Antique Drill Press Identification (HEAVY DUTY)

If you want to make that machine more useful I'd look around for a compound sliding table. Get a quality one and bolt it to the table you have then you can either use hold downs or a simple drill press vise bolted to the table to hold your work. Want to drill a series of holes in line, just crank the handle a few turns.

I honestly feel like that piece of equipment wasn't intended to have an electric motor and originally came from a belt driven shop

That is an OLD machine there. 

edit: and an awesome one.

In reply to Jumper K Balls :

It’s certainly possible!

In reply to jimbbski :

I’ll have to keep an eye out for one!

You might try Surplus Center for a motor and speed control. I converted my 40s era lathe to variable speed using a 2.5hp treadmill motor and a Surplus Center speed control. 

These are the parts I used.

2.5hp Motor, $50

DC Speed Control, $90.

SVreX said:

In reply to Pete Gossett :

I’m not sure why railroads would need square holes. 

Maintenance shop for wooden railcar repair. 

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Yes, you are probably right. 

Pete Gossett said:

Maintenance shop for wooden railcar repair. 

Or maybe rail car construction as well.  A lot or railroads built their own rolling stock.

Well, I got it home and into my garage! Should have taken a video of the process as it was quite the process. It's a good 7'3" tall, while my garage doors and I-Beam are 7' tall, so we had to put it on it's side, gently tipped it over via winch, then basically dragged it in via winch, then somehow the 4 of use managed to lift it back to an upright position. This thing is heavy! We thought about going to the scrap yard to get weighed before unloading it just to see how heavy it was, but didn't mess with it. I'm thinking it's like 1500 pounds. 

I will start a build thread soon, as I go through and clean it up and everything. I have a few other things I need to finish up first. Might even make some YouTube videos of the restomod process. 

Oh, and I did test out functionality! And got a video of it! 

Yes, yes, I know 220v is dangerous...

Don't try this at home kids!

So this thing has some history:

Likely owned by the CRI&P Railroad at some point. (Asset tag: CRI&P Tool No 265)

Likely owned by "THE FADER MACHINERY CO Inc." (Plate mounted on the side.)

According to the farmer I picked it up from, he bought it from a well known Organ company in Hagerstown, MD.

Now, just what IS this thing exactly? 

Well, now that I removed the electrical box that was mounted on the side, we can see pretty clearly!

WYSONG & MILES CO: Model 283B

Vertical Boring Machine

It must have been converted at some point  to use the pulley/electric motor that is does now, because a google image search brings up what they were like originally. 

That would be the M.P. Moller Pipe Organ Company, I remember seeing their name on a large old building in Hagerstown. 

That is one heck of a drill press!

In reply to dherr :

Cool! 

Yes, I can't wait to have it cleaned up and ready for general use. I couldn't pass it up!

Does anyone know if there is a real difference between a drill press and a vertical boring machine? Seems like two ways of saying the same thing.

In reply to AWSX1686 :

It is pretty cool, but that is one tool, I won't ask you if I can borrow it :-)

Was that live 220v on bare wires you were handling? WTF? Even if you're committed to "plugging it in" that way, why not turn the supply off then back on once connected? I was sweating once I realized those lines were live.

So based on the pictures of more original machines, is the large cylinder the motor housing? Maybe they took out the motor and replaced it with a shaft when the original motor went bad or in the process of converting it to single phase?

dherr said:

In reply to AWSX1686 :

It is pretty cool, but that is one tool, I won't ask you if I can borrow it :-)

 

You're welcome to come use it once it's ready, but yeah, not gonna drop that off to you in the miata!

dculberson said:

Was that live 220v on bare wires you were handling? WTF? Even if you're committed to "plugging it in" that way, why not turn the supply off then back on once connected? I was sweating once I realized those lines were live.

So based on the pictures of more original machines, is the large cylinder the motor housing? Maybe they took out the motor and replaced it with a shaft when the original motor went bad or in the process of converting it to single phase?

 

Yeah, the 220v shenanigans was not the smartest... But no one was hurt. 

Yes, originally the large cylinder contained a 3-phase motor. Not sure exactly how the shaft and pulley were added for the single phase electric motor. Will be investigating...

AWSX1686 said:

Does anyone know if there is a real difference between a drill press and a vertical boring machine? Seems like two ways of saying the same thing.

Well, that’s largely correct.  They ARE two ways of saying the same thing.  

A boring machine is bigger, heavier, and more accurate. It is designed for boring bigger holes than a drill press (think things like cylinder bores in an engine block). They also generally have much sturdier tables (for holding large pieces), and generally run heavier motors at slower speeds. 

Often the table moves (which would be called a “line boring machine”)  for boring holes ... (wait for it)... in a LINE. 

A line boring machine is closely affiliated with a vertical mill. Picture horizontal mill turned vertically.

Technically, drilling is making a hole, boring is a finishing process that enlarges a hole (with more accurate tolerances). Picture a cutting tool cutting the inside diameter on a lathe. 

But I can’t tell you exactly how that relates to YOUR machine, because the table doesn’t appear to have the movement of a vertical mill.

I think you should just call it a B.A.D.  (Big azz drill)

SVreX said:

I think you should just call it a B.A.D.  (Big azz drill)

I like it. 

In reply to SVreX :

The other info there was good to know too, thank you. 

If the 3-phase motor works that might be a great candidate for a variable frequency drive to get you both speed control and single phase input, anda convenient on off control.  The Chinese ones on Ebay are only going down in price. I got one for my ironworker and it's been pretty flawless once I got it set up; you would actually be able to use more of the functionality.

In reply to oldopelguy :

Yeah, that's what my one friend was saying. I'm a little hesitant to trust an eBay part for that, but it would probably work. It would look way better that way too