I recently purchased an atlas drill press from the great grandson of the original owner. It’s in fantastic shape. I have a few questions. Is it possible to tell how old it is from the serial number? The base has two grooves in it and I am uncertain as to what they are for. It came with a device the appears to ride in the base grooves, but again, I don’t know what it does. Any advice is appreciated.
Atlas 74 questions
- Thread starter Vizsla33
- Start date
JoCoSawdust
Well-known member
Your press is from the 1940s. The slots in both the base and the work table are for mounting various accessories to hold material to be worked. The set up in the last picture is a mortising jig to drill square holes (primarily for furniture joinery). Nice DP.
lafester
Well-known member
Wow, so many of these and the Craftsman version popping up just in the last week.
I just painted that same base today... probably weighs 60 pounds by itself.
Do you have the pulley covers?
I just painted that same base today... probably weighs 60 pounds by itself.
Do you have the pulley covers?
I have the front pulley cover. I do not have one for the back. It doesn’t appear to accommodate a cover for the belt. If there is one, it didn’t come with the press. I am removing the surface rust again today. The original paint is intact. The thing still has an atlas belt on it. It’s dry rot and will need to be replaced. Can you tell what if any parts I am missing from the pictures? I am new to vintage machinery and will be dammed if I buy something from China for the remainder of my time on earth. I also picked up a B-line grinder that could be used as a yacht anchor.
tool_scrounge
Well-known member
Do you have the chromed spindle guard that fits on top of the spindle pulley cover? The are often lost and can be challenging to find. Here is a link to the manual and parts list
http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=6247
http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=6247
JoCoSawdust
Well-known member
That model had no rear pulley guard unless it had the "alien head" one-piece cover that encompassed both front and rear pulleys. There's a seller on the big online auction site that makes 3D printed spindle covers. I've purchased one and with a bit of work on the end users part, they make a good substitution if you can't find a reasonably priced original
Yes, I have the spindle cover. Spent a few hours today scrubbing the press to remove years of dust and rust. I put a new belt on it and it fired right up. Not sure if I will strip and paint. It’s in great shape for its age. Sadly I can’t say the same.
Attachments
lafester
Well-known member
Looks good to me, I would leave it as is.
JoCoSawdust
Well-known member
+1 on leaving it as is. Beautiful machine!
whateg01
Well-known member
Must be using it only for woodworking, with the belt in that position! Nice looking machine. I can't wait to get the new spindle turned for my Cman 150!
Dave
Dave