Craftsman Drill Press

[Cruzan80]

Re: The Classic Craftsman 100/150 Drill Press

What I mean is on the end where it wires in. Should tell you how, amps etc

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[LesserSon]

That motor looks a lot like the 1210C/1211C/1212C split-phase motors shown on p36 of the 1966 catalog. 1725rpm, 1/4 1/3 1/2 hp. In the 1964 catalog, similar motors 1934C/1905C/1936C?...heck I can’t read the pdf scan well enough to be certain of the model numbers.

 

[FrankLee]

Here is the motor that came with my new-old ~1965 DP.
The decal has the same crown as the DP.
I have no idea how to date code it.

Is your data plate missing? If there, the date code is on the lower left corner.

In the example below, K6897, I believe K68 is the month/year; October 1968. I'm not sure what 97 means. A through M (excluding I) are the months.

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[Bro-Dozer]

Good morning from Arizona.

I do not see a data plate.

 

[Cruzan80]

Re: The Classic Craftsman 100/150 Drill Press

Nope, it was removed. Should be where the two rivets are on the left side of your picture. Sorry.

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[Bro-Dozer]

@LesserSon. Thanks for reference. Page 18 of 1964 catalog looks like a close fit! #3.

 

[FrankLee]

Re: The Classic Craftsman 100/150 Drill Press

Good morning from Arizona.

I do not see a data plate.

Nope, it was removed. Should be where the two rivets are on the left side of your picture. Sorry.

@LesserSon. Thanks for reference. Page 18 of 1964 catalog looks like a close fit! #3.

Yeah, weird.

I agree... mid '60s, but based on the shape of the "General Purpose Motor" portion of the Craftsman label and the shading of the center band in the '64 and '66 catalogs, I'm thinking later like '65. There's no catalog for '65 and your drill press is not shown in the '66 catalog.

If you open up the motor, take lots of reference pictures... especially if there are any part numbers on the rotor or stator. You may be able to narrow down the HP. Because of the drill press is a 12-1/4" model, I suspect the motor would be 1/3 hp, but I dunno for sure.

Other internal motor attributes may offer clues too. For example, in this post, the 6962, a 1750 rpm motor has more coil slots on the stator than the 6963, a 3450 rpm motor; 36 vs. 24.

 

[row.inc]

Here's our first Craftsman 103.24511 drill press which seems to be in pretty good condition. The family was cleaning out their grandpa's workshop and let us have it and a vintage Stanley router for free just to get it out of the way as they didn't think it worked. We took the gamble on it (it's a Craftsman!), took it home and found the motor reset button... We are working on cleaning it up and and looking forward to being able to use it for some woodworking. Frank's links, the restorations I've seen here and all the tips are awesome, thank you all! (The bit in it is just there so I could try to make sure it was centered.)
Motor info in case it's useful:
1/2 HP.
Ph. - 1
Amps - 7.8/3.9
Cyc - 60
RPM - 1725
Model - 113.19656
Cat. NO. - 1965
MFG. Model - KS60BXBBM-1556
Mfg No - M6397

 

[FrankLee]

Here's our first Craftsman 103.24511 drill press which seems to be in pretty good condition. The family was cleaning out their grandpa's workshop and let us have it and a vintage Stanley router for free just to get it out of the way as they didn't think it worked. We took the gamble on it (it's a Craftsman!), took it home and found the motor reset button... We are working on cleaning it up and and looking forward to being able to use it for some woodworking. Frank's links, the restorations I've seen here and all the tips are awesome, thank you all! (The bit in it is just there so I could try to make sure it was centered.)

Very nice machine! Thanks for posting!



From your other thread:

Thank you for this information, it helped and my husband has successfully replaced the old power cord which was in sad shape. I'm to the point of mounting the motor back on the motor bracket and then back onto the head. Here are my new to drill presses current questions for this area:
1: How high should the head be mounted on the stand pillar so the pulley won't rub?
If the pulleys are aligned correctly, you should be able to position the head/motor at any position along the column. I normally position the head casting at the highest point on the column.

