Australian/British tool/machine brands?

[Q777]

Hi,

I’m building a shed at the moment, and it will finally give me enough space to justify buying tools and machines.
I don’t want to buy cheap imported junk that will fall apart, and I’m not really interested in paying top dollars for the latest pieces. I want old, heavy, ‘built like a tank and built to last forever’ quality

What I’d love to know is what brands I should be searching for to buy things like a drill press, drop saw, and hand tools other than the usual sockets and spinners (I have old Aussie Sidchrome spinners and sockets already). For the machine tools, I’m running 3 phase to the shed, so that will hopefully expand my options.

Are Sterling pedestal drills worth considering? Here’s one currently for sale, but I’ve seen them for less money than this... http://www.whitelawmachinery.com.au...drill-engineering-machinery-for-sale-brisbane

I just bought an old ‘Made in England’ Record No.6 vice and that’s confirmed for me that old, well built stuff is so much more interesting than cheap new stuff.

I’ve tried searching and could find lots of reference to machine tools, but not so much about local Aussie vintage stuff.

Thanks for any opinions!

Craig

 

[Dave455]

For a drill press (it would be called a ‘Pillar Drill’or a ‘Bench Drill’ in the U.K.) it’s hard to beat the quality of the older British machines. Most were designed to be used all day/every day in a factory, and there’sno comparison between these and the Taiwanese copies.

Top end are names such as Fobco and Meddings.

Fobco was a trademark of F.O’Brian. Solid enough to put up with factory use, but no bigger than they need to be, these machines are still in great demand here in the U.K. but you won’t find better. There’s a huge variety, from small bench drills, through to larger pillar drills. The best had beautiful XY tables incorporated, that are well worth it.

One way to tell the quality of a machine is to look at the thickness of the column. Decent machines are made of thick steel, the better Taiwanese of thinner material, and on the crappy machines it’s a 14 gauge tube. The column on a Fobco is a solid lump of ground steel!

Meddings were more geared towards factory use, and if you go out and buy a new industrial grade drill today it’s quite likely it will be a Meddings. They offer a geared, rather than belt driven, head on the newer machines, which I like!

Next grade down would be machines such as Ajax and Startrite. Although not top end, these are still good machines. I have a Startrite with a geared spindle that offers 10 speeds. Top end is over 4000 rpm so I have a 3/8 chuck on this and use it exclusively for smaller drills!

To be honest there have been so many makers it’s worth taking a look at anything that comes available rather than chasing a particular make. You can usually soon determine how good they are!

Spares for all these drills are readily available, which is one reason they are attractive. You can build a new Startrite entirely from parts should you wish.

One thing I find usually transforms any Drill is a new chuck. Sadly the old Jacob’s factory in Sheffield was closed down, the owners thinking was that we would buy their ****** Chinese built chucks and give them a whopping profit! Another fine business decision, the only beneficiaries of which have been the Germans. Good luck to em - they build decent chucks at reasonable prices and I put Rohm Supra keyless chucks on any drill that passes through now!

To give an idea of relative prices, in the late 80’s you could buy a simple British made drill for about £200 to £300. A Fobco or Meddings would be £400, and the top end Fobco’s with the X-Y table were £750! A simple Taiwanese drill could be had for £60 to £80!

Never come across Sterling. Obviously locally made, but look’s pretty decent to me!

 

[Q777]

Dave, you’re a champion. Thanks a million for taking the time to respond in such detail. The extent of my use of any machine in the shed will realistically be quite limited, but if I’m buying anything, I want it to be able to outlive me.

Thanks again!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Q777 way to go..


That sterling drill looks the goods and it is well priced Dave is right in saying that you would probably shout it a new chuck.

You may want to consider a Waldon but it would be double the price.

You have done well getting a Record vise
.
What sort of machine tools are you after, lathe, mill???

Presumably you have a compressor and welding gear?

It can be a buyer beware situation as well with old gear but i do take your point as most of it is built like a brick $hit house and repairable for the most part.



Regards

 

[dutchgray]

I have an Elliots progress drill, floor standing 5 speed, another great British made drill, and a Qualters and Smith bench drill I gave to my brother, also good but not quite as nice, has a tube column when the Elliots is 3" solid, the ones with the 2 speed reduction gearbox on the spindle are nicer as they give you 8 or 10 speeds and a much slower bottom speed, more suitable for metal work, but they are quite rare where I am and sell for a lot.
The quality is obvious when you see one compared to the modern cheap asian made offerings.

 

[Q777]

Thanks 1/2, and that’s a good reminder about Waldown. I’ll keep an eye out for them as well.

At this stage, I have a 3 phase Compak compressor, 25cfm with a 150L tank. They’re made in Brisbane, using “the best local and international parts”. I hope that doesn’t mean the only local part is the sticker on the tank... Seems really well built.

I also have a 3 phase mig welder.

What I need initially is a:
Drop saw (dry cut, not abrasive)
Pedestal grinder
Linisher
Pedestal drill
Air tools

Once I work out realistically how much time and talent I have, then I’ll think about a lathe and/or mill.

 

[03.]

If you could find an older GMF grinder it would be made in Australia at least up till the late '70s. Fully made in their old factory in arncliffe NSW. I believe there are still a few around and normally they still run just fine. Hope that is of some help to you.

 

[Q777]

Thanks Dutch and 03.
Gotta love options!

 

[Fretters]

Pollard made some lovely bench & pedestal drills too. The Corona range.

When you say pedestal grinder, are you meaning a bench grinder on a pedestal/stand, or referring to a proper freestanding floor mounted unit like the large Union grinders?

 

[dutchgray]

Pollard made some lovely bench & pedestal drills too. The Corona range.

When you say pedestal grinder, are you meaning a bench grinder on a pedestal/stand, or referring to a proper freestanding floor mounted unit like the large Union grinders?

Like my one
View media item 79437Only issue is moving the thing.

 

[Q777]

Thanks Fretters. Pollard Corona brings up very little in the way of searches within Australia, so it looks like they must have stayed more in the UK domestic market.
I just think each machine as a stand alone item looks cool, so I’m keeping an eye out for either a monster like Dutch has, or a pedestal mounted piece. I’d prefer to keep the grinding off the work bench.

 

[Q777]

I was offered a large and HEAVY Taiwanese drill press for free, but I will be much happier in the long run if I get an Australian or Euro piece.

 

[dutchgray]

I was offered a large and HEAVY Taiwanese drill press for free, but I will be much happier in the long run if I get an Australian or Euro piece.

For free, get the it and then you have a drill you can use until the perfect old machine turns up, then you can pass the Taiwanese drill on to someone else.