I bought a Delta from the 1940's and have been happy with it for wood work. Parts are available and I have no doubt it will cross the century mark and still be still work fine.
The speed issue can be handled to some extent with one of these:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/vintage-drill-press-slow-speed-pulleys.317867/
Having said that, if you think you need a mill, just get a mill.
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:I also want to look at this one but the seller isn't responding to me.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/979879356323261
That looks like a lot of drill press for the money. 3-16mm chuck capacity. 190-2450 rpm spread over 12 speeds, 1 hp and 380 lbs.
In reply to fusion66 :
And I see a rack and pinion adjustment for table height!
I'd go for the import Palmgren over the vintage Atlas myself.
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:What do we think about this one? Seems good to me.
Excellent looks like mine.
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:I also want to look at this one but the seller isn't responding to me.
That Palmgren is a monster. I'd buy it if it hasn't already sold.
Well, I did make the palmgren mine.
I may have given myself a bit more of a project than I'd hoped however. Right off the bat, the motor doesn't start on its own. This is likely because someone plugged in an HVAC "run" capacitor to where the start capacitor should be.
Based on what I read online, this motor should take more like a 500uf start cap, not a wimpy 5uf one. Big cap is on order.
Also, the chuck may be junk or need cleaned and reseated (the seller used this for cutting 6inch holes in bags boards he sold apparently). Everything is covered in a thick mixture of old sticky grease and sawdust. I chucked in a drill bit today and measured over .020 of runout with my dial indicator, which I'm not happy with. So I'll first pull the chuck, clean it up and reinstall to see if that helps, otherwise I'll have to get a new chuck.
Also, it's missing a few pieces that I'd like to have, including the depth stop. Might have to eventually fab something up for that.
Cleaning stuff and re-lubing is really making a big difference however, I'm excited to start using this thing.
Oh, and I still need to get a vice for it.
Edit, forgot to ad it does have a full 6" of 'quill drive depth' (if that makes sense), so that is pretty cool.
I'm guessing the spindle (is that what this is called?) Isn't supposed to look like this.
Yikes.
I'll get a new one but I hope the mating surfaces on the drill press are still good enough. The chuck is probably garbage.
That is the arbor for the chuck. The arbor fits in the spindle. That is a Morse taper to Jacobs arbor. I think you are looking at a morse taper 3 size. The spindle bore should have a matching taper and it should be clean and smooth.
Replacement arbors and chucks are readily available through machine tool suppliers like MSC.
In reply to stafford1500 :
Yes I believe this one is an MT3 to JT3.
Unfortunately the mating surfaces on the drill press (the actual spindle, as you say) and the chuck are similarly damaged. I'm just going to replace the chuck, but I really hope the spindle isn't hopelessly ruined.
Cleaning it up with some lapping compound on the new chuck should fix it. I've also put a layer of sandpaper in and rotated it to dress the spindle. It's a wierd retention but overall the angle needs to match and they need to be "flat" and in contact. Ridges, protrusions, and out of round would impact it, but a few divots and scratches won't matter.
Man, sorry that thing is rougher than it looked.
You can clean up the taper in the quill with a reamer. What is the largest diameter and length. Most import drill presses I have seen are MT2
A smooth, clean taper is required to lock the Morse taper together. From the looks of it I bet your chuck will fall out regularly.
There are also a lot of decent keyless chucks out there for not much money. I have a sub $30 bangood sourced MT2 chuck in my floor standing drill press that has been great for 4 years now
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