Leland Gifford Drill Press South Carolina CL

No relation/connection to seller. I'm posting this because you don't see too many things like this down here in the south. Very cool machine and a nice price.

Antique, heavy duty drill press - tools - by owner - sale

Looks to have been well cared for. Hope somebody grabs it.

I plan to see it Tuesday and will happily buy it should it check out. Real estate in the shop is at a premium so I might need to get rid of something to make room but it looks like it might be worth the effort.

Just got back from looking at the drill press and it checked out so I bought it. The owner is a great guy and enjoyed hearing about the drill press and the other tools he had for sale. They were mostly all his father's and he was looking to sell most of it. As such... I bought a few more things I got a nice 1" vertical belt sander (older Delta/Rockwell) and an older 10" Dayton bench grinder along with some various tooling for the drill press. The DP ran great, was very quite and had no noticeable runout (I didn't take a dial indicator). It will need to be cleaned and I'll probably paint it while it is apart but I don't think it really "needs" anything.
I felt like I got a good deal price wise but I'm most happy with the quality and story behind what I got. This is a very good case for selling some tools for a little less than what they may be "worth" as I certainly wouldn't have even made the trip if it was more than $250. I've got drill presses, I've got bench grinders, basically I've got just about everything I bought but some of the items were older, cooler and maybe "better". Obviously I have an old iron problem but at least this time it didn't break the bank and I believe both side are happy.

To close the loop on this, I went up today and brought the Gifford home. It is a heavy guy and, of course, ridiculously well put together. One of the cone pulleys is missing a small section but otherwise nothing else broken or missing. Obviously the machine was looked after during its life. I will start another thread when I restore it and get it back in service. It should be quick enough that I'll slide it in front of the other projects.

I was going to ask how the drive belt system worked - but tried a search and found this earlier PM thread. It includes a patent drawing showing the belt layout.

an early Leland-Gifford drill press

While searching I also found Leland-Gifford made some nice looking machinery and also found there is a company of the same name still supplying parts and service (presumably for modern types).

Yes, the patent drawing is very similar to how mine is laid out. I have cleaned and reassembled the unit and will have one change to make to the drive system and she'll be ready for action. All of the bearings checked out and the sliding surfaces cleaned up nicely and work smoothly together. While I can't lift the table (it is 7/8" thick in the center area) it easily raises with just a hand on the wheel.
It is a great piece of machinery and I'm proud to have it. Here's a couple of pics of it cleaned.

Somebody put effort into those belt guards, but looks SO much better without.

Scott