How much should I offer for this DP?

[Dominic Greco]

Hello Everyone,

Someone in management at my place of employment has decided that we no longer need the metal working machinery in our shop (don't ask me. I didn't make that decision). So they're getting rid of a bunch of neat stuff. Most of it is 3 phase and therefore, not for me.

One item caught my eye. It's an old Walker Turner Drill Press. Looks like it's a 16". It has a 1/2 HP 110V/60hz/1Ph motor, and a 1/2" capacity chuck. As far as old iron goes, it's in pretty good shape (other than being given a heavy coat of "Industrial Grey" paint). It runs like a champ and operates quite smoothly for it's age. At first glance, there appears to be no appreciable run out. But I'd need to use a dial indicator with a good magnetic base on it to be absolutely sure. The belts appear in good shape. But if I purchased it, I would change them out as soon as I got it home. :D

I need to know how much to offer. The person who is in charge of selling the equipment said that I will get first crack at putting in a bid. They had suggested that I go on EBay and look for a similar Drill Press in order to find out how much this baby is worth. But I looked there with little success. The only Walker Turner DPs there were a radial drill press and a Driver Line drill press. Both hardly equivalent. I also did a Yahoo search with no luck. My next step it to look for an equivalent Drill press from some other manufacturer.


I figure that I'd offer about $50. But I'd love to find some place where I could make my offer more credible. Any ideas? :confused:

Thanks in advance.

[Gary Curtis]

I paid my friend $35 for a bench top model. I'm not sure of the size, but the motor is considerably smaller than the one you want. It seems like the DP was manufactured in the '60s.

Because so many cheapo drill presses come out of Asia, it seems the price of all of them gets driven down. I know I paid the same guy $250 for a 20-year old 18 bandsaw from Grizzly. That's a big price spread.

Gary Curtis:rolleyes:

[Glenn Clabo]

Dominic,
It sounds like you have a pretty good idea what you want to pay for it. If it goes to someone else for more is that okay? I'd say $50-$75 would be what I'd be able to walk away from if someone wanted more than me.

[Bill Simmeth]

Dominic: Go to e*ay and enter this item number into the search box: 7576267142 It will take you to a benchtop WT DP that sold recently for $41. Should be credible backup for your offer.

[Roger Bell]

I have been watching Walker Turner equipment ("favorite searches") for about a year now. Barbo Machinery in Portland has had two (floor and bench) for $395, with a short warranty period, over the past year. You can consider that top end pricing. Ebay prices are all over the board as usual and most of what are sold are by 2-3 refurb dealers.

I would consider anything under $100 very reasonable for the machine you describe. This is a 16" full size industrial press, not a benchtop toy. And you know something of its history. I paid $235 for mine and didn't bat an eye. Mine has a Dayton motor, all original paint, none of the usual abuse and almost no runout on the spindle. So in my case, condition was great and it had obviously not been used in a production environment. These machines are quite nice and among the best of the vintage DPs out there. Compare it with what you can get for $200-500 from Delta, Jet, Powermatic, Ridgid, Grizzly or Harbor Freight. They really dont make them this good anymore.

Take your dial indicator to it and be absolutely certain of the degree of runout before you make your offer.

[Dominic Greco]

Just wanted to that all of you for your help with this. I searched on Ebay and found some similar drill presses and used some fancy footwork to justify my bid of $70. If all goes well I will find out next week if the DP is mine.

See ya around,

[Bruce Page]

Dominic, I guess I look at things a little differently. Typically (but not always), old iron is better than new iron. If the WT is sound and the spindle runs true, then IMHO, it is a better machine than just about anything you will find on the floor at Sears, HF, etc. Soooo, if I were looking to buy a new DP, I would price the WT against what I’d be willing to pay for said Sears, HF etc. I hope you get it for $70, but you can’t even buy a decent cordless drill for that. Good luck!