craftsman drill press

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brucepts
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Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 7:25 pm
Location: Lancaster County PA

Post by brucepts »

I'd give that drill press a tad more credit than some of you are giving it. I drilled some serious holes with mine already when building my hydraulic press the other winter. 3/4" holes in 3/4" stock. I had to drill consecutively larger holes though but it worked. I have never had that little belt slip.
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PeteH
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Post by PeteH »

I've got an old(ish) "Dunlap" benchtop drillpress - Dunlap used to be Sears, Roebuck's "second-line" tool brand. I bought it a few years ago, mainly because it was heavier and more rigid than the Chinese one we had at work, and had a bit more travel. It appears to have plain bearings in the quill, and has a Craftsman 1/2 hp capacitor-start motor on the back. Uses a standard (i.e. fat) V-belt.

I have no idea of the age. Anybody got an idea how old this thing is? Disregard the bright-blue paint on the table and base - the guy I bought it from was trying to "freshen it up"...
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Dunlap Drillpress
Dunlap Drillpress
Dunlap Drillpress
Pete in NJ
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steamin10
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Post by steamin10 »

Umm,, I think Dunlap was the power tool line From Monkey Wards , back in the days when they HAD tools. They quit carrying tools and that was it for me. I was sold on Sears. Amazing how times and things change. Back in the late 70's, I decided if it had a power cord, it had to come from somewhere else thatn Sears. Switchs would fail regularly, and they would ask for 19.95, for the switch on a $24 drill. I still have three grinder buffers, one is decaying into parts, to keep the others running, as they are obsolete long ago.

I have a tiny band saw that is Dunlap. It is just short of miserable. almost got one of the DP used. I got chinee DP and have fits with the chuck dropping off the taper. I drilled the spindle and put a countersunk hex bolt in the chuck to stop the sillyness.
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
SteveM
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Post by SteveM »

PeteH wrote: I have no idea of the age. Anybody got an idea how old this thing is? Disregard the bright-blue paint on the table and base - the guy I bought it from was trying to "freshen it up"...
Check ww.owwm.org .

They have a lot of info on older machines. Look for one of the old catalogs and see if you can find it.

Steve
PeteH
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Post by PeteH »

Maybe Dunlap sold to both Sears and Monkey Ward's; I have a cheap 6" vernier - only used for measuring bolts and nuts in impossible-to-reach places on an old Jag - stamped "Dunlap", which I got at Sears. There was no Monkey Ward's near where I lived; Sears was the only store of the type.

My big gripe against Sears was that everything they sold used Sears-specific parts. Like their barbells used a bigger shaft, so you couldn't stick cheaper plates on them. And all the parts cost half-again as much as the generics.

Nothing much has changed wrt overpriced replacements. I bought a 9.6V rechargeable drill from Sears about 10 years ago. The batteries gave out after about 4 years, and when I went to get a replacement, they wanted $30 each plus shipping, while I could buy a 14.4V drill with two batteries, for $59.95. So, OK, I bit. That one lasted about 4 years too, and daggone, when I went back, there was the same pricing structure.

That time, I walked out, drove to Horror Fright, and paid $16.99 for a Chinee 18V drill; and a month later, they had 'em on sale for $5 less, so I bought one just for the battery - figured the charger and drill were gravy. So it isn't the highest quality - when it craps out, it's "over-the-left-shoulder" time.

Meanwhile, I'm looking into rebuilding the battery packs in the Sears drills, using "sub-C" NiCads. I might have to do a humper to wire them up, but I believe it's possible, if I can get the NiCads cheap enough. STILL won't be as cheap as a $12 drill, though. At worst, I'll have a couple of extra 3/8" keyless bits.
Pete in NJ
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Steve_in_Mich
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Post by Steve_in_Mich »

steamin10 wrote:Umm,, I think Dunlap was the power tool line From Monkey Wards , back in the days when they HAD tools. They quit carrying tools and that was it for me. I was sold on Sears. Amazing how times and things change. Back in the late 70's, I decided if it had a power cord, it had to come from somewhere else thatn Sears. Switchs would fail regularly, and they would ask for 19.95, for the switch on a $24 drill. I still have three grinder buffers, one is decaying into parts, to keep the others running, as they are obsolete long ago.
New Dunlap tools I purchased all came from a Sears store and my Power Kraft tools came from Monkey Wards. Oh the good ol days! Sears and Wards were across the street from each other and I frequently made that trip back and forth at 12 - 16 years old (~50 years ago) trying to decide how to best spend my money on tools.
Just because you don’t believe it - doesn’t mean it’s not so.
Jose Rivera
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Drill press

Post by Jose Rivera »

One way to alleviate the load when drilling larger holes that the machine is not designed for, is to step-drill.

What I mean is that if trying to drill a 1" hole on steel, or even aluminum (I'll explain with brass/plastic later), one can drill a 3/8" hole, then move to 5/8, 7/8 and then finalize with the 1".
The steps are mentioned as an example and can be done on two, three or more steps.

Now, if you're on high production I would suggest that you get the right machine for the job.

As for drilling brass (and plastics), step drilling gets tricky because the drill tend to grab the material and pull the part up the drill bit.
The part needs to be clamped down securely.

Also the second (and other sizes) drill/s is best to dull the cutting edge with a 45* flat some .010" to .015" to keep it from digging in.

This applies to plastic also. I noticed the last time I visited the plastics outlet store that they sell plastic drills. This drills (are not plastic) have a very sharp point, I am guessing at a 40* included angle.

The grabbing can happen with steel and aluminum as well, the part MUST
be always clamped down securely.

As for drills that have been re-sharpened, if the point is not dead center they will leave a small undersized area when they break thru.

This step is actually the true drill size hole. Drills with the point off-center will cut a larger hole equal to twice the amount of offset.

If one needs a .510" diameter hole per example, one can sharpen the drill .005" off center and end up with a close to .010 over sized hole.

The little (under sized) ring left when it breaks thru, as I mentioned, it will be the true .500" dia. of the drill. That will have to be removed with an small grinder or a round file.
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Steve_in_Mich
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Post by Steve_in_Mich »

SteveM wrote: Check ww.owwm.org .

They have a lot of info on older machines. Look for one of the old catalogs and see if you can find it.

Steve
Yes they do but the site has been down due to technical difficulties. I hope they are able to get back up without any losses of information as it has taken a very long time to build the old tool files.
Just because you don’t believe it - doesn’t mean it’s not so.
J Tiers
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Location: St Louis

Post by J Tiers »

steamin10 wrote:Umm,, I think Dunlap was the power tool line From Monkey Wards , back in the days when they HAD tools. They quit carrying tools and that was it for me. I was sold on Sears. Amazing how times and things change.
Both "Dunlap" and "Companion" are lower-quality Sears brands, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Some "Dunlap" stuff was OK. I have a couple two-hand 1/2" portable drills that are fine.

Some stunk. "Companion" is still an active brand, for the non-guaranteed stuff.

The "AA" lathe was branded both "Craftsman" and "Dunlap" at various times.
ajsalmi
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Location: central California

Post by ajsalmi »

You guy really ran with this thread, thanks for all of the input. I was going to take the DC motor off of my HF drill press, but I think I will keep looking for a heavier duty drill press and be done with it. The HF one has a weak base and the morse taper isn't in the center of the spindle.
PeteH
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Location: Tidewater Virginia, USA

Post by PeteH »

Sounds just like the ChiCom "floor model" drillpress we had at my former job... you could SEE the runout in the spindle. Must have been out by nearly .005"

I'd rather buy a good used tool than a new POS.
Pete in NJ
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steamin10
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Post by steamin10 »

My Chicom DP was bought at a discount for some $89, back then. It has taken a LOT of abuse since then. It is OK for sluggin out holes in steel angle and such, but all the big drill jobs go to the ENCO Mill-drill for better accuracy and spacing, and big holes that I make for 3/4 inch bolts for machinery with a two flute cutter.

I do not regret paying the cheep price for the DP that got me over a hand drill. It has paid for itself many times over. But a high quality tool it ain't. I once bought a variable speed table top drill press from Snears. It had a red plastic body and a cute standing base. I used it for a week, and sent it back. When you put pressure on the arm to advance the drill downward, the tube collumn leaned back so the hole you drilled became an angle, and snatched the drill when you went up as the pressure relieved. In this case, the floor model DP that worked was a real step up. I can see why shopping at Snears lost its luster for me, and led to its DEMISE as a premier store for the average guy.
Big Dave, former Millwright, Electrician, Environmental conditioning, and back yard Fixxit guy. Now retired, persuing boats, trains, and broken relics.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart. My computer beat me at chess, but not kickboxing
It is not getting caught in the rain, its learning to dance in it. People saying good morning, should have to prove it.
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