You reckon this is a good deal?

[gus_otis]

I'm looking for my first drill press. I'm a hobby woodworker but for starters I want to take a 6" pen blank and drill a hole about 5" into it with a 5/8" bit. It's for an art project and I'll be doing a number of them. I was doing it with a Jet lathe but I no longer have access to the lathe.

This Craftsman Mohawk is on my local CL. I'm not looking to refurbish/restore anything so this one looks to be set to use. Owner mentions a crack where the motor meets the press but I don't see what he is talking about. I like vintage, made in America, things but if push comes to shove I'll look at Harbor Freight and Little Machine Shop for their 10" 12 speed models (they appear to be the same thing) for about $150. The problem with the Mohawk is it is impossible to source specs (spindle travel, max distance spindle to table/base, etc.)

Crafstman Mohawk Drill Press 13 " bench top - tools - by owner - sale

Beautifully restored (not by me) Craftsman Drill Press - 13" drill press 1/2 HP motor This was nicknamed the "mohawk" because of its unique motor / belt cover design. This has a broken part that...

orangecounty.craigslist.org

Let me know what you think of this Mohawk.

Gus

 

[JEFinCLE]

Gus, unless that Mohawk is different than mine (and I don't think it is), you will have just barely 4" of travel.

 

[JoCoSawdust]

I think it's overpriced Gus, at least in my area (the SE). I'm a big Mohawk fan (I own one of all four versions) but here's my reasoning: Anything somebody else "restored" concerns me. What I considered "restored" and what somebody else considers "restored" are more than likely not the same thing. For all you know, the "restoration" consisted of a spray job, a new cord and a new switch. That's not a restoration in my book, particularly since there is (at least) two broken parts to the machine. I've been watching one reasonably near my home for about a month now, listed at 150. Having been listed that long, it could probably be had for less. Nice, unmolested original machine. It's complete and unbroken as far as I can tell from the pics. I'm doing my best to resist it. I bought one of my machines, unmolested, complete original for 40 bucks. That was an unexpected good deal but in vintage drill presses, I try to stay no more than 125 for a bench model and no more than 175 for a floor model unless it's a hard to find model. Things may be different in the Mohawk world in your area but in mine, that's an outrageous price for that machine.

 

[Roberts210]

Gus, looks like you are in the L.A. area. There should be a lot of vintage drill presses available if you wait and watch.
I bought this Rockwell dual-gang D.P. out of Orange County 2 years ago for a little over $200.

 

[gus_otis]

I think it's overpriced Gus, at least in my area (the SE). I'm a big Mohawk fan (I own one of all four versions) but here's my reasoning: Anything somebody else "restored" concerns me. What I considered "restored" and what somebody else considers "restored" are more than likely not the same thing. For all you know, the "restoration" consisted of a spray job, a new cord and a new switch. That's not a restoration in my book, particularly since there is (at least) two broken parts to the machine. I've been watching one reasonably near my home for about a month now, listed at 150. Having been listed that long, it could probably be had for less. Nice, unmolested original machine. It's complete and unbroken as far as I can tell from the pics. I'm doing my best to resist it. I bought one of my machines, unmolested, complete original for 40 bucks. That was an unexpected good deal but in vintage drill presses, I try to stay no more than 125 for a bench model and no more than 175 for a floor model unless it's a hard to find model. Things may be different in the Mohawk world in your area but in mine, that's an outrageous price for that machine.

That's a great point that I had not thought of that the fact that it is 'restored' doesn't necessarily mean it was a complete restoration or done correctly at all. Thanks.

 

[gus_otis]

Gus, looks like you are in the L.A. area. There should be a lot of vintage drill presses available if you wait and watch.
I bought this Rockwell dual-gang D.P. out of Orange County 2 years ago for a little over $200.

Yes, I'm in Orange County, about an hour of LA so maybe a little bit of patience is in order. That is a beautiful old machine. Thanks.

 

[gus_otis]

Thanks for all the replies. I've only been a member here for a few days but it sure does seem like it is a bunch of knowledgeable, friendly folk.

Gus

 

[Roberts210]

Here's a better Craftsman in Lancaster for $100.
C-Man D.P.

 

[crguy]

Drilling a hole like that where you need to keep it right on center is hard to do on a drill press. Better to use a lathe.

 

[gus_otis]

Drilling a hole like that where you need to keep it right on center is hard to do on a drill press. Better to use a lathe.

