Paul Hubbman
Member
- Messages
- 582
- Location
- St. Louis, MO
One other little project we're working on in Hubbman's Hide-a-way - a small drill press rebuild for my 6 year old.
A couple of weekends ago Nick (my son) and i were walking through a resale shop full of building materials (Habitat for Humanity "Restore") looking for a kitchen wall cabinet to hang downstairs. No luck there, but when we turned the corner, there, gleaming as if illuminated from the heavens - a beacon of joy - was an old rusty 9" bench top drill press, no motor. He immediately started in "wouldn't that fit perfectly on my workbench, Dad?". "Don't you think that would be pretty useful, Dad?". "I'll bet that would work out just great, don't you Dad?"
OK, OK. I gave it a look over - Craftsman / King Seeley made. Everything was there except the motor, but it's one of those with the motor mounted on the bench anyway, so i wasn't very surprised. New bearings were in order. No biggie, i've never seen such a basic little drill press - cintered bronze bearings througout except for a ball thrust bearing. It's a light duty machine - perfect for a kid.
But there's no price tag.
I tell Nick that if it's more than $10, we're not buying it (i know, i'm cheap). We find an employee to ask about it. He looks at it and say's "how bout ten bucks?" I look back at Nick, who's grinning ear to ear. I have no doubt that if the guy gave a higher number, my 6 year old would have jumped in to haggle him down.
We brought it home and have been working on it a little bit here and there. I'll post pics when we've got it running (should be soon), but i thought someone out there might relate to the story.
This is a multi-generational rebuild project. My dad has helped me with others, but this is the first time my son has his hand in it. Dad reinforced a weak part, my son has helped with cleanup and repainting, and i'm doing most of the dis / re assembly (with proper 6 year old supervision, of course).
I think i'll scrounge up a clamping mechanism or two so he doesn't wind up holding anything with his bare hands. That would be good practice for me as well. Hmmm.
Paul Hubbman
A couple of weekends ago Nick (my son) and i were walking through a resale shop full of building materials (Habitat for Humanity "Restore") looking for a kitchen wall cabinet to hang downstairs. No luck there, but when we turned the corner, there, gleaming as if illuminated from the heavens - a beacon of joy - was an old rusty 9" bench top drill press, no motor. He immediately started in "wouldn't that fit perfectly on my workbench, Dad?". "Don't you think that would be pretty useful, Dad?". "I'll bet that would work out just great, don't you Dad?"
OK, OK. I gave it a look over - Craftsman / King Seeley made. Everything was there except the motor, but it's one of those with the motor mounted on the bench anyway, so i wasn't very surprised. New bearings were in order. No biggie, i've never seen such a basic little drill press - cintered bronze bearings througout except for a ball thrust bearing. It's a light duty machine - perfect for a kid.
But there's no price tag.
I tell Nick that if it's more than $10, we're not buying it (i know, i'm cheap). We find an employee to ask about it. He looks at it and say's "how bout ten bucks?" I look back at Nick, who's grinning ear to ear. I have no doubt that if the guy gave a higher number, my 6 year old would have jumped in to haggle him down.
We brought it home and have been working on it a little bit here and there. I'll post pics when we've got it running (should be soon), but i thought someone out there might relate to the story.
This is a multi-generational rebuild project. My dad has helped me with others, but this is the first time my son has his hand in it. Dad reinforced a weak part, my son has helped with cleanup and repainting, and i'm doing most of the dis / re assembly (with proper 6 year old supervision, of course).
I think i'll scrounge up a clamping mechanism or two so he doesn't wind up holding anything with his bare hands. That would be good practice for me as well. Hmmm.
Paul Hubbman