Nice little Atlas drill press gloat

I went to an estate sale yesterday, which included the remnants of a garage basement home woodworking shop, and gathered up some interesting bits, including an Atlas mortising setup. There was a rather rusted looking Atlas drill press in the dark space, priced at $75, and for some unaccountable reason I passed it up. I got home, and realized the mortising jig wouldn't fit my own press, and had whatever is the reverse of buyer's remorse. So I went back today, sale closed but owner home, drill press still there, and he took my offer of $60 (actually he would have taken 50, but I don't mind). I figured I could clean it up and make it useful.

So home it comes, and I realize that under the rust, this approximately 1947 vintage drill press is nearly new. This was probably the original owner. Original belt, original oiling tag on the handles, tight bearings, correct motor etc., and not one single tiny little divot on the table! I even found the instructions with it. Usually I kick myself for months when I miss something like this, but this time I got lucky, I guess.

I think this shop had been out of use for some time, and it was in the basement of a garage. The column was pretty rusty, and there's surface rust on just about everything else as well, but it should be a nice working machine. I am really surprised that nobody else bought it, even with its shabby appearance. I probably won't restore it, but just clean it up some, and dedicate it to woodworking, since it lacks very slow speeds. But I just had to gloat a little!

For some reason I get an "invalid thread" message when I try to post an attachment, but here is a quick picture via Imageshack:

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edit to add: bay the way, the little cap for the top of the spindle is there too. I just forgot to put it on before I snapped the picture.

Good Buy

Bruto,
That's a nice looking drillpress. It's fun to find a steal isn't it?
Les

Bruto, Nice drill press but I would like to know what your building with the wood posts it looks like bunk bed frames.

Thank you.

James

"......had whatever is the reverse of buyer's remorse. "

I've heard this many times, have experienced it myself many times, and now believe it is a recurring theme of buying and selling used "stuff" !

Somebody on this forum said something like "You will regret the things that you did NOT buy more than you will regret the things that you bought mistakenly."

I believe the reason for this is that if you buy something by mistake, you have lost some money but there will probably be more money coming into your pocket at some future date. On the other hand, if you FAIL to buy something by mistake, and it is something that is rare, you might NEVER see another one for sale at a price you can afford!

Case in point: My oft-repeated tale of going to the famous Stormville NY Flea Market about 1981-ish. Had $600 of spending money in my pocket. I TURNED DOWN an UNUSED Footprint brand Norris-style plane for $125 and a complete Stanley 55 multiplane with all the cutters and the original wooden box for $125. Now, since then I did find a Stanely 55 at a lower price, albeit a later model with the cardboard box, but I NEVER AGAIN SAW A FOOTPRINT NORRIS PLANE. Not even seen one, and I have been to many flea markets, antique tool swap meets, auctions, etc since then.

Ya done good, Bruto ! You will spend $60 a lot of times in your life and not even remember what you spent it on, but you will enjoy that Atlas with its virginal table for as long as you care to hang onto it.

Would like to hear more about the "basement of a garage" - garages are usually built on a slab to support the weight of vehicles. It's unusual to hear of one with a basement. Was the basement under the vehicle floor ???

JRR

That's a great looking drill press.

I think you'll find about 20 minutes with a red Scotch Brite pad and a little WD40 will make the surface rust on everything go away.

-Brad

james robert said:

Bruto, Nice drill press but I would like to know what your building with the wood posts it looks like bunk bed frames.

Thank you.

James

Click to expand...

Railings for porch at lake house.

edit to add....they're standing on end in the picture.

SouthBendModel34 said:

".....I NEVER AGAIN SAW A FOOTPRINT NORRIS PLANE. Not even seen one, and I have been to many flea markets, antique tool swap meets, auctions, etc since then.

Click to expand...

I have a cousin up in northern VT who used, at least, to collect Norrises. I'll have to ask him if he has any leads. I don't think he has any Norris planes to sell, but you never know.....

Would like to hear more about the "basement of a garage" - garages are usually built on a slab to support the weight of vehicles. It's unusual to hear of one with a basement. Was the basement under the vehicle floor ???

JRR

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Yes, it was under the vehicle floor, but I don't now recall whether the floor was concrete or planks. I'm quite sure the building was at least as old as the drill press, so call it 60+ years. Heavy plank floors are not that uncommon around here. Actually it was a half-basement on a split level. Whatever the construction, it was pretty small, dark and damp down there.

It looks like my Walker Turner 900 series Drill press complete with the round base. Do you suppose that they both used the same foundry????

I had a basement under my garage in a house I owned in MO. It became the neighborhood storm shelter as well as my shop. The big problem was that I had to keep two dehumidifiers running to prvent the rust on my machines. Everything was concrete. (4 walls ,and the floor and ceiling)

Bruto,

The gist of my post was that I was offered a Footprint Norris at a VERY affordable price. Footprint made a single limited run of Norris-style planes in the 1970's or early 1980's - they were NOT traditonally a manufacturer of Norris-style planes; their usual products were more like the Bailey pattern.

There was only one run of these Footprint Norris', I had one in my hands with the funds in my pocket, and I turned it down !!! (Sounds of beating head on wall)

I could easily find a genuine Norris or a Norris-style made by one of the other Scot makers like Spiers BUT the problem would be affording it !!! The Footprint that I passed up was the perfect combination of quality and price, and I let it go by !

What kind of joist setup do you have to use to hold vehicles? They rest on four small areas under each tire.

John Ruth

Y

SouthBendModel34 said:

What kind of joist setup do you have to use to hold vehicles? They rest on four small areas under each tire.

John Ruth

Y

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I didn't look at the floor at that place, but a lot of barns and carriage houses, etc. are post and beam, and simply have very thick planks for flooring. I think the planks in my barn are about 3 inches thick.

About 25 years ago, I rented some storage space for a couple of my cars in a neat old building in Red Lion, PA (a little south of York). It was a tall, narrow 4 story brick building in the middle of a block of old row houses. The building had been a Ford dealership in the 1920's. It was all timber beam floors, made of 10 x 10's and 12 x 12's, and there were timber ramps between all of the floors. From the front, it looked almost like a house, with normal windows on each floor. But you could drive a full size car in the back garage door, and all the way up to the 4th floor. There was even an old spray booth on the 4th floor. Every floor had those old long runs of exposed cast iron pipe along the brick walls for the heating.

I often think back to that building and wish I had one like it now. It would be perfect for my business and all of my old iron.