Look what followed me home Ma

Chuck Thoits

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Can I keep it pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?
I'll feed it and everything I promise.:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 

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You're going to have fun restoring it, and using it afterwards. Make sure you cover all those gears they can catch on anything.

Good haul Chuck but you will have to walk it everyday.!
 
What is it? An old motorized drill press? or a drill from dinosaur days that had a motor added to it later?

It's a drill press. It was a flat belt driven drill press. when it was made there would have been a main drive shaft running through the shop. Most likely powered by a steam engine. Than a flat belt dropping from that main to the DP and all the other tools in the shop.
The motor was added by who ever got it out of the factory it was in for the first part of it's life.
It also could have been driven by an old flat belt tractor. Like an old farmall http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...a=X&ei=_4vlTNG-EcP58AatnKm7DQ&ved=0CCgQ9QEwAg
 
If I was younger and had more room, I would build a shop with a line shaft and equip it with old belt driven equipment. Ever since I took a woodworking class at Homestead Heritage in Texas and saw their old working grist mill in operation, I have fantasized about how neat it would be to have a line shaft shop. Their grist mill was powered by water, but you could attach a motor to power the shaft. There is something very soothing listening to the gentle thumping sound of the line shaft. If you have never experienced one in person, it may hard to understand the appeal. I envy your find Chuck. Younger and more room, that sounds like you Chuck. Any chance of you installing a line shaft?
 
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I have not thought about a line shaft and the flat belts and the levers to engage the belt to operate the desired tool---for 50 or 60 years.

Part of the sound, mentioned previously, is the metal staples in the belts. The flat leather belts were about 1/8 inch thick, they were butt joined and staples (I should have left that typo in...I put a b instead of a p in staples.) were used to hold them together.

My dad had his power hack-saw set up that way. He rebuilt an old one-lung gasoline engine and drove the saw with a flat belt. As I remember that one lunger was about 16 x 20 x 22 inches. Each time the spark fired the gas mixture it sounded like a 410 shotgun being fired. You could hear it for blocks. Dad dug a big hole in the backyard and ran the exhaust pipe through a remodeled water tank (burried in the hole) and out into gravel and rock in the rest of the hole. That made it sound like a car with soft tuned pipes at idle. Come on 57 Chevy.

Enjoy,

Jim
 
Very sweet drill press!! There's something about the old line shaft tools that just makes me smile. I too am one of those guys who would love to have a line shaft driven shop someday.

Congrats!!

Hutch
 
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