USA made Drill Press?

[gary porter]

Are any drill presses made in the USA anymore?
My old junker just went up in smoke and I've been looking to buy a new one. PowerMatic/China, Delta/China, Craftsman/China.
Every model ....China. If I have to I'll buy an old used one that is in good shape or perhaps a General if they are still made in Canada.
I don't mind paying a higher price for US made and I'd like that choice.
Gary

[Dave Fleming]

http://www.clausing-industrial.com/Products/Drills/Clausing/index.htm

[donald branscom]

What is a drill press?




Just joking.... but were getting there fast. About 2 machine shops go out of business every week in California.

I would check into ROCKWELL tools also.

I would get a 3/4 hp drill press like a DELTA, but put on a Albrecht German keyless chuck.

[Canoeyawl]

The Swedes make pretty good drill presses and - they are noted for their steel…
I have an old Jorgensen, here’s a new Solberga.
Search around for a used one of these if you want a very robust little machine.
http://www.emachinetool.com/images/catalogs/new/standard/wSE2035.jpg

[kc8pql]

Grizzly powertools should be made in USA

Maybe they should be but they're not. Grizzly was one of the first to import machinery from the Far East, right after Jet.

[merlinron]

it's pretty hard to find any piece of machinery that is within the pricerange of the ameture/small professional that is made in USA any more.

[gary porter]

Thanks Dave, We have an old Clausing at the University job.. I'd be happy with one of those.
I have to admit I was a little put out to find all those that were made not even in Taiwan but China ,l,, every model.
Thanks again and thanks to everyone else too;..
The Swedish model looks good but doesn't look as big as I'd like.

Still holdin out ..
Gary

[mike hanyi]

if you can afford a geared drillpress go for it, we got one at work and it is just lovely to change speeds without playing with belts,

mike

[ddeaton]

I dont care who assembles the tool, all the castings are made in the far east. The chuck and the motor are the quality items that need to be USA. But, I just bought a Grizzly 15" spiral head planer that is awesome for the price. Quiet and wood looks like it came out of a finish sander.

[gary porter]

Thanks Brian, I'll check the Alaska Craig's list as well. Right now I'm looking at a new Clausing , a bit expensive but I think it will always be around..
Gary

[Nicholas Scheuer]

(See Dave's link) It seemed like every employer had them.

My Delta says "Milwaukee", but it has an open half-bell housing the belt, so you know it's got a few years on it.

Moby Nicik

[Rob Stokes, N. Vancouver]

http://www.clausing-industrial.com/Products/Drills/Clausing/index.htm

That's the old Boice Crane stuff I think. I've just rebuilt one of their old table saws (1955) - quite the piece of machinery.

Rob

[Rob Hazard]

Gary,
You said that your old drill press went "up in smoke". How badly smoked is it? Drill presses are simple machines and easy to rebuild. A new motor, new belts, new bearings, maybe a fancy new chuck, and it should be good for another lifetime.

[gary porter]

Rob, your right about fixing it , I'm sure I can but don't really want to.
Its an old junker given to me a long time ago and all I did was put a good chuck on it. It could be as simple as a bad wiring connection as it started to start then hesitated and made a big pop,,, then stank badly.
I could get a new Baldor motor and put that on , fix up the old wiring and I'd be back in order.. Don't really have the time right now and its, I admit, a good excuse to get a machine that I really like. If push comes to shove I'll fix this one and might anyway so I can give it away to some one else. To be really honest fixing it makes more sense than anything but then I'd never get a new one till there was nothing but Chinese ones available. Ok, now I feel guilty so maybe I'll take a look at it tonight. Trying to get a new addition done on my house so I can have a furnace going before it snows, work on my boat, start a new boat, etc. etc. just another brick in the wall sort of thing. I guess thanks for the reality check anyway.
Gary

[TMny]

If the motor is a 'capacitor-start' induction machine (many are) it will feature a cylindrical device {1.3"diam, by 3"long??} under a cover by the motor housing , two leads to/from this cylinder go into the wiring. These things eventually short out... new replacements available from Grainger.

[gary porter]

Checked the wiring going to the motor last night and the connections are good. No capacitor on the motor. Going by the smell and all it seems I may have burnt a winding or something like that. I may have another motor that will work. My wife says fix it , sell it , and order what you want... Good Girl... :)
Gary

[Bob Cleek]

For my money, I'll always go looking for a piece of old Amuricun Arn! And there is still lots of it out there. Definitely check out Craig's list and the local want ads. (Forget eBay... there's no percentage in buying stationary power tools you have to have shipped across the country.) There are also used machinery outfits in the yellow pages in most metropolitan areas. Sometimes schools auction off their shop tools, too, but those can have seen hard lives and lots of abuse, so buyer beware. You won't go far wrong with a pre-sixties Craftsman, even. Back then they were made by the top US manufacturers and relabeled. Sometimes you have to look around, but it's fun to do and the savings are huge.

