Yep, I have a 1940’s Walker Turner bench top drill press with a slow speed attachment and an early 70’s Rockwell floor model with 6 inches of travel. I have both for less than half the price of a contemporary high tech drill press. They are both solid, reliable, and do their jobs year after year. Drilling holes in wood doesn’t need to be complicated or require a degree in computer science.
You make good points and it’s always heartening to repurpose something old that’s well built. Good plan.
There certainly are glitz and bling features on some modern drill presses that bring value to those who are a bit insecure or just want MORE.
However (wait for it) you overlook a few features that are (in my mind) indispensable. The first is a dial that changes the speed of rotation Infinitely. On mine from 100rpm (SLOW!) to 6,000rpm (screaming FAST).
One quick twist of a dial and I have the exact speed I need. Like millions of others my old craftsman press had a few speeds (step pulleys and a belt) that rarely (emphasis on ‘rarely’) EVER saw speed changes. Just too much time and effort constantly going thru the process. “Oh, this is close enough” was always the excuse. And it generally was just OK if not very professional. Tell me you ALWAYS change belt speeds appropriately every time.
Then there’s the noise. Mine is direct drive (no belt) and it’s amazingly quiet. One can almost not hear it running at speeds below 2500rpm. Yes, at 6,000rpm it’s frightening as it resembles a jet airliner spooling up for take-off. But, good news; I don’t ever expect to exceed 3,000rpm.
The ability to set the depth is fun. Press a button, lower the quill to the depth required, press the button, done! Now start the rotation (button push) and drill. When the depth is reached the drill stops quickly and then goes into a very slow reverse rotation. Magic!
It can be programmed to also only begin rotation at a set height — that way when done drilling and returning the quill all the way up rotation stops. When bringing the quill down again the rotation starts automatically, and then stops at the set depth. More magic.
I don’t believe mine has wi-fi but if it does I’ll never partake of whatever it is that it could do. In this instance ignorance is bliss.
As to table up/down motion. I now have a gear drive for it. A wonderful safety feature. My old craftsman floor model had a bloody heavy cast iron table. Loosen the lock and pray. For if it got away anything beneath it (feet? A dog? Whatever.) was about to become professionally compacted while generating a medical insurance claim. Moving the table UP was a struggle, and then holding it in place with one hip and hand whilst the other hand struggled with turning the squeezing lock mechanism was probably an OSHA violation and certainly dicey at best.
With you all the way. I used to dream of restoring a vintage car - but I’ve recently decided a 1960s Meddings pillar drill is a better project for lots of reasons. So I’ve bought two….
I recently bought a new wood pellet grill, I got the one that didn’t have an app. I like the convenience of being able to set the temp and leave it, but I still want to cook. My previous truck had fuel injection and manual windows. Some tech is a good thing, some is ridiculous for most folks.
Perfect ...
"Because in the end, I need a hole, not a drill press."
Perfect.
So, can I assume that you limit yourself to a brace and bit for making holes ?
Don't be silly
😂
Yep, I have a 1940’s Walker Turner bench top drill press with a slow speed attachment and an early 70’s Rockwell floor model with 6 inches of travel. I have both for less than half the price of a contemporary high tech drill press. They are both solid, reliable, and do their jobs year after year. Drilling holes in wood doesn’t need to be complicated or require a degree in computer science.
Simple is often best.
You make good points and it’s always heartening to repurpose something old that’s well built. Good plan.
There certainly are glitz and bling features on some modern drill presses that bring value to those who are a bit insecure or just want MORE.
However (wait for it) you overlook a few features that are (in my mind) indispensable. The first is a dial that changes the speed of rotation Infinitely. On mine from 100rpm (SLOW!) to 6,000rpm (screaming FAST).
One quick twist of a dial and I have the exact speed I need. Like millions of others my old craftsman press had a few speeds (step pulleys and a belt) that rarely (emphasis on ‘rarely’) EVER saw speed changes. Just too much time and effort constantly going thru the process. “Oh, this is close enough” was always the excuse. And it generally was just OK if not very professional. Tell me you ALWAYS change belt speeds appropriately every time.
Then there’s the noise. Mine is direct drive (no belt) and it’s amazingly quiet. One can almost not hear it running at speeds below 2500rpm. Yes, at 6,000rpm it’s frightening as it resembles a jet airliner spooling up for take-off. But, good news; I don’t ever expect to exceed 3,000rpm.
The ability to set the depth is fun. Press a button, lower the quill to the depth required, press the button, done! Now start the rotation (button push) and drill. When the depth is reached the drill stops quickly and then goes into a very slow reverse rotation. Magic!
It can be programmed to also only begin rotation at a set height — that way when done drilling and returning the quill all the way up rotation stops. When bringing the quill down again the rotation starts automatically, and then stops at the set depth. More magic.
I don’t believe mine has wi-fi but if it does I’ll never partake of whatever it is that it could do. In this instance ignorance is bliss.
As to table up/down motion. I now have a gear drive for it. A wonderful safety feature. My old craftsman floor model had a bloody heavy cast iron table. Loosen the lock and pray. For if it got away anything beneath it (feet? A dog? Whatever.) was about to become professionally compacted while generating a medical insurance claim. Moving the table UP was a struggle, and then holding it in place with one hip and hand whilst the other hand struggled with turning the squeezing lock mechanism was probably an OSHA violation and certainly dicey at best.
Just not my speed.
With you all the way. I used to dream of restoring a vintage car - but I’ve recently decided a 1960s Meddings pillar drill is a better project for lots of reasons. So I’ve bought two….
Great project!
I recently bought a new wood pellet grill, I got the one that didn’t have an app. I like the convenience of being able to set the temp and leave it, but I still want to cook. My previous truck had fuel injection and manual windows. Some tech is a good thing, some is ridiculous for most folks.
I have a Rockwell beaver lathe. Same. It is bullet proof and does what it has to do.
Your remark about having a problem moving your drill press struck a cord either my current situation
After 30 years of bring in my basement I am moving my bench top drill press up into my garage.
So far it is in 6 pieces because I could not budge it until I took everything apart and still had to move each piece up one step at a time.
It only gets worse as we get older. But we can still do it all just slower and figure out a new solution. Lol
The hard part is doing the sensible thing like taking it apart. 😂