Hey Huntindave, answer to the drill press restoration question

Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson

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I'm calling this one DONE! Below are the before pics.
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Below are of the completed drill press. I'm still waiting on the machinist to rebroach the motor pulley so In the meantime I'm using another one I scrounged up. Note the variable frequency drive (VFD). That thing works great for running three phase on single phase power. Plus I can adjust the speeds down to a crawl. I think it will go as low as 100 rpms which is more than adequate for large forstner bits. I'm thrilled with the performance. Thanks for all the sage advice you gave.


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Eric Patterson
 
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Eric:
I wondered how your restoring job was coming. That is some restoring job. It looks brand, spanking, new. I'm sure it will run as well as it looks.
wis boz
 
Boz and Hitch

Thanks for the compliments. I've been using it in the shop now for about a month and never realized just how much changing belts was truly a pain. Turning the dial is so much easier and faster and I have a much larger rpm range. It's a shame Powermatic dropped the 1150. To compete in today's market you pretty much have to manufacture in China and cut the weight down to a bare minimum. In machinery, the heavier the better. They just don't build HEAVY DUTY like they used to. For now I'm done restoring any machines. I've got a cabinet project and need to build somewhere around 50 raised panel doors. That will keep me busy right up to hunting season with everything else.
 
Wow! 50 raised panel doors. Will you be cutting them with the shaper or vertical on the table saw?

I have to finish the bead board and beams on the ceiling in the kitchen, then run plumbing and electrical for the island (cut a trench in the concrete), then it will be full time cabinet making for me (finally).

I picked up about another 150 bf of heart pine. It's not antique but is beautiful stuff. I forgot to buy enough for trim. And I want to do a few raised panels as well. The stuff has a nice ruby red grape fruit color and very sweet looking grain. I also bought some 2”x10”-14” slabs each about 10 feet long of the stuff, all $2.00 bf. The guy I bought it from has his own sawmill in his back yard. He lives about 50 miles away and has a crap load of the stuff, plus hickory, pecky cypress and quite a bit of antique heart pine as well. He also has veined oak slabs big enough to make a tabletop from... probably a dozen skids worth, all drying. Then he has some heart pine from trees that came down in the 04 hurricanes. I have never seen anything like it. At first I didn't know what it was until he showed me a slab cut which still had the bark. It was almost 3 feet in diameter and only had about 4 inches of sap wood. The rest was tight grain wine red heart wood. It was as dark as walnut and had a pink red wine color. He's selling it for (I think he said) $22 bf. I was thinking oh boy, what a wonderful tabletop, maybe a Shaker style trestle table, with the top made of this stuff. Like I said, I have never seen anything like it. It was as hard as a maple cutting board too.

I also picked up 2 antique heartwood pine barn beams, 4 x 8 inch and 12-1/2 feet long each. They have worm holes and trails and old nail holes and no mortises. I plan to dust them in the planer (after thoroughly checking for nails), leaving the worm holes and trails, one 8 ft length will be used for the mantle over the kitchen hearth and possibly another as a beam inside the hearth.

Fun stuff for the off season.

Hitch
 
After looking at the pics I only have one comment. I can't believe you found one that had that clean of a table top. Every one coming out of a machine shop always has numerous holes in the top from careless slob idiots running drills too deep. Can you tell this irritates the heck out of me?

Now all you need is an auxiliary top with an adjustable fence and you'll be all set. Do you have or are you going to get a mortising set for it? I thought you had the broach issues all worked out, run in to a snag?
 
Hitch

I wish I had a lumber supplier that good as close. Got any pics of the projects you're building now? You made me go count the doors. Actually it's 42 doors. I'm using the Powermatic 26 shaper I just got. In fact I bought it for this door project. Of course it will see regular use in the shop after the door project. Gotta love that Powermatic stuff. I've yet to buy anything that said Powermatic that wasn't built right.

Dave

You are so correct. Most every older DP I see has a smiley face in the table from the user drilling into it. Mine has a few tapped holes in it. I suspect it had a jig of some sort in place most of it's life and avoided the dreaded smiley face. And yes, I am building an auxillary table. In fact I worked on it a bit yesterday and hope to do some more tonight. It has a drawer for bit storage, a fence, and hold downs. Also, I'd love to get a mortising attachement for the drill press. I'm not sure Powermatic still makes it but I have been watching ebay for one. If I could find the mortise attachement with foot feed I'd be willing to part with some cash to get them. I'm in for relatively little on the drill press so I can rationalize it :)
 
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Eric. If you have an afinity for old tools, I am in possession of a Craftsman scrool saw. The type that had the motor seperate of the tool. It is in fair condition. If you might be interesrted in restoring it, you can have it for the price of shipping. It just looked to good to let it go to the landfill so I rescued it. Be forwarned, it weighs about the same as a 37 Buick. hehe
 
Howard

Thanks for the offer but I'm going to pass. I'm about out of room and need another restoration now like a hole in the head. The kitchen cabinets are screaming it's their tunn for attention. Now if you still have it in about a year.............
 
Eric, What a beauty of a drill press! you did a great job bring the old girl back. I think I might have to dive into something like that in my old walker-turner foot controlled press..........................
 
Jode, those old WTs are highly regarded. In fact I know more than a couple of people who like to score a WT 16" bandsaw. Any luck selling your crescent?

Howard, thanks. I'll keep that in mind.
 
Not yet, Had a few inquiries, but the whole shipping process seems to be making me cross-eyed , and it's hard to carve when you can't see straight! LOL!
 
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