one day I'll tackle it again. My metal working skills are significantly worse than my limited woodworking skills.

 

[NYTransplant]

I think the problem with mine is that lack of grease on the Vari-Slo pullies. Maybe one day I'll tackle it again. My metal working skills are significantly worse than my limited woodworking skills.

Two things I believe were causing stiffness in the Vari-Slo system were binding in the linkages (There were a couple stiff pivot points), and stiffness in the pulley slides due to the grease hardening up over time. The ease of speed adjustment from before to after was quite significant.

 

[SabertoothBunny]

I'm impressed

 

[Yelverton]

Just to hijack this thread a little bit - if you enjoy tool restorations, I strongly encourage you to check out Hand Tool Rescue on YouTube. There's minimal talking, just quality videos of restorations of a variety of tools, mostly power tools despite the channel name. This restoration would fit right in there. Awesome work.

 

[Wilsoncb]

Nice job! Looks like you need to find a ‘67 Mustang Shelby that needs to be restored.

 

[NYTransplant]

I'm impressed

Thanks @SabertoothBunny!

Just to hijack this thread a little bit - if you enjoy tool restorations, I strongly encourage you to check out Hand Tool Rescue on YouTube. There's minimal talking, just quality videos of restorations of a variety of tools, mostly power tools despite the channel name. This restoration would fit right in there. Awesome work.

I'll definitely check it out. Thanks @Yelverton!

Nice job! Looks like you need to find a ‘67 Mustang Shelby that needs to be restored.

Exactly why I restored a drill press @Wilsoncb! I can't afford the Shelby. Though that would be fun. I'm partial to the 1965/66 actually.

 

[Gotcha6]

That is SO cool - why didn't companies continue to use this version of speed control?
(thinking of the Delta DP-300 where the "reeves drive" [it is a CHEAP imitation] LITERALLY tears itself apart!)

The Reeves drive units I have seen are single belt assemblies and therefore must have a wide belt to transmit torque. The vari-torque I'm looking at appears to have a standard 1/2" belt on a reduction pulley assembly incorporate that would permit the floating pulleys to remain in a high speed/low torque position. Probably the reason they were discontinued was the added cost of production for the intermediate pulley and idler assembly. I have a Ryobi benchtop with a variable drive, but I've never tried to drill anything in a slow speed mode to see how it behaved.

 

[NCsawdust]

Really nice work. Thanks for sharing

M

 

[NCsawdust]

I have to agree that is some fine work !! My drill press is very jealous, I should not have showed it your pictures. Thanks for sharing your tricks as well.

 

[HITCH-]

Wow, what a transformation!
Strong work!

 

[bob vaughan]

Impressive work for sure.
Taking those Craftsman motors apart is a major pain. You did well. Newer motors are somewhat easier.

 

[LeftyTom]

Well done, and thoroughly documented.