Drill Press thoughts

[donthelegend]

I've been looking for a drill press on CL and while there are plenty of older USA drill presses, finding one with the extra pulley for slow speed is proving difficult. This will be a metal working DP so I need it to go down to 150-200 RPM.

I found this locally:

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/tls/4275677052.html

The cliffs notes version is that it's a Chicago Power Tools 13" benchtop model 1258-3, 12 speed 150-2600 RPMS. Older, apparently made in Taiwan. From what I've seen and read, the older Taiwan machines seemed to be decent quality for the money, correct?

Asking $140 OBO, thinking that $140 is a bit much but around $100 might be reasonable as long as everything is in good order. It's been listed for a while so hopefully he's willing to deal. Any one have experience with Chicago Power Tools? I can't tell if its an older HF brand, or was actually something different.

Thanks!

 

[lilredex]

Looks very similar to one I bought new around 1972. It passes the test in my book....intermediate pulley, positive down stop, and a table lift, especially if it really drops to 125 RPM. If everything else is OK, I'd try for $100 (or a bit more).

 

[Grigg]

I had two similar machines similar vintage, they were both very nice for what they were, good drill presses. I gave one away and sold the other to a friend for $75 , I figure they were probably worth something more than that. $140 isn't that bad if you do need one, obviously cheaper is better.

 

[donthelegend]

Thanks for the info, I just contacted the seller so we'll see where it goes. I think it'd be a good fit for what I need it to do, and should be considerably better than the benchtop craftsman woodworking model I have now.

 

[lilredex]

Forgot one detail...

When looking it over, look for that hole in the underside of the head, right behind the spindle is a place for a recessed light. Kind of a neat feature, you can wire it to be either switched separately or with the motor.

Good luck!

 

[rancherbill]

I'd buy that at the $75-100 level. They are good machines.

I bought a real high miler that was worn out. I replaced the bearing in the DP and the motor along with the chuck and belt. It is excellent with almost no runout.

 

[Davefr]

As long as you're willing to go bench top, it looks like a good machine.

The two "must have" features are wide speed range and table elevation which it has.

Just make sure runout is OK.

 

[schor]

Looks like that press will do the job. I built my own extra pulley adapter for my atlas press.

 

[lilredex]

Looks like that press will do the job. I built my own extra pulley adapter for my atlas press.

Looks good. Are there bronze bushings in that extra pulley or something else?

What's the specs on that LED bulb?

(Might be helpful for others looking to make the same modifications.)

The link for that Atlas is here:

http://forum.canadianwoodworking.com/showthread.php?51189-My-new-to-me-Atlas-42B-Drill-Press

 

[schor]

Looks good. Are there bronze bushings in that extra pulley or something else?

What's the specs on that LED bulb?

(Might be helpful for others looking to make the same modifications.)

The link for that Atlas is here:

http://forum.canadianwoodworking.com/showthread.php?51189-My-new-to-me-Atlas-42B-Drill-Press

Yes bronze bushing in the pulley. Make sure to oil it regularly. Also I don't dare run my press at highest speed, I think I calculated it to over 12000 rpm.

Not sure of the specs for that led light, but it's pretty bright. It was a clearance at home depot, I got 2 of them.

 

[bad12jr]

I have a 1975 or 1976 model one of those. Used it a few times. I need to clean it up. Bought it at an auction for 30 dollars. I'd probably give 75 or 100 as well judging by the shape it appears to be in.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[sparky7]

i would pay the 140, try to get it for 100 even. If you need a drill press its not worth squabbling over 40 bucks IMO, but it cant hurt to try. Some people get a little to wrapped up in getting a good deal

 

[ez-duzit]

Those Chinese bench-top drill presses are only OK. They cost around $100, brand new. You can change the speed range by replacing pulleys.

 

[sparky7]

i think you are confusing it with chicago electric man

 

[donthelegend]

Like sparky said, this is supposed to be different from the current HF drill presses. Although the comparable model sells for 229, after 25% off that's still $170, for a chinese DP vs a Taiwanese model. I understand it's not USA quality, but three or four people have already said that they either had this model or one very similar, and it did a good job. As long there aren't any hidden issues, I'll probably go for it. Going to look at it tonight.

 

[donthelegend]

Went ahead and bought it for $125. I feel good about it, runs nice and quiet and seems to be well taken care of. Although I didn't quite realize how large it would be... while technically not a floor standing model, it definitely won't be usable on top of my work bench either. Which is actually a good thing as it'll force me to build a stand for it that I had been putting off for the smaller drill press. I'll post pics once I get it cleaned and lubed. Thanks everyone for all the input.

 

[lilredex]

This is the original mobile stand that was built for the similar D/P I had.