Walke Turner Radial Drill Weight?

[CPeter James]

I just bought this Walker Turner Radial Drill and need to bring it home. Does anyone have any idea what it weighs?

[Barry W. Larson]

Hi Peter:

I just bought a Rockwell Model with the open stand and am told it weights around 780 lbs. I would guess your Walker Turner with the closed stand weights a bit more maybe 850 or 900 lbs.

Barry W. Larson
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

[CPeter James]

Thanks

The machine is better than it looks in the pictures. I almost did not go and look at it after I got the photos via email, but took a chance. I think it will clean up nicely. I looked up the weight of a new Delta model and it is about 780 as you said. We check and there is no aluminum on this baby, all heavy cast iron.

CPeter

[Brian D Anderson]

Check this site out. You may find that press in one of the catalogs/manuals.

http://www.owwm.com/MfgIndex/detail.aspx?id=808&tab=3&sort=2&th=false&fl=

I just bought a WT benchtop drillpress from my neighbor. It felt like it was a couple hundred pounds. And it's pretty small. Yours looks pretty heavy.

-Brian

[Rob Will]

Congrats CPeter!
I have the open stand version of the WT Radial Arm Drill.
I think that 900 lbs will cover the closed base version.
I'm looking for a quill return spring if anybody knows of where they are available.

Thanks,
Rob

[Alan Turner]

CPeter,
At PFW we have a Walker Turner branded (actually Delta) radial DP with the open leg, iron, Deco base. We have had a bit of trouble with it in terms of runout. I had the spindle re-turned and put in fresh bearings, which helped some, and added a keyless Albrecht chuck which is fabulous. The chuck was priced around $300 from McMaster and MSC Direct, and then we found it on sale at Enco (same model number) for about $215. Never had a bit come loose from this chuck, although I usually hate keyless chucks.

We put on a double layer of 18mm BB ply with the edges overhanging the t-slot bed so we could clamp to it off the edge, screw to it, etc., and this has worked well. We got extra t-slot nuts, so if you need a few, give me shout and I will send them up. They were spendy as I recall.

Ours was made between 1960 and 1966 so it has the 6" throw, and the Deco base. Delta bought WT in 1956, and then changed out to a Delta head in 1960, and in '66 dropped the cast base and went to stamped steel legs. Or so I have been told.

One nice usage of this is vertical drilling, such as on end grain. For this we made a heavy duty "L" which hangs off the edge of the aux. table. The head then swings over. Also used it in this configuration to drill our shaper table for a power feeder.

Ours is 3 phase, which is fine for us. I will some day put a VFD on it for true variable speed control as changing the two sets of belts is a PITA.

BTW, I think ours weighs about 800# or so. I would think yours is quite a bit heavier with that base.

Good luck with your new toy.