Drill Press ID

[rockcrawler]

This drill press is for sale in my area. Anyone know if this is a good deal, or even a good drill press. I want to be able to drill steel, but nothing real thick.

1982 16 speed king drill press. Everything works $300 obo

 

[macgee]

This drill press is for sale in my area. Anyone know if this is a good deal, or even a good drill press. I want to be able to drill steel, but nothing real thick.

1982 16 speed king drill press. Everything works $300 obo

It's a typical King Taiwan made drill press (from late 70's- early 90's). They actually can be really good and useful. It has a MT-2 spindle and good size motor, it's not bad just by specs. Knowing if it runs well and drills well is another thing. that needs to be checked in person.

Having the 16 speeds is good to have for steel, giving you the option for super slow speeds that a typical 5-8 speed drill press cant offer. You'll need to check how it runs (is it super quiet?) and how it functions. Any cracks in the table and are all parts present and working?

Generally, in my area these sell for around $150 but Texas can be much more expensive for used tools and that one doesn't look abused but pics are way too small to tell anything really.

 

[rockcrawler]

It's a typical King Taiwan made drill press. They actually can be really good and useful.

Having the 16 speeds is good to have for steel, giving you the option for super slow speeds that a typical 5-8 speed drill press cant offer. You'll need to check how it runs (is it super quiet?) and how it functions. Any cracks in the table and are all parts present and working?

Generally, in my area these sell for around $150 but Texas can be much more expensive for used tools.

Thanks for the info.

 

[The Cobbler]

Well regarded Taiwan import. they get good press on here

 

[lafester]

I think you can do much better for $300. If you can get it for $150 at least you could resell when you find a better deal.

 

[macgee]

The problem for Rockcrawler is that he's in Texas. Last year I tried helping a friend located some good machines in Corpus K. for his shop. I was blown away how much more expensive it was and how few choices there were, avg. price was almost double for equal condition. Right now it's pretty silly with some of the insane high prices people are asking for drill presses in Dallas & Houston.
So location can play a big part of price/value. There's deals but fewer and you have to jump on them pronto.

Here's a really good one for the same price (if the deal is real), It's a american made Powermatic which has an excellent reputation. The King could be a little more user friendly with more speeds, lift table crank and the round table rotates but that Powermatic looks very nice and they're hard to beat, they're total workhorses and retain good resale value.

EDIT: The Powermatic has the very desirable 1150 rpm motor, perfect for slower speeds needed for drilling steel and I think it has a table lift. If this ad is real, then that would be my first choice, the King second. King's are good for what they are and miles better than a Harbor Freight DP or a Delta China DP.

https://dallas.craigslist.org/sdf/tls/d/kaufman-powermatic-drill/7239949113.html

 

[metlmunchr]

A couple points... The Powermatic on Craigslist is a model# 1150. That alone does not indicate that it has the low speed motor which is 1100 rpm. Since the ad doesn't mention the motor rpm, the only way to know is to look at the motor nameplate.

Also, the depth stop rod and its associated mount and hardware is missing. Essentially none of these parts are still available new, and when they were available the price was in the stratosphere. I'd doubt it would be easy to find them in the used market as these weren't Craftsman level commodity drill presses so there's no great supply of "skeletons" to pick parts from.

All that said, for home shop use, I'd still pick the Powermatic over the King if the PM's spindle runs quiet and true. However, considering the missing parts and the 25 days it's been on CL, I wouldn't go over $200 for it.

My main criteria for picking the PM is spindle travel. 6" on the PM, and, unless it's an unusual model, a fraction over 3" on the King. The trade-off though, in the opposite direction, is the much lower minimum rpm on the King which makes it much better suited for drilling holes larger than 1/2" in steel. The older Taiwanese drill presses have a reputation for decent quality, so the final decision would depend most on what the purchaser intends to use it for.

