Weigel Camelback Drill Press

[Trevlaw]

So I was lucky enough to drag this guy out into the light of day for probably the first time in decades. Brought it home for just $200 and am starting to go through it and clean it up. This is my first camel back drill, so I'm a bit weary about removing certain pieces with how little information I've found on this particular drill. I've found the old forum post on here with the one in the museum, and the couple of brochures on vintage machinery. Thinking mine might be a slightly newer version as it has an MT5 spindle, not an MT4 like in the brochures.

I've pulled a small access panel off the top and was happy to see that the two main gears and both back gears were in excellent shape with no chipped teeth. I was really set on buying this after I saw it in person for the first time and saw all of the enclosed castings at the top to cover the drivetrain and gears, as most other camelbacks I've seen were just open at the top. I did not realize until pulling the access panel off that the gear train actually rides in an oil bath in the castings up top. Super cool.

It also has a clutch assembly in the oil bath, the big handle on the left engages and disengages the spindle. It also appears to be fully functional, not exactly sure how it works though. Seems like there's probably some sort of friction material somewhere, but there's a slight click or clunk when you really engage it all the way, hoping it has some type of mechanical lock for fully engaged some the spindle can't slip the frictions under heavy load.

The spindle taper is in good shape, could use a little clean up, but no big grooves.

There is a large top cover that encloses the gears and clutch. In front and back of it are two plain bearings I believe, they have oil cups installed right on top of them. I'd like to pull those covers off for clean up and to inspect the bevel gear.

Is there anything special I need to do or measure when pulling the top bearing cap off? I'd imagine there might be some shims to set clearances, so I'll keep track of those if they are there. Should I measure the bolt torque before removing the bearing caps? I've only dealt with plain bearings on my jeep engines and such, I wouldn't imagine a drill press bearing would be as tight of tolerance as an engine, but I've got no experience here.

Going to clean up the table, pull the two halves of the table mount off of the column today to clean those up and work on the dovetail ways some more today.

So far I haven't found a single thing broken on it yet, hoping my luck continues.

Would there be much possible harm to trying to power this machine up after a good cleaning and lubricating, or do I need to pull everything mostly apart and reassemble? If the bearings are as in good of shape as the rest of the drill I don't think I'll need to replace them, but I don't want to damage anything by powering it up prematurely.

Also, any recommendations on a suitable oil to fill the oil bath with after cleaning the old stuff out? I'd assume I would use the same oil in the bath as I would the oiler cups for the bearings. Not sure what I should use for the other exposed gears in the power down feed assembly

Thanks for all your help, looking forward to sharing a bit more info on this machine.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

 

[metalmagpie]

Thanks for posting. That's a fine old machine and I like your trailer too. I couldn't see the table very well but it appears to be in good shape. Do you still have the belt? For that matter, do you have the motor and its flat belt sheave?

I had good luck fixing step sheaves to a mandrel and polishing them in a lathe. I have cleaned up columns by removing the base, setting the machine on its side on sawhorses, and playing shoe shine with shop cloth.

Take lots and lots of pictures before you take things apart. I like to pressure wash heavily soiled castings first. Knocks off most of the greasy buildup.

I would recommend a medium weight non-foaming hydraulic fluid for general lubrication.

Please keep posting pictures. This is a good opportunity for you to get better at your digital photography if you don't mind me saying so.

I suggest you understand how to lubricate the machine before powering it up. After that, turn it over by hand and if it feels ok give er a whirl.

metalmagpie

 

[Trevlaw]

Thanks for posting. That's a fine old machine and I like your trailer too. I couldn't see the table very well but it appears to be in good shape. Do you still have the belt? For that matter, do you have the motor and its flat belt sheave?

I had good luck fixing step sheaves to a mandrel and polishing them in a lathe. I have cleaned up columns by removing the base, setting the machine on its side on sawhorses, and playing shoe shine with shop cloth.

Take lots and lots of pictures before you take things apart. I like to pressure wash heavily soiled castings first. Knocks off most of the greasy buildup.

I would recommend a medium weight non-foaming hydraulic fluid for general lubrication.

Please keep posting pictures. This is a good opportunity for you to get better at your digital photography if you don't mind me saying so.

I suggest you understand how to lubricate the machine before powering it up. After that, turn it over by hand and if it feels ok give er a whirl.

metalmagpie

I forgot about the other pics, I removed the two piece wishbone looking part that has the motor mount plate, double V belt pulley and the flat belt pulley before we moved it. So I have all of those parts along with the belt, though it has a few cracks here and there.

