Craftsman 150 drill press rough restoration. (PIC HEAVY)

So I wanted a different drill press because the harbor freight one I had wasn't working for me. So I bought a old craftsman at a yard sale that was not working correctly and went through and redid it.

The motor was vibrating badly, and the spindle would not return or move smoothly. The chuck was rusted so that it would not adjust.

Here are the before pics.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/S6tScte.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt="">
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/0QiI06v.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt="">


Base and pole were very rusty
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/vv3Yf6E.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt="">
Started on pole with Orbital Sander
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/sFc6jAj.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt="">


By this point I had parts everywhere and hoped I could get it back together.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/mgH18HL.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt=""><img src="http://i.imgur.com/JKhopxj.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt="">

Getting the spindle and quill apart to replace the bearings was hard so I had to come up with an easier way to reassemble it. Bought some pipes and washer so that I could tap it together with a hammer and not damage it.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/mUgZSUZ.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt=""><img src="http://i.imgur.com/9JnSiwJ.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt="">

Time to clean
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/VBJJJpm.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt="">
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/eUxZPXG.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt=""><img src="http://i.imgur.com/S4Tqakp.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt=""><img src="http://i.imgur.com/x91p7jI.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt=""><img src="http://i.imgur.com/jyDkSBO.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt=""><img src="http://i.imgur.com/SLnCuOQ.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt="">

And now for paint
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/9AA61uy.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt="">
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/dusk2g9.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt="">

imgur.com doesn't work with GJ.

Looks really good. It gives me some inspiration


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

stonesfan68 said:

imgur.com doesn't work with GJ.

Click to expand...

Is it not allowed or something? Because it works fine when I open the page.

to use imgur on GJ, you need to remove the "S" from "HTTPS" in your links

shortyg83 said:

Is it not allowed or something? Because it works fine when I open the page.

Click to expand...

imgur blocks Garage Journal directly linking because GJ has a classifieds section. It's a little strange, but the gist of it is that using imgur hosting to sell your items goes against imgur's terms of service. So they just blanket ban the entirety of GJ. Since the images have already been loaded by you, they show up on your post.

As others mentioned, sometimes there's a workaround.

The Cobbler said:

to use imgur on GJ, you need to remove the "S" from "HTTPS" in your links

Click to expand...

Ok thanks for the heads up. I went throught and removed the S.

Beatiful job!

pics show now. yes, great resto!

Shorty I've never pulled one of these apart so before I do I have a novice question.
Is that the bearing (arrow) your talking about ? I imagine there is one at the top, and bottom so the spindle can rotate freely inside the quill ?

Nice job. I too am worried about getting it back together

I am shocked - shocked that you didn't paint it Power Bronze!!

...but that's a nice shade of blue. Looks good.

smalltown said:

Shorty I've never pulled one of these apart so before I do I have a novice question.
Is that the bearing (arrow) your talking about ? I imagine there is one at the top, and bottom so the spindle can rotate freely inside the quill ?

Nice job. I too am worried about getting it back together

Click to expand...

Yed there is a bearing at the top and bottom of it so I used that setup to get it back in place so i didnt damage the bearings or the spindle.

Very nice job and the cool thing is that Craftsman press will last way longer and do a much better job than anything from Harbor Freight. Maybe next time, explain the steps as you progress thru the job, it will help the next guy that takes on one of these. Thanks to Frank Lee and a few others I've managed to do about a half dozen of these and enjoyed every one.

shortyg83 said:

...Time to clean
src="http://i.imgur.com/S4Tqakp.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt=""><img

And now for paint
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/9AA61uy.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt="">
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/dusk2g9.jpg" style="max-width: 675px; max-height : 1000px; " border="0" alt="">

Click to expand...

Good job on the whole rebuild; but REALLY NICE job on the base and table

edit: well, I tried to include the 3rd pic after "Time to Clean" but it didn't work. You'll just have to go back up there and look for yourself.