2: At least initially the plan is to use this for drilling in hardwood, with straight, countersink and forstner bits, so should I be setting the motor pulley heights level or should I set the motor pulley higher by one groove?
For woodworking, I don't think you need to adjust the motor pulley higher than the spindle pulley. For forstner bits, I believe a slower speed is recommended. The pivoting motor mount makes a quick job of changing belt speeds when needed.

3: Are there any step by step instructions for taking the DP shaft out for cleaning (and spindle washer / quill bumper replacement) and reinstallation? I've been looking at the restorations where they mention doing this but I must have missed some important bits like how to take the takeup spring off gracefully.
There are many links in the first post. I always recommend reviewing all links in the GENERAL section and then those that apply to your machine and info on the desired component.

Otherwise the DP seems to be in nice condition, solid but needing cleaning. I'll be posting pictures soon.

Thank you!

 

[smalltown]

Second on the great shape. It looks New!

 

[Bro-Dozer]

Re: The Classic Craftsman 100/150 Drill Press

It runs fine. I think I'm just going to put some carnuba wax on it and run it. No need to open up king tuts tomb this time.

Yeah, weird.

I agree... mid '60s, but based on the shape of the "General Purpose Motor" portion of the Craftsman label and the shading of the center band in the '64 and '66 catalogs, I'm thinking later like '65. There's no catalog for '65 and your drill press is not shown in the '66 catalog.

If you open up the motor, take lots of reference pictures... especially if there are any part numbers on the rotor or stator. You may be able to narrow down the HP. Because of the drill press is a 12-1/4" model, I suspect the motor would be 1/3 hp, but I dunno for sure.

Other internal motor attributes may offer clues too. For example, in this post, the 6962, a 1750 rpm motor has more coil slots on the stator than the 6963, a 3450 rpm motor; 36 vs. 24.

 

[row.inc]

Thank you for the guidance, I'll start going through them this morning!

 

[row.inc]

Thanks! I'm really looking forward to using it. It still has some white paint specks on the base, but since they've probably been there for a number of years, it won't hurt to back burner them until I get the working parts cleaned up. I've done light lubing and will check out the bearings more when the spindle is out but it moves freely now so I'm not too worried. The gentleman who had owned them seems to have taken care of his tools.

 

[FrankLee]

Thanks! I'm really looking forward to using it. It still has some white paint specks on the base, but since they've probably been there for a number of years, it won't hurt to back burner them until I get the working parts cleaned up. I've done light lubing and will check out the bearings more when the spindle is out but it moves freely now so I'm not too worried. The gentleman who had owned them seems to have taken care of his tools.

I've had a couple machines that were as spectacular as yours when I found them... DP#32 was probably the nicest.

I've had very good success removing paint specks with a dental pick.

 

[FrankLee]

Motor Wiring Hack for Atlas Drill Presses

Motor Wiring Hack for Atlas Drill Presses​

I've been making slow but steady progress on the Atlas model 63 drill press, DP#97. The head frame and motor are complete.

​

If you're familiar with Atlas manufactured drill presses, you know that most have built-in switches in the head frame casting. It is a very nice feature, but very inconvenient because the wiring is hard-wired into the motor. When I buy these Atlas machines, I usually just cut the cord to remove the motors which makes it easier to transport them home.

 

[Outlawmws]

Nice upgrade!

 

[Bro-Dozer]

Stripped down the base and table and painted [2 coats champagne mist with 2 light coats satin clear on top].

Results are rewarding with the two step paint process. Phone pic makes things look brighter than they are I think.

I used Klean-Strip Aircraft paint remover [from the auto parts store in aerosol form].

 

[FrankLee]

Stripped down the base and table and painted [2 coats champagne mist with 2 light coats satin clear on top].

Results are rewarding with the two step paint process. Phone pic makes things look brighter than they are I think.

I used Klean-Strip Aircraft paint remover [from the auto parts store in aerosol form].

Very nice!

 

[smalltown]

The column sure does shine !

 

[Outlawmws]

I noticed that - looks polished.

