Columbia Drill Press... Any good?

[Keyblazer]

Picked this Columbia Drill Press up at an Estate Sale.
5 Speed, 1/2hp, and 1/2" Chuck, made in taiwan.
Surface rust, but works good... gonna strip it down and paint it to knock the ugly out of it.
Cannot find any info anywhere on it... Paid about $30.

 

[zkling]

Typical 80's-90's Taiwan bench drill press. Not bad for general fab work.

 

[egdede]

No extra holes in the base!

 

[Keyblazer]

Thanks for the input guys!
Egdede: I'm not sure what you mean by extra holes?

The chuck is fine, but a little stiff, probably needs some use and tlc. I don't I will ever need anything else, but thanks for the taper info Jeremy!

Broke the machine down yesterday and cleaned the base and column. The rust was pretty light, so that was good news. The head is today, but already found the drive belt is toast, and a bad motor connection.
As this is a bench model, I am pretty sure I don't want it on my bench, so will build a wheeled floor base for it.
More to come...

 

[Roberts210]

Yeah, no arc of shame! For $30 you done good son. Clean 'er up and use 'er.

 

[Keyblazer]

OK, LOL.

The table has one small Boo Boo(right), and a couple on the web holes, but not too bad.
It cleaned up nice.



Chuck is a 1/2" or 13mm unit and looks good.


Just been cleaning and scuffing parts before a rattlecan of silver metallic Rustoleum.


Table support and arms.



Started on the head, and first thing I spotted was the belt cover hinge has broken loose where it was spot welded to the cover...



Drilled and clamped it ready to plug weld, but my helmet batteries were dead!

 

[Keyblazer]

She is coming back from the brink...
My previous mini drill press in foreground!

 

[jmdowdy]

My apologies since this thread is almost two years old now, but I just acquired this same drill press and I can find very little information online about it. I have a couple of questions. Were you able to remove the JT2 chuck from yours? I've been unable to remove mine. Not sure if it's just stuck tight or if I'm doing something wrong. I tried using an oak dowel as a makeshift punch to tap downward on top of the chuck with a hammer, but no luck. I tried chucking up a large allen wrench and hitting downward with a hammer, but no luck. I've ordered a set of JT2 wedges to try and remove it, but I really want it off ASAP if possible. Looking for any suggestions.

My second question is if yours has the pulley speed chart. Mine did not nor is my motor labeled with its specs. if yours has a speed chart, would you mind posting a photo of it? Thanks.

Jason

 

[MayerMR]

My apologies since this thread is almost two years old now, but I just acquired this same drill press and I can find very little information online about it. I have a couple of questions. Were you able to remove the JT2 chuck from yours? I've been unable to remove mine. Not sure if it's just stuck tight or if I'm doing something wrong. I tried using an oak dowel as a makeshift punch to tap downward on top of the chuck with a hammer, but no luck. I tried chucking up a large allen wrench and hitting downward with a hammer, but no luck. I've ordered a set of JT2 wedges to try and remove it, but I really want it off ASAP if possible. Looking for any suggestions.

My second question is if yours has the pulley speed chart. Mine did not nor is my motor labeled with its specs. if yours has a speed chart, would you mind posting a photo of it? Thanks.

Jason

Jason,

Get the RPM off the motor, should be 1725 rpm. Then take the some diameter measurements of the pulleys and then run through the combinations of the pulleys and plug those values into this site (linked below) and you can calculate your own speed chart.

https://www.blocklayer.com/pulley-belteng.aspx

 

[Keyblazer]

Hi Jason,
Nope, no pulley diagram on mine... I will doublecheck under the cover in a bit.

I've not removed my chuck, so cant help there either... Sorry!

It has been a good tool so far tho, but I suspect the bearings in the head mybe sloppy because ive noticed it seems to wander on repeated holes.

 

[DarkMonohue]

Keyblazer,

How did you go about shining up the handles and other bright metal parts? Did you plate them at all, or just polish 'em up and keep them oiled?

 

[Keyblazer]

Silver Metallic Rustoleum!

 

[DarkMonohue]

Silver Metallic Rustoleum!

No kidding? I know you used that on the body of the unit, the motor, and other big pieces. Are you saying you used that same paint on the tri-bar handle, belt tensioning handle, and the other little parts that were bright bare metal before they rusted? They look different than the other painted parts in your photo.

 

[Keyblazer]

I couldn't remember, so went and looked.
Confirm that the three arms are, and were, painted with Rustoleum Silver metallic... yup, rattle can.
Post #6 u can see 2 of em hanging to dry.
Spindle that the 3 arms attach to, and belt tension lever was scuffed/cleaned with scotch pad and WD40 and no rust yet.

 

[DarkMonohue]

I'll be darned. Good deal. Thanks!

 

[BajaScout]

Looks just like my orbit. Only changed the name tag.

 

[DarkMonohue]

Looks just like my orbit. Only changed the name tag.

I think Keyblazer's Columbia and my Jet were both made by Orbit. My model number is OR-1412. It's probably the five-speed version of your 12-speed.

Nice Marlin, by the way.

 

[6PTsocket]

I know this an old but revived thread but I have a floor standing 3 pulley version and if you extend the quill there is a window to insert wedges to knock the taper loose. Is the bench model different? Some type of wedges between the chuck and quill might split it there.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk