My "new" drill press

I took a break from the 37 yesterday to do another small restoration project. Even though this is not the one my dad sold at the farm sale years ago it is the exact model of post drill I grew up with on the farm…..the first drill press I ever used. The one on the farm was motorized so the hand crank usually hung on the wall.

I have a motor and will set this one up the same way granddad had his (if I can get my grandson away from the crank long enough). Believe it or not granddads old drill was where I learned about gear ratios, bevel gears and cams. These also have an automatic feed that lowers the drill bit as it’s turning.

Slowly but surely my office area is turning into a replica of the farm shop where I got started in all this. I’ve got to admit looking around at the old tools brings a smile to my face.

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...tom/Buf1-1.jpg

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That looks sweet. Imagine how something so old can look so cool nowadays.

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Originally Posted by Trjohn57

That looks sweet. Imagine how something so old can look so cool nowadays.

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If only that were true of old people too. :LOL:

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Originally Posted by redtail

If only that were true of old people too. :LOL:

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It is.........:LOL:

Very nice press, in excellent shape too. Must give you fond memories from your past.

Very nice, Mike!!! Going to have a whole showroom full of equipment for the new shop!!!!

I'm going with Richards answer :LOL::LOL:

"......Going to have a whole showroom full of equipment for the new shop!!!! ......"

Actually Dave my current office is about the same size as the old farm shop, and I’m considering setting it up like what I remember as a kid. I still need a few other tools to complete it but the forge, post drill and anvil are 3 of the big items.

I did some ornamental iron furniture several years ago and I’m thinking this would be an ideal area to do it in once I get all the tools and equipment moved to the new shop and all the old stuff moved in.

Mike-I would love to have that in my shop.WOW!!!.Darn you,now I will be on a search for one.LOL.Very cool.

Gary, surprisingly they are out there. Restoring the forge with my grandson was what got me thinking about the old drill. Just out of curiosity I typed in “Post Drill” on E Bay. Here’s one (but unfortunately he’s not offering shipping).

Blacksmith Champion Blower & Forge Post Drill | eBay

There are usually several on E Bay, the majority are buy it now in the $200 range (antique dealers) and usually 1 or 2 auctions by real people that go in the $50 range. I won this one and with shipping the total to my door was less than $75. If you’re in an area that has farm auctions, (those are always fun) they show up there too.

The things to look for is that it’s complete, no broken teeth on the gears, and the main casting is not broken (if the operator does not watch what he’s doing with the automatic feed, it can bottom out and will break the upper neck on the main casting.

These things actually drill amazing well, especially if you have a grandson who thinks it’s neat to crank the handle :D

That drill press is really cool, Mike. Isn't it funny how, as we get older, we try more and more to recapture the things that surrounded us when we were younger. The past becomes so much more important to us than it was even back then.

I bet sitting in that recreation of the old shop gives you great pleasure. :)

Don

Pretty cool piece Mike.
The one you ebay linked looks like it was set up to be powered off a line shaft. Those always fascinated me, powering a whole shop full of tools off one power source................and double points if it used a steam engine!

Very true Don. As kids we were taught to be careful (as much as my poor folks were able to implant in us anyway) but pretty much had free run of the all the buildings and barns.

Living on a farm out in the country with 1 TV and 3 channels (which mom watched her morning soap operas on) left a lot of time when school was out to explore and make our own fun. The forge and post drill were 2 things that fascinated me, and actually seeing how they worked was better than any book could be.

Yeah, looking at them brings back a lot of memories of what was a lot less complicated time. Sharing them with my grandson (and seeing the same look in his eyes as I probably had in mine) are making a whole new batch new memories….I suspect for both of us.

You’re right Bob. Would I get a point and half for a hit and miss?

One of the things I would love to get my hands on is the Waterloo Boy Hit and Miss my Dad restored in the 60’s. I helped with what I could but it was more watching and staying out of the way, although Dad did let me paint it.

Babbitt bearings, shim packs, drip oilers and grease cups, I learned a lot there too (and by the way if you have worked with the parts are I’m referring to you ARE officially old).

Unfortunately my younger brother has laid claim to that along with the 1936 John Deere “A” my granddad bought new. They are both sitting in sheds slowly deteriorating. The last time I saw them (a couple of months ago), the A had had some parts removed and the Hit and Miss while it still turned over had stuck valves (It will probably break the rocker if he tries to start it) and the rear of the cylinder was getting rusty.

Oh well what are you going to do, I’m just thankful for what I have.

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Originally Posted by Mike P

You’re right Bob. Would I get a point and half for a hit and miss?

One of the things I would love to get my hands on is the Waterloo Boy Hit and Miss my Dad restored in the 60’s. I helped with what I could but it was more watching and staying out of the way, although Dad did let me paint it.

Babbitt bearings, shim packs, drip oilers and grease cups, I learned a lot there too (and by the way if you have worked with the parts are I’m referring you ARE officially old).

Unfortunately my younger brother has laid claim to that along with the 1936 John Deere “A” my granddad bought new. They are both sitting in sheds slowly deteriorating. The last time I saw them (a couple of months ago), the A had had some parts removed and the Hit and Miss while it still turned over had stuck valves (It will probably break the rocker if he tries to start it) and the rear of the cylinder was getting rusty.

Oh well what are you going to do, I’m just thankful for what I have.

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You would have loved to tour Clyde Schurmann's collection. He had at least a couple hundred, ranging from small working models he made himself (he was a machinist among other things), to the biggest one I've ever seen with a 6 ft dia. flywheel. Absolutely amazing collection.