 

[FrankLee]

DP#98, Band Saw

DP#98 is a Craftsman 100, model 103.23130. Because there are machine screws attaching the trim panel to the head casting, this is a 1950 or earlier machine. The date code on the Dunlap 1/3 hp split phase 115.7269 motor, M1 49, supports that.

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I got the drill press in a bundle deal with this Craftsman 103.24280 band saw. This motor is also a Dunlap 1/3 hp split phase 115.7269 dated F2 51. Both machines were well cared for for quite a while until they weren't. They both should clean up very nicely though.

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2/22/2021

The band saw and motor are cleaned up and already have a new home.

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2/23/2021

Today, I started tearing down and cleaning the '49 drill press motor, model 115.7269. It's very dirty as is typical. These old switches with the bakelite toggle are often bad, as was the switch on the band saw motor. Fortunately, this one still works fine.

Before:

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After:

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I used an old spark plug boot as a cord strain relief.

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2/25/2021

This morning, I dismantled the head frame from DP#98.

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There were a few surprises.

• Both spindle pulley retaining screws were broken. That's not unusual, but the broken end on one is bent over and the screwdriver slot is fubar. I'll need to drill that out.
  
  ​
  
  
• The thrust collar nut does not appear to be original. Normally, these are cross-hatched knurls. This one has vertical knurls. That's no big deal, but the internal threads are less than half of the nut. When fully threaded onto the thrust collar, it spins. I initially thought the threads were stripped. I will likely replace this 6A chuck with a 633C chuck with safety collar. We'll see.
  
  ​
  
  
• The set screw on the spindle collar was very loose. NBD, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.
  
  ​
  
  
• The inner snap ring on the spindle pulley assembly was jammed between the lower bearing and the slot. It was rather difficult to remove. I think the bearing spacer is a tad too long. I've never seen that before, but it's an easy fix.
  
  ​

Overall, everything appears to be in great shape. Runout is ~0.001. The chrome looks very good. The head frame trim is very nice. I believe the original paint will clean up beautifully. This is going to be a very nice machine.




2/26/2021

Most head frame parts are cleaned.

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2/27/2021

More parts cleaned. These were all wire wheeled.

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3/1/2021

Progress.

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New bearings arrived late today, so assembly should speed up.




3/2/2021

Today's progress.

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The chuck was also dismantled, spent a couple cycles in the sonic cleaner and is now soaking in citric acid.

It cleaned up beautifully and operates as smoothly as new.

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3/3/2021

DP#98 is complete.

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[jg4660]

Frank,

They both look great...should be a quick cleanup effort. Nice score.

JG

 

[Bro-Dozer]

Thank you @Hoorn for the satin topcoat tip by the way.

 

[oldsfan442]

Re: The Classic Craftsman 100/150 Drill Press

Wow. That bandsaw is incredible. You planning on flipping it or keeping it?

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[Hoorn]

Thank you @Hoorn for the satin topcoat tip by the way.

No prob.
Pics look outstanding. That drill press column almost looks like it's been chromed. You put in some time on that one..

 

[FrankLee]

Re: The Classic Craftsman 100/150 Drill Press

Wow. That bandsaw is incredible. You planning on flipping it or keeping it?

The bandsaw has new-ish urethane tires and a few extra parts, so it will likely be a flip. But honestly, I did not check it out much yet. It was such a good deal, I told the seller on fbmp I would buy them both. I paid the guy before testing either machine.

 

[Bro-Dozer]

Ha ha. That post is probably not original. I was like that when I picked up this unit. It is chromed. Looks great.

No prob.
Pics look outstanding. That drill press column almost looks like it's been chromed. You put in some time on that one..

 

[Hoorn]

Frank, I was working on a 1954 Craftsman motor and used a paint that I had on hand that seemed pretty close to the blue/grey Craftsman used for awhile. I know you use Rust-Oleum pretty much exclusively, but as you can see with the OEM bearing cover it's pretty close. Ace hardware Premium Machinery Grey. Only issue for me is its glossy, but Ill just wait 48 hours and hit it with matte clear. Good color, extra coat for protection, win/win.