Some of my recent used scores from the above sources were a 12X36 Atlas/Craftsman engine lathe with ALL the tooling in the world for $750, a Rockwell/Delta 13" 220 VAC thickness planer for $600, and a 5 HP 220 VAC 3 year old Delta Unisaw with accessories for $750. All of these were in mint condition, being bought from non-industrial hobbyist owners and had seen very light use. It can be done if you keep your eyes open and stash a few hundred bucks cash away where SWMBO can't find it. I find that the sight of a wad of crisp green hundreds is often an effective "closer." They stop dickering right about when you pull out an even number (the reasonable price you want to pay) and tell them that's all you've got with you. "Money talks, bull**** walks."

Same planer as mine, listed by a used machinery place asking $1,300 (It's sitting on the floor... that's no bench top "lunch box" model there!)

http://www.redmond-machinery.com/images/Rockwell/Rockwell_13_Planer_-_Front.jpg

I got the planer from a local luthier (one of the top custom acoustic guitar makers in the world, actually. One of his guitars is in the MOMA and another in the Smithsonian.) He'd put it in the paper and I visited him. He'd picked it up years earlier as a backup machine, but found he never needed it, so he was unloading it. Visiting his shop and getting to know him was worth the visit, even if I hadn't scored the planer. Fortunately, he, I and an apprentice were able to horse the monster into the back of my pickup (an essential tool for the scrounger!) Getting it out of the pickup was another thing altogether. I rented a pneumatic lift cart that I rolled up to the pickup bed and then levered it onto the cart with a digging bar. It's on wheels now!

Same lathe as mine, stripped down without attachments, but this guy had to entirely rebuild it

http://www.bellsouthpwp.com/t/h/thib9564/Atlas_Lathe_Pict_LG.jpg

The lathe had been purchased new in the '50's by the elderly guy who lived across the street from the seller. He'd used it to do WOOD turning (which was obvious, because the innards were covered with sawdust, no chips anywhere on it), but had supposedly bought it new with all the tooling then available. (Half a dozen chucks, grinding and milling attachments, centers, cutters, knurling tools, collets, bits, reamers, boring bars, micrometers, calipers, etc., etc., the works!) He died and his wife GAVE it all, lock, stock and barrel, to the guy across the street who worked on cars and had it for a couple of years, but tells me he had no idea how to run it and decided he needed the space in his garage. There it sat, obviously unused, with all the old guy's tooling and gear, some still in its original 1950's packaging. Sure made me a happy camper. Just one of the big chucks alone would set you back the $750 I paid for the lot. In the forty-five minutes it took me to close the deal and load the machine and tooling in the pickup, his phone must have rung a half dozen times. Each time, I heard him say, "Sorry, it's sold." Aren't too many days in life as good as that one!

[gary porter]

Bob, thanks for the pictures.. I already have a good old Atlas lathe and sometime when I figure out how to post photos again I'll post them.
They always show up image too large.. Anyway I've been looking at the local Craigs list and haven't found what I want or need yet. Of course our list here is probably just a bit smaller than yours. I am in contact with a company to buy a Clausing drill press if I don't find what I want used. I can make this old one work for a little longer but not too long. I want to be able to cut plugs etc. all day long if I want. I'm pretty set on that new one...sure is sweet. model 1690 should be the ticket.'
Gary..:)

[Bob Cleek]

Yea, I was thinking the same thing, Brian. I DO have a digital camera now, but I just have been too lazy to set up a photo download account on line so I can post my own pictures to the forum. Also, being my own boss, I have to confess that I often check the forum during breaks between tasks at the office. It isn't as if I have the computer sitting in my shop. (We can't all be as lucky as Smalser! LOL) I post when the urge strikes me, so I never have anything more at hand for pictures than what I can google up.

[k4lmy]

Here is a link to a US made drill press made in the states for over 100 years and still in bussiness..

http://www.bmt-usa.com/prod02.htm

still using a 1940 model 15 machine and got a replacement chuck and shaft last year.. too much sanding on the side of the old press fit chuck..

Henry

[Dave Fleming]

The old Buffalo Forge Co., still in business amazing.

Used to make blacksmiths forges, tuyere irons, forge fans and post drills.


Good for them.

[Bob (oh, THAT Bob)]

If you can get help hauling it, get an old Bridgeport; makes a damned fine drill press, and useful for "a few other things". :D And, they were made in, umm...BRIDGEPORT CT USA.

[gary porter]

Thanks for the reply and info on the Buffalo ,, I'm still hooked on the Clausing but after the posts here on fixing the old one I felt guilty so this weekend I totally rewired the machine to normal standards , replaced the old belt with a Link Belt , aligned the motor with the post, etc. Well, now it runs and runs smoother and quieter than it ever did. Makes it hard to justify the new one. I told my wife that now the old one is good enough to give away or put in a garage sale , whatever,, I haven't given up on the Clausing.. Still , I'm back in business for the time being.
Thanks all.
Gary

[SV Papillon]

Its kind of a crap shoot but sometimes boeing surplus in seattle has some real gems for cheap. I think they list everything online.

Jake