Powermatic 1150 drill press? Capability and Value?

[CNGsaves]

Ran across the Powermatic model 1150 drill press below and curious what GJer's think it might be worth . . given it's condition with rust, missing, ball on handle, etc.

Also would it be a capable drill press for steel ??

 

[CNGsaves]

Attempt at BIGGER pictures.

 

[Corndoggeh]

A bit on the short side for my liking, depends on the asking price really.... where I live where the prices on old machinary and the higher quality brands are overpriced you would be looking at between 150 - 250. Realistically it should be lower than the 150 mark.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

CNG:
Making a guess based on the pictures, it should be able to handle metal and wood. I would assume that it has step pulleys and an intermediate pulley to increase the speed range.

Value? In my area, in it's present condition, I could get $225 - $300 for it. That POWERMATIC badge adds a lot of value.

 

[6PTsocket]

Powermatic is quality. The red knob is an off the shelf item if it does not have some weird thread. I would give it serious thought if you need a dp. The rust will clean up. I would be concerned with more serious problems like a bad motor or mechanical problrms with the quill or hard to get major parts. Bearings are replacable

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[aslack99]

@CNGSAVES, I bought that drill press, guess I was bidding against you.


It's a big mutha!

 

[CNGsaves]

^ ^ ^ You got it !! Good, it went to a GJer !! Hope it cleans up nice for you.

What research I did said it was quality drill press and sought after. However, did not know what speeds it could turn for steel.

Does it have middle pulley for very low speed ??

Can you post up pics of the red label with the speeds ??

 

[exmaxima1]

Looks like a 5-speed model, and slowest speed is 400rpm with a typical 1740rpm motor. Should be fine for drilling up to 1/2" holes in metal. The knob might be harder to find---many machines of that era used 7/16" thread and I have no idea where to get replacement knobs with that thread. You may have to settle for a black knob from another drill press.

 

[Shop Dad]

I have a floor model 1150 and it's an awesome machine. Blows the socks
off contemporary plastic import presses. I find these tend to be undervalued on the market. Keep an eye on eBay for the knob or put a WTB on OWWM.org. You can also try Redmond Machinery as they have some older Powermatic parts.

Doug

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I'm very jealous. I've been looking for something like that in my area for over a year and can't come up with anything. Either junk, too much $ or too far away.

I think I'm going to have to just bite the bullet and take some Saturday and drive 3 or 4 hours to get one in northern Indiana (then 3 or 4 hours back). They must migrate that direction or something.

That's a great looking drill press. I have a PM lathe and it is quality.

Phil

 

[aslack99]

Thanks everyone, I think it will work out well for me and hopefully last a lifetime. McMaster Carr has aluminum knobs available with a 7/16-20 thread. I am probably going to set it on the slowest speed and leave it there for most of my drilling(metal). I am going to try and acquire a factory operators manual, a new set of knobs and a new chuck key.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#6940k46/=1762xqa

 

[Shop Dad]

You can find a manual on vintagemachinery.org. Search Powermatic and go from there.

Doug

 

[6PTsocket]

MSC has a red 1 3/8" Gibralter brand knob with 7/16-20 brass insert thread. It looks like that will not be a problem.

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[aslack99]

MSC has a red 1 3/8" Gibralter brand knob with 7/16-20 brass insert thread. It looks like that will not be a problem.

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Turns out it is threaded 1/2"-13, and I ordered three new knobs from Mcmaster-Carr, but I sure appreciate you looking.

 

[matt_i]

A really easy way to fix the handle, if you have a lathe is to drill and tap the end for a setscrew that matches the ball-handle. Blue loctite both ends so they don't drop off due to vibration.

Reid Tool had a catalog page of them, then they dropped out of sight to become Essentra. You can make all 3 of them match then.

I echo the comments about "old USA Powermatic" great quality stuff. The new machinery is just a hijacking of the brand name by WMH.

http://www.essentracomponents.com/en-us

 

[6PTsocket]

A really easy way to fix the handle, if you have a lathe is to drill and tap the end for a setscrew that matches the ball-handle. Blue loctite both ends so they don't drop off due to vibration.

Reid Tool had a catalog page of them, then they dropped out of sight to become Essentra. You can make all 3 of them match then.

I echo the comments about "old USA Powermatic" great quality stuff. The new machinery is just a hijacking of the brand name by WMH.

http://www.essentracomponents.com/en-us

WMH rescued Powermatic. The previous owners were bleeding it dry to finance other failing companies they owned. They spent nothing on tooling and the Powermatic reputation was in the dumper. It was a duplicate of the AMF ownership of Harley Davidson. Powermatic tools currently are highly regarded and while the old 66 table saw was built like a tank, it is a dated design. Today Taiwan has become the machinery manufacturing capital of the world. Delta is Taiwanese owned but they build the Unisaw here and it has gone from the most popular cabinet saw to an also ran with questionable parts support. Powermatic would not exist without WMH, which is a Swiss company, though they build in Taiwan, like everybody else, including SawStop.

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[wagon]

^^^

Walter Meier spun off Jet-Powermatic-Wilton into its own company. Those 3 brands are now independent of the former parent company.