Found one on CL yesterday and ended up getting it. Looks to be in good shape, has the usual surface rust on the main mast and other machined areas but nothing that cant be taken off with a little elbow grease. The spindle is very nice with no slop at all, bearings seem to be in great shape. Has a worklight but not the vari-slo option or the gear-adjustable table but it did come with a nice vice mounted to the table. It needs one of the spindle handles(stem) and two of the brown phenolic knobs. I'll post some pics of it as soon as I can get it unloaded, its still in the back of my pickup after I went and got it yesterday evening. Dang thing is HEAVY!!
Craftsman 150 Drill Press
- Thread starter 69supercj
- Start date
Steevo
Well-known member
Zeke
Well-known member
Very heavy especially if it's a floor model. I can't figure out how handles come up missing like they seem to. What color is it, gold or gray?
Zeke
Well-known member
Nice cross slide. How is it switched? Mine has a dead man foot switch and I don't care for it.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
I'm pretty sure Atlas made the X/Y vise for Sears, did it come with the jaws for the T slots? and that water valve knob looks funky on that! 
Zeke
Well-known member
That's only part of it. You need the top:
Nope no jaws. Also, I'm not sure about the motor, its a Dayton 1/2 hp and it looks quit old but it just purrs like a kitten but wonder if its original to the press? It does still have a craftsman belt on it and from looking at it I think it might be original. Was also wondering about the depth gauge, is that L shaped set screw the right style or not? Does anyone know how to find the manufactures date on these?
Zeke
Well-known member
Well, I missed that. It's clever and handy but I would definitely put a safety guard on it.
i have the same one and it's a wonderful old machine! Very quiet.
I think the original motor would have been a craftsman but not positive. Mine does have a craftsman motor is the reason i say that. Doesn't matter, that motor should work great. The L shaped set screw looks original, mine has the same one. I don't know how to tell the dates but someone here probably will.
I think the original motor would have been a craftsman but not positive. Mine does have a craftsman motor is the reason i say that. Doesn't matter, that motor should work great. The L shaped set screw looks original, mine has the same one. I don't know how to tell the dates but someone here probably will.
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doan
Well-known member
The manufacture date is stamped on the bottom of the table and the bottom of the base. Here's what mine looks like:
uniballer
Well-known member
What did you pay? I am looking at picking one up in TN for 50.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
That's only part of it. You need the top:
Actually that is a newer design. The older ones looked like the pic below and had separate jaws; one "fixed" and the other "dynamic" but just barely...:
I believe that you ordered the motor as a separate item from Sears. The standard motor Sears would sell would be a Craftsman but it is always possible that some other motor was originally mounted. The drill press does not look so worn that the original motor would have needed to be replaced.
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Outlawmws
Well-known member
Actually motors were an option, you could get the DP with or without a motor, and order a different one or use one you had.
I don't believe I've ever seen a Dayton motor available from Sears, certainly not in catalogs from this era.
jakemac
Well-known member
The original motor options were either a Craftsman or, depending on the age of the DP, an "economy" motor branded Dunlap or Companion. Companion being the older option, but no longer available at the time this DP was made. So, the original motor could have been a Craftsman or Dunlap.
Or, you could opt to not buy a motor at all, and supply your own.
IDK when Dayton motors became available, or the age of the OP's motor, but the original owner may have bought the DP without a motor and used one he already had on hand. He could have also upgraded to another DP and used the original motor on another shop tool before selling off this one. The second owner may have supplied this motor.
Or, you could opt to not buy a motor at all, and supply your own.
IDK when Dayton motors became available, or the age of the OP's motor, but the original owner may have bought the DP without a motor and used one he already had on hand. He could have also upgraded to another DP and used the original motor on another shop tool before selling off this one. The second owner may have supplied this motor.
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My table doesn't have that kind of stamp. Cant tip it over to look at the base as I don't think I can get it back upright with one hand, I'm still having to do about everything with my right arm since I had left bicep reattachment surgery a month ago. Also, the DP doesn't have the quill return knob on the side like those I've seen on here but it does auto retract. It didn't at first but once I got to cleaning some of the gunk out of the gears and stuff it retracts just fine.
Zeke
Well-known member
Probably 1725 but that's the right motor for the machine. You should contact the seller and see if the jaws might still be around. Otherwise you will need a DP vise like the one I showed. Really, a cross slide is not necessary for drilling but a DP vise is very handy and makes things safe. Table clamps are another way to hold larger and flat work.
The cross slide is not to make the DP into a mill. You could do some light side surfacing on wood but the slide is handy if you want to drill successive holes in a line. And if you are drilling a couple of holes close together you only have to clamp the work once.
New idea for me since I have the 150 floor model is to build a tool caddy that can live below the table and attach to the post. I might put a lid on it to keep the chips out.
