Drill press with flair

[stav]

Wow, that is a really interesting machine and a good example of how different people will attack different problems from a different angle. I can't wait to see some restore pics on this guy.

[skizzo]

Bob10 said:

---

I would mount the motor and the machine on a platform or metal plate so the motor would not me attached to the machine by anything more than the belt. My Crescent BS is that way with the exception of the motor controls. Yet with yours even those could be dealt with without modifying the tool

---

Yeah, that's kind of my inclination too. I think I could rig up something that sits on the floor and above the base on the back, maybe bolt through the base bolt holes to eliminate vibrating away. I have a couple vintage appropriate motors that I'll need to see how they might work, will need to find/make a motor pulley... may turn one out of hardwood to fit. I like how this doesn't extend very far to the back, unlike most cone-head camelback drill presses. I'd like to minimize how much space I have to take up back there for the motor mount.

It's particularly cool how the speed control works. The lever on the hub underneath/behind the cone drum turns a threaded stud that moves the drum forward and back. It's almost like a clutch to engage/disengage the drum from the two pulleys that form the drive system. I doubt it's intended for use under power, but is a very quick and simple way to pull the drum out of contact to change speeds.

[pprobus]

skizzo said:

---

[blockquote]Bob10 said:

---

I would mount the motor and the machine on a platform or metal plate so the motor would not me attached to the machine by anything more than the belt. My Crescent BS is that way with the exception of the motor controls. Yet with yours even those could be dealt with without modifying the tool

---

Yeah, that's kind of my inclination too. I think I could rig up something that sits on the floor and above the base on the back, maybe bolt through the base bolt holes to eliminate vibrating away. I have a couple vintage appropriate motors that I'll need to see how they might work, will need to find/make a motor pulley... may turn one out of hardwood to fit. I like how this doesn't extend very far to the back, unlike most cone-head camelback drill presses. I'd like to minimize how much space I have to take up back there for the motor mount.

It's particularly cool how the speed control works. The lever on the hub underneath/behind the cone drum turns a threaded stud that moves the drum forward and back. It's almost like a clutch to engage/disengage the drum from the two pulleys that form the drive system. I doubt it's intended for use under power, but is a very quick and simple way to pull the drum out of contact to change speeds.

---

[/blockquote]

Small world. I don't know if it was the same make and model, but my dad bought a similar drill press at a machine auction (I think he got his bandsaw at the same auction). It was in better shape because it had been in use, where ever it was and I believe it had already been converted over to an individual motor drive. I was real young when he bought it, so I remember it "always" being in the basement shop. It was not until I was in HS when we were working on a project that required changing the speed that he showed me the dome was used to vary the speed, other than that, I remember we only used it at one speed all those years. Worked well, I don't remember the drive slipping, the bit always seemed to slip long before anything else slipped. I believe he had to get rid of it after he and my mom divorced and he sold the house, I know the old BS went at that time.

Good luck with it. I did and still do like the hemispherical variable speed drive (I think its simpler than the variable belt drives and just as, if not more, effective), but I also remember thinking much of the rest of the DP left a lot to be desired, IMHO.

Paul

[Snipe Hunter]

Very cool. Brilliant in sort of a twisted way. I'm looking forward to it's rebirth.

[skizzo]

pprobus said:

---

Small world. I don't know if it was the same make and model, but my dad bought a similar drill press at a machine auction (I think he got his bandsaw at the same auction). It was in better shape because it had been in use, where ever it was and I believe it had already been converted over to an individual motor drive.

---

Most likely the same machine. The company had a patent on the design, and there aren't any other makes that have been found that used it.

pprobus said:

---

Worked well, I don't remember the drive slipping, the bit always seemed to slip long before anything else slipped.

---

I can see that. This doesn't have a chuck, but it has a female taper spindle for a tang-design chuck arbor. It's pretty small, too... haven't figured out the size, but looks like it might be a small as a Morse #1. I could see it slipping at the chuck or the bit, especially in metal.

pprobus said:

---

I did and still do like the hemispherical variable speed drive (I think its simpler than the variable belt drives

---

Given both the form and the function, I've taken to calling it a planetary dome. It serves the same function as a planetary gear, but with the smooth dome shape rather than geared. It does seem likely to be effective, even the frayed leathers that are on it seem to get a reasonable grip.

pprobus said:

---

and just as, if not more, effective), but I also remember thinking much of the rest of the DP left a lot to be desired, IMHO.

---

Interesting. There's not a whole lot more to it. I'm not a fan of bevel gear table raiser mechanisms, and I already know this doesn't have a spindle depth lock to go with the depth gauge. It also doesn't have a return spring, but uses a counterweight inside the column to assist in raising the spindle.

Do you have any recollection where the motor was mounted on it? There was another design that had a different base casting with sort of a box in it where a motor could be mounted inside the casting with the pulley facing out. It was made for an electric motor drive.

[Jonny Rocket]

I'd mount the motor on the ceiling and drop the belt down.

[Bob10]

I guess you wouldn't be able to use a mobile base with it

[Jonny Rocket]

Bob10 said:

---

I guess you wouldn't be able to use a mobile base with it

---

Sure you could, you just can't operate the machine. Its like the old model T's coming in any color you wanted as long as it was black.

[skizzo]

Actually, if I just leave the motor hanging there with the belt, it would be possible to move the dp back against the wall, pull it out when needed, slip on the belt to run, then slip the belt off and push it back against the wall. Great.

[pprobus]

skizzo said:

---

[blockquote]pprobus said:

---

and just as, if not more, effective), but I also remember thinking much of the rest of the DP left a lot to be desired, IMHO.

---

Interesting. There's not a whole lot more to it. I'm not a fan of bevel gear table raiser mechanisms, and I already know this doesn't have a spindle depth lock to go with the depth gauge. It also doesn't have a return spring, but uses a counterweight inside the column to assist in raising the spindle.

Do you have any recollection where the motor was mounted on it? There was another design that had a different base casting with sort of a box in it where a motor could be mounted inside the casting with the pulley facing out. It was made for an electric motor drive.

---

[/blockquote]

I don't recall much about the motor mount. All I know is that it was mounted high, like a modern drill press, I am not sure if the flat belt pulleys were replaced with V-belt pulleys with the motor mounted slightly lower or how that all worked. I doubt I have any photos of it. For all I know my dad may still have it, but we won't be getting back to his house until Christmas.

Mainly the issues I had with the drill press centered around raising and lowering the work table. It was very difficult, of course it may have been because of rust or whatever. And I want to say there was no lowering/raising mechanism for it, on the DP we had. When I was taking shop classes in school, the DP's were more modern and much easier to change table height, although once I realized it was variable speed, our DP was actually better at that than changing belts on the school's DP's. You're right about the return spring, and actually, I found that to be an advantage, when you had to re-grip, when drilling a deep hole, the drill would stay put, and since it only has 2 hand positions instead of 3 or 4 on modern DP's, that really is an advantage and kind of spoiled me as drilling was a one-handed operation. Took some getting used to making drilling a 2 handed operation when using the school's DP's. I want to also say another advantage that it had is it had a fairly deep drilling depth. I want to say that other DP's that I have used did not drill as deep.