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My new (old) drill press

Tom Baugues

Tom Baugues

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2,887
Location
Lafayette, Indiana
I've been looking for a better drill press than the cheap lightweight one I currently own. I found this one this past weekend at a auction sale and bought it. I can't find any information on it anywhere (on the web). I looked on OWWM.com as well with no luck. It is a 1976 Continental International Model # DP 14-500, 12 speed, 1/2 HP, 5/8 capacity, MT2. It still has the original motor. I have never heard of this brand before. It was made in Taiwan. It is a VERY heavy machine. I actually racked up my back getting it in and out of my truck. It is a bench mount not a floor mount. About 42" tall total. It appears to be very well made and I have begun to tear it down to rebuild it. The motor and spindle are both very smooth and have gotten even better with a little fresh lube. I'm sanding down the frame and plan to repaint it. I'm not really going for a complete restoration but just want it to look nice. Has anyone ever heard of this brand or know where I might look for information?

Tom
 

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That looks like the ubiquitous Taiwanese drill presses of the 70's and 80's that wore any number of badges. I just swapped my Dad an old South Bend floor mount drill press for one of these (mine has a different brand name on it, but it definitely came out of the same factory as yours). The only differences i can see between yours and mine are the name brand, the depth stop mechanism, and the table. Other than that, they're twins. Yours might be a house brand from some now-defunct hardware store, or a small import company that commissioned a cargo container or two of machines that they brought to the states and then sold. It's a fairly generic machine.
All that said, it's a pretty good one for woodworking and general use. The 15" swing is a good standard size. Any rust on yours looks to be light surface rust. It should outlive all of us.
Chances of finding any information on the brand name are pretty slim. It's obscure and was likely out of business before the internet came to life.
Have fun with it.
Paul Hubbman
 
I've been working on tearing this apart for the past couple of days and I have actually been impressed with how well it is made. Very solid!. The rust on it is surface rust and has cleaned up nicely. I'm going to repaint it but I'm not quite sure what to do with the chrome plated parts that have pitted. The handles mostly. I'm not going to the expense of re-plating so I'm thinking of sanding them all off and painting them as well. Tomorrow I hope to take the motor hosing apart and clean it up to repaint it also. So far this has been alot of fun. I do not see anything damaged or that needs replaced. Just some good ol elbow grease. This is a bench model and I have had it sitting on the floor since I brought it home and only last night as I removed the whole head did I find out that it has a build in light. Oh yea..the bulb was burnt out and that will have to be replaced but...I guess I can handle that :D.

Tom
 
Looks like a good find for sure, on the rust on the chrome parts, I have a little trick for that, I know you are going to say "No way!" but it does work.

Take the chromed part, and put a good layer of regular white glue on it, let the glue dry, but not to the point where it is hard, it still needs to be somewhat soft. Then tear the glue off the chromed parts, the rust will come with the glue, no kidding, it works!

>> LINK << here is a link to a TV show in Japanese, but you can get the idea, it does really work!
 
About the pitted chrome parts - after you do Stu's trick, i'd simply buff it back to a shine (yep, steel can be polished to a white gleem) and you'll be the only one to know the chrome isn't perfect. Once it's all bright and shiney, apply a clear coat to keep it that way. That will keep the bare steel from rusting or discoloring again for the foreseeable future.
paulh
 
Hi Tom. I believe I just picked up a Continental drill press just like yours (14-500, 12 speed....). Of course it didn't come with any manual but I believe it is 110/220 Phase 1 capable. I would like to switch it to 220 if possible since I have a nice dedicated 220 circuit in my garage. Would you have any ideas of where I could find any manual online that would address this? Many thanks,

Gary
 
Hi Gary, welcome to the forum! This is a great place for information and sharing.
Now having said that....I have nothing to share with you :dunno: as I never came across a manual for this machine. I'm sure there are others here on the forum that can help you with wiring though.
Here is a photo of my drill press after putting it in my new shop a few years ago. I took a small two drawer file cabinet and built a 2x4 and plywood frame around it and set the drill press on top of it. Painted it all up the same color as the drill press and it works out great! It is just the right height plus I have storage underneath it.
shop 2 cropped.jpg
 
Gary, WELCOME! Glad to have you here.

