Buffalo Camelback

okay so i'm hoping to start a thread where all the Buffalo Forge Camelback drill owners can display their machnines and stories. i'll go first. i just bought this 21" Buffalo for $65 at auction and spent a couple of days taking it apart and tranporting it home. all parts are there and seem to be in good condition other than the plugged oiling holes and lack of oil in the bearings. oh and the feed lever arm that was broken and then brazed back together.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jfarrugi/practialmachinist/IMG_4669.JPG

Nice looking drill. looks much better than the grainy pre-auction picture you posted earlier. What the othe drill press they had?

Jeff

i couldn't find any marks on the other drill press. it had been owned by a cement trucking company which had modified it with the electric motor, automotive transmission, and rear end driving the spindle shaft. it went to the scrappers for $45. so i paid a $20 premium for a totally intact drill. i did manage to help the scrappers rig a 5000 lbs generator winding and for that i got the motor rated three phase arrow hart snap switch off other camelback drill press.

i took a bunch of picture of both camelbacks and will post those in another thread when i get some time to up load them.

rudolf, I've got a Buffalo, she is in rework down to the original paint. Seems to have floated between furniture millwork shops for some reason. I paid too much. Not the latest: Camel Back to black She started out here on hard times: Oh man

You at the UM? Go Blue. Got a son up there. Jim

Does that boiler in the backround mean that you are going to power it with a steam engine and lineshaft???

Here are some updated images of my small herd of Buffalos, including the newest members. I've cropped the images and reworked the frequency curves in Photoshop to show more detail. I hope these will be of use to any Buffalo owners in identifying machines and their original configurations.

Buffalo 20:
Buffalo 20 1
Buffalo 20 2

This is, I believe, an early Buffalo 20, from the 1900-1925 era. Note the short base with no pad for a motor mount. It originally would have had about a 3" x 10" flat belt pulley on the back of the jackshaft, for the drive up to the lineshaft. I believe that everything else on this machine is original, with the exception of the V-belt strung over the power feed pulleys and the homemade table elevation crank. The main feed lever is broken off, but I have all the parts. As usual, there are a lot of holes in the table. Other than that, it's actually in very nice shape. It's more dirty than rusty, and almost everything rotates. A good candidate for restoration. I bought it here in the LA area for $100.

Buffalo 10's:

These are the small benchtop Buffalo Camelbacks. I believe that the 10" is the smallest size they made. Can anyone confirm that? I currently have three of them.

Buffalo 10 1
Buffalo 10 2
Buffalo 10 3

This is the one that I bought from Craig (Hambone), a regular PM Forum member a few months ago. It appears to be completely original, except for the V-belt pulley on the back of the jackshaft. It's also missing the downfeed lever (which is just a round bar). It has the complete jackshaft yoke assembly, which many are missing. The only repair this one needs is the forward bearing of the camelback shaft. It's worn out and needs to be replaced.

I don't know how long Buffalo made this model, but I'm guessing 1900 to 1940. Does anyone know? I believe that some are around which have a motor mount pad cast into the base. My three don't, so they are probably earlier. I haven't seen any serial numbers or dates on them.

Buffalo 10 4

This is another of the same model, which I found in Huntington Beach. It's in nice running condition. The previous owner made up the motor mount and rigged it up with the V-belt pulleys. I got the original flat belt cone pulleys with it, but unfortunately, he didn't have the jackshaft yoke. I'll be converting it back to original.

Buffalo 10 5
Buffalo 10 6
Buffalo 10 7

This one turned up a few years ago here in Burbank. It's been modified (or butchered, if you prefer) with an extended upper shaft, the overhanging drive, an odd mid-height arm-table, and a big notch cut out of the base. But it's an unusual machine, different from the others. The frame/column is about 5" shorter in height than the other two, and the base is smaller with different bolt pads. The base has been heavily damaged and repaired, in addition to the notch. It's been broken, rewelded, and screwed down to a thin steel plate. There's probably not a whole lot I can do to repair it. I guess I'll either leave it alone or make up a whole new one. Everything else can be undone. The flat belt cone pulley that's on there isn't original. I recognize it as from a South Bend 9" lathe drive. However it's nearly identical in dimensions to the original Buffalo pulley. This may be useful to any of you trying to restore a Buffalo 10.

The previous owner of this red one told me that he had been told by another previous owner who had been told by someone at Buffalo that this particular machine was a very rare early one, something like the 3rd one made. I have no way of verifying this, but if anyone knows something, tell me!

I'll be restoring all three of them to as close to original configuration as I can. I'm planning to paint them Satin Black and mount all three in a row on a nice wooden bench. It'll be a (light duty) production setup for a series of musical instrument parts that I make.

Buffalo Junior:

Buffalo Junior 1
Buffalo Junior 2

Just for your reference, this is a Buffalo Junior drill press. It's technically not a camelback, but in the same family. It's 10" swing but much shorter in height than the 10" camelbacks. The belt drive goes around the spindle pulley, and turns down over a pair of idler pulleys to the jackshaft or motor at the back. This one is missing the cast bracket that holds the idlers, however the seller gave me a pair of idlers that he believes came from it. I believe that this machine is a later model, probably from the '40's, because it has the V-belt pulley on the spindle and the full motor pad on the base. Other guys have Juniors with flat belt pulleys. The V-belt pulley on mine is definitely original, because it's machined in with the upper spindle collar. The odd thing is that the two idlers that I got with it are crowned flats. Has anyone seen any catalog pictures of the V-belt version of the Buffalo Junior?