The cross slide is not to make the DP into a mill. You could do some light side surfacing on wood but the slide is handy if you want to drill successive holes in a line. And if you are drilling a couple of holes close together you only have to clamp the work once.
New idea for me since I have the 150 floor model is to build a tool caddy that can live below the table and attach to the post. I might put a lid on it to keep the chips out.
Outlawmws
Well-known member
Ditto on not using the table as a milling table. Drill presses aren't rigid enough for that, even if the chuck is a captive chuck (which I believe yours should be) as Zeke said, great to increment holes in a pattern.
And yes, go see if they have the jaws for that puppy if you can. a lot of them went missing over the years, the ones for mine did, and I bought it from the original owners son...
Zeke, for that under-table storage, find a DP table not worthy of use as a primary table and slip it under the good table. instant shelf! you can even cover the damage with a wood extension to make it bigger...
And yes, go see if they have the jaws for that puppy if you can. a lot of them went missing over the years, the ones for mine did, and I bought it from the original owners son...
Zeke, for that under-table storage, find a DP table not worthy of use as a primary table and slip it under the good table. instant shelf! you can even cover the damage with a wood extension to make it bigger...
He didn't have the jaws, in fact he just had some pretty thin metal pieces of angle with a bolt in them. What about the quill retracting knob that I've seen on some of these, whats different about them and mine? Is mine a later design?
Outlawmws
Well-known member
With the 150 logo on the side like that, pretty sure its a later version.
Zeke
Well-known member
I'm not sure I follow but the knob on mine sets the retracting tension. Not something you have to do often. As long as the stop is there below you could use anything for a knob including ViseGrips until you stumble onto the correct part.
Let me go back and review your pics.
OK, I see what you are talking about. You don't have what I have. Hey, if it retracts, you're good. I don't have the light kit and that would be nice to have.
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Outlawmws
Well-known member
I just ;looked again also, and noted something else: Your band has the Crown logo in it! so I'm going to guess yours was one of the last year or so of production for craftsman for these DP's.
I'd guess they moved the spring to somewhere under the crank handles as the older ones are on the opposite side. (but mine is '48 near the first year of so of production) not sure when that switch was made. Possibly when they moved from the 100 series to the 150, or maybe later. (no time tonight to research the catalogs.)
I'd guess they moved the spring to somewhere under the crank handles as the older ones are on the opposite side. (but mine is '48 near the first year of so of production) not sure when that switch was made. Possibly when they moved from the 100 series to the 150, or maybe later. (no time tonight to research the catalogs.)
Outlaw I believe ALL of the 150's are Crown label, 1957 catalog shows a oval badge 100, 1960 catalog shows a crown badge 150. 1966 catalog still shows a 150. The 1959 catalog on Rose antiques freezes my computer for some reason.
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Been out in the shop tinkering with my new DP and I've been going over the motor and drive pulley system. Here's what I've found so far. The keyway on the motor shaft is right about .186 to .191 depending on where its measured. The keyway on the pulley is .193 to .195 and its aluminum. Will the few thousandths difference be okay or is that too much for the key to fit into the slot on the motor shaft? Its got a set screw as well and there wasn't any keystock in the keyway when I disassembled it. They had the set screw right over the keyway and its sorta been boogered up over the years. Would the set screw be sufficient by itself or not? Its a round shaft instead of D shaped also. Thanks for any help.
If the set screw digs adequately into the motor shaft slot, it will certainly work---that drill press is not all that fussy. A 1/2 hp motor doesn't have too much torque. Personally, I would dress the shaft with a file and add a key, but that's just me.
In fact, this will sound bad on this thread, but I'm not all that keen on those King-Seeley drill presses. I like the older Atlas models much better. I've owned at least 4 of the K-S presses and they all ran noisy and had more runout than the earlier models. I could rarely use the fastest speed for fear of it blowing up! I don't recall the pulleys being balanced like they were on Atlas and Delta presses of that era. King-Seeley made awesome table saws, but I think the drill presses were not their finest designs.
I DO like the quick release on the depth stop. It was a great idea at the time. The standard Model 100 had the simple knurled nuts that were a pain to operate in the confined space.
Well I made a little headway today. Went down to the auto supply store and got a new belt and some keystock while I was there. Got back to the shop and put the new belt on and that made a pretty big difference as far as noise and vibration. I took some emery cloth to the shaft of the motor and polished it up a bit and found some really thin aluminum that will help take up the slack on the pulley fitment on the shaft. I then cut some keystock and got the pulley where I wanted it and drove the stock in place and that really made a difference. Its a lot more smooth and I didn't even use the shim stock on the shaft that I'd thought about using. So I decided to do the standing nickel trick and sure enough, it'll start and run and the nickel doesn't move a bit. I made a video but for some reason when it downloaded it downloaded it tilted 45 degrees so its not easy to watch.