Tom that drill press look almost identical to my Mark 1 only mine is a floor model. I think that press was sold under several brand names, because I've seen a lot them. My wife gave me mine for a Christmas present in the late '60's. It is still very useable. One feature I liked about it is the depth stop. You just dial it in. Much faster and easier than my new Jet which has the round nuts you have to screw up and down to set the depth. It is driving me crazy and if I could I swap the one off the old one to the new one.

I'm a little confused, is that picture of your new-used press or the one you already had that you are replacing?
 
Looks like a nice drill press.

Brand name really does not mean anything.

That it drills holes does.

Replacement parts would be -- bearings?

Bearings are pretty standard. You measure a bearing and find a replacement "size" from about any source.

The real issue on a drill press is the quill - the mechanism that moves up and down. If that is badly worn the side to side play can be a problem. If that is a problem then it's likely the replacement parts would negate the value of the overhaul. Then - you are faced with adding material to either the Inside diameter of the head - or the outside diameter of the quill - then machining the mating parts to make a fit. Again - the cost of that would negate the value.

The spline could also be bad - again - the replacement parts ---- ahhh you know.

Sooo - a Drill press has a couple of bearings - easily replaceable.

It also has a motor - again - replaceable.

Then there is the little spring retract mechanism --- I don't have a good take on that - maybe there is a source for those.

I have an old Walker Turner - that I restored about 20 years ago (man - it was that long ago?) with a worn spline. I fixed it up with aluminum foil and epoxy putty. I used it for years and they bought a Jet. I still have and occasionally use the old one.

I have no manual - don't really need it.

Looks and sounds like all you needed to do was clean and paint.

Good deal.

I too - would not have it in a corner - that is too restrictive.
 
Hello! I have also recently picked up the same drill press and looking to replace the belts and somehow find the right clamps that slide into the slots on the table. Anyone out there recommend clamps that may work for this specific table?029B50CC-3FCF-4B2A-8934-B87E0D97B4C3.jpeg
 
larry merlau said:
tom if yur looking for parts take a look at the enco site, they are cones of the same critter.. and even some of grizzly stuff may interchange.
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Enco is no more. It was bought out by MSC Direct several years ago. MSC still carries some of Enco's old machines, but under different names now.
 
Most likely you can use some hex bolts in the slots to mount a vice. Maybe consider a link belt (from HF) for a replacement. Some sound deadening material from Amazon does wonder for the rattling belt cover too.

Welcome to the forum. :wave:
 
Darren,
Thanks for the tip on the Link Belt. Never knew such a thing existed!! I was thinking the same thing for the table clamps if I couldn’t find any that fit.
 
Tom Baugues said:
I've been working on tearing this apart for the past couple of days and I have actually been impressed with how well it is made. Very solid!.
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It is interesting how our perceptions change. I have a few older tools that are house brands and make their name-brand equivalents today look pretty cheap-o. That press should serve you well Tom. A shop made table, fence, some t-track or Match-Fit clamp slots and you will be rockin'. I changed the replaceable insert on my table from square to round to give me more uses per blank.
 
Eric Marchese said:
Darren,
Thanks for the tip on the Link Belt. Never knew such a thing existed!! I was thinking the same thing for the table clamps if I couldn’t find any that fit.
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No problemo! Again on the sound deadener for the belt cover. If you don’t believe me, throw a folded up drop cloth over it when it’s running to hear the difference. It took me 15 years of owning one to figure out that. I bought some of the sound deadening mat that is used to quiet road noise in cars. Have added it to a few other tool enclosures to Cadillac them out.
 
I had one of those for many year, mine came from Harbor freight. It was a very good drill press. I loved the mechanism for setting the depth of drill on that unit. Far better than the two nuts you have to spend time twisting them up and down a screw thingy to set the depth. Which is what I have on my expensive Jet. The "engineer" that thought that up should be sentenced to a life of daily having to run those two nuts up and down the pole.....
 
Eric Marchese said:
Darren,
Thanks for the tip on the Link Belt. Never knew such a thing existed!! I was thinking the same thing for the table clamps if I couldn’t find any that fit.
Click to expand...
You will be amazed at the sound reduction with a link belt. Understand, new link belts, once put in use tend to stretch and stretch and aud infinisem. After removing links several times it will set in and be good for many years.
 
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