Cincinnati Bickford Radial drill press Wire schematic Needed

Hit Miss Engine · Sep 8, 2020

So I’m kind of getting ahead of myself by starting this thread but out of desperation I decided to do so.. For the last couple of months my father and I have been really busy moving machines in to the shop and getting everything wired up... this has also included cleaning and repainting some machines. One new machine to the shop is a 4x9 Cincinnati Bickford radial drill. I purchased this drill without seeing it operate ..it looked pretty good and I was told it was in working order..The price was right so I took a chance...I cleaned it down before it made it into the shop and gave it a fresh coat of paint.. Overall I am pleased.

Cincinnati built this machine with a knurled hand knob just forward of the head... it’s purpose from what I have researched is to quickly reverse the spindle while tapping. The knurled knob was froze tight onto the shaft and I freed it up with a little heat .. I tore it apart cleaned it an reassembled it but it looks like someone at one time must have cut some wires to bypass the switches ... now I’m trying to figure the wiring out and get it back to the way it belongs. I’m not sure what year this drill is... I need to find the serial number and look it up... I was hoping if I put a picture up that maybe someone can roughly identify its age and may possibly know where I can locate a wiring diagram as I am trying to button this machine back up so I can move on to other much needed projects in the shop. The picture isn’t the best and if I had to bet once I post it the picture will be sideways or upside down because it does it to me every time! Any help with be greatly appreciated! Thanks George

excello942 · Sep 9, 2020

I have the same machine, mine was built in 1951. You can download a manual from vintagemachinery.org. Unfortunately the manual does not include a wiring diagram, but the tapping control parallels the action of the forward/reverse switch on the left side of the head. I have an extra box table for sale if you need one. Let me know if I can help.

Hit Miss Engine · Sep 10, 2020

excello942 said:
I have the same machine, mine was built in 1951. You can download a manual from vintagemachinery.org. Unfortunately the manual does not include a wiring diagram, but the tapping control parallels the action of the forward/reverse switch on the left side of the head. I have an extra box table for sale if you need one. Let me know if I can help.

Excello,
Thank you for your reply! I did download the manual from vintage machinery. I did just what you mentioned in your reply a couple days ago... I removed the side cover on the drill head exposing the spindle switches ... I thought I could study them a bit and mirror what I saw on the tapping switches however I was surprised to find a single nub of a yellow wire that was cut... I’m not sure where that is from or where is was going although there are two loose yellow wires hanging at the tapping switches... maybe it got pulled through the conduit some how? I have a machine electrical guy coming over Saturday... I’m hoping he can make heads or tales out of what’s going on. I do have the box table but it’s getting sandblasted, would be nice to find a tilting table.

excello942 · Sep 10, 2020

Hit Miss,
Good luck on the electrics. I would love to have a tilt table as well. The Bickford is my first experience with a radial and was so taken with it that I sold my 14" floor standing drill press.
Excello

thermite · Sep 11, 2020

Hit Miss Engine said:
I do have the box table but it’s getting sandblasted, would be nice to find a tilting table.

Keep an eye out over the next ten years you COULD get that lucky, but..

The box table is Hell-for-stout, happy to be saddled-up with other goods.

Some A36 plate, and a small Tee-slotted bed plate, even in shiney-wood extrusions, and you can fab some sort of usable tilt and solve a problem or three much sooner.

Unlike a mill, your radial's far greater traverse rail range and swing lets you hang that off one side of the table like a lean-to shed roof. No need to center it atop with a costly low-pivot trunnion.

FWIW-side-note-only;

The Alzmetall AB5/S column drill here is getting a salvaged B&S "Universal" milling table from a part-out for that sort of odd-job fu, plus redneck jig-bore emulation.

Very little to fab to do that, as it has both axes plus the pivot, intact, has shed only the "Z" ...which the rectangular-table Alzmetall already has, rack and pinion, geared crank.

No "mill drill" poop. Just positioning. I have a "real" mill, already.

Schwake1981 · Mar 7, 2023

Hit Miss Engine said:
So I’m kind of getting ahead of myself by starting this thread but out of desperation I decided to do so.. For the last couple of months my father and I have been really busy moving machines in to the shop and getting everything wired up... this has also included cleaning and repainting some machines. One new machine to the shop is a 4x9 Cincinnati Bickford radial drill. I purchased this drill without seeing it operate ..it looked pretty good and I was told it was in working order..The price was right so I took a chance...I cleaned it down before it made it into the shop and gave it a fresh coat of paint.. Overall I am pleased.

Cincinnati built this machine with a knurled hand knob just forward of the head... it’s purpose from what I have researched is to quickly reverse the spindle while tapping. The knurled knob was froze tight onto the shaft and I freed it up with a little heat .. I tore it apart cleaned it an reassembled it but it looks like someone at one time must have cut some wires to bypass the switches ... now I’m trying to figure the wiring out and get it back to the way it belongs. I’m not sure what year this drill is... I need to find the serial number and look it up... I was hoping if I put a picture up that maybe someone can roughly identify its age and may possibly know where I can locate a wiring diagram as I am trying to button this machine back up so I can move on to other much needed projects in the shop. The picture isn’t the best and if I had to bet once I post it the picture will be sideways or upside down because it does it to me every time! Any help with be greatly appreciated! Thanks George

Did you ever find a wiring diagram?

gregfortin · Mar 18, 2024

I just acquired a similar machine. I’m having problems with the switch wiring. Did you ever figure your machine out or obtain a wiring diagram? Thanks.

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Cincinnati Bickford Radial drill press Wire schematic Needed

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