Thursday, March 03, 2011

Do You Live Near Coal Center, Pennsylvania?

Do you know anyone at a freight company?

Look, I'm dreaming.* This is ridiculous, but there's a nicely-motorized camelback drill press on [an auction site] that's "local pickup only" and it's already cycled through once with no takers. Worse yet, it's in a basement; the seller writes, "bring some strong backs."

These things are H-E-A-V-Y, 500 pounds (American!) in this instance; they were built for factories where power was delivered to the machines through an overhead line shaft and you started up a drill or lathe by sliding a wide, flat belt from a free-spinning pulley to a drive pulley.

I shouldn't even consider it; it'd take major rearrangement of "The Roseholme Works," a/k/a my garage, just to fit it in.

But hey... Any ideas?

(I do hope this drill press finds a home. While it's crazy heavy compared to a modern drill press, it's also a lot more stable. If the bearings are good and everything is true and square, you can bolt a cross slide vise [linked example illustration only!] on the table and have a nice "poor man's milling machine" for brass and aluminum.)
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* My fingers originally typed "dreadming." Yeah, that's about right.
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13 comments:

  1. Mad Saint JackMarch 4, 2011 at 1:31 AM

    See if someone can pick it up during the NRA meeting.?.?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Roberta XMarch 4, 2011 at 6:49 AM

    I know what you meant but I had an instant flash of the drill press in an exhibitor's booth at the convention under a banner reading, "Lift This Drill Press And Win An Antique Shotgun!" :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fuzzy CurmudgeonMarch 4, 2011 at 7:13 AM

    I drive by there about four times a year, but unfortunately not until April and more unfortunately not in something that could either carry it or tow it...

    ReplyDelete
  4. B March 4, 2011 at 7:19 AM

    I got this pickup truck you can use.....

    ReplyDelete
  5. NorthMarch 4, 2011 at 7:21 AM

    I'd say it would be a gutsy move to get this and then mill with it.

    Generally I've heard "don't mill with a drill", but I'm willing to bet this tank could be an exception - bearing on the bearings.

    ReplyDelete
  6. JimMarch 4, 2011 at 7:39 AM

    The nice thing about these old brutes is that they come apart when you want them to. This one looks like it would easily strip down into components that a couple of volunteer hulks could easily manage. Then all you need is a willing F150 and a tarp.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMarch 4, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    Got a better/worse one.

    My boss has a full-up computerized milling machine that's just taking up space. He wants it out of there.

    The computerized part is from the Jurassic era -- IIRC it runs on Win3.1 -- but it all works. We even have a fork lift that can pick it up (after dividing it into a few big pieces) and put it on the truck for you. Cheap. A couple grand, max, and if you talk fast enough maybe less than that.

    Downside: (1) Ain't no pickup gonna tote this thing; it's BIG and HEAVY, easily twice the size and weight of a Bridgeport; (2) It's not as far to Texas as it is to Tipperary, but getting it home on a hand truck will take a while.

    Regards,
    Ric

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousMarch 4, 2011 at 11:14 AM

    A couple of problems with milling on a drill press are 1.) the chuck is usually mounted on a taper. Side loading the chuck will usually cause it to release from the taper causing no end of excitement to anyone standing nearby. Also drill chucks are not very good at holding milling cutters. Because the cutter produces a downward force while cutting it will tend to creep out of the chuck under heavy loads. 2.) Drill press bearings are usually not designed for radial loads and will wear quickly and deliver inferior accuracy.

    Looks like a nice old machine. As someone else said, it should be easy to disassemble for transport.

    ReplyDelete
  9. perlhaqrMarch 4, 2011 at 12:31 PM

    Warlocketx: Where y'all at? TX is big. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Roberta X remotelyMarch 4, 2011 at 3:19 PM

    It's old cast iron: taking it apart is probably not in the cards. I'd bet the upright is two castings at most.

    I have milled on a drill press, but only easy-cutting metals and very slowly. Absolutely, you don't go hogging out parts from a billet, but for making odd-shaped openings or levelling a surface, it works fine.

    --This is, it has on later-type presses. This one, well, who knows; it undoubtely does have a tapered arbor and maybe it's something slightly standard -- or not. Bearings are another matter, as these almost universally have big babbited bearings that if properly lubricated, would do okay for light side stress. Overheating them would be a very, very, VERY bad idea.

    ReplyDelete
  11. RobertaX yadda yaddaMarch 4, 2011 at 3:23 PM

    PS: I have only enough room for a floor-mounted drill press. Anything else is out of the question.

    I otta buy a modern-type one and consider it disposable.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousMarch 4, 2011 at 4:31 PM

    If all you really want is a drill press for light work, eBay is full of 40s to 60s vintage Craftsman drill presses. They are selling very cheaply since most have to be listed several times to get even one bid. Keep your eye out and one will probably show up in your area eventually. I just bought one in near mint condition at a local auction for $20. It is definitely a buyer's market for shop tools at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ian ArgentMarch 6, 2011 at 11:44 PM

    Apropos of nothing

    http://www.the-whiteboard.com/autotwb1206.html

    VW: hydrat - what basements are doing this month, I guess.

    ReplyDelete

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