Sibley 24 inch Drilling Machine Restoration

C Clement · Feb 9, 2013

Hi folks, just wanted to post some photos of recently acquired Sibley 24" Sliding Head Drilling Machine. I don't now if anyone is that interested but I love seeing photos of other's projects so maybe someone will enjoy my efforts.

The drill was advertised in the local classifieds as an antique, rare (read valuable) drill press. The only photos were extreme close ups of the dealers tag but I was able to make out Sibley in the casting so I was intrigued. I have seen the Sibley that Keith Fenner uses in his shop on his YouTube videos and have been impressed with it. The only downside was the rare part in the ad and the asking price of $1,500. I went to look at it and it turns out it was at a metal recycling facility. It was being taken care of with the care you would expect at a scrapyard, and I was really worried about the back lever that the drill was laying on. I offered the owner $300 and we settled on $400 which seemed a little high compared to what some have gotten theirs for but around here they are not common and I have been looking for a couple of years so it seemed like a good gamble.

Here are some photos of the condition I found it in and getting it home.

C Clement · Feb 9, 2013

Here are a couple more photos of the dismantling and unloading of the drill. I was trying to beat a snowstorm that was moving in and get things into the shop before the next foot of snow came. Upon getting things apart I was really pleasantly surprised at the condition of things, the bevel gears show no visible wear and the only thing broken is the T-handle for the sliding head. The power downfeed parts are all there and function. The spindle was frozen but PB Blaster over a few days got it freed up. The shaft that the back gears run on appears to have some play but I'll have to get things apart to see what is up there. The paint appears to be the original color and I like it so I'll probably stick with it. I don't have any good pictures of the base but there are wooden strips in the T-slot that have been in there a long time, maybe original? Any advise or suggestions anyone might have would be welcome.

C Clement · Feb 9, 2013

And for the last item tonight, here is a link to a Sibley brochure that appears to have the 24-inch drill that I have. I'm guessing it would date from the '30s or '40s. Does anyone know of a way to figure out for sure?

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1873/2355.pdf

After hauling my 5,600 pound Hendey lathe from California a few years ago, the 2,000 pound drill wasn't too daunting.

Thanks,

Craig

capnahab · Feb 10, 2013

Beautiful machine and a Good find , keep the pictures coming.
Unbelievably , have seen one in the UK !. Thought I was going to have to DHL one here

Sibley & Ware Drill 1889 | eBay

Tom A · Feb 10, 2013

Thank you for saving that beast !
I'm really looking forward to seeing the restoration :~)

A link to one that was discussed a little while ago :
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...e-looking-drill-press-camelback-style-258891/

Tom

Tom A · Feb 10, 2013

C Clement said:
And for the last item tonight, here is a link to a Sibley brochure that appears to have the 24-inch drill that I have. I'm guessing it would date from the '30s or '40s. Does anyone know of a way to figure out for sure?

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1873/2355.pdf

Thanks,

Craig

The brochure shows that drill set up for motor drive , with a special base - Yours looks like it was originally a line shaft machine .
So maybe older than you think - 1920 or earlier .

Tom

cretedog · Feb 10, 2013

Nice drill Craig. Can't wait to see it in its new duds!

Peter S · Feb 10, 2013

That looks like a nice machine. I find this interesting - an old style with some modern ideas incorporated.

You still have to shift a flat belt to change speeds - but the back gear is enclosed in a oil bath (edit, perhaps not oil, see later posts).

The basic looking feed system actually has enclosed oil bath gearboxes top (edit: perhaps not top) and bottom. The one in the brochure has a compact four-speed gearbox at the bottom. I haven't seen that before.

Shafts run in interchangeable die cast split bearing shells. No white metal to pour in the frame on this one!

Interesting to read that the drill table arm is bored using the drills own spindle.

I think the brochure is 1942, and the specs. do mention floor space requirements for three different drives.

-Tight and loose pulleys (I am guessing this refers to line shaft drive option?)
-'V' flat motor drive.
-Geared motor drive.

ps. Anyone know if Sibley ever made a truly modern enclosed gear-head drilling machine?

C Clement · Feb 10, 2013

Tom A, I believe you are right about the original lineshaft. The base does not have any provision for mounting a motor. A previous owner had added a motor to the top of the machine but it was definitely not anything original.

