Out with the old...

And in with the older

My cheapo harbor freight drill press that I have been using for years has served me well, but I have always had my ear to the ground looking for a more robust unit. I was helping a friend the other day and noticed this nice old Craftsman tucked in the corner. He has a floor drill press and had inherited this one back from his late uncle. He told me his dad originally bought it used, and was so excited with his purchase that he "one armed" it into the back of their station wagon. It weighs about 120 lbs! It eventually was passed to the uncle, then on to my friend.

After muscling it up onto the work bench I  gave it a once over cleaning with degreaser, then scrubbed and oiled the machined surfaces.  It needs new belts and it will be ready for another 74 years of work. It is a 1947 model according to the tag on the motor.

Great score! I predict a very happy relationship between the wo of ya! 
I am blessed to have a number of tools from when Craftsman still made quality tools. Sadly, I also have some from the last 20 years, as well

Ive ad two of those!

Hreat drill press. Will do everything you want it to, and do it well.

Keep a rubber hammer nearby. For whatever reason, both of mine wouldn't clamp the table in place consistently by hand on the handle, but a couple gentle taps with the rubber hammer and it never moved. The handles are pot metal, so GENTLY. 

I have that same exact model, it's a great tool.  It is heavier than heck.

The model 100 and 150 drill presses were made by King-Seeley for Sears, and were sold for a number of years from the 1940s through the 1960s with only minor changes.  There's a history of them over on the Garage Journal forum:  https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/11b30b4s-vintage-classic-craftsman-drill-press-information-thread.484456/  There are also many other threads over there from people restoring or repairing them.

Here's mine, I built a stand for it out of 2x4s.

Cool to see so many on the forum (and garage journal) still get put to use. I just grabbed some new belts and am looking forward to putting my first hole in something.

I did a quick cleaning with mineral spirits and paper towels, but it's still pretty dirty. Any ideas on how to best clean up the painted, but rough cast iron without damaging the paint?

Mineral spirits won't hurt the paint, or you could simply use soap and water along with a nylon scrub brush.  Dawn dish soap would be a suitable choice, it's designed to cut grease.

Yup. Dawn and a brush. And a hose

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

But I don't wanna lift it off the bench and wrestle it back outside. 

In reply to bgkast :

Take it apart. The head, table, and vaseplate aren't too bad individually 

I'll have to get you all pictures of my great uncle's drill press.  He made it using a washing machine motor to a belt drive to (get this) an old Dodge 3 speed transmission.  He welded a chuck on the output shaft and made a table that rises up to push into the bit.

It's a trip.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

We've got to see that!