Craftsman Drill Press Info Needed

[Retroman]

Looking at purchasing this drill press asking price is $180.00 OBO. I would like to know roughly when it was made and how is the quality of these. Is the value right seems a bit high to me but I am not really in the know on these DP. I would like to clean it up and restore it.

 

[tool_scrounge]

Craftsman model 80 13.5" drill press, likely from the late 1940s. Lower cost version of the popular model 100. The home made return spring on the depth stop is probably because the original one is broken. $180 is high in my opinion. Is there even a belt to see how it runs?

 

[JoCoSawdust]

The model 80s had bronze bushings rather than ball bearings. With 180 bucks and some patience, you can find a 100 or even a later model 150.

 

[exmaxima1]

The model 80s had bronze bushings rather than ball bearings. With 180 bucks and some patience, you can find a 100 or even a later model 150.

I think it was the Dunlop versions that had bronze bearings, but I could be wrong. In any case, that DP would fetch under $100 in the Chicago area. I would pass partly because of the broken spring and hold out for a Model 150 (or a vintage Delta)

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Yup, you’re correct examination. Thanks for the catch.

 

[FrankLee]

Looking at purchasing this drill press asking price is $180.00 OBO. I would like to know roughly when it was made and how is the quality of these. Is the value right seems a bit high to me but I am not really in the know on these DP. I would like to clean it up and restore it.

Agree... $180 is way too high, especially if it has a spring issue. Because OBO, that could be a big negotiation factor.

I'd probably go look at it and figure out how motivated he is to sell. I probably wouldn't go higher than $40 if the spring is bad.

 

[JoCoSawdust]

This got me doubting myself as I deal mostly with pre-war Atlas and WT machines so I looked in the catalog. The Craftsman 80 model did have bronze bushings as well.

 

[FrankLee]

You're all correct and you're all incorrect.

All 12-1/4" Craftsman/Dunlap drill presses have bronze sleeve bearings.

All 13-1/2" and 15-1/2" drill presses have ball bearings. Actually, both have the same bearing part numbers.


When referring to Craftsman 80's and 100's, date of manufacture is important. Prior to 1950, both 13-1/2" and 15-1/2" drill presses were referred to as Craftsman 100's. The Craftsman 80, at the time, was 12-1/4".

Starting in 1950, the 13-1/2" machine was demoted to a Craftsman 80 and the 12-1/4" drill press was rebadged to Dunlap until 1964 when it was rebadged to Craftsman again with the crown logo head band.

 

[exmaxima1]

This got me doubting myself as I deal mostly with pre-war Atlas and WT machines so I looked in the catalog. The Craftsman 80 model did have bronze bushings as well.

Based on the catalog sheet, the op's drill press must NOT be a model 80 (at least not a pre-1950). The head trim and depth stop are completely different.

 

[lafester]

Besides the spring, it looks to be in pretty good shape.
If I really needed a dp I would go up to $100 for that one, otherwise $50-60 would be my target.

 

[JoCoSawdust]

Thanks for the schooling Frank. I need to stay in the pre-war world!!

 

[Retroman]

Wow, what a wealth of information thank you all for the responses. I don't need another drill press but would like a nice vintage machine. Is there a consensus on the model # 80 or 100?

 

[FrankLee]

Wow, what a wealth of information thank you all for the responses. I don't need another drill press but would like a nice vintage machine. Is there a consensus on the model # 80 or 100?

13-1/2" Craftsman 100's were manufactured between 1946 and 1949.
13-1/2" Craftsman 80's were manufactured between 1950 and 1957.

So, 13-1/2" Craftsman drill presses are more commonly referred to as Craftsman 80's.

 

[bugzilla46310]

Older thread but now I know what the smaller drill presses were with the Crown logo similar to the 150 Crown. Seen a few and was wondering what they were.