How is a Camelback drill press sized?

[Strouty]

I bought this little guy this morning and was wondering how to figure out what size it is.

 

[larry_g]

You would size it just like any DP. What is the dimension from the center of the spindle to the column? Another way to say it is, what is the biggest round disk that you can drill the center of?

Nice looking machine.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[twertsy]

Curse you Strouty............I've been looking for one of those. Nice snag!

 

[Strouty]

I bet I can fit it in one of those flat rate boxes Twertsy.

Larry, I never knew that is how they measured a drill press, thanks for the info, I will measure the space and report back. It is an old machine, patent dates make me think late 1800s.

 

[yaidunno]

That thing is a beast, and pretty darn fancy with the power feed. Also pretty interesting how the spindle support moves on a dovetail, assisted by the chain and weight. What is the brand of this press?

 

[Strouty]

Prentice Brothers from Worcester Mass

 

[Strouty]

It is at least a 28", the round table is 28" in diameter. I won't be back to the shop until tonight, I will measure it then. I couldn't find a date on it, but there was a stamped area that had some numbers, need to clean off the paint to read it.

 

[dutchgray]

That thing is a beast, and pretty darn fancy with the power feed. Also pretty interesting how the spindle support moves on a dovetail, assisted by the chain and weight. What is the brand of this press?

That movable spindle support was a fairly standard arrangement for big drills of this era, being that moving all the drive system up or down would be very much harder than on modern electric powered designs (though there were plenty of electric powered drills that had the same arrangement.
That drill is a really nice tool, and would drill as large a hole as you would want to drill in a home shop environment.

 

[Strouty]

I measured it and it is a 30”

Also took some more pictures.

 

[bubinga]

I bought this little guy this morning and was wondering how to figure out what size it is.

little guy l'd like to see A big one

 

[bubinga]

'Nice looking machine"............yes it ls lg!

 

[larry4406]

I agree. I think it’s “Large”

 

[jabberwoki]

Very ****** nice.. I have a big one like that, you`ll find yourself looking for things to drill just to listen to the noise.

 

[Strouty]

When I saw it, I fell in love. Hopefully the honeymoon will continue once I get it drilling.

 

[larry_g]

If you don't have a motor for it with a pulley my research says that the lower shaft should turn in the 300-400 rpm range as that is what the old lineshafts run at.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Strouty]

I will need to figure all that out, sounds like good info. The previous owner said he has a motor, but no clue if it setup correctly. He had the motor bolted to the floor, I am going to make a hinge so the motor weight creates the belt tension, I think that is the easiest way for now. I have a few Reeves drive setups and I was thinking it might be possible to eliminate the flat belt completely.

 

[bubinga]

Very ****** nice.. I have a big one like that, you`ll find yourself looking for things to drill just to listen to the noise.

When I saw it, I fell in love. Hopefully the honeymoon will continue once I get it drilling.

LOOKS to be in very nice condition too!
what A beautiful piece

 

[Strouty]

The guy wanted $150 for the drill, but $900 if I wanted all the tooling he had, I gladly paid the $900 as it got me drill bits up to 2”, another Jacobs chuck, some adapters and a homemade looking vise. These are the smaller bits, I am picking up the larger ones this weekend.

 

[larry_g]

Look carefully at the bits to determine if they are HSS or not. I've taken the edge off a couple of carbon steel ones with the wrong speeds in harder material. Be warned, this is not some wimpy Sears machine. With the large gear reduction and power feed these machines can tear up things. Sometimes the material being drilled, sometimes the bits.

lg
no nea sig line

 

[jabberwoki]

You have to keep the belt that`s half the fun. here's a pic how mines set up

 

[larry_g]

You have to keep the belt that`s half the fun. here's a pic haws mines set up

Do you have a good idea of the speed your lower shaft is turning?

lg
no neat sig line

 

[twertsy]

You have to keep the belt that`s half the fun. here's a pic haws mines set up

I agree!! Nice setup Steve! I've found a couple around here but every one so far has a repair. They all look to be from moving the beasts......there's always big welds where the camelback broke in half. But, I'll find one!!

