Yes, that's the Emerson 2nd gen. I'm thinking they were first offered in '67, but no proof. Their 1st gen was the 150, virtually identical to the King-Seeley last gen.Is this the 2nd gen your talking about? I don’t remember the part number off of my head but i think it was made in 68 and it was the first year on the style change but it was only offered for two years. After that they went to the one with the skinny belt. It may not look as stylish as the first ones but it was free (took a lot of work to get it where it is now), it’s built like a tank, works great, and I like the longer quill travel. I have added a homemade slow speed pulley set up to it the hearing I have in there now goes so slow to the point to where is almost not even useable it’s that slow. I have like a 7 inch middle pulley. It goes from a 1 3/4 to the 7 and then the stock pulleys from there. It’s one of the tools I will never want to get rid of.
Your quill has the same tooth count, and therefore the same 4" spindle travel as the 100/150 series machines.Here you go
Frank - What cleaning fluid/ method did you use to clean press before/ after in post #3754
?
Looks great !
Marc
Thank you!Hey SAI 5021,
Nice job on that drill press and welcome to the group!
Wes
IMO, that is very fixable with a soldering gun, some shrink tubing and pieces of 16 gauge wire and crimped wire connectors. I can help with different color insulated wire if you need.....
Frank, I got some quick photos of the inside of that motor.
....
If you need me to do a deep dive on it and take more just let me know. My knowledge of electric motors is so limited it's laughable. Using this project as a method of learning. Any insight is welcome!
Your quill has the same tooth count, and therefore the same 4" spindle travel as the 100/150 series machines.
There is no '67 catalog when I believe the 2nd gen Emerson dp was first available.
The '68-'69 catalogs show a 6" spindle travel for the 2nd gen Emersons.
The '70-'72 catalogs show a 4" spindle travel for the 3rd gen Emersons.
Thanks for posting!
So, my earlier assumption about 2nd and 3rd gen quills being the same was incorrect.
So... Would it be possible to swap the 2nd gen spindle and pulleys into a 3rd gen head?Yeah, no kidding.
Maybe.So... Would it be possible to swap the 2nd gen spindle and pulleys into a 3rd gen head?
Thank you FrankLee, I had seen that one, and not sure about it. I believe I will give it a shot. A little pricey, and I will probably have ti cut the rod down, but really could use it if you think so. Sounds like you have more experience in these matters than I do.I am new to this website and thread and I hope I am asking my question in the right place. I recently purchased a Craftsman 150 drill press. I am looking for a couple of the feed stop rod stop nuts. By looking on this thread on the website, I saw that they are 5/8"-12 ACME style threads. I counted the threads on the rod on my drill press, and I counted 12 in 1 inch. Any help in acquiring these parts would be really appreciated. Thanks.
The single spline on the spindle is another interesting feature of that early machine.
Here's an example of a 15" version (dp#35) with the four-handle hub. This was featured in the 1936 catalog.
One more thing about the blue paint on these Atlas machines...
IIRC, I used a Sears Easy Living spray paint for dp#35 above. I don't recall the gloss color name, but that's probably irrelevant anymore.
Below is my dp#88, a later model,. I repainted only the belt cover, hub and base. The paint I used was Rustoleum Ultra Matte in Evening Navy. It's not a perfect match, but IMO, it's the closest match to any Craftsman color in any off-the-shelf paint. The matte finish is also much nicer than gloss.
You may have noticed the three-spoke hub is not original to Craftsman branded Atlas machines. I swapped it out because the fourth knob did not match the other three.
I picked up dp#88 this morning from a fbmp ad. It's an Atlas Craftsman model 101.03680 with the alfa-class belt cover.
The seller owned it only for a couple years and never used it. He never tested it before listing it and it was my good fortune that the motor didn't run. I got it for a very good price!
It came with a small vise and box with eight or so chucks; two are nos in boxes.
Besides the motor, there are a few issues:
- one original feed handle knob was replaced with a wooden knob
- the spindle thrust collar is missing
- one motor mount bolt was drilled out via hack job
- the original paint on the head frame casting and the cast iron cover mount is actually very good. More than half of the original paint on the cast aluminum cover is missing. Some original paint remains on the table, but the base is all rust.
Welcome! And thanks for your comments.Hi and thanks, FrankLee, for this excellent thread! My first post in GJ.
