New Old Drill Press: Atlas Model 64

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

This thing is so old, I had to stop in the middle of typing this thread because I realized the Neander forum is probably not the correct place.
IMG_5500.jpg
I've been getting by just fine with my Taiwan-made benchtop drill press but I always figured I'd upgrade at some point. Saw this thing at a garage sale for a cheap price and figured I'd better snag it since I don't seem to run across such machines very often. I'll have to buy or build a cart/stand for it because this thing is not exactly portable like the little benchtop models. Apparently the original engineers designed these things to not only drill holes but also to anchor cargo ships or something. But that's another story.

I found a manual online to see where the lubrication points were and there is some info in forums on taking apart/restoring these things but I figured some wiser-than-I woodworkers here might have some advice on modifications, maintenance, etc. I played around with it last night and it all seems to function just fine but I'm far from an expert on old machines like this.

One thing I was about to do but figured I'd better wait and ask about first is clean up the post. It's got a little bit of surface rust on it and the table doesn't slide up and down easily. There are a few sections where it does slide easily and then some spots where it appears to get stuck. Should I do a little sanding to make the post smoother or is it a no-no to use abrasives on that part due to the necessarily-tight fit between the table clamp and post?

The other big concern I have is buying or building a cart for it. It'd be good practice to build one (I am trying to learn woodworking afterall, right?) but I don't want to spend a lot of time (I am a beginner so this stuff still takes me a long time) making a mortise-and-tenon/frame-and-panel contraption. Usually when I think quick and functional appliance I think plywood and pocket hole screws. But this thing probably weighs around 150 lbs with the motor, and it is quite top-heavy. Since my main aspiration has been to learn hand tool woodworking I must admit my knowledge of less "traditional" construction methods is lacking. Would 3/4" plywood and pocket screws or dowels be strong and rigid enough for something like this or should I be safe and make a frame with 2x4's and Neanderthal joinery? What would you folks recommend as the easiest, quickest methods to make a sturdy and stable cart?

[Mike Cutler]

Patrick

Nice find. It's not very often that a person just stumbles across one in that good of condition at a garage sale. You will really like that mass once you use it.

No, you don't want to use any type of abrasive on the column. At most use 0000 steel wool and some type of rust remover/inhibitor. Once you get done, spray some light oil on it, wipe off the excess and and just leave it.

A 2x4 frame should be more than enough to support it's weight. I make quick work benches out of 2x4's and plywood, that don't take very long at all and require no tools other than a saw and an cordless drill. They're pretty stout when I get done.
I use two 2x4's to make each of the legs. One is longer than the other by exactly the width of a 2x4. I then screw these together, orienting the grain so that they work against each other. They form half of a lap joint. You would make 4 of these.
I then make the frame for the top. This frame will fit over the lapped legs when finished. Everything is screwed together and a scrap piece of ply makes the top. This is also screwed down. For a press that heavy you will want to either put two layers of 3/4" plywood, or graft in cross supports.
I then put cross members lower on the legs. I will also put plywood onto these forming a shelf. This shelf is important and has to be there. It prevents the stand from being able to twist.
Any scrap plywood I have lying about I will screw onto the legs making a crude cabinet of sorts. These scraps provide shear protection.
These are not pretty, but they are incredibly strong, easy to make, cheap, and can be put together very quickly. The leg sections do have to be accurately cut, so that they are all the same.
I have an old router table, that is now an equipment bench for garden tools, made this way. I can pull it out and take a few pic's if that would help. In fact, my actual work bench was made this way probably 20 years ago. It's still solid as can be.

[Marshall Harrison]

Mike,

Why fit the top frame offer the outside of the lapped 2x4s? Would reversing the legs and fitting it inside be better or worse?

I'm guessing that it's to keep the leg s from torquing.

[Mike Cutler]

Marshall
I fit the legs inside the top, so that the top is actually resting on the 2x4's and not supported by screws. This way when a plywood skin is attached, it's a smooth transition. It wall also prove clamping edges.
You could do it either way andthe result would be same. Doing it the way you describe would provide clamping edges. Not a bad thought.
I'll have to find my camera and take a few pic's. It sounds way more difficult when you try to explain it in writing, than it actually is.
I've actually made these in parking lots for craft fair type function. They do not take any elaborate wood working tools.

