I have a very similar one. It has a 6" stroke and for me that's REALLY useful. I rarely have to raise and lower the table. One downside, raising the table is hard and lowering precisely is impossible. If I were to buy again I'd wait for one with a table raising crank.
At $315 a ton for iron, it's worth that in scrap and the owner likely knows it. You can't buy a decent cordless hand drill for what you are considering offering. You can also find tons of motors on Craiglist if you watch. I find lots of them for $25 or $30. Pulleys are inexpensive as well.
You will have to look at it to see if the quill travels well. If it extends the full 6" then it's worth something. New ones cost over a thousand dollars from Delta and Powermatic but have more bell's and whistles. The downside to that one is the table as some people mentioned. You can find a crank handle table for that column size. It's a very common size.
You need to look at it in person to ascertain the condition. If that's simply surface rust, treat it and move on. One cannot look at the picture and tell it is a "basket case." If it is a basket case, move on and don't look back. If it's too much work for you, move on. If not, make a reasonable offer for the time/cost it would take you to get it into good condition. I cap the used tool total input at half what a new one costs. If you want the best advice on it, go to OWWM's forum and discuss it. They won't let you talk about value though.
I have a different Delta Rockwell model from the same era, used it yesterday. Mine was covered in the same looking kind of rust, and mine was simple surface rust. Took about two hours to clean off with oil and steel wool. It will be working decades after these new plastic models stop.
Last edited by Rich Riddle; 01-10-2013 at 6:57 AM.
well its a teenager or something selling it for her grandfather...sounds fishy...she wants $50 so I'm going to go check it out. If I dont post for a few days, it means I got beat up by a girl and her boyfriend for $50.
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
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Well I got it for $40. It had been lying in the driveway for a few weeks and had gotten rained on a few times. When I asked if he had any of the missing parts he says oh yeah....goes to the trash can and pulls out the other stepped pulley!!
THe spindle travels 6 inches and there's no play in it. However when you allow the stop screw to stop the spindle, it pulls to the right as it stops.
Heres some new photos
http://imgur.com/a/AXzgk
Some things I've noticed so far....
Model No. is 15-665
Pretty sure its called a 6+6, I've downloaded several manuals from vintages machines but none of them have the exact model number.
Theres a black tensioning wheel that wont turn
There is a place to put machine oil but it just dumps into the cavity that contains the spindle.
Getting the motor running will be the first step..
Not sure if it will run on 120v...says 208-230/115v
all the external wiring was not included. (power cord and between switch and motor)
Looks like I'm missing the motor junction box
I found a used Baldor 1hp motor with mounting bracket on craigslist for $35...may be easier just to go with that. Its 220 only so I'm going to pass.
Last edited by Bill Bixby; 01-16-2013 at 12:26 PM.
Bill,
I think you did good on the drill press. Glad to hear you got the pulley. An ebay replacement would cost as much as the drill press. That's a steal of a price an a 1 HP Baldor, if it looks decent.
If you go after the motor, be sure the pulley will fit the shaft.
John
I ended up grabbing a motor for the same price it would be to order a resilient motor mount which is what this needs. I guess wiring it up is as simple as power --> switch --> motor. The motor wiring diagram doesnt indicate hot and neutral...just line 1 and line 1. Hopefully the worst that will happen is that it will spin backwards.
Rockwell used some odd frame size motors for some of their tools, the shaft size is 1/2" for the motor pulley so a NEMA 56 frame motor will not work because of the 5/8" shaft.
Got it running!! May be missing a part that holds the belt tension. Luckily I used an adjustable belt so its okay for now.
Bill - You got a nice deal for $40. That's one great drill press. I have the same model except mine has the intermediate idler pulley so it has twelve speeds. It has the original 1/2 hp motor on it, but a 3/4 or 1 hp would also work. My motor has dual speeds and it is wired for the lower speed (approximatly 1,150 rpms) so my speed range goes from 150 to 2,500 rpms or so. The oil cup on the left side is so you can lubricate the quill. I also have a hand crank to raise and lower the table, which came as a Rockwell/Delta accessory. I also have a 15" Rockwell utility drill press of the same vintage that has a 4" quill travel, so I can tell you the 6" travel on this one comes in very handy.
If you spend a couple of hundred bucks restoring it you'll have a great machine that will give you good service and last far longer than the lightweight stuff they sell today.
Lots of speeds sounds fun, but you will probably find you only really use 3 or 4. I had a drill press with 2 belts a long time ago. I found speed changes to be a bit of a pain.
John