 

[macgee]

A couple points... The Powermatic on Craigslist is a model# 1150. That alone does not indicate that it has the low speed motor which is 1100 rpm

Good catch and you're totally correct, My bad and my (sore) eyes were seeing things I wanted to see and I guess was willing it to be a slo speed motor. So yes, most likely just a standard 1725 motor, cant believe I did that. And good catch on the depth stop, also correct, there an awesome 6" depth so not an easy replacement. The price for powermatic parts is astronomical. On the plus side, if the very elusive table lift is complete and working on that DP, they alone sell for crazy high prices and in demand. Not many Powermatic's had a table lift, and those tables are heavy.

The ad is only a email contact, so wouldn't be surprised if it sold on the first day and the lazy seller couldn't be bothered to take the ad down or the post is not real.

 

[rockcrawler]

Still for sale. He says it has no depth stop, has a 1/2 Jacobs chuck, and 400 RPM is the slowest speed. He says he has 30 years machinist experience and says it will drill steel fine. I looked online for the depth stop, any you’re right, it’s expensive. $65 to $85 just for the rod. Not sure if I would need the depth stop or not. I figure I’ll be drilling holes completely through most things. But, if I ever needed to drill a specific depth, I’d be guessing without the stop. Not sure if this is the best choice, especially at that price.

 

[brownbagg]

its the exact same one i got, Its a tawain made, I have had mine 30 years, and it ok, it does everything i ask it to, no it not a fancy grizzley or old delco style craftman
but i like mine, I paid $50 for it in 91, used. has never broke down

 

[brownbagg]

$300 no, $100 no, you can buy a brand new grizzley for $375 and the good ones around $475

 

[lafester]

I would get the powermatic.
Depth stops pop up for less then that.
You can also mark the bit where you want to stop.

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

 

[The Cobbler]

you can probably make up a depth stop easily enough

 

[macgee]

you can probably make up a depth stop easily enough

Correct, you can hillbilly it with with some large all thread rod and two nuts plus the items needed to mount to the tang on spindle; that's if the tang on the spindle is still present, hard to tell in pic.

It will match the hillbilly paint job, you can still see the recent spray can paint outline on his garage floor. Motor doesn't look orig.

Edit: Since he had just painted it and still see masking tape on the DP, he may have removed the depth stop for painting and not installed back on.

 

[rockcrawler]

Edit: Since he had just painted it and still see masking tape on the DP, he may have removed the depth stop for painting and not installed back on.

I asked, and he said it was missing.

 

[The Cobbler]

my similar drill press depth stop is a adjustable rotating collar behind the feed handles .

 

[metlmunchr]

The mount for the depth stop is definitely missing. I've got a couple of the variable speed PM drills from the 70's which have the same head castings, etc. If the mount was there, you'd see part of it immediately below the slot in the head castings.

If the OP's primary use is metalworking, the absence of the depth stop is of little consequence. In my own machine shop, I might use the stop once every few months to maintain uniform depth when countersinking a bunch of holes for flat head screws, but otherwise it remains largely unused. OTOH, a woodworker would likely use the stop much more often as a large number of holes for screws, dowels, etc are not thru holes.

The point though, isn't whether you need the stop or if you can cobble together a makeshift stop. The point is the machine is overpriced as is because it isn't complete. Reasonably priced drill presses are good sellers, and when one sits unsold for a month in a market the size of Dallas, no further proof is necessary that the price is too high and probably not negotiable to a reasonable level. The closer you look at the Powermatic, the more it reeks of a spray bomb "rebuild".

Don't know if others have noticed this, but I find it remarkable how often non-running or incomplete stuff is advertised by a seller who claims to be an expert on the device, but for some reason they don't put that expertise to work to enhance the value of what they're selling.

Car doesn't run, but the "experienced mechanic" seller knows it'll only take a set of plugs for it to run like showroom new.

Or a "30 year machinist" who's selling an incomplete drill press when any half-*** machinist could reproduce a professional appearing replacement depth assembly in a couple hours and add far more actual value than a half *** clean and spray job which automatically makes anyone suspicious if they're familiar with machinery and the common tricks used to hide problems.

If someone was peddling an airplane with no wings on CL, they'd likely claim 30 years astronaut experience and that it'll work fine without wings.