Buying a big drill press tomorrow. What should I look for?

[blanning]

It's a 2000 series Rockwell drill press with a VFD.  There's not a lot of info online about them.  Other than bearing noise or runout, is there anything I should check for before buying?

Transporting it should be the wrong kind of exciting.  lol

They're asking $1100 which sounds like a good deal compared to what I think are comparable machines.

[iclark]

Look under the hood for the drive mechanism. Are any keys sticking out in odd places? Are the belt(s) in good condition?

Check the table height adjustment mechanism for smooth operation and for any damage to the gear teeth.

Is the depth stop in good working condition?

[blanning]

Look under the hood for the drive mechanism. Are any keys sticking out in odd places? Are the belt(s) in good condition?

Check the table height adjustment mechanism for smooth operation and for any damage to the gear teeth.

Is the depth stop in good working condition?

Thanks.  He's including a new belt.

My main worry is moving it.  It's around 500lbs.

[fredhargis]

Almost all of the weight is at the top of the column as well...be very careful!

[blanning]

Almost all of the weight is at the top of the column as well...be very careful!

I considered disassembling it for transport, then remembered that.

I'm not sure if it makes sense to transport it standing up or lying down.  The seller says he did it standing up when he got it.

[jcredding]

I’d transport lying down if using a pickup - that’s how I moved mine (after removing the table). I could then slide it in and out of the bed, and when I arrived at my shop I unloaded by simply pulling base out, set the back of base on the ground and tilted it to standing. Then just walked it into the shop.

[fredhargis]

There's no way I'd try moving that upright. Like JC said, pull the table and lay it down....I'd probably try to lay it on it's spine if possible.

[blanning]

There's no way I'd try moving that upright. Like JC said, pull the table and lay it down....I'd probably try to lay it on it's spine if possible.

I moved it upright on my trailer.  There didn't seem to be a good side to lay it on.  The front was uneven and had the speed control handle.  The back had the motor in a bad spot.  The left side had the VFD box which I guess could have been removed.  The right side had hub for the handle sticking out a bit too far.

I had four tiedown straps, each wrapped around the post and anchored to the rail at both ends.  So I had eight points of contact.  It didn't move at all and was still tight when I got home an hour away.  We considered putting lag screws through the base into the wood trailer decking.  But it really wasn't needed.

The hard part was getting it on and off of the trailer.  We backed the trailer into his shop and lifted it with a motorcycle jack and a couple of 4x4s.  Once it was up to the trailer, we could slide it forward.  But it was too tall to clear his garage door opening.  So we let the air out of the tires to drop the trailer a couple inches.

At home it was even harder.  I grabbed my three sons and son in law.  The five of us just lifted it up by hand and lowered it to the ground.

It's in my tractor shed at the moment waiting for my shop to be built in a couple months.  I think I'll put it on a pallet and get some pallet forks for my tractor.  I like this idea of getting bigger and better machines that are older.  But I'd have to pick them up used.  So I'll need an easier way to get them off the trailer and into position than just five guys lifting it.  This one was only 500lbs.  And I don't think we could have handled any more.

[fredhargis]

Congrats on getting it home. If you come across a used engine hoist (one that folds is best) for a good price, you'd find that really useful when dealing with heavy tools. I used one for years and it really helped me do things by myself that would have taken a few extra folks otherwise.

[mdhills]

When I moved a clausing, I removed some fragile parts from the head and leaned it back onto a plywood with support blocking, then tipped the entire thing back into my minivan.

Can you lower the head down the column?  This can make upright transport a bit less hairy.
The head is probably quite heavy.
When doing wanting to lower or raise the head of the clausing, I worked with the table-raising mechanism, and had a section of 2x4 from the table collar to the base of the head.

Matt