TAMU Drill Press

[stihlcollector]

I graduated from Texas A & M in 1979. I took two Engineering Technology classes my senior year that resulted in this:

Another class did all the sand castings, which I did not take. The first class I took we machined all the rough castings to spec. The second class we machined all the rest of the parts, the rack, cut the teeth, made the gear, handle, everything. Only off the shelf parts are the Jacobs Chuck, a locking set collar and a flat needle bearing set.
Here are close ups off the head casting:

I first had an old washing machine motor on it but then around 1982 I acquired this variable speed DC motor which still works great:

Then I added an air powered cylinder (the black tube) which will move a cable up and down. The cable is attached to the drill table and is flexible enough I can move the table left or right easily. I can open the small up and down valves and control the air with the black actuator on the stand to raise or lower the table without having to fight it.

So needless to say I have been using it all my life reliably and proudly. I could not find any examples here at the Garage Journal so I thought I would document it in case anyone is interested or ever goes looking for one. I found a few examples on Google but they were different with a weird double pulley at the top and a long belt to the motor mounted at the bottom, and no names on the head casting, just an attached badge. Sadly I could find no reference to the classes I took in the current course catalog at TAMU.

 

[The Cobbler]

what a great pc of equipment with a great story along with it.
That is just awesome

 

[whateg01]

I thought I was going to come here to say I wouldn't buy a TAMU drill press; stick with places you know and trust like TEMU!

Not many people can say they made their drill press. That's awfully cool!

When you say you couldn't find many examples, do you mean of other drill presses people built in college?

 

[stihlcollector]

Thanks guys!
I meant that I did not see any TAMU drill presses posted here at the Garage Journal, and not much on Google either. Nor have I come across any other college programs that did something similar, although there may have been some somewhere. I got my degree to be a shop teacher but we all know where that is today. I hope Mike Rowe continues to have success in getting young people to use their hands.

 

[whateg01]

Thanks guys!
I meant that I did not see any TAMU drill presses posted here at the Garage Journal, and not much on Google either. Nor have I come across any other college programs that did something similar, although there may have been some somewhere. I got my degree to be a shop teacher but we all know where that is today. I hope Mike Rowe continues to have success in getting young people to use their hands.

Wichita State does castings every few weeks I think. Iron gets done a couple times a year, or at least they try to. It's part of the arts program so most is bronze sculpture or aluminum. Pretty cool (pun intended) to watch!

 

[Lesserstore]

I have seen one of these @ Blinn College in Brenham.
It was in poor shape though.

 

[RoninB4]

-As a life-long toolmaker I applaud what you've done. I've made/designed a LOT of stuff for work and personal purposes but haven't made a sand casting either for a machine to be used in my personal shop. You did, to your credit, do the machining. A degreed shop teacher should have shop experience shouldn't they? It was an interesting post, thanks for sharing this with the rest of us.

 

[Cheesy1]

Not near as complex as the drill press above, but at Kansas State in a materials class we made a vise. Every mechanical engineering student did it. I think we started out making a drawing package of all the parts (that might have been a precursor drafting class) Sand casted out of aluminum the base and moveable jaw. Machined the jaw plates out of steel and did some heat treatment. Machined the screw out of steel. Made a handle. Did some engraving on it.

If I remember I’ll take a picture tonight.

Showed us the principals of casting, machining, heat treating.

 

[dcg9381]

Sadly I could find no reference to the classes I took in the current course catalog at TAMU.

Are you an ME? Damn, so cool to actually "build something" in at TAMU. I got to build a speedometer. :-(

 

[Renegade1LI]

Very cool! and you still use it today!