All five of these machines are waiting in line for my time to restore them. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I've been overloaded with musical instrument work this year and haven't had much time to put into my beloved old iron.

I hope this all helps other Buffalo owners as a reference!

Bruce Johnson

When you talk about a 21" or a 10" is that the length of the travel when you pull the handle down? I have 3 camelbacks none of them buffalo's and always wondered.

Farmer John;

No, the 21" or 10" refers to the "swing" of the drill press. It's the largest diameter round disk that you can drill a hole in the center of. So, a 21" swing drill press measures 10 1/2" from the center line of the spindle to the inside of the column.

In the case of the Buffalos, the standard sizes of the camelbacks were 10", 15", 20" (later replaced by the 21") and 24". Does anyone know of any other pre-1940's sizes of Buffalos?

Bruce Johnson

Bruce,
Thanks for the info. Interesting, never would have been able to figure that one on my own.
John G.

i just noticed that the original link i posted in my first post in this thread is dead. pictures of my 21" buffalo can be seen at this site along with some other camelback drills.

http://joatis.com/camelback/

I see you have a web page started on the "so called camel style", old belt drive drill presses. Is your interest limit to the "Y" frame, which I have to assume is the camel thingie, or do you plan to include the earlier designs from the 1820-50 period?

The development of the drill press would be an interesting subject till now perhaps over shadowed by the sexier planer and lathe. Darn shame, no more books from Cope.

peter said:

I see you have a web page started on the "so called camel style", old belt drive drill presses. Is your interest limit to the "Y" frame, which I have to assume is the camel thingie, or do you plan to include the earlier designs from the 1820-50 period?

The development of the drill press would be an interesting subject till now perhaps over shadowed by the sexier planer and lathe. Darn shame, no more books from Cope.

Click to expand...

what are you referring to as the designs from the 1820-1850 period? posting a photo would be a great what to illustrate the particular design you are thinking of.

I'm resurecting this thread 'cuz an old Buffalo found it's way to my shop.

A friend had it, he cleaned it up and painted it. He had trouble connecting the drive to the flat pulley no big deal.

It looks good in that black with the gold lettering! That's probably how I'll be painting my three 10" Buffalos.

So you made up that whole rear drive mount? Is it a flat plate that the original base bolts to? And you added the bracket with the bushing supporting the front of the shaft? Simple and neat.

Bruce,

Here's a better shot of the base, that isn't a splice or a seam, looking at the bottom I can see it is a one piece casting.

I think this is a factory motorizing job, it has a base to mount the motor....or a belt tensioner was removed and the electric motor was mounted in it's place, I dunno.

I don't see how the belt can be tightened on this set-up, unless raising the column will take up the slack, any ideas?

All I had to do to the drill press was turn the end of a 3/8's set screw so it could reach the flat on the shaft.

I need a clock spring and a longer belt, no big deal, but I do need a front pulley guard casting for the 15 Buffalo behind it.

LTM said:

I need a clock spring and a longer belt, no big deal, but I do need a front pulley guard casting for the 15 Buffalo behind it.

Click to expand...

Might have an extra pulley guard, will check.

You can simply cut the belt to the proper length and force it over the pulley when using and slide if off when not in use. This is normal practice, not an exception. Modern machine like South Bend lathes with motors under had a lever to loosen the belt. In the old days it was a manual operation.

That electric motor coupling looks to fast. I think you are missing a speed reduction someplace down there on the base. I think, not saying I am sure about the speed, but I am sure about the belt.

reggie_obe said:

Might have an extra pulley guard, will check.

Click to expand...

Please let me know I'd really like to have one.

Thanx

Walt

LTM;

Okay, that is the factory motor-drive base rig. We've seen it in some catalog sheets, and I think one other forum member has one. The motor drive was an option that became available sometime around the late 1930's, I think. The history and timeline of the Buffalo drills is not well known. My guess is that these smaller Buffalo camelbacks were introduced around 1910 and were made up into the 1940's.

Yes, there's no real adjustment for belt tension. You might be able to loosen the column in the base and lift the whole frame up a little bit. You're supposed to cut and fit the belt to the pulleys, as Peter described. You should be able to squeeze the belt together in the center until they almost touch. You don't need as much tension as you would with a V-belt.

Peter;

That's actually the right speed range. Remember, it's only a 10" swing drill and is really intended for 3/8" and smaller drills. With the direct drive from a 1725 rpm motor, the spindle speeds come out to somewhere around 450, 900, and 1400 rpm.

peter said:

You can simply cut the belt to the proper length and force it over the pulley when using and slide if off when not in use. This is normal practice, not an exception. Modern machine like South Bend lathes with motors under had a lever to loosen the belt. In the old days it was a manual operation.

That electric motor coupling looks to fast. I think you are missing a speed reduction someplace down there on the base. I think, not saying I am sure about the speed, but I am sure about the belt.

Click to expand...

Peter,

Thank you for the belt info, I have a belt lacer and some belting so making a correct length belt should not be too much trouble.

RPM's,... a 1725 RPM motor driving a 2'' dia. pulley turning a 6" dia. driven pulley, spinning a 20 tooth bevel gear engaged to a 28 tooth gear at the spindle. If my Trade School math is any good 35 years after graduation, should equal 410 RPM's at chuck, slowest speed.

4 5/8" dia. driving a 3 1/4" dia. pulley turning the same bevel gears 880 RPM fastest.

I do have a tach. that would verify my math and I probably should double check my figures before I post this, but what the hell....