EDIT I just did a quick search to see if there was anything about Clyde's collection on line and found these pics from the auction they had the year after he died: http://www.lewisriver.com/gallery/20...n-auction.html

Wow!
Thanks for the link Bob...man I would have loved to have been there.
(Well no, I wouldn't have enjoyed it really...too much 'stuff' that She Who Must Be Obeyed wouldn't have let me bring home...:CRY:)

Yes Bob thanks for the link.

The transitional technology of steam to internal combustion to electricity from 1900 to the beginning of the Second World War has always fascinated me. I guess because there was a lot of the stuff in the area where I grew up and my parents and their friends grew up during the era that it was in use (you know the “I remember when” stories).

In my mind the technology was far more advanced than we often give our Grandparents/Great Grandparents credit for. The stuff we occasionally see on display were not just isolated pieces of machinery but were being mass produced and shipped/used all over the country.

Bob you had mentioned a line shaft, I found this short video of one working (with a Hit and Miss) you might like.

YouTube - ‪Hank's engine running a lineshaft!!‬‏

Personally what I would love to lay my hands on to power my old stuff would be a Delco Light Plant and accessories. We had the remnants of one on the farm and my understanding is that almost all the rural farms in the area where I grew up had them from the late teens up until the rural power grids (110V) were established in the 1930s.

Basically they were a gas powered 32V DC generator that charged a bank of batteries. Once the battery level dropped the generator would automatically start (the generator end doubled as the starter), and run until the batteries were recharged.

YouTube - ‪Starting the Delco 752‬‏

Back home most of the power plants were set up in the basement and exhausted to the outside. Planning and Zoning would have a ball with that today, a running gasoline powered engine with extra gas cans in the basement recharging lead acid batteries, there was also a 5 Gal clear glass jug that held extra sulfuric acid used to keep the battery level topped off LOL.

There was quite an array of items available for the system, light bulbs and motors of course and also fans, radios, and even refrigerators, vacuum cleaners and kitchen appliances. Of course all of that became obsolete when the 110V power became available. Unfortunately very very few of the systems or accessories survived the WWII scrap drives.

Yeah Johnboy, you'd have probably had a hard time keeping your hand down at the auction. He also had the most impressive antique firearm collection I've ever seen. The man loved things mechanical. As he took us around it was one discovery after another to delight a gearhead. He had a line of track across his big back yard for that yard donkey that was stored in the shed behind it.

Mike, enyoyed the vids. It should be a reminder to folks that a lot of ideas have been tried before. As for trying to install the Delco system today, just call it "renewable energy"..................no problem............in fact Uncle Sugar would probably give you someone else's money to do it. You'd be another Jeffrey Immelt!

Seriously though, if folks had an awareness of history, and this kind of hardware, they'd be less susceptible to believing in magic pixie dust solutions. I had the good fortune in part of my work life to work in a variety of processing plants, and to see all manner of equipment (some days it was hard to believe they paid me to have that much fun). Pulp and paper mills, saw mills, food processing, hydro-power plants, airplane manufacturing, all forms of mobile equipment..........again, a gearhead dream world.

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Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Yeah Johnboy, you'd have probably had a hard time keeping your hand down at the auction. He also had the most impressive antique firearm collection I've ever seen. The man loved things mechanical. As he took us around it was one discovery after another to delight a gearhead. He had a line of track across his big back yard for that yard donkey that was stored in the shed behind it.

Mike, enyoyed the vids. It should be a reminder to folks that a lot of ideas have been tried before. As for trying to install the Delco system today, just call it "renewable energy"..................no problem............in fact Uncle Sugar would probably give you someone else's money to do it. You'd be another Jeffrey Immelt!

Seriously though, if folks had an awareness of history, and this kind of hardware, they'd be less susceptible to believing in magic pixie dust solutions. I had the good fortune in part of my work life to work in a variety of processing plants, and to see all manner of equipment (some days it was hard to believe they paid me to have that much fun). Pulp and paper mills, saw mills, food processing, hydro-power plants, airplane manufacturing, all forms of mobile equipment..........again, a gearhead dream world.

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Not much more work fun can be had then 'hanging around' old but still operating power plants. Three that stick in my memory had some of the oldest equipment still operating. One was in Monterrey, Mexico where they had a totally mechanical control system on a couple of 300,000 hour gas turbines, one of which I was working on. The next was a steam turbine power plant in Alloy WV that had some 19teens units - operating. These were in the metals industry and were 25Hz instead of the normal 60Hz output. Then the Akron Goodyear plant - their turbines were old and looked like crap, but ran just fine. Great huge slate control panels with those really neat gauges, open frame motors............kinda (really) miss that fun

"......Seriously though, if folks had an awareness of history, and this kind of hardware, they'd be less susceptible to believing in magic pixie dust solutions....."

You know Bob I often wonder what the attitude of the tree huggers (sorry the current PC term for them escapes me) would be if they had to actually work on pre-electric/pre-tractor farm for a year.

Bob the shots of the cast iron tractor seats alone would flip my father in laws lid. He goes to California Antique Farm Equipment Show every year. My wife and I got to go one year and had a blast. The auction area is worth it alone, plus it's cool to see all the old tractors, steam engines, and mini ride mowers everywhere, that people use as scooters between areas! Here's a link.
California Antique Farm Equipment Show

Yeah Stevie. When I met him in 1979 he had just started collecting the seats, "only" had something between 30 and 50 of them hanging on the wall.

Like the show down there, there's a whole group of collectors around the country for this kind of stuff.