Peter S, I have been wondering about the backgear enclosure, would that be an oil bath? The gears are currently covered in grease but the caps on the cover look like oil caps to me.

This link shows a Sibley catalog from 1960 with much more modern styling and configuration but still with backgears and power downfeed. That looks like a really useful machine.

Sibley & Ware - Publication Reprints - Catalog 67A C-20 Drilling Machine | VintageMachinery.org

Hopefully I'll be able to get some photos from the inside of the backgear area in the next few days

Craig

C Clement · Feb 10, 2013

A little more digging through the Vintage Machinery site led me to this catalog from 1930 which appears to show my drill on page 11. So I may have to revise the age guess to the '20s or '30s. That make the current condition even more impressive.

Sibley & Ware - Publication Reprints - Catalog #60 Upright Drilling Machines | VintageMachinery.org

Craig

Peter S · Feb 10, 2013

C Clement said:
Peter S, I have been wondering about the backgear enclosure, would that be an oil bath? The gears are currently covered in grease but the caps on the cover look like oil caps to me.

Craig,

I was wrong to assume an oil bath, all I can say is that it is enclosed. The brochure doesn't actually say what lubrication is used, so perhaps it was grease on the gears and oil (by hand) for the bearings? A modern enclosure...but old methods inside? They do say the lower feed gear box is an oil bath, so I guess they would have mentioned the Top Frame Assembly (back-gear box) if it had the same feature. I don't know.

C Clement · Feb 10, 2013

Here is a link to a YouTUBE video of a very similar Sibley that has been restored and is used in a working shop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO-bT8WyTPM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

pan60 · Feb 10, 2013

cool find congrats!

Tom A · Feb 11, 2013

I liked the You-tube link , but I have a question :
In the video , it looked like he was GREASING the upper shaft babbitt bearings - I understood it was oil only for babbitt .
Am I wrong on this ?

C Clement · Feb 11, 2013

Tom A, I have wondered the same thing. As I am new to the world of antique machine tools, I have no experience with Babbitt bearings but I thought I had read that they were to be oiled. If you watch some of the other videos on that channel you'll see the fellow knows machine tools (there is a great one on the restoration of his K&T mill) so I figure he knows what he is doing.

Craig

C Clement · Feb 14, 2013

I finally got things moved around in the shop to clear a spot for the Sibley (they do like a lot of room). I figured I'd start with the base and column and then work my way up, putting things on as I go. The T-slots had wood strips in them that, based on appearance and smell, were creosote covered. It is a good idea for keeping things tidy down there but I think the replacements will be made of UHMW nylon to avoid the swelling and sticking that I encountered with the wood.

The bottom of the ways for the sliding head (first photo below) shows evidence of a few unsecured objects taking flight, with that drill I bet it is exciting.

As I began scraping the gunk off the base parallel lines showed up that are visible on several of the photos below. I guess back then the base would have been machined on a planer would it not?

I don't remember were I saw the needle scaler idea for removing the gunk from the castings but it sure works well and makes a tedious task seem doable.

Tom A · Feb 14, 2013

C Clement said:
.

The bottom of the ways for the sliding head (first photo below) shows evidence of a few unsecured objects taking flight, with that drill I bet it is exciting.

I think it would behoove you to acquire a BIG vise for that thing , if you plan on any serious drilling . Think good-size milling vise :~)

If you just want to keep the base slots clean - maybe something simple , like a piece of plywood with a couple cleats , would do until you got around to making it "fancy" .

C Clement · Feb 21, 2013

I wanted to post an update to the progress on the Sibley. It is kind of slow going as I can only sneak time in once in a while between all the things I am supposed to be doing. Lots of scrubbing and smelling like diesel have got the base and column close. The machined ways for the sliding head and the machined portion of the column cleaned up fairly nicely and don't have too much damage.

C Clement · Feb 21, 2013

My original plan was to clean and paint the main pieces as I went and reassemble as I finished parts. However, as can be seen in the attached photos, the amount of filler used to blend the joints between sections is pretty significant and so I think I'll get the big pieces together then bondo the joints and paint. Anyone see any problems with that?

Dennis L. Henry · Jul 27, 2013

Any updates on progress? Thanks..

Sibley 24 inch Drilling Machine Restoration

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