BigD said:
[qute:doobes]
[blockquote]EvilTwin said:
Just curious, what do you have that is 37 yo and you cant get parts for it? Is it an American press or one of the imports? Most of what would wear out would be bearings and those are replaceable.
This.
You could prolly spend less than half of what a new DP costs and have a much better quality tool when done.
Give us some details and perhaps we can help.
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My 37 year old is a Craftsman Commercial - (model # 113.24520) very good quality. It has a cast split head for adjustments for wear. If it were just bearings I would have already replaced them. The part that has gone bad is an eccentric bearing that the hub assembly with the operating handles goes through. The set screw underneath it that keeps it from rotating came loose but I did not notice it.
When it is loose, the eccentric bearing rotated when I rotated the hub assembly when drilling holes. I finally noticed it when it bound up the hub assembly. I played around with it quite a bit trying to get it back into the right place but never could. My guess is that while it was rotating the many times before I noticed it that either the internal or external surface (or both) galled on the hub or the head casting.
The part number is 71111 but on Sears parts page it is listed as "no longer available".
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From what it sounds like that is the tension for the quill return and its probably a pot metal part that finally gave up the ghost. I had one of those presses, similar vintage. It was an ok machine, nothing special to write home about, typical import of the time. I don't think it owes you anything, and you would have to find its twin or something close to cannibalize if you really wanted to fix it.
I'm with the Routerman, look for a good used American machine, it may take a bit of time, but they show up. I've had more than a few go through my hands, mostly the Rockwell VS models. My personal machine is a VS Clausing that I've had for a few years and I wouldn't replace it for anything they put out new these days. The cost of new machines is crazy lately, if you have to go new and import, I guess a griz would be the best bet. Otherwise I would wait out something used that you could invest some time and tlc and have a long term machine.