The table is in pretty good shape, couple of marks here and there, but no big chunks or holes missing. Was thinking I might chuck that up in my lathe at work to skim the face and sides of it.

I had to move the table and quill support down for transport, definitely a bit sticky and gunky, but they moved without much effort. The spindle and drivetrain all spins pretty smoothly by hand.

The table support is like a two piece clamshell around the column, a feature I haven't seen before yet. So I'm taking that apart today to clean the column up, it looks pretty good already. Not sure if I'd want to mess with pulling the base off. Getting it lifted with my toe jack to bolt my rollers on was enough fun already. I'd really hate to tip it over and ruin it.

Would WAY 68 oil be considered medium weight non foaming oil? I've got plenty of that for other machines, though I can definitely buy something specific for this drill.

Just had the cellphone on me yesterday. I'll get some more pics with an actual camera today.

How do you go about tipping these on their side? It's nearly 8ft tall and I'd say 1500-2000lbs. It's actually at my friend's shop currently as it's too tall to get through my garage door. Have been tinkering with the idea of building a rolling rack to tip it and rest at an angle low enough to get in my garage, then tip it back upright. Or if I can get it running my buddy says I can just leave it with him haha.

The drop deck trailer was a huge timesaver. $90 to rent for the day and we just rolled the drill right on and rolled it right off. Definitely worth it.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

 

[RCPDesigns]

If your buddy's shop is close that might work

Only time I've had to lay down and/or stand up something that big and heavy we used a forklift. Probably not an option for you.

 

[jabberwoki]

Boy that sure shares a lot with my Superior.
Nice grab for sure.

 

[Trevlaw]

Boy that sure shares a lot with my Superior.
Nice grab for sure.

Oh wow, just found your thread. That is pretty crazy how many similarities there are, down to the handles, table castings, gear boxes. Do you know much about the Superior history or business? Seems maybe they were partners, or someone copied the other...

Do you know how the power down feed boxes work? Mine has the placard with different combos of holes 1, 2, 3, and 4, but I don't know which holes correspond to what numbers.

Do the handles on the rapid quill feed do anything? It feels like they might pivot to one side or the other to engage the power feed?

Mine doesn't seem to match any of the three models listed in the weigel brochures on vintage machinery. Mine is either the 21" if you measure from the dovetail, or a 22" going off of the column. But the 21" in the brochure doesn't have some of the same gear boxes and the casting around the bevel gear is different along with the direct drive dog design

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

 

[Trevlaw]

Well here are a few more pictures from yesterday, hopefully they came out a bit better with my actual camera. I got the table and the two table support halves removed. Quite a bit of scrubbing and some red scotchbrite on the column cleaned it up pretty nice. There's not any deep grooves or gouges on the column, just one casting defect on the backside. The rack and pinion for the table elevator definitely show some wear, but are still a long ways from being non functional. I scraped out most of the old chips and crud from the T slots, and scraped the goo off of the base. There's a few dings in the middle of the base, I'd imagine from dropping tools out of the spindle when ejecting them, though they should stone out alright. The base seems to be in great shape, some minor rust in the middle, but the layer of grime did a nice job protecting it, I can still see 95% of the original machining marks, I'd assume from a shaper or planer.

The paint underneath all of the grime is starting to show itself after a lot of scraping with plastic scrapers. I'm going to get some soft bristle brushes to mount on a drill and try those with some soapy water to clean up the last of the gunk, hopefully without hurting the paint too much.

Anyone have any slick tricks for cleaning out the T slots real well? Was going to try to find some smaller wire wheels that fit inside to get the last of the rust and debris out.

I brought the table home with me, might try chucking it up in the lathe at work to clean up the face and sides a bit. The center hole has a good bit of wear and is a bit oval at this point. Was thinking about boring it out to a larger size to make it nice and round again. There seems to be plenty of meat left on it for that. Though I might wait and do that later on.

It seems that Mr. Weigel worked for Superior for 11 years or so before leaving and starting the Weigel Machine Tool company. Seems like he might have taken a stash of parts from Superior on his way out the door considering how similar my drill looks to Jabberwoki's. According to Vintage Machinery Mr. Weigel died a year or so after starting the Weigel company, and the business didn't last long after that, so it seems this machine is probably pretty rare.

 

[Trevlaw]

A couple more pictures

 

[dundeeshopnut]

Nice score on a less common machine! Looks to be damm well made! Methinks you need to focus on fixing your garage door to allow at LEAST an 8'tall object to pass unencumbered.

