Atlas 12 3/4" Model 53 Drill Press ***Back Together***

Greg Cook

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Been a lot of activity on drill presses here lately. New Steel City Tool presses, Kermit, other old iron restores.... Here's my old iron restore candidate. I got this as a package deal; Atlas drill press, Delta scroll saw and Craftsman RAS for $35 on a local online ad. The DP belonged to the family's grandfather. There is an Atlas #53 on the Old Machinery site that states a manufacturing date of 1945.

The press is in great shape, with nothing broken or missing. It also has the cool lamp, original I would imagine. I need to find a motor for it, maybe 3/4 or 1hp? 115/240V would be nice.









Says Model #53




This is probably going to be a "little bit at a time" project, as I have to find the motor, make sure all is working (should be no problem there) and then wait till it's a bit warmer to paint. I'll mount it on a Craftsman stand with a Herc-U-lift mobile base. This won't take the place of my new SCT floor press...just for a quick drill, or maybe a sander?

Here's one restored:

View attachment 4235
 
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Nice old press, Greg

It's in such nice shape that the restoration shouldn't be very involved. As you need to get a motor anyway, perhaps you might think of a 3 phase and a variable freq. drive. You could turn it into a low speed torque monster :)

I plugged the Pat No into Google Patent search.

See the whole patent here

Below is a technical drawing from the patent.
 

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Thanks, Ian

I've tried to follow the conversations on 3Ph motors and various converters to go from 120VAC single to 240VAC 3ph....but it still isn't clear to me. :dunno:
Also, where are all these cheap componants people keep talking about? :huh:

The actual restore should be fairly fast...It's still cold as can be in the shop (garage), and I can't spray paint in the house...:eek:
 
Well, I had some time, so....

The Atlas came apart fairly easily.


The main parts broken down.


A few minutes with a wire wheel on my grinder, or just a degreaser and wiping with a clean rag does wonders... On motor mount stud and 2 handles on the right are "before".


The tube is 2 1/4" diameter...I wonder if I should get a longer tube that size and make the Atlas a floor model, or keep as a bench top...


The lamp will polish up nice. Note the thick, blue tinted lens. I'll also put a new lamp cord on it and use the original plug, as it is in perfect shape and the old style to match the DP.
 
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Wow, what a find, Greg, and at a nice price. Are you sure it even needs paint? From here it looks like a little de-rusting on the exposed metal and Simple Green on the paint would shine it up a lot. Seems a shame to cover up the buck decal.

Although I do believe purple has more horsepower. :D
 
Vaughn,

I've been :huh::huh: about the paint too.... The "Buck" decal is for a company here in Seattle, so I'm going to contact them and see if I can get a "new one".

I also found out that I have the optional Hi-Lo Speed Attachment (center pulley assembly) tha will take the speed down to 200rpm and go higher than normal in a different pulley configuration.

The light looks like it was also an original option, but I haven't seen one like it in any of the other pics I have found.

I sure wish I had an original Atlas motor.... 1/2hp, 220VAC was one they had.
 
I like it! I like it!

And ditto the other comments, I don't think (base on what I can see in the photos) that I would paint it either.

As for cheap VFD's. It just a matter of time, hunting and watching for the deal.

Jeff
Who fried a VFD last night. :eek:
 
Thanks all!
OK, just a good cleaning...wax job...motor...and away we go!:thumb:

Some specs:

Drills to center of circle ...12 3/4 diameter
Chuck Capacity...1/2"
Spindle Travel...3"
Max distance table to chuck...9 3/4"
Max distance base to chuck...13 1/2"
Size of table...8" x 9"
Ground steel column...2 1/4" diameter
9 speeds between ... 600 ~ 5200 rpm
With Hi Lo Attachment...Low speed 200 rpm
Overall Height...36"
Overall Width....11"
Overall Depth with motor....24"
Shipping weight less motor...95lb (heavy!)
Motors recommended...1/3 or 1/2hp, 1740 rpm
Chuck...Jacobs, 6A 33 Taper
 
Ditto the others re: painting. You'll save yourself a lot of work and spare the decal. Nothing wrong with a veteran tool showing its age - and yours has aged very gracefully. Brighten up the bare iron on the table and base and any other shiny bits and you'll have a real looker :D

Greg, I did a lot of searching for consumer grade VFD's and I didn't turn up much. The Hitachi LS200 series looks nice, but it's pushing $300 bucks. And then there're displays, controllers and other stuff that's over my head.

Anyone else care to enlighten us ? Also 3 phase motors with mounting plates (C chassis ??) seem to be as scarce as hen's teeth.
 
Well, I did a quick clean-up on it and it's now back together. Need to find a motor and get it running. I think it turned out pretty good, compared to before.

Before pic


After









 
Looking very spiffy Ken ! :):thumb:

I've done some prowling for info on VFD's and motors.

The most informative answer I found is contained in a thread on an electrical engineering forum found here:

http://tinyurl.com/2c3ly9

In a nutshell, if these guys are to be believed, 110 volt induction motors are not worth the trouble (we pretty much dismissed those on here not long ago). Even on a 3 phase motor, using a VFD to reduce speed will loose you both torque and horsepower. Bottom line, replacing the sheaves (stepped pulleys) or buying a lower rpm motor are better solutions for reducing speed. Only with smaller motor pulley and/or larger spindle pulley will give you decreased speed AND increased torque.
 
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Ian,

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

I found a 1/2 hp 120VAC motor that was on an old junk lathe a guy give me. I hooked it up, and .....We have take-off!!!:thumb::thumb:

Only problem is that it seems the bearings are starting to go as it starts squeeking after running for a short time....even with no load. I may take it to a motor shop and see what they think, or just look for a new/newer one.

The pulley stack in the middle of the pic is the optional Hi Lo Attachment, which allows me to get down to 200rpm. Adjusting/changing is a bit of a pain, though.

 
Ian,

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

I found a 1/2 hp 120VAC motor that was on an old junk lathe a guy give me. I hooked it up, and .....We have take-off!!!:thumb::thumb:

Cool, done in record time! :clap:

The pulley stack in the middle of the pic is the optional Hi Lo Attachment, which allows me to get down to 200rpm. Adjusting/changing is a bit of a pain, though.

Yeah, that's why it holds the patent, I guess. If you can get 200rpm as it sits, you can spare yourself the grief of hunting down a VFD. I think my Delta's minimum is 450 rpm - too fast for my circle-cutter, among other things.

You and your Atlas are good to go :D
 
One thing to remember is that the Atlas was basically a freeby ($10) and will be a nice spare/utility bench press/sander. My main DP will be my new Steel City floor DP, and it gets down to 215 rpm as it is.

It's been a fun project, and I learned a few things. Also got some exercise lifting and moving the hunk of cast iron....:rofl:
 
Greg, nice going!

Changing out motor bearings is easy as can be, especially as you have a lathe, if you need to turn a special sized tube etc to bang things back on with.

A puller puller is a good investment, if you don't have one.

Just a thought! :D
 
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