I picked up DP#1 at an estate sale yesterday. It's a late 40's 13 1/2" (100?) bench top model 103.23640. It has the tilt table (couple small divets), machine screws in the trim panel (missing original trim panel), and is equipped with a E2 49 1/2 hp motor. It runs smooth and true and the feed operates smoothly.
Other than an incredibly thick coat of paint (can hardly see the casting finish!) it seems to be in good shape and is mostly complete. I plan a full tear-down and restoration since I intend to keep this DP for my garage workshop and will post pictures when I figure out how.
One item missing is the base lock shoe (22212) and correct square-headed set screw (X185). Could someone please post up the dimensions of the base lock shoe so I can fabricate one? Any recommendation on sourcing the set screw?
Thanks!
This is an amazing find! Floor model but then you add the alien head cover to it! Very well done! Are you going to keep this one?
Welcome! And thanks for your comments.
I really appreciate the research you've done to identify your machine!
I can't help with lock shoe dimensions at the moment, but, iirc, I fabricated a substitute lock shoe for a 13-1/2" machine base from three 1" pieces of 5/8" brass rod. I inserted them vertically into the shoe cavity; two against the column and one against the set screw. It worked rather well.
I may have a spare set screw. I'll send a pm if I do.
Yes, please keep us updated on your progress.
Uncommon would be an understatement!!!
And the correct motor as well! Somebody better grab that one quick!
Sent from my Phone 2 using The Garage Journal mobile app
I am new to this website and thread and I hope I am asking my question in the right place. I recently purchased a Craftsman 150 drill press. I am looking for a couple of the feed stop rod stop nuts. By looking on this thread on the website, I saw that they are 5/8"-12 ACME style threads. I counted the threads on the rod on my drill press, and I counted 12 in 1 inch. Any help in acquiring these parts would be really appreciated. Thanks.Welcome Stanley!
I did a fair amount of online searching, but I've never been able to find that size acme nut in any form from the major fastener players.
They are available as replacement parts as arbor nuts for some table saws (powermatic in particular) but they are ungodly expensive for a single nut, anywhere from $15 to $25 before tax and shipping
Thanks! That's good to know.
Here's an example from eReplacementParts.com , and yes, pricey.
https://www.ereplacementparts.com/saw-blade-retaining-nut5812-p-866394.html
If that background grid in the photo is 1" squares, the corners of the nut would need to be knocked down. I believe the largest OD can be no larger than 1-1/16".
An ebay option:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Powermatic...-Blade-Nut-3530006-RH-thread-6-4/113342928195
Thanks GreyEyes for that tip!


Happen to have a ,etal Lathe?Okay, ……so…Against all urges, I really thought I "needed" (wanted) a vintage Craftsman drill press. Much to my dismay every time I found one they were 300-400 bucks OR worse just not around it seems. So, I decided this was good! It would keep me from buying something I was obsessing about and thinking about, the project I thought I was ready for. So I gave up looking.
Or so I thought. I snuck a peak on craiglist knowing full well there would be nothing. I inadvertently came across the listing of … Delta ocillating sander with stand? But the picture was A craftsman drill press? $55.
Had to be a screw up so I called and surprisingly enough it was all for sale as listed.
I said I would be there to take a look in about 45 minutes.
So, yeah I gave him the 55 bucks having realized it didn't have the handles and that I didn't really want the nice plywood cabinet it was bolted to but took anyway.
It turns out the sander setup is really pretty cool and works great! so I guess that's a bonus and maybe I will end up using it.
Then I got to thinking what a genius I was (before I read deeper into this thread!) and devised a way to pclean and polish the mast. I admit it was a p pretty sketchy way of doing things, but I bravely went ahead. Because really "What could go wrong!"
Well it was somewhat violent but not as bad as I feared, AND it worked! Only mishap was a boxs of taps and dies vibrated off the shelf and scattered over the floor. NOT BAD
So I will continue to clean it up and do a light restoration on it from here. And I promise I will read the first post on this thread that I wish I had read in the beginning before I bought this!
As always great info on GJ! As yuo can see I am looking out for options for feed handles and sscouting the adjustable stop mechanism if anyone has one they would part with. I browsed ebay and will keep an eye out there. I think I already haknow the solution for feed handles for me but would prefer original style if anyone knows of those too.
I hope this wasn't too rambling and boring for all of you. But hey, it's sort of payback if you will for getting me all excited and having to find one of these things!