 

[Hoorn]

Can anyone tell me if they have ever seen a drill press with the name =Craftsman= along the bottom base as depicted in this 1957 catalog?

Also, the "Lock-type" key chuck shown as an option is what Frank refers to as a Supreme chuck 15T33C on page 187 of this thread. What benefits does this chuck have over the standard Jacobs chuck?

 

[FrankLee]

Frank, I was working on a 1954 Craftsman motor and used a paint that I had on hand that seemed pretty close to the blue/grey Craftsman used for awhile. I know you use Rust-Oleum pretty much exclusively, but as you can see with the OEM bearing cover it's pretty close. Ace hardware Premium Machinery Grey. Only issue for me is its glossy, but Ill just wait 48 hours and hit it with matte clear. Good color, extra coat for protection, win/win.

I have experimented some with other brands, but yeah, that is a pretty good match. Thanks for posting.

Can anyone tell me if they have ever seen a drill press with the name =Craftsman= along the bottom base as depicted in this 1957 catalog?
I've never seen a drill press with that =CRAFTSMAN= logo printed on the base. I have spent many hours studying Craftsman catalogs and found many other oddities and errors regarding drill presses. Even the drill press owners manuals have errors.

Also, the "Lock-type" key chuck shown as an option is what Frank refers to as a Supreme chuck 15T33C on page 187 of this thread. What benefits does this chuck have over the standard Jacobs chuck?
I believe the "lock-type" chuck simply means that the chuck has the safety collar and is just the replacement part. The collar in the catalog illustration does say SUPERHOLD, a Supreme name.. It's just a guess, but I think that catalog reference could be Jacobs or Supreme. IMO, I don't believe one is better than the other.

Some smaller 12-1/4" drill presses came with a smaller version of the 1/2" chuck. There are two part numbers in that catalog which I believe may be the two sizes of 1/2" capacity chucks.

 

[Hoorn]

I'm curious if you consider any 100 or 150 particularly rare? Not so much as regards the options they had but just how it was sold as is.
I ask because I have a 1958 power bronze 150. The motor is dated 1958, it has the rapid adjust feed stop and a hinged motor mount. It's a typical DP.

I am looking to get a bench top model and found this one in power bronze. These are the only two pictures available but from what I can tell it does not have the rapid adjust feed stop, it has the fixed motor mount, and of course it's power bronze and has the heritage logo with engine turned band.

But of note is the motor, dated Jan 1957, it has the striped polished band and the cast iron end caps and base are also power bronze. Although I have seen this a few times before, it seems very uncommon to me because of the motor.
As I understand it (and I realize that nothing is set in stone) 1957 was the year they introduced the power bronze for Craftsman's 30th anniversary, but that a very few snuck in at the end of 1956. The very next year, 1958, the one piece "150" band was introduced.

Most every 1957 I've seen, and certainly all the bronze DPs that were produced after, the motor has the dark brown end caps and base with the solid power bronze motor band.

So would this drill press be considered rare in terms of appearance and how it was sold by Sears?

 

[AtlasRearden]

Just acquired my first drill press and excited to start restoring it. Based on your identification tutorial, it appears to be an "early" model 150. I posted more pics here: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=476195

This is a great thread and already proven helpful. My first task is to get the column unstuck from the base, and have been reading your tips on that.

I'm sure I'll be back!

 

[FrankLee]

I'm curious if you consider any 100 or 150 particularly rare? Not so much as regards the options they had but just how it was sold as is.
I ask because I have a 1958 power bronze 150. The motor is dated 1958, it has the rapid adjust feed stop and a hinged motor mount. It's a typical DP.

I am looking to get a bench top model and found this one in power bronze. These are the only two pictures available but from what I can tell it does not have the rapid adjust feed stop, it has the fixed motor mount, and of course it's power bronze and has the heritage logo with engine turned band.

But of note is the motor, dated Jan 1957, it has the striped polished band and the cast iron end caps and base are also power bronze. Although I have seen this a few times before, it seems very uncommon to me because of the motor.
As I understand it (and I realize that nothing is set in stone) 1957 was the year they introduced the power bronze for Craftsman's 30th anniversary, but that a very few snuck in at the end of 1956. The very next year, 1958, the one piece "150" band was introduced.