Is that because as you move the table up to go deeper into the wood that you run the risk of getting off center? I had access to a lathe but it's gone now and was thinking that a drill press could accomplish the same thing and be more useful for other things. Thanks.

 

[RoninB4]

Is that because as you move the table up to go deeper into the wood that you run the risk of getting off center?

Yes. Drill press "could" work but will require a different/solid work holding fixture. DP is a different machine with different operating conditions than a lathe. Not trying to be a jerk saying this. DP will likely NOT cut a clean hole when moving table up/down due to misalignment. DP works in up/down and side-to-side not controlled very well in spindle. Result is shaking, vibration, and ragged hole. DP spindle is NOT perpendicular to table (most times) and causes misalignment of hole when drilling from both sides to meet in the middle. A DP could be made to work but hard to say if this will produce the result you want. Need more info on what you're trying to accomplish.

 

[Roberts210]

I've drill perpendicular holes before by rotating the table 90 degrees, clamping the piece to the table, and using a machinist square to set the piece accurately to perpendicular. This was on a Taiwan "King" brand drill press that I used for 30 years before I got the Rockwell dual-gang DP. If you are careful, and clamp securely you can do it. BTW, that King DP was a great DP.

 

[Mintgrun]

I want to take a 6" pen blank and drill a hole about 5" into it with a 5/8" bit.

I have a Mohawk drill press and needed to drill some deep 2" diameter holes into wooden blocks at a sixty degree angle. I don't currently have photos of that project at hand, but I wound up making a 3" long extension for the bit and installed it once I'd drilled as far as I could. I just left the bit in the hole and added the extension so I could finish the hole. (I used the lathe to make the extension, but you may be able to buy one and cut it to a length that works).

Tom

 

[Roberts210]

And a lot depends on what type of drill bit you use. I'd think an ordinary drill bit would tend to split the wood. A spade bit would be the absolute worst for this. If I were doing it I'd try a Forstner bit on a short extension. But gus_otis, what did you use before?

 

[gus_otis]

And a lot depends on what type of drill bit you use. I'd think an ordinary drill bit would tend to split the wood. A spade bit would be the absolute worst for this. If I were doing it I'd try a Forstner bit on a short extension. But gus_otis, what did you use before?

I had access to a lathe before and was using that but my friend no longer has the lathe. On the lathe I would put the wood in a pen drilling chuck, chuck up my bit (a 6 1/2" inch 5/8" brad point auger bit) in the tail stock and just move it in and out and advancing the tail stock as I went (see pic). My hope was to put the blank in a pen drilling vice, clamp it to the drill press table, drill, blow out the chips/dust with compressed air and then put the drill bit back in the hole and move the drill press table up and then repeat the process until I got about 5" or so. I've seen a Youtube video where a guy did but I'm recognizing now that a lathe might be a simpler conecpt.

 

[RoninB4]

To the OP- The way you were doing it is the best for a clean continuous hole. Any other method will require a lot of fiddling around with alignment, spindle being perpendicular to the reference surface, etc. A "hole" can be made with the DP but it will likely NOT be a clean hole with alignment of axis whenever you move something like the table. A sanding drum can clean up two mis-aligned holes to give the appearance of alignment and continuity but it's a lot of extra work sanding two under-sized holes to full size while keeping the hole axis aligned with each other. A lathe tailstock has a fixed alignment to the headstock regardless of where you move it, thus making it the better choice for this process. In almost all machining you either move the work or move the cutter. The DP gives control of only ONE of the three degrees of movement, up/down (Z axis). Control of the forward/back and side to side (x and y axis) are non-existent. Sorry to rain on your ambitions but you had it right the first time.

 

[gus_otis]

To the OP- The way you were doing it is the best for a clean continuous hole. Any other method will require a lot of fiddling around with alignment, spindle being perpendicular to the reference surface, etc. A "hole" can be made with the DP but it will likely NOT be a clean hole with alignment of axis whenever you move something like the table. A sanding drum can clean up two mis-aligned holes to give the appearance of alignment and continuity but it's a lot of extra work sanding two under-sized holes to full size while keeping the hole axis aligned with each other. A lathe tailstock has a fixed alignment to the headstock regardless of where you move it, thus making it the better choice for this process. In almost all machining you either move the work or move the cutter. The DP gives control of only ONE of the three degrees of movement, up/down (Z axis). Control of the forward/back and side to side (x and y axis) are non-existent. Sorry to rain on your ambitions but you had it right the first time.

That's logical, looks like I'll be pivoting to getting a lathe. Besides, a lathe will give me an excuse to get into another hobby