skippyelwell
Well-Known Member
My old drill press is for sale in the classifieds because I finally got my hands on a Canadian Buffalo 18".
It is finished for the most part but I thought there might be a few here who are into restorations.
As best as I can make out it was built in 1944-45, 430lbs.
I think Buffalo is still selling a slightly updated version of this DP with a price tag of about $8k
You can see from the arc of shame that it too is a veteran of a high school shop class, luckily the strength of the table wasn't compromised.
I thought about trying to repair it by filling it with braze or JBWeld but in the end I choose to cover it with some 1/4" plate and let the next guy worry about it.
Multiple layers of paint came off down to bare metal, all 4 bearings were shot so were replaced.
Most of the hardware and fasteners were diy nickel plated for a bit of bling.
The lowest of original 5-6 speeds is not much good for metal so I sprung for VFD which I'm really happy with, setting up all the parameters was a bit of a steep learning curve but muddled my way through.
When I got it going I measured the run out at 11 thou, after taking it up to the highest speed and randomly tapping the spindle with a hammer on and off for 10min the bearings settled in and now the run out is down to 5 thou.
I can live with that.
It is finished for the most part but I thought there might be a few here who are into restorations.
As best as I can make out it was built in 1944-45, 430lbs.
I think Buffalo is still selling a slightly updated version of this DP with a price tag of about $8k
You can see from the arc of shame that it too is a veteran of a high school shop class, luckily the strength of the table wasn't compromised.
I thought about trying to repair it by filling it with braze or JBWeld but in the end I choose to cover it with some 1/4" plate and let the next guy worry about it.
Multiple layers of paint came off down to bare metal, all 4 bearings were shot so were replaced.
Most of the hardware and fasteners were diy nickel plated for a bit of bling.
The lowest of original 5-6 speeds is not much good for metal so I sprung for VFD which I'm really happy with, setting up all the parameters was a bit of a steep learning curve but muddled my way through.
When I got it going I measured the run out at 11 thou, after taking it up to the highest speed and randomly tapping the spindle with a hammer on and off for 10min the bearings settled in and now the run out is down to 5 thou.
I can live with that.