 

[Strouty]

Luckily the only thing I have found so far is that one bolt was snapped off, going to have to drill it out and probably machine a bolt to match it. The flat belt does look cool

Thanks for the warning in the bits, hopefully there is still some legible info on them.

 

[bczygan]

I would call it humongous!

Bill

 

[bczygan]

This looks like your drill:

Bill

 

[Strouty]

That one has more speeds, but it does look like it.

 

[crguy]

You may need to go a little bigger on the driven pulley to get the spindle speed down low enough for heavy drilling, big hole saws, etc. This is the reduction I had on my Canedy Otto camelback to get the spindle down under 20 rpm.

 

[jabberwoki]

Do you have a good idea of the speed your lower shaft is turning?

lg
no neat sig line

No I don`t but this just might be the excuse in need. I`ve been wanting to get a Digital Laser Tachometer.

 

[Strouty]

I was thinking of using this as an excuse to buy one too. I guess great minds think alike.

 

[larry_g]

In the above video from Keith Fenner he goes over his DP which is similar to yours. He also has a couple of other vids on that DP in his channel. One thing from the VID is that his max spindle speed is ~315 rpm. I didn't watch enough of it to get the minimum.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Strouty]

That video is pretty cool, wish mine had a back gear too. Thanks for posting it Larry.

I have two 20N Jacobs chucks, they look about the right size.

 

[bubinga]

That video is pretty cool, wish mine had a back gear too. Thanks for posting it Larry.

I have two 20N Jacobs chucks, they look about the right size.

Oh, I just assumed It Had Back-gear.

 

[Strouty]

Nothing like in the video, looks like belt changes are all you get for adjustment.

 

[bubinga]

Nothing like in the video, looks like belt changes are all you get for adjustment.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

You might want to play with that lever right in front of your upper or driven step pulley Strouty....When those gears drop down out of contact with the gears on the head shaft the shaft is directly driven. When the gears are in contact that's what back geared is. Should be a pin or some similar lock up there too that must be released when the gears are engaged. Ed.

 

[Strouty]

Maybe that lever is an eccentric and moves the gears off contact? If the were the case, the main shaft would have to be split between the two upper gears, right? I will take a closer look when I hit the shop, it did seem like I was missing something, I thought there may have been a second set of gears to add strength by having more contact.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Maybe that lever is an eccentric and moves the gears off contact? If the were the case, the main shaft would have to be split between the two upper gears, right?.

Yes. Back gears rotate into contact on an eccentric and the main shaft is really two shafts that lock together when you're running direct. There were several ways of accomplishing this in the old days and most ended up with a single lever locking the main shaft as the back gears were taken out of the drive train. You may need to push a pin in but I'm not sure.

Really nice drill by the way! The big ones are not that common. My 32" Mechanics Machine co. drill was the biggest I'd seen for years until a 42" turned up. They are very powerful, especially with all the torque you get in back gear. Ed.

 

[Strouty]

Thanks for the info, I think this drill will be around for a long time, everything seems very smooth, but I have yet to get it up to speed. Should be a decent size for me, I have been looking for a decent sized radial arm drill, thought I had found a Cincinnati Bickford, but looks like it got sold before I could get to it.

 

[jabberwoki]

So I scored this cool vintage Herman H. Sticht of New York model C hand tachometer today off Offer Up for $20.
If its still measuring correctly?
Measured from the biggest bottom pulley I have 3100 rpm.


I edited the speed, it helps if you read the instructions properly.

 

[larry4406]

So I scored this cool vintage Herman H. Sticht of New York model C hand tachometer today off Offer Up for $20.
If my calculations are correct measured from the biggest bottom pulley I have 987 rpm.

Nice! So this means the Camelback is extra large.....??....