 

[jabberwoki]

If you pull those spokes in in the feed wheel it will engage your power feed.
To be honest i've not really messed with the power feed yet . If i remember i`ll have a go this weekend and report back.

If your ever up this way give a shout.

 

[Trevlaw]

Nice score on a less common machine! Looks to be damm well made! Methinks you need to focus on fixing your garage door to allow at LEAST an 8'tall object to pass unencumbered.

Yeah, the shop is a small rental, but whenever I can buy something it'll definitely have a 10ft door

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

 

[Trevlaw]

If you pull those spokes in in the feed wheel it will engage your power feed.
To be honest i've not really messed with the power feed yet . If i remember i`ll have a go this weekend and report back.

If your ever up this way give a shout.

Ok cool, that's what I was thinking. I was actually able to see the the numbering for the four holes in one of your pictures, so I'm set there.

Still not sure what the smaller upper gear box does, looked like yours has a placard on it, mine does not. If you could get a picture of that whenever you get a chance that would be awesome.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

 

[metalmagpie]

How do you go about tipping these on their side? It's nearly 8ft tall and I'd say 1500-2000lbs. It's actually at my friend's shop currently as it's too tall to get through my garage door.

I have a shop-built gantry crane in my shop driveway. After I got the main column stripped down completely I picked it up from overhead and was then able to put it down on sawhorses:

As far as getting it into my garage I built a lowboy rolling base that holds the machine only 3/4" off the ground. I don't know if you did that if you could get it into your garage. If you can get it in front of your garage you may be able to catch it down low and skid it in on its own base. Take some measurements before you give up. I don't have a picture of that machine base but I can point you to right now but I can post one later if that would help.

 

[Trevlaw]

I have a shop-built gantry crane in my shop driveway. After I got the main column stripped down completely I picked it up from overhead and was then able to put it down on sawhorses:

As far as getting it into my garage I built a lowboy rolling base that holds the machine only 3/4" off the ground. I don't know if you did that if you could get it into your garage. If you can get it in front of your garage you may be able to catch it down low and skid it in on its own base. Take some measurements before you give up. I don't have a picture of that machine base but I can point you to right now but I can post one later if that would help.

Gotcha, yeah I've been wanting to build a gantry, but waiting until I've got more room to store it first.

I've seen your rolling base before, and it's pretty slick. Even with this one sitting on the ground it's about 6-8" too tall with the spindle all the way down. Been thinking about building another rolling base, kind of in an L shape that I could tip the drill in to get it low enough to fit. Maybe with two boat trailer winches on opposite sides to ease it over in a controlled fashion, then to winch it back upright once it's in the shop.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

 

[metalmagpie]

I bet I could move your machine under a 7' door using two rented engine hoists and some slings and a shackle or two. And set it back up inside too.

 

[jabberwoki]

Here ya go Homie.

 

[Trevlaw]

Here ya go Homie.View attachment 347785

Awesome, thank you. Would you mind sending a pic of the placard on your lower gear box too?

My lower one has the feed rates listed there for holes 1-4, doesn't say anything about the upper gear box. The highest feed rate on my lower box placard is .043"/rev. Just curious if the gearboxes are the same.

Any idea what that number with the lower left rivet through it is?

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

 

[Trevlaw]

I bet I could move your machine under a 7' door using two rented engine hoists and some slings and a shackle or two. And set it back up inside too.

I have two cherry pickers at my disposal. Where would you sling it at, and what would be the order of operations for lifting and tipping it? Seems like anything about half way up the drill or more would be pretty close to maxing out the cherry picker height wise. I just really don't want any accidents lol.

My shop is pretty tight at the moment. 600 sq ft with a Jeep J10 inside, two 4'x4' tables, a Burke #4, Walker Turner 20" DP, Arboga drill press, and an Oerlikon UB2 with other miscellaneous stuff. This Weigel is supposed to be my last purchase until I get a bigger shop...

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

 

[dundeeshopnut]

Do you have a friend or business nearby with a tractor and loader, skidsteer, mini excavator, or even a smaller forklift? Any of these can easily tip and move your drill press inside far easier, quicker and safer than a typical folding engine hoist.

 

[Trevlaw]

Do you have a friend or business nearby with a tractor and loader, skidsteer, mini excavator, or even a smaller forklift? Any of these can easily tip and move your drill press inside far easier, quicker and safer than a typical folding engine hoist.

No such luck, probably just gonna get it running and keep it at my friend's shop until I move into a bigger space I think.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk