Old Drill Press

[Nerdz]

So following my other thread, I found a used Drill Press. I dont have pictures now because Im in the process of building a bench for it. But my question is, How do I clean it up? It has all Black goop and caked oil on it. Can I use WD-40 or Kerosene?

 

[cfellows]

You might try spray on engine degreaser.

Chuck

 

[Tin Falcon]

simple green and hot water also work.
Tin

 

[dalem9]

THE OLD FASHION OVEN CLEANER WORK GREAT ON THE TUFF STUFF . NOT THE NEW STUFF! Dale

 

[GWRdriver]

I am in the middle of completely rebuilding an old (1960s) Rockwell 15" drill press. I have rebuilt and refinished a number of small machine tools, like this Atlas 6" lathe I did some years ago which was caked with years of accumulated grunge but was like-new underneath. I did all the refinishing work on this by hand and it is always a time-consuming, laborious, dirty job, if it's done right. This time around (the drill press) I didn't do any cleaning work on the iron castings at all. I dismantled the drill and took the main castings, which were as grungy as any machine I had ever refinished, to a local automotive abrasive blasting firm and had them dry-ice blasted. This service cost me about $50 and the castings came out beautifully. The dry-ice strips the grunge and paint but leaves the machined surfaces essentially unaffected and leaves the metal ready to prime. This saved me hours and hours of dirty work and the cost of the stripper and de-greaser. Even though I'm retired and now supposedly have "free time," the reality is my time is now more valuable than ever and to me the time and labor I saved was worth many times the cost of the blasting service. You'll decide for yourself what your time is worth but I thought you might be interested to know that such a service is available and how well it works.

 

[Nerdz]

Harry, That sounds really cool. In the end though, I actually decided to leave it a tad grungy. Its not that bad, just wear from who ever owned it. Its a drill press by Sprunger Bros. Made in the USA (dont see that often!) Model DP15. I measured the run out vertically to be 2 thou. While it was spinning the runout was a little over 3 thou (I moved the spindle from the top-I noticed if I moved it by the chuck the run out was under 10 thou) This thing is heavy. It has a 1/3 HP motor on back, which is quite large. Ive thought of putting a treadmill motor on, but we'll see how it runs.

I think it will only need a new chuck key (or chuck). The Chuck Key Looks worn. I do doubt my measurements though, but I set it up the same way I would with a 4 Jaw Chuck .

Personally, while I wait for the chance to order a mill, I think its a good buy. Im glad I didnt buy Chinese.

 

[barnesrickw]

Purple stuff. Magic on grease.


Sent from my iPad using Model Engines

 

[goldstar31]

When stripped a scrap Myford Super7B to reconditioning, I used a simple jet wash which I used for my cars and paving etc normally. I simply connected up a bottle of normal degreasing fluid that is designed for such things.

The hardest job wasn't the removal of 'gunge' but removal of dead layers of paints on the outside of the original fillers where oils and cutting fluid had got in.

I'm still a bit of a whizz and made up a cross between hard epoxy resin and car body filler to slap on and rub down prior to finishing with enamel.

Norman

 

[GWRdriver]

I'm still a bit of a whizz and made up a cross between hard epoxy resin and car body filler to slap on and rub down prior to finishing with enamel

Norman,
I may have been better off using such a cocktail on my present project. The 1-part commercial casting filler I use could stand to be a bit harder, but on the other hand it rubs down easily.

 

[goldstar31]

Harry, Everyone has a different approach but my point is to avoid( wherever possible) fillers which contain absorbent fillers like chalk or slate dust, sawdust, flour and general rubbish. They simply blot up oils and cutting fluids and so on.
So I fill the worst 'holes' with something that is dead hard and knock the worst off with a bastard file or a flexible car body dreadnought one. Then I smear a thin coat of a concoction of filler and hard resin and rough it down to what I think is Level. Then I spray the undercoats on. Then comes the most important thing- a mist coat of a contrasting colour. Sort of the end of a spray can. So this mist coat is rubbed down until the whole thing looks like camouflage. So the hollows can be seen but leaving most of the undercoat in tact. I then fill the hollows/depressions as well as I can and add another couple of coats of undercoat- and another mist coat which is rubbed off. Then there a point when all the work is smooth enough until all the undercoat is matt finish. Then goes on the finish in two coats at a time and rubbed down to a matt finish again. At some happy point, it is time to water the workshop floor and chuck the family, the dog and the neighbour's cat out- and finish off.

OK, I was well trained- a student of the old school.

Thinks, I drove my Missus's best Audi A4 Avant S line- into a thorn bush which grew up as if by magic in front of me.
It's silver- no, the car- and it is clear over base- as well.

Cheers

N

 

[GWRdriver]

OK, I was well trained- a student of the old school.

Norman I admire the Old School, there's too little of that left.
I use much the same approach, my filler is a pinkish-cream color and when I think I've got it right I'll give it a misting of black primer and a rub, after which it looks like the surface of the moon, so I continue the process for a bit. But I also try not to lose sight of the objective, which is to return a machine tool to another 20 years of regular service.