[Mike Cutler]

Patrick and Marshall

Here are some pic's of a router table I made in 2003. It is a little more involved than the benches I described, but the construction is still the same.
On this router table the top is removable, and two of the lower stretchers were dado'd into place. This bench was made to mill teak decking, and cabin parts for a wooden boat. I also used it for some rather large panels used in a tack trunk project for my wife. It's big, 2'x4' top dimensions, and it's heavy, and very, very stable.
The first is a pic of the bench now.
Bench1.jpg

This second shows the 2x4's making a lap joint of the top.
lap1.jpg

This is a pic of the lower stretcher, or cross member. it is dado'd into place because we had to pick up and carry it onto the boat.
Cross1.jpg

This is pic of the top, which fits right over the four corners of the legs.
Top.jpg

The final shows what the complete corner looks like.
Top2.jpg

Other than the Baltic birch top. This was all made from home depot quality 2x4's and exterior plywood. Other that not actually getting wet, this bench has been in a shelter logic building for years now, and the top is still dead flat. I could put the router and baseplate back into it today and use it. I'd have to make a new fence though. The originals hit the dump many years ago.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Great find! I love that style of drill press.
I've been looking every week for one just like that.

A few years ago, it seemed like CL had a tone of old Walker Turner drill presses, but, they seem to have disappeared .


000 or 0000 steel wool and some WD40 or oil will take off the surface rust & not damage the metal.
I'd avoid rust remover since most of them are just some sort of acid that might etch or damage the metal.
Same goes for wet/dry sandpaper & Scotch Bright pads. They may scratch the metal.

I have my "Iron Beast" - my GMC benchtop drill press mounted on a "flip top" cart with my DeWalt 734 planer on the bottom (top?) of the flip top.
Both are about 90 pounds apiece and counter balance each other well when I flip the top from on to the other.

[Mike Cutler]

Great find! I love that style of drill press.
I've been looking every week for one just like that.

A few years ago, it seemed like CL had a tone of old Walker Turner drill presses, but, they seem to have disappeared .

They're all for sale in Rhode Island. There are a lot of WT's in the Rhode Island Craigslist adds. There's a Buffalo in CT that is in really nice condition.

[Rick Potter]

When I made a 2' square cabinet with drawers for my Delta bench top drill press years ago, I inset the top down about 2" below the sides.

This way, I could brush off drill shavings as I drilled, and vacuum them up as necessary. Saved a lot of sweeping on the floor.

Edit: I also adjusted the cabinet height to fit me and the working height of the DP, and put it on locking wheels.

[Jim Becker]

I love the "Style" of these older tools...they had "class" and "elegance" that doesn't necessarily exist in many more modern versions. That looks like a very nice DP. Congrats!

[Peter Christensen]

Good score.

Making a quick and dirty stand is probably the cheapest way to go and should take a day or so to make depending on whether you paint it or not. On the side of buying if you look for a lower tool box/roll away base on sale you get a stand for the drill press and a bunch of useful drawers below that you can store your drill bits in along with any other tools you might want organized and secured until the day when you make your dream cabinet for your tools. If you do go this route don't get a dinky lightweight one, it will frustrate you to no end.

[Keith Weber]

I love the improv Arc of Shame chuck key holder! LOL!

[Rich Engelhardt]

They're all for sale in Rhode Island. There are a lot of WT's in the Rhode Island Craigslist adds. There's a Buffalo in CT that is in really nice condition.

It's funny because I always felt the WT sales rep made a fortune here in the Midwest back in the day since there were so many WT drill presses on CL. Maybe the same rep covered the NE also!

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

Thanks for the info everyone! Looks like I'll have to build a cart of some sort. It works just fine on the floor for now though.

I've been playing around with the press the past couple days. Had some 1/2" holes to drill in cast iron. Worked like a charm. I am only more and more impressed with this thing the more I play around with it. They really did make them better back then.

I imagine quite a few of you have already explored this resource but if anyone is in need of information about these old machines, there is a wealth of information on vintagemachinery.org including manuals, catalogs, etc. From reading on those websites I figured out that with a stepped motor pulley I might be able to get speeds as low as 200-300 RPM, which would be greatly helpful for drilling bigger holes in metal and maybe also for big Forstner bits.

[Mike Wilkins]

Nice find. Make sure you bolt the base to the top of the cart as drill presses can be top heavy.
I clean the column with 0000 steel wool and WD40. Works well. Enjoy.

[Bob Vaughan]

I am only more and more impressed with this thing the more I play around with it. They really did make them better back then.

A lot depends on past experiences and frames of reference. In the general scheme of drill presses back in that day, the Atlas presses were competitive with the smaller Delta presses and generally a slight grade up from the Sears presses.

I guess the point being, if you think that press is well made, you ought to see some of the ones of that era intended as "heavy duty".

In 1956, a press like that cost $125.00 minimum. In 2018 dollars, that's $1173.00, so the value level is there.