Most every 1957 I've seen, and certainly all the bronze DPs that were produced after, the motor has the dark brown end caps and base with the solid power bronze motor band.

So would this drill press be considered rare in terms of appearance and how it was sold by Sears?

I don't really consider any of these drill presses particularly rare, but there are definitely some combinations of color and features that had short production runs that do make them uncommon.

There is some debate on whether Power Bronze was actually commemorating Craftsman's 30th anniversary or a coincidence. The first evidence I found linking that is from 2005 on owwm, but no actual proof.
http://www.owwm.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12146

From machines I have seen in the wild, the usual paint scheme is like a medium
shade of "tool" gray enamel. Excluding the 1959/60 Power Bronze anniversary
paint.

Member JoCoSawdust posted a rather convincing argument against that connection here:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8663915

I had previously propagated that theory but don’t any longer.



.

 

[Hoorn]

Thank you for sharing that link. I had always assumed it was an anniversary color based on the numerous comments I have read over the years here on GJ. That is a very convincing argument against it, particularly because Sears had never advertised it as such.

 

[Bro-Dozer]

My project is completed. Almost.

Here are some images of the stripped head unit.

 

[Bro-Dozer]

Here are some of in progress paint and the completed project less band.

However, I have a bit of a rattle in the pulley area. Sort of bugging me.

 

[Hoorn]

Here are some of in progress paint and the completed project less band.

However, I have a bit of a rattle in the pulley area. Sort of bugging me.

It's coming out terrific. Paint job is spot on.

 

[pikapp]

I'm curious if you consider any 100 or 150 particularly rare? Not so much as regards the options they had but just how it was sold as is.
I ask because I have a 1958 power bronze 150. The motor is dated 1958, it has the rapid adjust feed stop and a hinged motor mount. It's a typical DP.

I am looking to get a bench top model and found this one in power bronze. These are the only two pictures available but from what I can tell it does not have the rapid adjust feed stop, it has the fixed motor mount, and of course it's power bronze and has the heritage logo with engine turned band.

But of note is the motor, dated Jan 1957, it has the striped polished band and the cast iron end caps and base are also power bronze. Although I have seen this a few times before, it seems very uncommon to me because of the motor.
As I understand it (and I realize that nothing is set in stone) 1957 was the year they introduced the power bronze for Craftsman's 30th anniversary, but that a very few snuck in at the end of 1956. The very next year, 1958, the one piece "150" band was introduced.

Most every 1957 I've seen, and certainly all the bronze DPs that were produced after, the motor has the dark brown end caps and base with the solid power bronze motor band.

So would this drill press be considered rare in terms of appearance and how it was sold by Sears?

Hoorn,
My power bronze 1957 100 floor model has June 57 stamped into the motor
plate and iron motor caps that are also bronze. The a fixed table and fixed motor mount all seem to zero it as a 57. Rare? Frankly, only the master knows.
In the rare department, although it was not a 100, from what I have read here the rare one appears to be a 1941/42 Mohawk floor model 103.0304 which Cruzan80 stated never appeared in a catalog, which I found interesting.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7802934&postcount=2379
although I read at least one post here with that model number.

 

[whateg01]

Visiting DC for a couple days, fbmp let me know this is nearby. I've no interest not a way to take it with me.

 

[FrankLee]

My project is completed. Almost.

Here are some images of the stripped head unit.

Here are some of in progress paint and the completed project less band.

However, I have a bit of a rattle in the pulley area. Sort of bugging me.

Beautiful job!

Regarding the rattle... a few suggestions:

• Belt
  I can't tell if that belt is original. If so, a new cogged belt may help.
• Tension
  A belt that is tensioned too tight can cause issues.
• Speed
  Your belt is positioned at the fastest possible speed. Moving it down should help.

Also, do you have any pictures of the motor mount assembly? It looks like a much different design than on earlier 12-1/4" drill presses.