![]()
Okay, ……so…Against all urges, I really thought I "needed" (wanted) a vintage Craftsman drill press. Much to my dismay every time I found one they were 300-400 bucks OR worse just not around it seems. So, I decided this was good! It would keep me from buying something I was obsessing about and thinking about, the project I thought I was ready for. So I gave up looking.
Or so I thought. I snuck a peak on craiglist knowing full well there would be nothing. I inadvertently came across the listing of … Delta ocillating sander with stand? But the picture was A craftsman drill press? $55.
Had to be a screw up so I called and surprisingly enough it was all for sale as listed.
I said I would be there to take a look in about 45 minutes.
So, yeah I gave him the 55 bucks having realized it didn't have the handles and that I didn't really want the nice plywood cabinet it was bolted to but took anyway.
It turns out the sander setup is really pretty cool and works great! so I guess that's a bonus and maybe I will end up using it.
Then I got to thinking what a genius I was (before I read deeper into this thread!) and devised a way to pclean and polish the mast. I admit it was a p pretty sketchy way of doing things, but I bravely went ahead. Because really "What could go wrong!"
Well it was somewhat violent but not as bad as I feared, AND it worked! Only mishap was a boxs of taps and dies vibrated off the shelf and scattered over the floor. NOT BAD
So I will continue to clean it up and do a light restoration on it from here. And I promise I will read the first post on this thread that I wish I had read in the beginning before I bought this!
As always great info on GJ! As yuo can see I am looking out for options for feed handles and sscouting the adjustable stop mechanism if anyone has one they would part with. I browsed ebay and will keep an eye out there. I think I already haknow the solution for feed handles for me but would prefer original style if anyone knows of those too.
I hope this wasn't too rambling and boring for all of you. But hey, it's sort of payback if you will for getting me all excited and having to find one of these things!
![]()
Probably half the time, the spindle will slide out of the quill without too much difficulty. In that case, I will remove the bearings from the quill, remove one shield and thoroughly clean the bearings in a sonic cleaner. Once clean, I determine whether they're still good or need replacing. If good, I repack with Mobil Polyrex EM electric motor bearing grease. They get reinstalled in the quill and on spindle pulley with the open sides facing each other. The bearings in most of the older cast iron motors, i.e., model 115.6962, are already open on one side and shielded on the other.Thank you FrankLee, Your information from all your hard work and research is well appreciated.
FYI, I won't leave this as a dedicated sander. The sander installs and removes pretty easily. It is fun to watch it move the spindle up and down on its own!
Here's a question I did not see covered as yet. Is it advisable to remove the bearings and service them or replace if possible in the quill? This one seems to have a small catch in it, but I'm probably overthinking it OR can it cleaned? It IS a sealed bearing but I have seen the seal pried open and serviced successfully. Any Thoughts?
I generally don't post referrals, but here's an uncommon floor-standing mohawk drill press on craigslist in se MI. Pictures are the obligatory poor quality, but the price is right.
https://annarbor.craigslist.org/tls/d/ann-arbor-craftsman-drillpress/7185872640.html
As cheap as bearings are, I don't see the point in disassembling and cleaning. I will for open bearings, but sealed or shielded, I would only do that if they bearings were particularly expensive. The exception to this would be if I was only flipping them. In that case a dollar saved is a dollar made.
If they have a catch in them, I would definitely do something about it, though. It doesn't happen often, but I have had bearings that had a catch like that turn out to have a cracked race. You probably aren't relying on a drill press for tenths accuracy, but anything that disrupts the smooth rotation of the spindle will cause runout.
BTW, those are shielded bearings, not sealed.
Dave
Thanks for your advice, It's no trouble for me to clean them as I have already done it. They now work fine. My GO TO bearing place is no longer user-friendly as they once were. The guys that used to work there are retired and younger ones have to have computers and specific part numbers to work with. I understand, but life seemed simpler before.
As long as you know the number you need, try running a search at Amazon. That's my first stop because there are many sources that use Amazon to sell bearings and o-rings.
almost worth the drive for me~Good question! I was hoping someone here would snag it.

They will be just fine!Yes, I know, but still I cleaned them easily and quickly. Amazon is sometime for me great as I don't have to hunt around town. But delivery and shipping time and cost often tips the scale the other way for me. I know I'm old fashioned!